Testament CDS

[Heck148]

I only have 2 of these Testament discs, but they are both superb - both for content, and for sound quality.

they are very pricey, which is a PITA, but the quality and previously unavailable content help justify the expenditure -

Haydn - the Seven Divertimenti - for Wind 6tet - the London Wind Soloists -
this collection was released on London LP,, as part of the of their Mozart Haydn wind music series...
the music is great fun - sprightly Allegros, lyrical slow mvts, buoyant minuets and rollicking chasse style Rondo-finales....

nothing heavy, nothing cosmic - just supperbly written music that is totally joyful and jolly...
great playing by the Londoners -some of the period's best players at work - Terence Macdonough is 1st oboe, Alan Civil Horn I. and Roger Birnstingl and Ron Waller on bassoons...

wonderful balance, ensemble and tone qualities...
the 1963 re-mastered sound is terrific - "right-in-your-listening-room" presence - full-bodied, excellent frequency and dynamic range

Mozart - Divertimenti - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Divs #11, and 17 - Reiner
the CSO and NBCSO.
Eine Kleine has been avaialble on CD, but Divertimenti 11 and 17 have been long OOP.
this is a great release...I don't listen to EKNM very much, but this is a fine, peppy version...

the real treasures are #s 11 and 17 - buoyant, inspired playing, great phrasing - boisterous, bouncy minuet-trios, zippy, peppy finales, Reiner could really get things humming - yet, the music never sounds rushed. the phrasing is exquisite, with ample room for phrasing, and breathing space for the listener...this is superb music-making - full-blooded, ballsy Mozart-playing that one so seldomly hears today...
the espressivo style of playing is rather like Walter's earthy approach, except usually faster and peppier...

again, the 1954-55 sound quality is remarkably good, with a fine "in your room" presence, with excellent dynamic range...

these discs are not cheap, but considering the amount of listening time they get, worth the price to me....

also - TMK, the repertooire is not otherwise available...

[Lance]

Testament CDs are a godsend to collectors. I am happy to say that I have a good portion of their catalogue (acquired mostly before they hit the $22/USD price per disc ... sometimes higher. I had seen an announcement that the Eileen Farrell Wagner "Wesendonck" lieder with Stokowski (from RCA Records) was going to be issued. Then I no longer saw the announcement. Apparently some things that were scheduled are being withdrawn. This is a greaty pity too, unless RCA reissues the discs themselves. Dutton and Hyperion CDs are also considerbly higher priced than they were before. But then, too, the $ is not as strong, and the price of transportation has escalated enormously. Add it all together and you get ... higher prices.

I agree with you about the Reiner, still one of my fav conductors.

[Holden Fourth]

Another Testament fan here with prized recordings of Solomon's LvB sonatas and his equally superb Chopin. Also, recordings from Gilels/Cluytens in Saint-Saens and Rachmaninov, Gilels playing my favourite LvB 4. The Moisewitch Schumann disc is also worth listening to. Thank God someone has had the courage to release this repertoire in remastered form.

[Lance]

Another Testament fan here with prized recordings of Solomon's LvB sonatas and his equally superb Chopin. Also, recordings from Gilels/Cluytens in Saint-Saens and Rachmaninov, Gilels playing my favourite LvB 4. The Moisewitch Schumann disc is also worth listening to. Thank God someone has had the courage to release this repertoire in remastered form.

I'm still waiting for SOMEONE, Philips or Testament, to issue Benno Moiseiwitsch's final recordings, which appeared on the American Decca LP label. I understand from an outstanding source that all those Decca recordings HAVE been remastered and are "ready to go." In my humble opinion, they should have appeared as Moiseiwitsch/Volume 2 in Philips' "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series (instead of giving André Previn the honor of a two-disc piano set)." I believe Philips was going to issue them but that is now on hold. Otherwise, perhaps the job of reissuing would/could fall to Testament. All those American Decca recordings (I'm told) conveniently fit on two compact discs. Moiseiwitsch used a Baldwin concert grand piano during those hot New York summer recording sessions. The original sound was somewhat distant, but the true stereo gave his readings a lovely singing quality of tone as only Moiseiwitsch possessed. Almost everything Moiseiwitsch recorded has now appeared on CD with the exception of the American Decca recordings.

[Ralph]

There's some great chamber music on TESTAMENT. A fine label.

[Holden Fourth]

There's some great chamber music on TESTAMENT. A fine label.

Yes, I've got half a dozen discs from the Hollywood SQ which are fabulous. They include the best Schubert String Quintet I've ever heard.

[Corlyss_D]

There's some great chamber music on TESTAMENT. A fine label.

Yes, I've got half a dozen discs from the Hollywood SQ which are fabulous. They include the best Schubert String Quintet I've ever heard.

Leonard Slatkin's parents were half of that quartet.

[RebLem]

I have only one Testament issue--the 2 CD set of Prokofiev's PCs and other concerted pieces featuring, mostly, John Browning & Erich Leinsdorf and the Boston SO. Its my favorite of the complete sets.

TY for alerting me to the Solomon CDs. Unfortunately, they are not all in one box like they should be, but on separate records, and you have to be careful to avoid duplication, but they will go on my wants list.

[gfweis]

I agree with Holden Fourth about the Hollywood SQ's D. 956, and also about the top-drawer Solomon Beethoven sonatas. My favorite Beethoven cello sonatas may be the Piatigorsky/Solomon set on SBT 2158. Other Testament notables include the Hollywood's Brahms piano quartets (on SBT 3063), and a superb Prokofiev SQ #2 (on SBT 1052). There's a great Brahms 3rd symphony by Cantelli (on SBT 1173), and a fine, patrician Elgar Cello Concerto on SBT 2025. But my favorite Testament treasures are the recordings from 1956-66 of four of the Mozart Haydn quartets by the Smetana Quartet. Nos. 15, 16 & 18 on SBT 1117, and No. 19, coupled w. some Haydn, on SBT 1118. The K. 421, K. 428, and K. 465 probably cannot be bettered. There are also two wonderful Smetana Quartet cds mixing Dvorak and Janacek, SBT 1074 and 1075. I'll also mention a couple very special Klemperers, Alan Civil's Mozart Horn Concertos (SBT 1102), and Otto's live 1957 Beethoven 9th (SBT 1177).

[AntonioA]

I recommend the live Fidelio with Klemperer. Wonderful perfomance! I have an unofficial Lp of that perfomance so i don´t know how the remastering for cd sounds.

[RebLem]

I recommend the live Fidelio with Klemperer. Wonderful perfomance! I have an unofficial Lp of that perfomance so i don´t know how the remastering for cd sounds.

Antonio--

I have the Testament CD version. Although it was recorded in 1961, it was done in MONO because it was recorded by the BBC, always the last to adopt new technology. But the quality of the sound is really very bad for 1961; I have heard things from 1951 that sound better.

But yes, it is a magnificent and exciting performance, in some ways even better than Klemperer's classic studio recording, which I also have.