Ruggiero Ricci: Complete American Decca Recordings
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Label: Australian Eloquence
Cat No: ELQ4841988
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 9
Release Date: 19th November 2021
Contents
Works
Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (complete), BWV1001-1006Hungarian Dances (21), WoO1
Intrada
Airs hongrois varies, op.22
Variations on 'The Last Rose of Summer' (Etude no.6)
Flute Sonata in B minor, op.1 no.9, HWV367b
Caprice viennois, op.2
Chanson Louis XIII and Pavane (in the style of Couperin)
La Chasse (in the style of Cartier)
La Gitana
Old Viennese Melodies (3)
Praeludium and Allegro (in the style of Pugnani)
Rezitativ and Scherzo Caprice, op.6
Rondino on a theme by Ludwig van Beethoven
Sicilienne and Rigaudon (in the style of Francoeur)
Tambourin chinois, op.3
The Old Refrain
Variations on a theme of Corelli (in the style of Tartini)
L'Arte del Violino: Violin Concertos (12), op.3
Introduction and Variations on 'Nel cor piu non mi sento' by Paisiello, op.38 MS44
Sonata and Variations on a theme by Joseph Weigl, op.29
Sonatas for violin and guitar (6), op.3 MS27
Violin Concerto no.2 in B minor, op.7
Sicilienne
Sonata for 2 violins in C major, op.56
Fantaisie in A major, op.124
Violin Concerto no.1 in A major, op.20
Caprice basque, op.24
Danzas Espanolas (8)
Introduction et Tarantelle, op.43
Serenade andalouse, op.28
Romances (3), op.94
Sonate accademiche (12), op.2
The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni)
Violin Sonatas (12), op.2
Artists
Ruggiero Ricci (violin)Gloria Agostini (harp)
Kenneth Cooper (harpsichord)
David Nadien (violin)
Leon Pommers (piano)
Brooks Smith (piano)
Rolando Valdes-Blain (guitar)
Lee Venora (soprano)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Stradivarius Chamber Orchestra
Conductor
Max RudolfWorks
Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (complete), BWV1001-1006Hungarian Dances (21), WoO1
Intrada
Airs hongrois varies, op.22
Variations on 'The Last Rose of Summer' (Etude no.6)
Flute Sonata in B minor, op.1 no.9, HWV367b
Caprice viennois, op.2
Chanson Louis XIII and Pavane (in the style of Couperin)
La Chasse (in the style of Cartier)
La Gitana
Old Viennese Melodies (3)
Praeludium and Allegro (in the style of Pugnani)
Rezitativ and Scherzo Caprice, op.6
Rondino on a theme by Ludwig van Beethoven
Sicilienne and Rigaudon (in the style of Francoeur)
Tambourin chinois, op.3
The Old Refrain
Variations on a theme of Corelli (in the style of Tartini)
L'Arte del Violino: Violin Concertos (12), op.3
Introduction and Variations on 'Nel cor piu non mi sento' by Paisiello, op.38 MS44
Sonata and Variations on a theme by Joseph Weigl, op.29
Sonatas for violin and guitar (6), op.3 MS27
Violin Concerto no.2 in B minor, op.7
Sicilienne
Sonata for 2 violins in C major, op.56
Fantaisie in A major, op.124
Violin Concerto no.1 in A major, op.20
Caprice basque, op.24
Danzas Espanolas (8)
Introduction et Tarantelle, op.43
Serenade andalouse, op.28
Romances (3), op.94
Sonate accademiche (12), op.2
The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni)
Violin Sonatas (12), op.2
Artists
Ruggiero Ricci (violin)Gloria Agostini (harp)
Kenneth Cooper (harpsichord)
David Nadien (violin)
Leon Pommers (piano)
Brooks Smith (piano)
Rolando Valdes-Blain (guitar)
Lee Venora (soprano)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Stradivarius Chamber Orchestra
Conductor
Max RudolfAbout
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 he 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- Saëns 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”)
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