[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [ARSCLIST] MELODIYA DISCOGRAPHY - was Medtner playing his 3rd Piano Concerto
This is indeed an interesting situation or group of situations. I have
a book about "disappearances" of people on Soviet photographs but if it
were done on records it would be interesting. I do have the Soviet era
recordings of the 1812 Overture and another Tschaikovsky work where they
substituted the theme from Glinka's "Glory To" from the finale of "Ivan
Sussman" instead of "God Save the Czar". For that matter I also have
the Soviet recording of "Ivan Sussman" instead of "A Life For the
Czar." By the way, in the Soviet published score of the 1812 they
include BOTH themes! The Glinka is in the main part, but the original
is notated in an explanatory footnote. (Steve Smolian was the one who
first turned me on to the modified 1812 while we were in Ukranska Kniga
in Toranto. We shared the last two copies they had. I've since gotten
several other performances on 78, other LPs, and CDs.)
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
Mike Richter wrote:
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.
Are you talking about 78 RPM issues? If so, what are the numbers? Are
you making your judgement about the non-Boris segments being identical
by aural comparisons of the two sets on 78 pressings? Unless you have a
complete Boris by Reizen on 78s I would not trust the comparison from
an LP or CD transfer because we already know that in 1975 Melodiya did
flesh out the Reizen excerpts with the Pirogov complete recording. Do
you have this 1975 LP issue? What are the numbers? Do you have an
earlier LP with this modification? What are the numbers? I have shown
you that Reizen Boris excerpts were available on LP for export in the
60s and probably even earlier. I see no indication that the complete
Pirogov Boris LP set was not available inside the USSR. Do you have
information with numbers that there was a complete Reizen set available
inside the USSR prior to the 1975 issue?
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.
Secret from whom? When? Are we talking about the 78 era, the early LP
era (the first Soviet LPs were in 1953), the 60s or 70s?
I believe other recordings had similar modification
Titles and numbers???
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
Reizen's recording of "Wotan's Parting With Brunhilde and Invocation of
Fire" from Act III was available for export on HD 1316-7. No indication
that this was not also available inside the USSR because the number come
from the first year of LPs before they were exported. The H indicates a
recutting in the late 50s to update technical standards. The only
complete Wagner opera LP listed at that time was a Lohengrin.
Mike Biel mbiel@xxxxxxxxx