21 May 2010

Antonio Brosa (violin) plays... Britten. Violin Concerto -&- Ysaye - BBC 1950's

Benjamin Britten:  Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, op.15 
Moderato con moto ~ Vivace ~ Passacaglia, Andante lento    
Antonio Brosa, violin  - BBC Scottish Orchestra  conducted by  Dr. Ian Whyte
Eugene Ysaye:  Sonata  in A minor, op.27 no.2   
Obsession  (Poco vivo) ~ Malincolia  (Poco lento) ~ Danse des ombres  (Sarabande) ~ Les furies  (Allegro furioso) 
2 files zip FLAC  Mega Download       Re-edited December 2017
Stereo Records & Tapes - SRT/Custom 009.  Private LP - released in 1975.

BBC Third ProgrammeBritten: - allegedly 9 April 1952 (or 30 Sept.1953) - MW.    Ysaye: - 7 August 1954? (VHF? - as frequency-range exceeds MW).
...another copy @ 2016 eBay auction (Popsike listing)  Start Price: GBP 100  End Price: GBP 173   
CHARM: Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (Andante)  "The Times" 22/11/54 review of the Ysaye   +  SRT 009 label scan >>>  





15 comments:

  1. Good news, my friend. Come on, there is room for you in the shade.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha! Nice weather..& prefer the Sunshine. I was intending uploading this (extremely rare) LP some time back. Had originally uploaded as a 96mp3 in 2007. Excellent +++ performances - and the sound is quite vivid - with just a few 'noises' from the Radio transmission + a few poor edits.. Will do the occasional transfer if time/weather permits..

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't thank you enough for the Britten Concerto played by its dedicatee!

    The Andante from the Mendelssohn VC from the CHARM site is also very beautifully played.

    Very generous of you to make this available.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fortunately it was a doddle to transfer (although there's a minor 'glitch' in the Ysaye, which defeated me..). Likely given by Brosa to various friends (the Britten-Pears Foundation have a copy): I think this was Alan Bush's copy. No immediate plans to upload more LPs - but did notice Britten's 'live' July 1959 'Missa Brevis' (mono EP) hasn't been re-issued - so could add that to some other mono Britten later (also his LXT Haydn Symphonies + some other 'rare-ish' mono Haydn symphonies by others). Also have the LPO/Barbirolli 78 'Swan Lake' with Brosa on side3 of 4sides - but see no need to add it at this point (might do so with the 1950 Halle 78set + Irving's excellent Philharmonia CLP).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you so much for making this eminently important recording available! I say 'important' not only because Antonio Brosa contributed a lot before, while and after Britten wrote the concert and was its first performer (1940 NYPO Barbirolli; actually he wasn't the dedicatee but Henry Boys), but because I was so extremely surprised how different this interpretation here is from almost any more contemporary performances - the orchestra is reeeaaally quick and Brosa himself seems to be in a hurry, eager to communicate with passion and force and urge, and unlike most performers today, e.g. at the end of the cadenza and again the end of the last movement he doesn't produce those hushed, vanishing, subtle tone but is in an almost triumphant, full silvery tone - quite remarkable all in all! And quite the opposite of e.g. Lubotsky - I hope that's not what Britten had meant after his 1950 recording with the latter that this was the interpretation he 'had been waiting for'... ;-)

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  6. Echoing the thanks above - it's incredible to hear the first performer of this music and absurd that this doesn't have wider circulation.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Something more than 200 downloads, thus far; so has become reasonably well known (also now appears in Michael Herman's online discography/s @ MusicWeb - which might prompt a 'search', or two..).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Truly, this is the most extraordinary post I've seen in many many months.
    I never ever hoped this one would pop-up, ANYWHERE, EVER, Tin Ear.

    I didn't know how to thank you properly for such a generous, and unparalleled gesture.
    That's why I have asked a magician to make me a couple of cues, for here,
    in case someone wanted to split the works into movements...

    PERFORMER "Antonio Brosa, violin"
    TITLE "Eugene Ysaye. Sonata in A minor, op.27 no.2"
    FILE "YsayeSonataAntonio Brosa.flac" WAVE
    TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Obsession (Poco vivo)"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
    TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Malincolia (Poco lento)"
    INDEX 01 02:52:51
    TRACK 03 AUDIO
    TITLE "Danse des ombres (Sarabande)"
    INDEX 01 05:12:13
    TRACK 04 AUDIO
    TITLE "Les furies (Allegro furioso)"
    INDEX 01 09:50:56





    PERFORMER "Antonio Brosa, violin"
    TITLE "Benjamin Britten. Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, op.15"
    FILE "BrittenVCAntonio Brosa.flac" WAVE
    TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Moderato con moto"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
    TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Vivace"
    INDEX 01 07:30:44
    TRACK 03 AUDIO
    TITLE "Passacaglia, Andante lento"
    INDEX 01 13:59:13


    Also, I have most of the recordings this work has received.

    VIOLIN CONCERTO (op. 15, 1939)

    Lorraine McAslan/English CO/Steuart Bedford • Collins Classics 1301-2 • re-released by Naxos 8.557198

    Mark Lubotsky/English CO/Benjamin Britten • Decca 417 308-2

    Theo Olof/Hallé O/John Barbirolli • EMI British Composers CDM5 66053-2

    Boris Gutnikov/St Petersburg PO/Alexander Dmitriev • Manchester Classical Gallery CDMAN180

    [i]Lydia Mordkovitch/BBC SO/Richard Hickox • Chandos CHAN9910[/i]

    Maxim Vengerov/London SO/Mstislav Rostropovich • EMI 557510 • [b]EMI 2285252 [/b]

    Daniel Hope/BBC SO/Paul Watkins • Warner 2564-60291-2

    Rebecca Hirsch/BBC Scottish SO/Takuo Yuasa • Naxos 8.553882

    Sergej Azizian/Copenhagen PO/Osmo Vanska • Classico CLASSCD 233 • Alto ALC1152

    Ida Haendel/Bournemouth SO/Paavo Berglund • EMI CDM764202-2 • EMI Collector's Edition 2175262  • EMI 0953952

    [i]Rodney Friend/London Philharmonia O/John Pritchard • Classics for Pleasure 75978[/i]

    [b]Ruggerio Ricci/SWF SO Baden-Baden/G Brott • One-Eleven 96020[/b]

    Frank Peter Zimmermann, Swedish RSO/Manfred Honeck • Sony 88697 439992

    Janine Jansen, London SO/Paavo Jarvi • Decca 4781530 [review]

    [b]Wanda Wilkomirska, Warsaw PO/Witold Rowicki • Orchestral Concerts CD12-2011[/b]

    Anthony Marwood, BBC Scottish SO/Ilan Volkov • Hyperion CDA67801

    [b]bold[/b] means a void, and [i]cursive[/i], an upcoming possibility.
    Other than that, you may pick your choice, if you have any, and I'll upload it to you.

    You are now in My particular Olympus Mons of Blogs.
    Subscribing... ^____^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As you realize I don't do anything 'fancy' like providing Cues... (I suppose I could but have never tried!)

      An impressive list: but you appear to be missing the 'commonplace', circa 1969, Nora Grumlikova (Prague SO/Maag- Supraphon) - which I have on LP - as with, just, the Lubotsky/Haendel/Friend - and the Supraphon is on CD these days; but the Brosa..well - it never has been...

      Delete
  9. Indeed, that is out of the MusicWeb Listing, to which I was able to reasearch and add the Brosa,
    from those same reviews, and another, second recording, from one of the above soloists,
    which I cannot find anymore, though I'm sure of it existed,
    might be Vengerov or Haendel who did that most probably.

    As for the Supraphon, you are tottaly right:

    http://www.amazon.com/Britten-Concerto-Symphony-Williams-Accademico/dp/B000AIAJ9Y

    Then, according to my accounts, and counting with your new reference,
    recordings (different) of this work amount to 20, if I calculate correctly.

    Anyhow, should you ever post that one in the future, I'd like to be told,
    but I don't find a button around to subscribe to this Cave of Wonders.
    Is there any at all?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mentioned it to Michael Herman - so that's how it got added to the listing (being 'a genuine LP'..).

      There is (@ the bottom of the last posting) the usual 'Subscribe to' - presumably you have used that for others - apart from becoming a follower - though that may be what is now 'missing' as I don't have that activated.

      There are always sites like www.bloglovin.com ...and this Main blog is also linked on other blogs

      Delete
  10. Yep, that would be it, the "follow This Blog" feature is not to be seen.
    Anyways, it is OK, I have bookmarked you, and will visit from time to time, to see what you are up to cooking.

    Also, I wanted to ask you, being a private LP, I reckon this Brosa diamond does not have a cover & sleeve, does it?
    I'm prefectly happy with the art present, though, just wanted to check wether or not this was private, indeed.

    BTW, I don't follow you. Herman might be from MusicWeb, isn't him?
    So, the Grumlikova is still out of the list, as that posted above was grabbed yesterday...
    Is there any other listing I'm missing here?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think 'Follow' was @ the page-top - seems now missing; I'll have a look-see if it can be found..except I don't like 'advertising' the 'followers'..

      Anyway, I've added the Bloglovin button on 3 of my Blogs: so you can add various blogs via that site and get updates (?).

      Michael Herman creates the MusicWeb discographies.. www.musicweb-international.com/herman_discogs.htm

      The last time I looked there was no CD listing for the Supraphon...it's only listed as the LP (which I can't upload nowadays..).

      There was no outer-sleeve for the Brosa; tending to indicate a pretty limited pressing-run.

      Delete
    2. Apparently the answer (as I don't use the Followers widget) is here:

      http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=99761

      Delete
    3. Sorrry for the delay in answering, Tin Ear.
      I think I've got it now, the list I was checking was under Britten's catalog of works,
      whereas the most detailed one is really under British Concertos, here:

      http://www.musicweb-international.com/British_Concertos_on_CD/page3.htm

      There, it cites your Nora Grumlikova's, aside the double recording LUBOTSKY made,
      and a new one, recorded by Kling, which actually puts the number of recordings at 20,
      I miscalculated above when I said 20 without Kling.


      Paul Kling (violin)/Robert Whitney/Louisville Orchestra
      ( + Ben-Haim: Pastorale Variée)
      LOUISVILLE 626 (LP) (1962)

      Mark Lubotsky(violin)/Benjamin Britten/English Chamber Orchestra
      ( + Piano Concerto)
      DECCA 417 308-2 (1989)
      (original LP release: DECCA SXL 6512) (1971)

      Mark Lubotsky (violin)/Kiril Kondrashin/Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
      MELODIYA D2123940/S1623/4 (LP) (1968)

      BTW, those Cue texts are very nice, but you have to be a master of cues to actually made the archive working,
      that is why I have uploaded the original ones made with your original files at hand. They work.

      [url=http://cl.ly/1E2R412g1a0Z]Britten's Cue[/url]
      [url=http://cl.ly/183N0n3d1h0u]Ysaye's Cue[/url]

      Cheers.

      Delete