There was a time – at least until 1960 – when Bach’s ensemble music was a familiar sight on the concert programs of symphonic orchestras. The musicians of an ensemble such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam understood this music and how to distinguish it from Mozart or Mahler or Stravinsky. But concerns of […]
With reissues of music from Haydn to Sibelius, Eloquence has returned to availability much of the recorded legacy of Eduard van Beinum, the chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in the post-war years. This is the first time that his complete Mozart studio recordings have been gathered together in a single issue and […]
Between the controversial Mengelberg and the versatile Bernard Haitink, Eduard van Beinum played a less distinctive role as principal conductor of the Concertgebouw in the postwar years until his death in 1959 but it is difficult to overestimate the positive effect he had on that orchestra and the sincerity of his musicianship. Van Beinum described […]
This highly appealing collection of light-orchestral classics, gathers up eighteen years in the history of one of the world’s most celebrated orchestras during the golden age of the LP. Ever since its foundation in 1883, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam has been blessed with a hall that to all intents and purposes, belongs to them. […]
For the first century of its history, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam had only four principal conductors and it was the second and fourth, Willem Mengelberg and Bernard Haitink who enjoyed a truly international reputation. Previous issues on Eloquence from Haydn (476 8483) to Debussy (464 6362) have shed light on the recordings made […]
Eduard van Beinum’s performances of Bruckner were extraordinary in a most inconspicuous way. He never took liberties with the score, did not like to exaggerate, was spontaneous and always strove to achieve the crucial transitions in Bruckner’s work as seamlessly as possible. Bassoonist,Brian Pollard who worked with Van Beinum as a member of the Concertgebouw […]
A superb collection of four complete Britten orchestral masterpieces in performances that have been lauded over and over again. The ‘Simple Symphony’ is engagingly done, the virtuosity in the ‘Frank Bridge Variations’, not to mention state-of-the-art sound engineering, has never been exceeded and the two Van Beinum recordings have a wonderful nobility to them.
These are unashamedly old-fashioned but beautifully clear, performances of these timeless masterpieces. They were recorded in the famed ‘old’ Concertgebouw and the sound of the winds especially – horn (track 3) and oboe (track 2) – are beautifully glowing.
These performances of three of Debussy’s major orchestral works are simply staggering. Rarely have the half-lights and luminosity of these three works – generously offered on a single CD – been better captured in performance. Ephemeral is the word for van Beinum’s interpretations and the CD also boasts one of the sexiest ‘Sirènes’ on record!
Colin Davis’ Sibelius is well-known and regarded but surprisingly some key Sibelius recordings of his with the Boston Symphony have never made it to CD. These include ‘Pohjola’s Daughter’ and ‘En saga’. His ‘Karelia Suite’ is rare at best. Together with Valse Triste’ and ‘Tapiola’, these make up an excellent disc of Sibelius Tone Poems.
One day in 1891, General Meredith Reid appeared unexpectedly at the doorstep of Claude Debussy. Because the composer spoke little English and Reid spoke no French at all, it took a hastily obtained interpreter to sort out exactly what it was that the august General wanted from the composer. It turned out that the General […]
Three of Ravel’s chamber works, none currently available in the catalogue, all coupled at budget price. The Beaux Arts’ magnificent, full-throttle reading of the Piano Trio is their most recent (1983) recording of this work. The Carmirelli Quartet recorded for Decca in the 1950s and theirs is a demure reading of the String Quartet. Eduard […]
