Description
This CD has now been digitally re-mastered!
This is not your ordinary CD. Specifically, it is not your ordinary symphonic recording. This is a handpicked orchestra, assembled by Gunther Schuller and comprised of players from the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orpheus, and other preeminent chamber ensembles and free-lance stalwarts of the New York City scene, recording two giant works of the symphonic repertory. Rarely has such an extraordinary group of musicians been assembled since the 1950’s heyday of classical recording in New York.
Why? To demonstrate that Beethoven and Brahm’s music is enough, played as written, without having to be ‘helped along’ by the now widely-accepted but far-too-permissive and out-of-hand interpretational approaches of the conductors and performers … to provide to the public a performance that is completely and utterly faithful to the composers’ scores… and in so doing, to show what a conductor and orchestra with total service and devotion to the art can achieve.
Released in conjunction with The Compleat Conductor, Schuller’s new book from Oxford Press, here are perhaps the two great masterpieces of music, presented in performances whose prime interpretational purpose and raison d’être is to pay full, total, unswerving, unqualified, loving respect to their creators’ wonderfully precise and exacting work, with all inspiration coming from and through the music itself.
PERFORMERS
Gunther Schuller’s Handpicked New York Symphony Orchestra (comprised of members from the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orpheus, among other ensembles)
David Nadien, Joel Smirnoff, Charles Libove, Matthew Raimondi, Anehid Ajemian, violin (first stand); Abe Appleman, Balint Sandor, Vladimir Baranov, Martha Caplin, Elmira Darvarova, Nick Eaner, Guillermo Figueroa, Barry Finclair, Gemma Galdi,
Marc Ginsberg, Raymond Gniewek, Kenneth Gordon, Hae-Young Ham, Amy Hiroga, Rena Isbin, Jill Jaffe, Nicholas Kitchen, Gary Levinson, Curtis Macomber,
Nicholas Mann, Kerry McDermott, Sandra Park, Paul Peabody, Anthony Posk,
Charles Rex, Mary K Robinson, Eriko Sato-Oei, Peter Winograd, Eric Wyrick,
Sharon Yarnada, violin; Louise Schulman, Ronald Carbone, viola (first stand); Ronald Aaron, Daniel Avshalomov, Jean Dane, Désirée Elsevir, Roslyn Young,
Harry Zaratzian, viola; David Geber, Andrew Emilianoff cello (principal); David Heiss, Michael Rudiakov, Mark Schuman, Nathan Stuch, Quiang Tu, Frederick Zlotkin, cello; Eugene Levinson, Orin O´Brien, bass (principal); Jaime S. Austria, Kenneth Fricker, Dennis James, Homer Mensch, bass; Michael Parloff,* Andrew Lolya, flute; Mary Ann Archer, piccolo; Joseph L Robinson,* Robert Botti, oboe; Riccardo Morales,* James Ognibene, clarinet; Frank Morelli,* Leonard Hindell, bassoon; Harry Searing, Thomas Sefcovic, contrabassoon; William Purvis,*
Paul Ingraham,* Joseph Anderer, Richard Hagen, Scott Temple, horn; Melvin Broiles,* Mark Gould, Peter C Bond, James Ross, trumpet; Joseph Alessi,* Austin Demian,* Thomas Hutchinson, John Rojak, trombone; Roland Kohloff, Richard Fitz, timpani; Gunther Schuller, conductor
(*principal)
PROGRAM
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony Number 5
1. I. Allegro con brio 6:17
2. II. Andante con moto 8:33
3. III. Allegro 4:35
4. IV. Allegro 10:07
Johannes Brahms: Symphony Number 1
5. I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro 12:07
6. II. Andante sostenuto 8:21
7. III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso 4:21
8. IV. Adagio – Piu andante – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio 16:51
Recorded on (#1-4) 16-17 and (#5-7) 22-23 December 1995 at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
Producers: Thomas Z Shepard and Gunther Schuller
ALSO AVAILABLE
for downloads and streaming on Amazon as well as other digital sites.
