{"product_id":"curzon-plays-brahms-and-de-falla-194651-pasc423","title":"CURZON plays Brahms and de Falla (1946\/51) - PASC423","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBRAHMS \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePiano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFALLA \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eNights in the Gardens of Spain (Noches en los Jardines de España)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eStudio recordings · 1946\/51\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 74:03\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eClifford Curzon, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003epiano \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNational Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNew Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eErique Jordá, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econductor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"padding-left: 30px\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"padding-left: 120px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f Thanks to Pristine Audio for allowing both of these important documents of a great pianist to shine in their best light578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eThe superb English pianist Clifford\nCurzon (1907–1982) made three studio recordings of the Brahms First\nPiano Concerto. The recordings, all for Decca, span the eras of 78-rpm,\ntape, and stereo technology: (1) June 5, 1946, Kingsway Hall, London,\nNational Symphony Orchestra, Enrique Jordá, cond; (2) May, 1953,\nConcertgebouw, Amsterdam, Eduard van Beinum, cond; (3) May 30–June 1,\n1962, London Symphony Orchestra, George Szell, cond. Curzon was a\nmagnificent interpreter of Brahms, and all three recordings have much to\ncommend them. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eMy favorite is Curzon’s recording with\nvan Beinum and the Concertgebouw. It’s one of those “lightning in a\nbottle” occasions, when three brilliant champions of Brahms perform at\nthe height of their powers, and with boundless, riveting intensity. The\nearly 1950s Decca mono sound provides a more than adequate\nrepresentation of the historic collaboration. The Szell-LSO recording,\nin beautiful analog stereo sound, and with a remarkably spacious and\npoetic (16:00) second-movement \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eAdagio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e,\nis also of great merit and interest. But the performance does not\npossess the fiery, propulsive character of its immediate predecessor or,\nfor that matter, of Szell’s legendary recording with Leon Fleisher and\nthe Cleveland Orchestra (Sony Classical). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eAmong the three Curzon Brahms First\nrecordings, the 1946 version is the most problematic. London in the\nimmediate aftermath of the Second World War was hardly the most\ncongenial venue to produce a technically pristine recording, or one in\noptimal sound. Curzon, of course, gives a first-rate account of the solo\npart. And there are some individual touches that distinguish this\nrecording. For example, Curzon’s initial entrance is his most\nintrospective, poetic, and heartbreaking. But the sound quality of this\nrecording, particularly in past reissues, is far inferior to its\nsuccessors; harsh, overloading in climaxes, and lacking in definition,\nparticularly for the orchestra, which plays such a major role in this\nwork. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eThe 1946 recording is part of two Decca multi-disc sets: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eClifford Curzon Edition–Complete Recordings\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e (23 CDs and DVD); and Clifford Curzon: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eDecca Recordings 1937-1971, Decca Original Masters, Vol. 3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\n(6 CDs). Two single-disc reissues are currently in print. The first,\nreleased in 1998, is on the Pearl label (GEM 0041). The other is the\n2014 Pristine Audio release that is the subject of this review. I also\nlistened to an mp3 version of the recording as reissued on the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eDecca Original Masters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\nset. The Pristine Audio is by far the best sonic representation of the\n1946 recording. Curzon’s interpretation now emerges with compelling\nfocus and color. The Pristine Audio is also the only reissue of the\nthree to lend some profile to the orchestra. I find the Pristine Audio\nreissue far better than the Pearl, and enough of an improvement on the\nDecca to merit separate purchase. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eNo reservations need be applied to Curzon’s stylish and beguiling 1951 account of Falla’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eNights in the Gardens of Spain\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e,\nor to Pristine Audio’s remastering of John Culshaw’s spacious and\ndetailed recording. Thanks to Pristine Audio for allowing both of these\nimportant documents of a great pianist to shine in their best light.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMESb\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eKen Meltzer\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 38:4 (Mar\/Apr 2015) of Fanfare Magazine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC423.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eCurzon's first recording of Brahms' first concerto - plus Spanish passion - with conductor Enrique Jordá\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"A\nfreshness and shy-voiced eloquence which has the effect of setting the\nyoung Brahms vividly and appealingly before us\" - The Gramophone\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnglish pianist Clifford Curzon and Spanish (later American)\nconductor Enrique Jordá recorded two works together for Decca, though in\nthe case of de Falla's \u003cem\u003eNights in the Gardens of Spain\u003c\/em\u003e they\nactually recorded the work twice - a 1945 recording of the piece was\nremade in 1951 for LP release \"for technical reasons\" according to The\nGramophone (at the time Decca were busy dubbing their ffrr 78s for LP\nrelease as much as making new recordings - having heard the 1945 78s\nit's hard to know what those 'technical reasons' could possibly have\nbeen); here we present the later recording. Jordá, judging by the Decca\ndiscography, was something of a jobbing conductor for the label at the\ntime, leading a number of different orchestras in recordings between\n1945 and 1951 - the de Falla being his final Decca outing. Decca had\nsigned Curzon to the label in 1937 and continued recording for them\nregularly for 34 years - despite a professed distaste for recordings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese XR remasters take what were cutting edge recordings of their\nday, both direct to 78rpm disc (Brahms) and early tape (de Falla) and\nbring modern technology and techniques to bear on both of them. Both\nsuffered pitch inconsistencies which have been corrected; XR remastering\nhas, in the case of the Brahms, really opened out the somewhat\nconstricted top end whilst, in the Falla, an excessively shrill and\nexaggerated top end has been tamed and the sound filled out. I also had\nto deal with the notorious Kingsway Hall rumble on both recordings,\nwhich was at times annoyingly obvious. Whilst revealing occasional\nsurface coarseness in the 78s, both are a considerable improvement on\nprevious issues.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eBRAHMS  \u003c\/b\u003ePiano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecording producer: Victor Olof\u003cbr\u003eRecording Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson\u003cbr\u003eRecorded 5 June 1946, Kingsway Hall, London\u003cbr\u003eIssued as Decca (A)K1491-96\u003cbr\u003eMatrix Nos. AR10362-73 \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003eNational Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDE FALLA  \u003c\/b\u003eNights in the Gardens of Spain , G. 49\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecording producer: John Culshaw\u003cbr\u003eRecording Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson\u003cbr\u003eRecorded 2 July 1951, Kingsway Hall, London\u003cbr\u003eIssued as Decca LXT2621\u003cbr\u003eMatrix Nos. AR16233-38\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003eNew Symphony Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eClifford Curzon\u003c\/b\u003e   piano\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnrique Jordá\u003c\/b\u003e   conductor \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC423.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC423.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064780189786,"sku":"ybd1789304840026","price":13.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064780222554,"sku":"ynx1789304840027","price":7.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Mono 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064780255322,"sku":"lpk1789304840028","price":8.04,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":44064780288090,"sku":"nuc1789304840029","price":7.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0726\/3807\/0874\/files\/curzon-plays-brahms-and-de-falla-194651---pasc423_1.jpg?v=1789304847","url":"https:\/\/vestorawear.shop\/products\/curzon-plays-brahms-and-de-falla-194651-pasc423","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}