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Re: [ARSCLIST] MELODIYA DISCOGRAPHY - was Medtner playing his 3rd Piano Concerto
Michael Biel wrote:
I don't know about keepng Reizen a secret and exporting Pirogov, because
BOTH of them are on the Borodin Prince Igor set I have sitting here!! I
don't know when Igor was recorded, but this LP release is numbered in
the late 1950s. For the Boris you mention, you are talking about 1948
and 49 which is the 78 era and the Stalin era. Anything is possible to
have happened under Stalin, but I don't think they were keeping Reizen a
secret because he kept on recording and his records were issued.
Looking things up a little, it does seem that the two Boris recordings
were made a year apart, Reizen in 48 and Pirogov in 49
The 1948 and 1949 recordings are identical except where Boris is heard.
The first - with Reizen - was available only in the USSR; the second was
available only outside the USSR.
Where Pirogov was a very fine singer, Reizen was among the greatest
basses ever to record. A favorite of Stalin, his technical and musical
abilities were remarkable. His last appearance on the Bolshoi stage was
in a signature role (Prince Gremin) the day after his 90th birthday.
My question is only whether MK had a hand in the decision to remake the
scenes with Boris for export - i.e., to keep Reizen secret. I believe
other recordings had similar modification and there is also a mystery
about Reizen not singing Wotan in the performance of Walkuere for the
Nazi visit when he so magnificently recorded the Farewell.
Mike
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