Ricci,Ruggiero Complete Decca Recordings CD

The most complete tribute ever issued to the fiendish fingers and sublime artistry of a true virtuoso, Ruggiero Ricci: a feast of concerto, solo and recital repertoire recorded by Ricci, collected together for the first time, and including a previously unpublished set of the Brahms Violin Sonatas. Born Roger Rich to an Italian immigrant father on a Californian army base in 1918, he became Ruggiero Ricci when he was introduced to the New York musical public as a child prodigy violinist. By the time of his debut on Decca - the Tchaikovsky Concerto conducted by Sargent in 1950 - he was an experienced performer and recording artist who had already stunned audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with the solo-violin repertoire he would make his own: not only Bach but also Ysaáe, Wieniawski and most of all Paganini, whose Caprices he was the first to record complete later in 1950. At the close of the Tchaikovsky sessions, the musicians of the New Symphony Orchestra burst into spontaneous applause. A new and typically illuminating essay by Tully Potter on Ricci's life and recorded legacy draws on previously unpublished correspondence and sheds light on the background to many of these recordings. Notable records of Ricci's famous cantabile in concerto repertoire include a hugely influential Paganini album with Anthony Collins and a gripping account of the Sibelius with ?ivin Fjeldstad. There are two recordings of the Mendelssohn (1957 and 1974), the first with another 'prodigy', the conductor Piero Gamba, and the second recorded in Decca's Phase 4 stereo with Jean Fournet. He strikes sparks in partnership with Ernest Ansermet for Ravel's Tzigane and the solos in Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suites. These (Suites Nos. 3 and 4) as well as sections featuring the solo violin, from the Fistoulari 'Phase 4' recording of Swan Lake, are included in this collection. Decca partnered Ricci with several notable pianists for recital repertoire, starting with his former teacher Louis Persinger and including Friedrich Gulda. Many of these chamber recordings (a Sarasate album, sonatas by Weber, Richard Strauss and Prokofiev) were made not in the Decca studios but in Ricci's home in New Jersey. While he recorded the Second and Third Brahms Sonatas with Julius Katchen in London in 1957, he also taped the cycle of three sonatas at home with Katchen three years earlier. These 1954 performances are issued here for the first time: essential listening for all fans of great violin playing.

1. Ludwig Van Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 2. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH.59 3. Niccol? Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 4. Niccol? Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7 5. Maurice Ravel - Tzigane - Concert Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra 6. Jean Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 7. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - S?r?nade M?lancolique; Scherzo (From Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher) 8. Aram Khachaturian - Violin Concerto in D minor 9. Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 10. Max Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 11. Sergei Prokofiev - Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19 12. Sergei Prokofiev - Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63 13. ?douard Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21 14. Pablo de Sarasate - Carmen - Fantaisie de Concert, Op. 25 15. Pablo de Sarasate - Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20 No. 1 16. Camille Saint-Sa?ns - Havanaise, Op. 83 17. Camille Saint-Sa?ns - Introduction Et Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 18. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH.59 19. Anton?n Dvorßk - Violin Concerto in a Minor, Op. 53, B.108 20. Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, MWV O14 21. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH.59 22. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake, Op. 20 (Excerpts) 23. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Suite No. 3 in G Major, Op. 55 24. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Suite No. 4 in G Major, Op. 61 'Mozartiana' 25. Niccol? Paganini - Caprices, Op. 1 (1950 Recording) 26. Niccol? Paganini - Caprices, Op. 1 (1959 Recording) 27. B?la Bart?k - Sonata for Solo Violin, SZ.117 28. Igor Stravinsky - El?gie for Solo Violin 29. Sergei Prokofiev - Sonata in D Major for Solo Violin, Op. 115 30. Paul Hindemith - Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 31 No. 1 31. Paul Hindemith - Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 31 No. 2 32. Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1001 33. Johann Sebastian Bach - Partita No. 2 in D minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004 34. Anton Weber - Six Sonates Progressives for Violin and Piano, Op. 10 35. Richard Strauss - Violin Sonata in E Flat Major, Op. 18 36. Sergei Prokofiev - Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94A 37. Ludwig Van Beethoven - Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2 38. Ludwig Van Beethoven - Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 39. Johannes Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78 40. Johannes Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 2 in a Major, Op. 100 41. Johannes Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 42. Johannes Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 2 in a Major, Op. 100 43. Johannes Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 44. Pablo de Sarasate - 8 Danzas Espa±olas 45. Pablo de Sarasate - Caprice Basque, Op. 24 46. Pablo de Sarasate - Introduction Et Tarantelle, Op. 43 47. Pablo de Sarasate - Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20 48. Niccol? Paganini - Le Streghe, Op. 8 (Arr. Kreisler) 49. Niccol? Paganini - Fantasia on the G String (After Rossini's 'Mos? in Egitto') 50. Niccol? Paganini - Moto Perpetuo, Op. 11 51. Niccol? Paganini - Introduction and Variations on 'Nel Cor Pi? Non Mi Sento' for Solo Violin 52. Niccol? Paganini - Variations on 'God Save the King', Op. 9 53. Niccol? Paganini - la Campanella (Arr. Kochanski) 54. Niccol? Paganini - Sonata in E minor, Op. 3 No. 6 55. Niccol? Paganini - I Palpiti, Op. 13 (Arr. Kreisler) 56. Henryk Wieniawski - Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16 57. Edward Elgar - la Capricieuse, Op. 17 58. Franz Von Vecsey - Caprice No. 1 for Violin and Piano: Le Vent 59. William Kroll - Banjo and Fiddle 60. Fr?d?ric Chopin - Nocturne No. 20 in C Sharp minor, Op. Posth. (Trans. Milstein) 61. Bedrich Smetana - Andantino (Z Domoviny) 62. Josef Suk - Burleska (Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 17 No. 4) 63. Joseph Achron - Hebrew Melody 64. Pablo de Sarasate - Jota Aragonesa, Op. 27 65. Jeno Hubay - Der Zephir (From 6 Blumenleben for Violin and Piano, Op. 30 No. 5) 66. Moritz Moszkowski - Guitarre, Op. 45 No. 2 (Arr. Sarasate) 67. Antonio Bazzini - la Ronde Des Lutins - Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 25