Johanna Martzy & Ida Haendel, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR & Hans Muller-Kray Mendelssohn Violin Concerto

180g Audiophile Virgin Vinyl Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
Cut at Emil Berliner Studio and Mastered from the Original Master Tapes of SWR Music!
It is particularly instructive, following the terrific studio recordings of the concertos by Mendelssohn to hear the exciting live concert recording made in Stuttgart a few years later with the chief conductor of the RSO, Hans Müller-Kray (1959) and appreciate what a phenomenal violinist Johanna Martzy was, without any thought of grandstanding or pretension, always authentic, fully emphatic and with a select, cultivated taste. - from liner notes by Christoph Schlüren.
Johanna Martzy (1924-1979) is considered one of the most underrated violinists of her time, as the great Glenn Gould also confirmed. Trained at the renowned Liszt Academy in Budapest, she won first prize at the Geneva Competition in 1947 and played under the direction of the young Leonard Bernstein in 1958. The extraordinary talent of the Hungarian, whose career began early and was marked by all kinds of low blows in addition to great ovations before she died almost unnoticed at the age of only 55, was evident in the few commercial recordings she made. All recordings were made in their heyday, and most of them achieved cult status after their short careers. The recording from the archives of the SWR – "Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto", with the conductor Hans Müller-Kray and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra of the SWR from 1959, is no exception. Six years earlier, the latter had also played Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the British musician of Polish origin Ida Haendel (1928-2020), who is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. In 1935, at the age of six, Haendel was the youngest participant in the final of the Wieniawski Competition and reached seventh place – Ginette Neveu, then 16, and David Oistrakh, then 27, came in first two places. In 1935, the family moved to London, where they studied with Carl Flesch. He was so impressed by her talent that he offered her free lessons. Ida Haendel took lessons from the violinist, pianist and composer George Enescu in Paris. Her international career began after 1945. She had a long friendship and artistic collaboration with the Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. One of her students was David Garrett.
The well-known conductor and music critic Christoph Schlüren writes: "Johanna Martzy is one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, along with Ida Haendel, Ginette Neveu, Erica Morini and Gioconda De Vito. The recordings we still have of her testify to a violinist and musician of the highest order, who was possessed not by a demon who forced her to give the world the most extravagant interpretation possible, but of an unbridled vivacity, inspired articulation and perfectly clear control as a devoted medium of musical energies. It is particularly instructive to listen to the exciting live concert recordings from Stuttgart with Hans Müller-Kray and to recognize what a phenomenal violinist Johanna Martzy was: without any self-portrayal or presumption, always authentic, full of empathy and with an exquisite, cultivated taste." Gramophone contrasts: "The young Ida Haendel was technically in top form when she played the Mendelssohn Concerto in Stuttgart under the direction of Hans Müller-Kray. Her approach is always lovely, fiery and always inimitable!"
The renowned South Korean label Analogphonic is now making this wonderful recording available as an LP release for the first time. Analogphonic commissioned Rainer Maillard and Emil Berliner Studios with the analogue processing of the master tapes. The audiophile remastering does justice to the outstanding musical quality of the recording in all respects and sets new standards in terms of sound! The vinyl release of "Johanna Martzy & Ida Haendel: Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto" was pressed on high-quality 180-gram vinyl (33 rpm) by Pallas Group GmbH in Germany.
"The young Ida Haendel was technically on top form in Stuttgart in 1953-55 when she broadcast the Mendelssohn Concerto under the baton of Hans Müller-Kray, her approach, as ever, sweet-toned, fiery... always her inimitable self." - The Gramophone Magazine

Features:

• 180g Audiophile Virgin Vinyl
• Cut to lacquers at Emil Berliner Studio
• Mastered from the original master tapes of SWR archives
• Audiophile full analogue mastering by Rainer Maillard
• Analogphonic release
• Pressed at Pallas Gmbh in Germany
  

Musicians:

• Johanna Martzy, violin
• Ida Haendel, violin
• Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart of the SWR
• Hans Muller-Kray, conductor
  

Selections:

Side A
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op.64
1. Allegro Molto Appassionato
2. Andante
3. Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace
Side B
1. Allegro Molto Appassionato
2. Andante
3. Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace

Recording with Johanna Martzy on 5 February 1959 at Liederhalle Stuttgart, Germany Recording with Ida Haendel on 10 January 1953 at Sendesaal Villa Berg, Stuttgart, Germany