Ruggiero Ricci - Complete American Decca Recordings (CD)

Details: Several legendary but long-unavailable recordings freshly remastered in a comprehensive 'original covers' set of Ruggiero Ricci's recordings for American Decca during the 1960s. 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 his 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 it's 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.

Tracklist:

1. Antonio Vivaldi - Concertos for Violin Strings and Continuo Op. 8 Nos. 1-4 'Le Quattro Stagioni' (The Four Seasons)
2. Niccolò Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor Op. 7
3. Camille Saint-Saëns - Violin Concerto No. 1 in a Major Op. 20
4. Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin BWV 1001*
5. Johann Sebastian Bach - Partita No. 1 in B minor for Solo Violin BWV 1002*
6. Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonata No. 2 in a Minor for Solo Violin BWV 1003*
7. Johann Sebastian Bach - Partita No. 2 in D minor for Solo Violin BWV 1004*
8. Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonata No. 3 in C Major for Solo Violin BWV 1005*
9. Johann Sebastian Bach - Partita No. 3 in E Major for Solo Violin BWV 1006*
10. Pablo de Sarasate - 8 Danzas Españolas
11. Pablo de Sarasate - Introduction Et Tarantelle Op. 43
12. Pablo de Sarasate - Caprice Basque Op. 24
13. Pablo de Sarasate - Serenata Andaluza Op. 28
14. Fritz Kreisler - Praeludium and Allegro 'In the Style of Pugnani'
15. Fritz Kreisler - Siciliano and Rigaudon 'In the Style of Francoeur'
16. Fritz Kreisler - Chanson Louis XIII and Pavane 'In the Style of Couperin'
17. Fritz Kreisler - Rondino on a Theme By Beethoven
18. Fritz Kreisler - Variations on a Theme By Corelli 'In the Style of Tartini'
19. Fritz Kreisler - Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice Op. 6 (For Solo Violin)
20. Fritz Kreisler - Caprice Viennois
21. Fritz Kreisler - Tambourin Chinois
22. Fritz Kreisler - Liebesfreud
23. Fritz Kreisler - Liebesleid
24. Fritz Kreisler - SCHÖN Rosmarin
25. Fritz Kreisler - la Gitana
26. Fritz Kreisler - the Old Refrain
27. Fritz Kreisler - la Chasse 'In the Style of Cartier'
28. 'Meet the Masters' - Ruggiero Ricci Interviewed By Victor Alexander*
29. Jean-Antoine Desplanes - Intrada
30. Pietro Nardini - Larghetto [Adagio] (From Violin Sonata No. 7 in B Flat Major Arr. David)
31. Antonio Vivaldi - Preludio (From Violin Sonata in C minor Op. 2 No. 7 RV 8)
32. Niccolò Paganini - Cantabile E Valser Op. 19
33. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Adagio (From Piano Sonata No. 4 in E Flat Major KV 282 Arr. Friedberg)
34. Dimitry Kabalevsky - Improvisation for Violin and Piano Op. 21 No. 1
35. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Mélodie in E Flat Major Op. 42 No. 3 (From Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher)
36. Francesco Maria Veracini - Largo (From Violin Sonata in a Major Op. 2 No. 6)
37. Maria Theresia Von Paradis - Sicilienne
38. Jeno Hubay - Violin Solo Op. 40A (From the Violin Maker of Cremona)
39. George Frideric Handel - Andante (From Flute Sonata in B minor HWV 367B. Arr. As 'Larghetto' By Hubay)
40. Robert Schumann - Romance in a Major Op. 94 No. 2 (Arr. Kreisler)
41. Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 20 in E minor Woo 1 (Arr. Kreisler)
42. Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 17 in F Sharp minor Woo 1 (Arr. Kreisler)
43. Felix Mendelssohn - Lied Ohne Worte Op. 62 No. 1: Andante Espressivo 'May Breezes' (Arr. Kreisler)
44. Max Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 26 (Excerpt) - Played on 15 Different Violins
45. Pietro Locatelli - Capriccio (From the Harmonic Labyrinth Op. 3 No. 12)
46. Niccolò Paganini - Introduction and Variations on 'Nel Cor Più Non Mi Sento' for Solo Violin
47. Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst - Airs Hongrois Variés Op. 22
48. Franz Von Vecsey - Caprice No. 1: Le Vent
49. Henryk Wieniawski - Les Arpèges - Variations Sur L'hymne Autrichien (No. 6 of L'école Moderne Op. 10)
50. Niccolò Paganini - Variations on a Theme of Joseph Weigl
51. Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst - Variations on 'The Last Rose of Summer' for Solo Violin
52. Niccolò Paganini - Variations on 'God Save the King' for Solo Violin Op. 9
53. Antonio Vivaldi - Sonata in a Major for Violin and Continuo Op. 2 No. 2 RV 31
54. Camille Saint-Saëns - Fantaisie for Violin and Harp Op. 124
55. Niccolò Paganini - Sonata No. 12 in E minor for Violin and Guitar Op. 3 No. 6
56. Heitor Villa-Lobos - Suite for Voice and Violin
57. Sergei Prokofiev - Sonata for Two Violins in C Major Op. 56