Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Marston Records

Rachmaninoff at 150 Anniversary Celebration

Sergei Rachmaninoff may have been born on April 1, but he was nobody’s fool. Frequently derided by critics, he knew just what the public wanted – good tunes and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion! His Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3, the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” the Symphony No. 2, the “Vocalise,” and more solo piano works than I care to list, including the Prelude in C-sharp minor – so ubiquitous the composer himself came to hate it – have never been out of the active repertoire.

Rachmaninoff has been my focus on “The Lost Chord” several times over the years – I devoted a show to his friendship with Nikolai Medtner and another to his achievements as a recitalist – but the program most easily referenced is the one that aired this past Sunday on WWFM – The Classical Network.

For Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday, enjoy an hour of vintage recordings of his music, including one of the composer playing his own “Symphonic Dances,” on the piano of Eugene Ormandy, in 1940. Also, Ormandy introduces – and conducts – the Philadelphia Orchestra in a memorial performance of “Isle of the Dead,” given only days after Rachmaninoff’s death in 1943. The hour concludes with a literal party piece, as Rachmaninoff tosses off the folk song “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” in 1942.

The recordings are taken from a 3-CD boxed set on the Marston Records label. Get a piece of the Rach! Enjoy the webcast by following the link and clicking on “listen.”

https://www.wwfm.org/show/the-lost-chord-with-ross-amico/2023-03-24/the-lost-chord-march-26-rach-of-ages

Happy 150, Sergei Rachmaninoff!

April 1, 2023
Rachmaninoff 150th Birthday Broadcast

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” get a piece of the Rach!

With the impending sesquicentenary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff on April 1, enjoy an hour of historic performances.

We’ll hear Rachmaninoff play his own “Symphonic Dances” in a recently rediscovered, fly-on-the-wall recording, captured surreptitiously at the home of Eugene Ormandy in 1940. Then Ormandy will introduce – and conduct – the Philadelphia Orchestra, in a special memorial performance of Rach’s “Isle of the Dead,” given only days after the composer’s death, in 1943.

We’ll round out the hour with a literal party piece – as Rachmaninoff tosses off the Ukrainian folk song, “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” in 1942.

The recordings are from a 3-CD boxed set issued by Marston Records, the record label of industry legend Ward Marston. Now based in West Chester, PA (he was born in Philadelphia in 1952), Marston is one of classical music’s most revered audio engineers. Incredibly, he has been blind since birth.

Marston’s work in restoration and conservation of historic audio has been both miraculous and rapturously received. His acclaimed remasterings have appeared on the Andante, Biddulph, Naxos, Pearl, RCA, and Romophone labels. For more information and a complete catalogue of Marston Records releases, visit marstonrecords.com.

Then join me for an hour of Sergei Rachmaninoff in vintage recordings. That’s “Rach of Ages,” for the 150th birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff, this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

March 26, 2023
Rachmaninoff Rediscovered on The Lost Chord

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” get a piece of the Rach!

It’s an hour of historic recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

We’ll hear Rachmaninoff play his own “Symphonic Dances” in a newly rediscovered, fly-on-the-wall recording, captured surreptitiously at the home of Eugene Ormandy in 1940. Then Ormandy will introduce – and conduct – the Philadelphia Orchestra, in a special memorial performance of “Isle of the Dead,” given only days after the composer’s death, in 1943.

We’ll round out the hour with a literal party piece – as Rachmaninoff tosses off the Ukrainian folk song, “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” in 1942.

These recordings are part of a 3-CD boxed set, issued by Marston Records, the record label of industry legend Ward Marston. Now based in West Chester, PA (he was born in Philadelphia in 1952), Marston is one of classical music’s most revered audio engineers. Incredibly, he has been blind since birth.

Marston’s work in restoration and conservation of historic audio has been both miraculous and rapturously received. His acclaimed remasterings have appeared on the Andante, Biddulph, Naxos, Pearl, RCA, and Romophone labels. For more information and a complete catalogue of Marston Records releases, look online at marstonrecords.com.

Then join me for an hour of Sergei Rachmaninoff in vintage recordings. That’s “Rach of Ages,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

November 10, 2019
Rachmaninoff’s Lost Symphonic Dances Rediscovered

On September 4, Marston Records will release a newly rediscovered document of Sergei Rachmaninoff performing his “Symphonic Dances.”

The work is heard in a reduction for solo piano, with the composer himself going over the score with Eugene Ormandy, who conducted its premiere with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The recording includes audio of the pianist speaking and singing his instructions. The Marston release will also feature a meticulously edited version, with Rachmaninoff playing through 2/3 of the score without interruption.

Any unknown audio of Rachmaninoff at the keyboard is a major discovery, and to hear him play, as might a fly on the wall, outside of a commercial setting, is extremely rare. The bonus material will include every known non-commercial recording ever made of the legendary pianist.

The remarkable Ward Marston, blind from birth, lives outside Philadelphia with his seeing eye dog, Vinnie, and a collection of over 30,000 records. He is one of the industry’s most revered audio engineers. His remasterings of the great performers of the past have been acclaimed as revelatory and even miraculous.

The liner notes of the Rachmaninoff release are by musicologist Richard Taruskin, also at the forefront of his field. Taruskin, particularly renowned for his knowledge and insights into Russian music, is a visiting scholar this week at the 29th Annual Bard Music Festival: Rimsky-Korsakov and His World at Bard College.

Interestingly, Rimsky’s score for “Le Coq d’or” (“The Golden Cockerel”) was the only work by another composer that Rachmaninoff brought with him when he left Russia in 1917. The three-note motif that opens his “Symphonic Dances” recalls the Queen of Shemakha’s theme from Rimsky’s opera.

Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz once played through Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto together in 1928, in an impromptu performance in the basement of Steinway Hall. Can you imagine? Rachmaninoff later approached Victor Records about recording the “Symphonic Dances” with Horowitz on a second piano. The label dismissed the proposal out of hand as being commercially unviable.

The album “Rachmaninoff Plays Symphonic Dances:”

Rachmaninoff Plays Symphonic Dances

More information on Marston:

http://www.wardmarston.com/about.html

A sample from the upcoming release:

August 16, 2018

Tag Cloud

RECENT POSTS