10 CD-Walletbox
Ferenc Fricsay - Title: Perfectionist and Live Wire
CD1
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
1-3. Piano Concerto No. 2
4-6. Piano Concerto No. 3
Geza Anda (1-3), Louis Kentner (4-6), piano
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1950 (4-6); 1953 (1-3)
CD2
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
1. Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra op. 1
2-5. Musik fur Saiteninstrumente, Schlagzeug und Celesta
Andor Foldes, piano (1)
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1951 (1); 1952 (2-5)
CD3
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
1-3. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor KV 466
4. Overture from: Abduction from the Seraglio
5. Overture from: The Magic Flute
6. March of the Priests (Magic Flute, Act 2)
7. Overture from: Le nozze di Figaro
Clara Haskil, piano (1-3)
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1954
CD4
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Don Giovanni (Highlights)
1. overture
Act 1
2. Madamina, il catalogo e questo (Leporello)
3. Giovinette che fate all‘amore (Zerlina, Masetto, Chor / chorus)
4. La ci darem la mano (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)
5. Don Ottavio, son morta! …Or sai chi l‘onore (Donna Anna, Don Ottavio)
6. Dalla sua pace (Don Ottavio) ・ 7. Fin ch‘han dal vino (Don Giovanni)
8. Batti, batti, o bel Masetto (Zerlina)
9. Tra quest’arbori celata (Zerlina, Don Giovanni, Masetto)
Act 2
10. Ah! taci, ingiusto core (Donna Elvira, Leporello, Don Giovanni)
11. Deh, vieni alla finestra (Don Giovanni)
12.Il mio tesoro intanto (Don Ottavio)
13. In quali eccessi, o numi (Donna Elvira)
14. Mi tradi quell’alma ingrata
15. Non mi dir, bell‘idol mio (Donna Anna)
16. Don Giovanni, a cenar teco (Il Commendatore, Don Giovanni, Leporello, Chor / chorus)
Don Giovanni: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
Donna Anna: Sena Jurinac (soprano)
Donna Elvira: Maria Stader (soprano)
Leporello: Karl Christian Kohn (bass)
Don Ottavio: Ernst Haefliger (tenor)
Zerlina: Irmgard Seefried (soprano)
Masetto: Ivan Sardi (bass)
Il Commendatore: Walter Kreppel (bass)
RIAS-Kammerchor
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1958
CD5
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 1 in C major op. 21
Berliner Philharmoniker / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1953
Symphony No. 8 in F major op. 93
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1954
CD6
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
1-4. Symphony No. 7 in A major op. 92
5-7. Leonore Overture No. 3 in C minor op. 72
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1952 (5-7); 1953 (1-4)
CD7
Peter I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D major op. 35
Yehudi Menuhin, violin
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1949
Igor Strawinsky (1882-1971)
Violin Concerto in D major
Arthur Grumiaux, violin
Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1951
CD8
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Funf Lieder nach Gedichten von Friedrich Ruckert
Maureen Forster, Alt
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1958
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Cantata profana: The Nine Splendid Stags
Helmut Krebs, tenor
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
RIAS-Kammerchor
Chor der St. Hedwigskathedrale
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1951
CD9
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Scheherazade op. 35 Symphonic Suite
Rudolf Schulz, violin
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1956
Cesar Franck (1822-1890)
Variations symphoniques
Margrit Weber, piano
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1957
CD 10
Johann Straus II (1825-1899)
1. The Blue Danube op. 314
2. Viennese Blood op. 354
3. Overture from: The Bat
4. Overture from: The Gypsy Baron
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1949 (1); 1951 (2); 1952 (3-4)
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Nights in the Gardens of Spain - Symphonic Impressions for Piano and Orchestra
Margrit Weber, piano
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay, conductor
recorded in: 1957
Ferenc Fricsay (1914-1963) was one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century and his extraordinary productivity and creativity had a lasting influence on the reception of a large body of works. In addition to the works of Mozart - Fricsay considered this composer‘s works to be the “utmost and purest gift that the Lord has given us to embellish our life on Earth” - the conductor was particularly fond of the works of his fellow countryman Bela Bartok.
Special attention has been paid to these two composers while choosing recordings made between 1950 and 1958.
This compilation also features recordings of the works of Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, de Falla, Franck and Rimsky-Korsakov and show that Fricsay was a sensitive and equally passionate musician. The greater part of the recordings were made with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra (later Radio Symphony Orchestra) - Ferenc Fricsay took over the orchestra in 1948. ( Music Alliance Membran GmbH )
