0028948419883

Ruggiero Ricci - Complete American Decca Recordings

Ruggiero Ricci

Regular
£43.99
Sale
Regular
£43.99
Sold Out
Unit Price
per 

Format: 9CD

Cat No: ELQ4841988

Release Date:  19 November 2021

Label:  Australian Eloquence

Packaging Type:  Box Set

No of Units:  9

Barcode:  0028948419883

Genres:  Classical  Orchestral  

  • Description

    Several legendary but long-unavailable recordings freshly remastered in a comprehensive ‘original covers’ boxset of Ruggiero Ricci’s recordings made for American Decca during the 1960s and issued collectively for the first time. With definitive accounts of the Tchaikovsky Concerto and the Paganini Caprices recorded in 1950, Ruggiero Ricci became established as a Decca artist in the early days of LP. A decade later he began recording for Decca’s American division, and between 1960 and 1970 he made nine albums of solo, recital and concerto repertoire which are gathered here in one set for the first time.

    Ricci had already recorded some of the solo Bach sonatas and partitas, but in 1967 he made his first complete set for American Decca. Tully Potter’s illuminating booklet essay explains how a snowstorm forced Ricci to hole up in a hotel for several days prior to the sessions, and his devoted his time to perfecting his interpretations of Bach.

    Ricci was renowned for the astonishing virtuosity that enabled him to tackle the Caprices and Concertos of Paganini without breaking sweat – he became the first great exponent of the composer in the LP era with his Decca recordings – and he remade the Second Concerto for American Decca in 1964 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Max Rudolf: one of several albums here receiving its first international release on CD.

    The American Decca legacy of Ricci also included several ‘concept albums’ which soon became collector’s items. The set opens with the first of them from 1964, on which the violinist plays The Four Seasons of Vivaldi on four different Strads, one for each concerto, with a string ensemble fielding another ten Strads for a uniquely rich string sound.

    Two years earlier, Ricci had made “The Glory of Cremona�, which saw him play fifteen priceless violins in sessions attended by two security guards. Even these two projects pale beside the astonishing virtuosity on display in “Bravura!�, which collects some of Ricci’s favourite “knuckle-breakers� by Paganini, Wieniawski and Ernst. The set closes with another album new to CD, “Violin Plus 1� from 1970, which paired Ricci with five different musicians for a unique display of his versatility, accompanying soprano Lee Venora in Villa-Lobos, taking the spotlight in a Saint-Saens Fantaisie for violin and harp, and meeting David Nadien as an equal in the Sonata for Two Violins by Prokofiev. As well as one of the last century’s most spell-binding technicians on the violin, Ricci was a complete musician, to whom this set pays eloquent tribute.

    “He plays most beautifully in both works, displaying a silvery, lustrous tone and a lean, assertive, bravura style.� High Fidelity, May 1965 (Paganini, Saint-Saëns concertos)

    “Ricci is his customary virtuoso self, yet perhaps even more admirable for his variety of tonal colouring than for his sheer technical dexterity … [an] imaginatively chosen, scintillatingly played, and powerfully recorded program.� Stereo Review, March 1966 (Paganini, Saint-Saëns concertos)

    “Altogether brilliant performances here. The warmth of his tone on the G string, the clarity of his harmonics, his clean spiccato bowing, and the overall Hispanic quality of his glowing interpretations add up to superlative fiddling.� High Fidelity, May 1962 (Sarasate)

    “Ricci plays with fervour and sparkling buoyancy throughout … Decca's sound is pure and gleaming.� High Fidelity, July 1962 (Kreisler)

    “This recording is one that all fiddle fanciers will insist on having … Ricci plays everything with gorgeous tone and impeccable technique.� Stereo Review, February 1964 (“The Glory of Cremona�)

  • Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. VIVALDI: Concertos For Violin, Strings And Continuo, Op. 8 Nos. 1–4 ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ (The Four Seasons)

      Disc 2

      • 1. PAGANINI: Violin Concerto No. 2 In B Minor, Op. 7
      • 4. SAINT-SAENS: Violin Concerto No. 1 In A Major, Op. 20

      Disc 3

      • 1. JS BACH: Sonata No. 1 In G Minor For Solo Violin, BWV 1001*
      • 5. Partita No. 1 In B Minor For Solo Violin, BWV 1002
      • 13. Sonata No. 2 In A Minor For Solo Violin, BWV 1003

      Disc 4

      • 1. JS BACH: Partita No. 2 In D Minor For Solo Violin, BWV 1004
      • 6. Sonata No. 3 In C Major For Solo Violin, BWV 1005
      • 13. Partita No. 3 In E Major For Solo Violin, BWV 1006

      Disc 5

      • 1. SARASATE: 8 Danzas Espanolas
      • 9. Introduction Et Tarantelle, Op. 43
      • 10. Caprice Basque, Op. 24
      • 11. Serenata Andaluza, Op. 28

      Disc 6

      • 1. KREISLER: Praeludium And Allegro ‘in The Style Of Pugnani’
      • 2. Siciliano And Rigaudon ‘in The Style Of Francoeur’
      • 3. Chanson Louis XIII And Pavane ‘in The Style Of Couperin’
      • 4. Rondino On A Theme By Beethoven
      • 5. Variations On A Theme By Corelli ‘in The Style Of Tartini’
      • 6. Recitativo And Scherzo-Caprice, Op. 6 (for Solo Violin)
      • 7. Caprice Viennois
      • 8. Tambourin Chinois
      • 9. Liebesfreud
      • 10. Liebesleid
      • 11. Schon Rosmarin
      • 12. La Gitana
      • 13. The Old Refrain
      • 14. La Chasse ‘in The Style Of Cartier’
      • 15. ‘Meet The Masters’ – Ruggiero Ricci Interviewed By Victor Alexander

      Disc 7

      • 1. THE GLORY OF CREMONA ~ JEAN-ANTOINE DESPLANES: Intrada
      • 2. PIETRO NARDINI: Larghetto [Adagio]
      • 3. VIVALDI: Preludio (from Violin Sonata In C Minor, Op. 2 No. 7, RV 8)
      • 4. PAGANINI: Cantabile E Valser, Op. 19
      • 5. MOZART: Adagio (from Piano Sonata No. 4 In E Flat Major, KV 282, Arr. Friedberg)
      • 6. KABALEVSKY: Improvisation For Violin And Piano, Op. 21 No. 1
      • 7. TCHAIKOVSKY: Melodie In E Flat Major, Op. 42 No. 3 (from Souvenir D’un Lieu Cher)
      • 8. VERACINI: Largo (from Violin Sonata In A Major, Op. 2 No. 6)
      • 9. VON PARADIS: Sicilienne
      • 10. HUBAY: Violin Solo, Op. 40a (from The Violin Maker Of Cremona)
      • 11. HANDEL: Andante (from Flute Sonata In B Minor, HWV 367b. Arr. As ‘Larghetto’ By Hubay)
      • 12. SCHUMANN: Romance In A Major, Op. 94 No. 2 (arr. Kreisler)
      • 13. BRAHMS: Hungarian Dance No. 20 In E Minor, WoO 1 (arr. Kreisler)
      • 14. Hungarian Dance No. 17 In F Sharp Minor WoO 1 (arr. Kreisler)
      • 15. MENDELSSOHN: Lied Ohne Worte, Op. 62 No. 1: Andante Espressivo ‘May Breezes’ (arr. Kreisler)
      • 16. BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 26 (excerpt) – Played On 15 Different Violins

      Disc 8

      • 1. BRAVURA! ~ PIETRO LOCATELLI: Capriccio (from The Harmonic Labyrinth, Op. 3 No. 12)
      • 2. PAGANINI: Introduction And Variations On ‘Nel Cor Più Non Mi Sento’ For Solo Violin
      • 3. ERNST: Airs Hongrois Varies, Op. 22
      • 4. VON VECSEY: Caprice No. 1: Le Vent
      • 5. WIENIAWSKI: Les Arpeges – Variations Sur L’Hymne Autrichien
      • 6. PAGANINI: Variations On A Theme Of Joseph Weigl
      • 7. ERNST: Variations On ‘The Last Rose Of Summer’ For Solo Violin
      • 8. PAGANINI: Variations On ‘God Save The King’ For Solo Violin, Op. 9

      Disc 9

      • 1. VIOLIN PLUS 1 ~ VIVALDI: Sonata In A Major For Violin And Continuo, Op. 2 No. 2, RV 31
      • 2. SAINT-SAENS: Fantaisie For Violin And Harp, Op. 124
      • 3. PAGANINI: Sonata No. 12 In E Minor For Violin And Guitar, Op. 3 No. 6
      • 4. VILLA-LOBOS: Suite For Voice And Violin
      • 5. PROKOFIEV: Sonata For Two Violins In C Major, Op. 56