℗ 1960 Decca Music Group Limited
Released | September 22, 2023 |
Originated | 1960 |
Duration | 59m 19s |
Record Label | Universal Music Australia Pty. |
Genre | Classical |
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1, Piano Concerto No. 2 (Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt Edition – Decca Recordings, Vol. 8)
Wilhelm Backhaus, Wiener Philharmoniker, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Available in 48 kHz / 24-bit AIFF, FLAC audio formats
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
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1.1
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I. Allegro con brio
Ludwig van Beethoven; Wilhelm Backhaus; Wiener Philharmoniker; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt |
13:41 | |||
1.2
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II. Largo
Ludwig van Beethoven; Wilhelm Backhaus; Wiener Philharmoniker; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt |
9:15 | |||
1.3
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III. Rondo. Allegro scherzando
Ludwig van Beethoven; Wilhelm Backhaus; Wiener Philharmoniker; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt |
8:53 | |||
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19
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1.4
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I. Allegro con brio
Ludwig van Beethoven; Wilhelm Backhaus; Wiener Philharmoniker; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt |
13:27 | |||
1.5
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II. Adagio
Ludwig van Beethoven; Wilhelm Backhaus; Wiener Philharmoniker; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt |
7:44 | |||
1.6
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III. Rondo. Molto allegro
Ludwig van Beethoven; Wilhelm Backhaus; Wiener Philharmoniker; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt |
6:19 |
The two stereo Beethoven cycles, those of the Symphonies (1965–70) and the Piano Concertos (with Wilhelm Backhaus, 1958–59), form the core of this edition of the complete Decca recordings of Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (1900–1973). It is distinguished by the Wiener Philharmoniker’s unique transparency of sound allied to a firm pulse and rhythmic drive which characterized Schmidt-Isserstedt’s conducting. Several of the recordings were produced by Erik Smith, the conductor’s son.
Though it appears that he never stood in front of the Vienna Philharmonic in a concert, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt achieved a remarkable rapport with a famously headstrong group of musicians when he conducted them in two stereo Beethoven cycles for Decca. In 1958–59 they recorded the piano concertos with Wilhelm Backhaus, as a stereo remake for the pianist’s mono Decca cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic and Clemens Krauss. Backhaus was in his late 70s by then, conveying a lifetime’s wisdom through his fingers while playing with apparently undimmed vitality.
The Decca producer for the concertos was the conductor’s son, Erik Smith, and a familial sense of mutual respect and understanding may be one reason for the success of the symphony cycle made between 1965 and 1970. Schmidt-Isserstedt harnesses the unique transparency of the Vienna Philharmonic sound with the firm pulse and rhythmic drive which had always distinguished his conducting. The set has rarely left the catalogue since it was issued, because its virtues have never gone out of fashion.
Schmidt-Isserstedt’s first recordings for Decca were made in the early 1950s, as founder-conductor of Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra, now known as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. The ensemble began life after the war as a cultural project nurtured and supported by the British, and under Schmidt-Isserstedt’s dedicated coaching it quickly became one of the most admired orchestras Europe. Their recordings of Dvořák’s Seventh and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth symphonies were made in state-of-the-art Decca mono sound, produced by John Culshaw.
As the reputation of the NDR orchestra spread internationally during the 1960s, so did that of its conductor, who became a welcome and familiar presence in front of the London orchestras. He exerts gentle and sovereign authority over the London Symphony Orchestra on a 1967 album of Mozart concertos in partnership with Vladimir Ashkenazy. This Eloquence set is issued with original covers and a new essay by Peter Quantrill on Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and his Decca legacy.
48 kHz / 24-bit PCM – Universal Music Australia Pty. Studio Masters
Tracks 1-6 – contains high-resolution digital transfers of material originating from an analogue master source
Tracks 1-6 – contains high-resolution digital transfers of material originating from an analogue master source
Track title | Peak (dB FS) | RMS (dB FS) | LUFS (integrated) | DR | |
Album average Range of values | -2.83 -5.40 to -1.14 | -25.22 -27.97 to -23.36 | -22.00 -24.50 to -20.20 | 14 12 to 15 | |
1 | I. Allegro con brio | -1.79 | -23.69 | -20.5 | 14 |
2 | II. Largo | -2.31 | -27.97 | -24.5 | 15 |
3 | III. Rondo. Allegro scherzando | -1.14 | -23.36 | -20.2 | 14 |
4 | I. Allegro con brio | -3.02 | -24.07 | -21.0 | 14 |
5 | II. Adagio | -5.40 | -27.43 | -24.1 | 13 |
6 | III. Rondo. Molto allegro | -3.34 | -24.81 | -21.7 | 12 |