Various Artists – Great Opera Arias

Recorded between 1979 & 1988

About these works:
The fourteen extracts recorded here are among the best-loved arias from the worlds’s most famous operas. All of them were recorded with the most famous and reputed singers and orchestras, in some cases during live performances. This recording is a good opportunity for those prefering short pieces, to get familiar with the greatest arias.

Track List & Artists:
01. Puccini – Tosca – E Lucevan Le Stelle (3:14)
Giacomo Aragall: Cavaradossi
National Philharmonic Orchestra – Sir Georg Solti
Recorded in 1984

02. Puccini – Manon Lescaut – In quelle Trine Morbide (2:17)
Kiri Te Kanawa: Manon
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna – Riccardo Chailly
Recorded in 1987

03. Mozart – Le Nozze Di Figaro – Voi Che Sapete (2:57)
Frederica Von Stade: Cherubino
London Philharmonic Orchestra – Sir Georg Solti
Recorded in 1981

04. Rossini – Il Barbiere Di Siviglia – Largo Al facotum (5:06)
Leo Nucci: Figaro
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna – Giuseppe Patanè
Recorded in 1988

05. Verdi – Ernani – Surta È La Notte (6:06)
Susan Sunn: Elvira
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna – Riccardo Chailly
Recorded in 1987

06. Massenet – Werther – Pourquoi Me Réveiller (3:06)
Luciano Pavarotti: Werther
National Philharmonic Orchestra – Oliviero de Fabrittis
Recorded in 1979

07. Beethoven – Fidelio – Abscheulicher, Komm, Hoffung (8:03)
Hildegard Behrens: Leonore
Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Sir Georg Solti
Recorded in 1979

08. Boito – Mefistofele -Sono Lo Spirito Che Nega (3:32)
Nicolai Ghiaurov: Mefistofele
National Philharmonic Orchestra – Oliviero de Fabrittis
Recorded in 1980

09. Boito – Mefistofele – L’altra Notte In Fondo Al Mare (6:56)
Mirella Freni: Margherita
National Philharmonic Orchestra – Oliviero de Fabrittis
Recorded in 1980

10. Puccini – Manon Lescaut – Donna Non Vidi Mai (2:14)
José Carreras: Des Grieux
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna – Riccardo Chailly
Recorded in 1987

11. Giordano – Andrea Chénier – La Mamma Morta (5:15)
Monserrat Caballé: Maddalena
National Philharmonic Orchestra – Riccardo Chailly
Recorded in 1984

12. Rossini – La Donna Del Lago – Mura Felici (9:57)
Marylin Horne: Malcolm
New York City Orchestra: Richard Bonynge
Recorded in 1981

13. Puccini – La Bohème – Che Gelida Manina (4:34)
Luciano Pavarotti: Rodolfo
New York City Orchestra: Richard Bonynge

14. Verdi – Il Masnadieri – Tu Del Mio Carlo..Carlo Vive (8:20)
Joan Sutherland: Amalia
New York City Orchestra: Richard Bonynge
Recorded in 1981

Stereo, DDD, mp3, 320 kbps, 188.99 Mb, 71:43 minutes

Part1 —  Part2

Ludwig Van Beethoven – 9 Symphonien (legendary Karajan’s, 1963)

Ludwig Van Beethoven – 9 SYmphonien (Herbert Von Karajan, 1963)
Recorded at The Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin between December 1961 and November 1962.

Coments:

• By general consensus, Herbert von Karajan’s first (1963) Beethoven cycle for Deutsche Grammophon is the best of the four (!) that he recorded. The Berlin Philharmonic was in top form, and they had not yet made an artistic fetish out of the bland smoothness that typified the conductor’s later recordings of this music (and just about everything else). Karajan’s squeaky clean, emotionally cool Beethoven will always be something of an acquired taste, but this set makes the best possible case for it. –David Hurwitz

• This celebrated set, recorded in 1961-62, is generally considered the best of Herbert von Karajan’s four Beethoven symphony cycles. (His cycles from the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s are also available.) Karajan had trained the Berlin Philharmonic to produce an ultra-smooth sound — the conductor’s trademark — yet their playing crackles with energy. The recorded sound has held up amazingly well, especially in this latest remastering…Barnes & Noble

• Herbert von Karajan recorded the symphonies of Beethoven four times in his remarkable career — once with the Philharmonia in the Fifties and three times with the Berlin Philharmonic (1961-2, 1975-7, 1982-5). In many ways, his 60s cycle stands out from the other three. It was the first recording of the Nine to be conceived, planned and sold as an integral set. The initial purchasers had to pay a subscription for the LPs which were sent to them symphony by symphony. Thirty-six years later, this cycle has become somewhat of a benchmark for these cornerstones of the symphonic repartoire.Upon first hearing, I was struck by the tremendous enthusiasm in the playing of the orchestra. I can just imagine the excitement in the recording sessions, one of the finest orchestras of the time conducted by this energetic conductor at the start of what was to become a long tenure. This notion of a great event must have added a frisson to the atmosphere, and it certainly shows here…Isaak Koh

• Ah, fame! Beethoven is such a ubiquitous presence that even gangsters, immigrants, and devotees of Mantovani know his name, while bankers, rock hounds and mental patients will regale you with the joke about the origin of the Fifth Symphony in a landlady’s odd laugh — Ha-ha-ha-huh! And because so much of his work is surefire, it communicates even when performed by bush league bands and amateurs. Which is to say that he is both superficially known and badly overexposed. As the trunk of the mighty Beethoven tree, the symphonies have been heard so often that, often, they are hardly heard at all. Ha-ha-ha-huh-ho hum. The glut of new Beethoven symphony recordings never ceases — the flood, at least, lasted but 40 days and 40 nights. The original instruments craze promised to deliver Beethoven’s work with pristine authenticity by taking us back to limitations the composer manifestly sought to transcend. Meanwhile, we rummage among the rich trove of artifacts left by the great interpreters of the past — Mengelberg, Toscanini, Klemperer, Furtwangler — for revelations of the divine spark animating these Promethean works, and we find them inseparable from the flat, primitive technology of their era. But every generation presents us with a tiny elite of interpretive genius and Herbert von Karajan, born in 1908, had the great good fortune of having been born into a time and place in which his native gifts could play upon a rich inheritance. In the early 1960s, when these recordings were made, Karajan was in his vigorous mid-fifties, only recently at the helm of the Berlin Philharmonic — which he had already made his own— and playing to a superb recording technology which digitalization only gussies up a bit. A bloom attended everything he touched. Want the revolutionary Beethoven in all his power and his glory? Try Karajan in his prime…Adrian Corleonis

Artists:

Track List:

cd1:
1. Symphony no.1 in C major, op.21 – Adagio molto. Allegro con brio (9:33)
2. Symphony no.1 in C major, op.21 – Andante cantabile con moto (5:53)
3. Symphony no.1 in C major, op.21 – Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace (3:57)
4. Symphony no.1 in C major, op.21 – Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace (5:51)
5. Symphony no.3 in E flat major, op.5 – Allegro con brio (14:48)
6. Symphony no.3 in E flat major, op.5 – Marcia funebre. Adagio assai (17:10)
7. Symphony no.3 in E flat major, op.5 – Scherzo. Allegro vivace (5:48)
8. Symphony no.3 in E flat major, op.5 – Finale. Allegro molto (12:20)
cd2:
1. Symphony no.2 in D major, op.36 – Adagio. Allegro con brio (10:21)
2. Symphony no.2 in D major, op.36 – Larghetto (10:36)
3. Symphony no.2 in D major, op.36 – Scherzo. Allegro (3:53)
4. Symphony no.2 in D major, op.36 – Allegro molto (6:28)
5. Symphony no.4 in B major, op.60 – Adagio. Allegro vivace (9:54)
6. Symphony no.4 in B major, op.60 – Adagio (9:58)
7. Symphony no.4 in B major, op.60 – Allegro vivace (5:45)
8. Symphony no.4 in B major, op.60 – Allegro ma non troppo (5:23)
cd3:
1. Symphony no. in C minor, op.67 – Allegro con brio (7:19)
2. Symphony no. in C minor, op.67 – Andante con moto (10:05)
3. Symphony no. in C minor, op.67 – Allegro (4:54)
4. Symphony no. in C minor, op.67 – Allegro (9:07)
5. Symphony n.6 in F major, op.68 ‘Pastorale’ – Allegro ma non troppo (9:01)
6. Symphony n.6 in F major, op.68 ‘Pastorale’ – Andante molto mosso (11:36)
7. Symphony n.6 in F major, op.68 ‘Pastorale’ – Allegro (3:02)
8. Symphony n.6 in F major, op.68 ‘Pastorale’ – Allegro (3:25)
9. Symphony n.6 in F major, op.68 ‘Pastorale’ – Allegretto (8:46)
cd4:
1. Symphony No.7 in A major, op.92: I. Poco sostenuto · Vivace (11:27)
2. Symphony No.7 in A major, op. 92: II. Allegretto (8:01)
3. Symphony No.7 in A major, Op.92: III. Presto (7:50)
4. Symphony No.7 in A major, Op.92: IV. Allegro con brio (6:46)
5. Symphony No.8 in F major, op.93: I. Allegro vivace e con brio (9:20)
6. Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93 – II. Allegretto scherzando (3:58)
7. Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93 – III. Tempo di menuetto (5:58)
8. Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93 – IV. Allegro vivace (7:06)
cd5:
1. Symphony no.9 in D minor, Op.125 “Choral” – I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso (15:32)
2. Symphony no.9 in D minor, Op.125 “Choral” – II. Molto vivace (11:03)
3. Symphony no.9 in D minor, Op.125 “Choral” – III. Adagio molto e cantabile (16:28)
4. Symphony no.9 in D minor, Op.125 “Choral” – IVa. Presto (6:22)
5. Symphony no.9 in D minor, Op.125 “Choral” – IVb. Presto · “O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” · Allegro assai (17:34)

Stereo, ADD, mp3, 320 kbps CBR, 5 hours 32 minutes. Covers, pictures & full info included.

cd1 Part1 — cd1 Part2
cd2 Part1 — cd2 Part2
cd3 Part1 — cd3 Part2
cd4 Part1 — cd4 Part2
cd5 Part1 — cd5 Part2

Scans

Ludwig Van Beethoven – Concerto Et Romances Pour Violon Et Orchestre

About these Works:
Beethoven wrote his Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 (1806), at the height of his so-called “second” period, one of the most fecund phases of his creativity. In the few years leading up to the violin concerto, Beethoven had produced such masterpieces as the Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (1803), the Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58 (1805-1806), and two of his most important piano sonatas, No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein,” 1803-1804), and No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (“Appassionata,” 1804-1805). The violin concerto represents a continuation — indeed, one of the crowning achievements — of Beethoven’s exploration of the concerto, a form he would essay only once more, in the Piano Concerto No. 5 (1809).
By the time of the violin concerto, Beethoven had employed the violin in concertante roles in a more limited context. Around the time of the first two symphonies, he produced two romances for violin and orchestra; a few years later, he used the violin as a member of the solo trio in the Triple Concerto (1803-1804). These works, despite their musical effectiveness, must still be regarded as studies and workings-out in relation to the violin concerto, which more clearly demonstrates Beethoven’s mastery in marshalling the distinctive formal and dramatic forces of the concerto form.
Characteristic of Beethoven’s music, the dramatic and structural implications of the concerto emerge at the outset, in a series of quiet timpani strokes that led some early detractors to dismiss the work as the “Kettledrum Concerto.” Striking as it is, this fleeting, throbbing motive is more than just an attention-getter; indeed, it provides the very basis for the melodic and rhythmic material that is to follow. At over 25 minutes in length, the first movement is notable as one of the most extended in any of Beethoven’s works, including the symphonies. Its breadth arises from Beethoven’s adoption of the Classical ritornello form — here manifested in the extended tutti that precedes the entrance of the violin — and from the composer’s expansive treatment of the melodic material throughout. The second movement takes a place among the most serene music Beethoven ever produced. Free from the dramatic unrest of the first movement, the second is marked by a tranquil, organic lyricism. Toward the end, an abrupt orchestral outburst leads into a cadenza, which in turn takes the work directly into the final movement. The genial Rondo, marked by a folk-like robustness and dancelike energy, makes some of the work’s more virtuosic demands on the soloist.
At the prompting of Muzio Clementi — one of the greatest piano virtuosi of the day aside from Beethoven himself — Beethoven later made a surprisingly effective transcription of the violin concerto as the unnumbered Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 61a, famously adding to the first movement an extended cadenza that employs tympani in addition to the piano.
Beethoven’s reputation as a pianist often obscures the fact that he was a very capable violinist. Although not an accomplished master, he possessed a profound love for and understanding of the instrument, evident in his ten violin sonatas, the violin concerto, and numerous quintets, quartets, and other chamber works. The two Romances for violin stand out because they are single-movement works in concerto settings. The Romance in G major was published in 1803 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel in Leipzig; the date of its first performance is not known. Despite the lower opus number, it was composed at least five years after the Romance in F, Op. 50, which was published in 1805. He retained the early Classical orchestra he employed for his earlier Piano Concerto in B flat, Op. 19: one flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings. Often described as a “preparation” for the Violin Concerto, Op. 61, of 1806, the Romance in G stands as a fine work in its own right, clearly demonstrating Beethoven’s mastery of the high-Classical style of Mozart and Haydn. Furthermore, Beethoven creates subtle connections between disparate sections of a work.
Cast in a two-episode rondo format (ABACA coda), the Romance in G is not imbued with sonata-form characteristics, as are many of Beethoven’s later rondo movements. The rondo theme (A) is in two parts, each performed first by the soloist then repeated by the orchestra. Descending sixteenth notes in the solo part mark the beginning of B, in which the orchestra is relegated to a purely accompanimental role, creating unity by including figures from the rondo. Section B spends a significant amount of time on the dominant (D major); however, this does not represent a modulation but a preparation for the return of the rondo in G major. Again, the soloist performs both segments of the A section alone, this time including a running eighth note accompaniment under each of the literally repeated themes. Beethoven set the second episode, C, in E minor. The minor mode, dotted rhythms, and staccato passages give the section a “gypsy” music tinge. The foray into a new key area ends with the return of the G major rondo theme, again played by the soloist, but with accompaniment by the orchestra. Beethoven forgoes the repetition of each of the two parts of the rondo and ends the work with a brief coda featuring a lengthy trill in the solo violin. The three fortissimo chords that close the piece seem oddly, possibly comically, out of place in this generally quiet work, but they do resemble the orchestral string parts at the end of each rondo section.
Not published until 1805 (Bureau des Arts et d’Industrie, Vienna), the Romance in F was probably first performed in November 1798; so, although it bears the designation, “Romance No. 2, ” and a later opus than its G major sibling, it is actually the earlier of the two compositions. The orchestral scoring Beethoven chose for the Romance in F major is the same as that for his early Piano Concerto in B flat, Op. 19 (one flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings). Possibly because of its early conception, the Romance in F is less adventurous in conception than the later Romance in G, Op. 40, and still includes lengthy transitions between sections. However, the Romance in F contains a richer harmonic vocabulary than its later counterpart.
As he would for his Romance in G, Beethoven chose a two-episode rondo format (ABACA coda) for the brief, lyrical Romance in F. The rondo section (A) features an antecedent-consequent theme performed first by the soloist, with orchestral string accompaniment, then by the entire orchestra. The melody itself is highly decorated, with numerous trills, turns and grace notes. A forceful, dotted-rhythm figure that closes each appearance of the rondo acts as a transition to the ensuing episode. Episode B maintains the lyric character of the rondo theme, adding large, dramatic leaps followed by descending scales and arpeggios. A glimpse of F minor precedes a literal return to the rondo, this time performed with a lighter accompaniment. The minor mode at the end of episode B proves to be portentous, as episode C begins in the tonic minor. Beethoven makes full use of the “flat” key area by presenting the rondo theme on D flat major, initiating an extended transition back to F major for the final return of the rondo theme. The coda, while never venturing from the tonic, acts as something of a summation when the soloist borrows the triplet motion prominent in episode C and performs a dramatic, trilled figure from the end of episode B.

Track List:
1. Concerto pour violon et orchestre en ré majeur op.61 / Allegro (25:39)
2. Concerto pour violon et orchestre en ré majeur op.61 / Larghetto (10:19)
3. Concerto pour violon et orchestre en ré majeur Op.61 – Rondo – Allegro (9:47)
4. Romance pour violon et orchestre – No.1 Romance en sol majeur (6:44)
5. Romance pour violon et orchestre – No.2 Romance en fa majeur (8:14)

The Artists:
Orchestra Philarmonica Slovenia
Alberto Lizzio: conductor
Alexander Pervomaisky: violin

Stereo, DDD, mp3, 320 kbps, 142.96 Mb, 60:43 minutes. Covers included.

Part1 —– Part2