Original Masters - Clifford Curzon Vol 3

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Original Masters - Clifford Curzon Vol 3

		Release Date: 08/09/2005 Label: Decca Catalog #: 000490902 Spars Code: ADD Composer: Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Edvard Grieg, Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven Performer: Clifford Curzon, Martin Lovett, Peter Schidlof, Norbert Brainin Conductor: Sir Henry Wood, Boyd Neel, Enrique Jorda, Sir Georg Solti, Sir Adrian Boult, Oivin Fjeldstad, Hans Knappertsbusch Orchestra/Ensemble: Queen's Hall Orchestra, Amadeus String Quartet members, National Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra Number of Discs: 6 Recorded in: Mixed Length: 6 Hours 48 Mins.

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Notes & Reviews	Back to Top

A good range of familiar and less-known Clifford Curzon recordings make up Decca's third Original Masters boxed set devoted to the pianist, transferred from the best possible sources. Several shellac rarities previously have been reissued on independent labels, such as Curzon's frisky, impetuous romp through the Schubert/Liszt Wanderer Fantasy from 1937, plus the first and arguably least of his four Mozart A major K. 488 recordings and three Brahms First Concertos. A slightly studied atmosphere colors the two Mozart Piano Quartets recorded in 1952 with members of the Amadeus Quartet, but the central slow movements stand out for Curzon's cultivated legato touch. His 1958 stereo Tchaikovsky First Concerto proves far more idiomatic and engaging than you'd suspect, while Georg Solti's aggressive, compulsively spotlit accompaniment seeps into the Vienna Philharmonic's collective blood stream like a steroid cocktail. A tired third movement plus weak, ill-tuned strings and lusterless sonics knock a 1955 Rachmaninov Second Concerto with Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic out of the running, but Curzon's alternately fiery and poetic 1959 Grieg Concerto remains one of the catalog's finest, abetted by �ivin Fjeldstad's sympathetic, insightfully detailed orchestral framework. Curzon also is on top form in the difficult Brahms B-flat Concerto, although it takes Hans Knappertsbusch and the Vienna Philharmonic three movements to warm up before their responsive instincts playfully kick in at the finale. Two discs are given over to familiar solo material, most of which has gained recent reissue. A tightly organized and tonally refined B minor sonata crowns the pianist's 1963 Liszt recital, and the intimately scaled, scrupulously shaded Beethoven Eroica Variations continues to give pleasure. However, for exquisite timing, disciplined spontaneity, and tonal magic, Curzon's Schubert Moments Musicaux remains a point of reference, with all repeats intact, save for the second one in No. 6. Shall we assume that Decca plans to complete its Curzon survey with a fourth volume? --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com


Works on This Recording			Back to Top

1.	Wanderer Fantasy (Schubert) for Piano and Orchestra, S 366 by Franz Liszt
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Sir Henry Wood Orchestra/Ensemble: Queen's Hall Orchestra Period: Romantic Written: by 1852; Weimar, Germany	Date of Recording: 04/01/1937 Venue: London, England Length: 19 Minutes 52 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording.


2.	Quartet for Piano and Strings no 1 in G minor, K 478 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Performer: Martin Lovett (Cello), Clifford Curzon (Piano), Peter Schidlof (Viola), Norbert Brainin (Violin) Orchestra/Ensemble: Amadeus String Quartet members Period: Classical Written: 1785; Vienna, Austria	Venue: Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, Londo Length: 23 Minutes 9 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording. Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, London, England (09/09/1952 - 09/11/1952)


3.	Quartet for Piano and Strings no 2 in E flat major, K 493 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano), Martin Lovett (Cello), Peter Schidlof (Viola), Norbert Brainin (Violin) Orchestra/Ensemble: Amadeus String Quartet members Period: Classical Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria	Venue: Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, Londo Length: 23 Minutes 25 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording. Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, London, England (09/09/1952 - 09/11/1952)


4.	Concerto for Piano no 23 in A major, K 488 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Boyd Neel Orchestra/Ensemble: National Symphony Orchestra Period: Classical Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria	Date of Recording: 12/12/1945 Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England Length: 24 Minutes 45 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording.


5.	Concerto for Piano no 1 in D minor, Op. 15 by Johannes Brahms
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Enrique Jorda Orchestra/Ensemble: National Symphony Orchestra Period: Romantic Written: 1854-1858; Germany	Date of Recording: 06/05/1946 Venue: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, Engla Length: 46 Minutes 33 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording.


6.	Concerto for Piano no 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Sir Georg Solti Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Period: Romantic Written: Russia	Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 34 Minutes 46 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording. Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria (10/14/1958 - 10/17/1958) Composition written: Russia (1874 - 1875).


7.	Concerto for Piano no 2 in C minor, Op. 18 by Sergei Rachmaninov
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Sir Adrian Boult Orchestra/Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra Period: Romantic Written: Russia	Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England Length: 34 Minutes 5 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording. Kingsway Hall, London, England (06/27/1955 - 06/29/1955) Composition written: Russia (1900 - 1901).


8.	Concerto for Piano in A minor, Op. 16 by Edvard Grieg
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Oivin Fjeldstad Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Period: Romantic Written: 1868/1907; Norway	Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England Length: 29 Minutes 12 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording. Kingsway Hall, London, England (06/22/1959 - 06/23/1959)


9.	Concerto for Piano no 2 in B flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Period: Romantic Written: 1878-1881; Austria	Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 48 Minutes 21 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a mono recording. Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria (10/21/1957 - 10/24/1957)


10.	Sonata for Piano in B minor, S 178 by Franz Liszt
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1852-1853; Weimar, Germany	Date of Recording: 09/1963 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 29 Minutes 21 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


11.	Liebestr�ume for Piano, S 541: no 3, O Lieb, so lang by Franz Liszt
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: circa 1850; Weimar, Germany	Date of Recording: 09/1963 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 4 Minutes 48 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


12.	Valses oubli�es (4) for Piano, S 215: no 1 in F sharp major by Franz Liszt
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1881; Rome, Italy	Date of Recording: 09/1963 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 3 Minutes 12 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


13.	Concert Etudes (2) for Piano, S 145: no 2, Gnomenreigen by Franz Liszt
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: ?1862-63; Rome, Italy	Date of Recording: 09/1963 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 3 Minutes 15 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


14.	Berceuse for Piano in D flat major, S 174 by Franz Liszt
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1854; Weimar, Germany	Date of Recording: 09/1963 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 9 Minutes 3 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


15.	Impromptus (4) for Piano, D 899/Op. 90: no 3 in G flat major by Franz Schubert
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1827; Vienna, Austria	Date of Recording: 01/1964 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 5 Minutes 24 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


16.	Impromptus (4) for Piano, D 899/Op. 90: no 4 in A flat major by Franz Schubert
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1827; Vienna, Austria	Date of Recording: 01/1964 Venue: Sofia Hall, Vienna, Austria Length: 7 Minutes 31 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.


17.	Impromptus (4) for Piano, D 935/Op. 142: no 2 in A flat major by Franz Schubert
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1827; Vienna, Austria	Venue: The Maltings, Snape, Aldeburgh, England Length: 7 Minutes 47 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording. The Maltings, Snape, Aldeburgh, England (02/04/1971 - 02/07/1971)


18.	Moments musicaux (6) for Piano, D 780/Op. 94 by Franz Schubert
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Romantic Written: 1823-1828; Vienna, Austria	Venue: The Maltings, Snape, Aldeburgh, England Length: 27 Minutes 47 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording. The Maltings, Snape, Aldeburgh, England (02/04/1971 - 02/07/1971)


19.	Variations (15) and Fugue for Piano in E flat major, Op. 35 "Eroica" by Ludwig van Beethoven
	Performer: Clifford Curzon (Piano) Period: Classical Written: 1802; Vienna, Austria	Venue: The Maltings, Snape, Aldeburgh, England Length: 24 Minutes 6 Secs.

	Notes: This selection is a stereo recording. The Maltings, Snape, Aldeburgh, England (04/14/1971 - 04/17/1971)

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