Isaac Stern - The Complete Columbia Analogue Recordings

You will not find the complete Issac Stern here. The wonderful Schubert violin sonatas (with Barenboim), Mozart violin sonatas (Bronfman) and the Beethoven violin sonatas (Eugene Istomin) aren't here. There are none of the great recordings he did with Yo Yo ma like the Brahms Piano Quartets,, Faure quartets and the Mozart piano Quartets. Perhaps they are going to do a 2nd Issac Stern set with all his later digital recordings, at least I hope they do.Here is why this box set must be purchased by everyone who loves great violin music. Here is Issac Stern at the peak of his power with some of the most incredible orchestras at the time. Some of the Conductors and Orchestra in this set are Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch, Szell, Columbia Symphony, Beecham, Royal Philharmonic just to name a few.One can be forgiven for thinking that many of Stern's recordings were in fact among the best versions they have ever heard. Isaac Stern's performance of the Violin concertos of Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, PROKOFIEV 1 and 2, WIENIAWSKI - Violin Concerto No.2, Lalo Symphonie espagnole, and Beethoven triple concerto are among the best versions of all time each with Ormandy with the wonderful Philadelphia Philharmonic. There are also 5 Vivaldi double violin concertos with Oistrakh and Ormandy. Such fantastic playing.With Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Issac Stern shines in the violin concertos of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bartok 2, Berg, Barber, Hindemith, Prokofiev Violin Concerto 2 and Bach.The complete Mozart Violin Concertos are here as is The Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for Violin & Viola K364. Amazing music. Oistrakh, Rampal, Barenboim, Zukerman, Zakin, Casals, Menuhin, Rostropovich are just a few of the soloists performing with Stern.The wonderful Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio perform all of the Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Schubert piano trios. With Zakin Stern performs the Brahms, Bartok, Prokofiev violin sonatas. Wonderful playing.This set is digitally remastered and has over 35 recordings that have never been on cd before. This set is highly recommended. Some of the greatest violin playing of all time with some of the greatest conductors and Orchestras of all time.So if you love great violin music this is a set you should own.

This is wonderful stuff. As with other Sony releases of historic material, the sound is really good. Unbelievable for the mono recordings.However, it is not all the analogue recordings as advertised: 1) There are some Beethoven violin sonatas which are analog recordings but are not included. I hope that this means that there will a companion release in the (near) future which will have all the digital recordings plus ALL the Beethoven sonata recordings. both ADD and DDD. (I wish that the notes had addressed this instead of making us wonder.)2) The "Other records" section of ML 4564 (CD 8) lists a recording of Mozart's Quartet in F Major for Oboe, Violin, Viola and Violincello (K. 370) with Stern as the violinist. It seems to be missing from this set.

This boxed set is very heavy for its size, well made, includes hardbound book with a few pages of bio on Sternand a complete reference to the CD's. I'm only into three of the discs so far, but I can say the music and Stern'sperformances are well worth the price. I have a number of these pieces on LP and CD, but find the boxed setmakes it easy to store and retrieve these great recordings.

I’ve been waiting for this set for years. It doesn’t disappoint. As usual the set is meticulously assembled, and I am a sucker for the replica sleeves.The sound is excellent and clear. Some discs are as short as 35 minutes, and some as long as 60+.This has been in constant rotation since is arrived.

Why not the digital recordings?Beethoven -Violin Sonatas sndSchubert- Violin Sonatas

Isaac Stern (1920-2001) was signed by Columbia Masterworks in 1945 and remained a loyal Columbia artist until his last recording session in 1996.But the final CD in this box only dates to 1980: a “live” recording of Stern’s 60th Birthday Celebration.He made his first digital recording later that year, but Sony has decided to limit this box to analogue recordings.No explanation is offered in the booklet.Inevitably, as he got older, Isaac Stern was beginning to show signs of a declining technique.Nothing dramatic, but in those recordings where Stern duplicated earlier repertoire, most critics compared them unfavorably to the earlier efforts.On the other hand, there were important post-1980 digital recordings of works that were new to his discography.These could have been included in this box without apologies - most notably the 1983 complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Eugene Istomin.Prior to 1983, Columbia only issued one recording of Stern playing a single Beethoven Sonata: No.7 in C minor, Op.30, No.2 - set down at his first recording session in 1945. *The Mozart Sonatas (with Yefim Bronfman) and Schubert Sonatas (with Daniel Barenboim) were also new to Stern’s discography in the post-1980 digital period.Surprising that a major violinist would avoid these cornerstones of the violin repertoire for so long.* Stern and Istomin actually recorded Beethoven Sonatas 1 & 7 in 1969 (analogue), but these were not released until 1983, when they were coupled with new digital recordings of Sonatas 2-6 and 8-10 in a complete set. Apparently Sony considers Sonatas 1 & 7 to be honorary digital recordings, so they are not in this box.Anyway, what’s in this box is extremely impressive.22½ mono CDs and 52½ stereo CDs, transferred at 24-bit /192 kHz (see photo for details).75 CDs in “original jacket” format with LP notes in fine print + 218 page hard-cover booklet with index.There are three basic categories in the following list: Violin Concertos, Violin Sonatas, and Chamber Music.In this list, I did not include the five CD’s worth of encore pieces that Stern recorded (CDs 3,9,32,55,73). Just too much work. A lot of this music is unfashionable today (especially the Arthur Harris orchestrations of light classics), but I have always enjoyed them.Oops: Sony forgot the Columbia LP of the Mozart Oboe Quartet K.370 with Tabuteau, Stern, Primrose & Tortelier, recorded at the 1951 Perpignan Festival: Columbia Masterworks ML 4566 - see below under “Chamber Music, Part One”.WORKS FOR VIOLIN & ORCHESTRABACH:Violin Concerto BWV1041:----- Casals, Prades Festival (1950) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1956) mono----- Stern, violin & conducting London Symphony (1966) stereo----- Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereoViolin Concerto BWV1042:----- Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1966) stereo----- Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereoConcerto for 2 Violins BWV1043:----- with Alexander Schneider: Casals, Prades Festival (1950) mono----- with David Oistrakh: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1955) mono----- with Yehudi Menuhin: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1976) stereo----- with Itzhak Perlman: Mehta, New York Philharmonic (1980) stereoConcerto for Oboe & Violin BWV1060----- with Marcel Tabuteau: Casals, Prades Festival (1950) mono----- with Harold Gomberg: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1966) stereoBARBER:- Violin Concerto: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1964) stereoBARTOK:- Violin Concerto No.1: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1961) stereo- Violin Concerto No.2: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1958) stereo- Rhapsodies (2) for Violin & Orchestra: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1962) stereoBEETHOVEN:- Violin Concerto----- Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1959) stereo----- Barenboim, New York Philharmonic (1975) stereo- Concerto for Piano, Violin & Cello with Istomin & Rose: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1964) stereoBERG:- Violin Concerto: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1959) stereoBERNSTEIN:- Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium': Bernstein, Symphony of the Air (1956) monoBIZET / WAXMAN:- Carmen Fantasy: Waxman, Warner Brothers Studio Orch. (1946) monoBRAHMS:- Violin Concerto:----- Beecham, Royal Philharmonic (1951) mono----- Omandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1959) stereo----- Mehta, New York Philharmonic (1978) stereo- Concerto for Violin & Cello:----- with Leonard Rose: Walter, New York Philharmonic (1954) mono----- with Leonard Rose: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1964) stereoBRUCH:- Violin Concerto No.1----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1956) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1966) stereoCHAUSSON:- Poeme for Violin & Orchestra: Barenboim, Orchestre de Paris (1976) stereoDVORAK:- Violin Concerto: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1965) stereo- Romance for Violin & Orchestra: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1966) stereoFAURE:- Berceuse for Violin & Orchestra: Barenboim, Orchestre de Paris (1976) stereoHAYDN:- Violin Concerto No.1: Stern, violin & conducting Columbia String Orch. (1950) monoHINDEMITH:- Violin Concerto: Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1964) stereoLALO:- Symphonie espagnole:----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1956) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1967) stereoMENDELSSOHN:- Violin Concerto:----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1950) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1958) stereo----- Bernstein, Israel Philharmonic (1967) stereoMOZART:- Violin Concerto No.1: Szell, Columbia Symphony (1961) stereo- Violin Concerto No.2: Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereo- Violin Concerto No.3:----- Stern, violin & conducting Columbia Chamber Orch. (1950) mono----- Szell, Cleveland Orch. (1961) stereo- Violin Concerto No.4: Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereo- Violin Concerto No.5: Szell, Columbia Symphony (1963) stereo- Adagio for Violin & Orchestra K261: Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereo- Rondo for Violin & Orchestra K373: Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereo- Rondo from ‘Haffner’ Serenade K250: Schneider, English Chamber Orch. (1976) stereo- Concertone for 2 Violins K190 with Pinchas Zukerman: Barenboim, English Chamber Orch. (1973) stereo- Sinfonia Concertante for Violin & Viola K364:----- with William Primrose: Casals, Perpignan Festival (1951) mono----- with Walter Trampler: Stern, violin & conducting London Symphony (1966) stereo----- with Pinchas Zukerman: Barenboim, English Chamber Orch. (1971) stereo----- with Pinchas Zukerman: Mehta, New York Philharmonic (1980) stereoPENDERECKI:- Violin Concerto: Skrowaczewski, Minnesota Orch. (1978) stereoPLEYEL:- Symphonie Concertante for Violin & Viola with Pinchas Zukerman: Barenboim, English Chamber Orch. (1973) stereoPROKOFIEV:- Violin Concerto No.1:----- Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic (1956) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1963) stereo- Violin Concerto No.2:----- Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1957) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1963) stereoRAVEL:- Tzigane: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1957) monoROCHBERG:- Violin Concerto: Previn, Pittsburgh Symphony (1977) stereoSAINT-SAENS:- Violin Concerto No.3: Barenboim, Orchestre de Paris (1976) stereo- Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1957) monoSARASATE:- Ziguenerwiesen: Waxman, Warner Brothers Studio Orch. (1946) monoSIBELIUS:- Violin Concerto:----- Beecham, Royal Philharmonic (1951) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1969) stereoSTAMITZ:- Sinfonia Concertante for Violin & Viola with Pinchas Zukerman: Barenboim, English Chamber Orch. (1971) stereoSTRAVINSKY:- Violin Concerto: Stravinsky, Columbia Symphony (1961) stereoTCHAIKOVSKY:- Violin Concerto:----- Hilsburg, Philadelphia Orch. (1949) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1958) stereo----- Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1973) stereo----- Rostropovich, National Symphony (1977) stereo- Serenade melancolique: Brieff, Columbia Symphony (1972) stereo- Meditation from Souvenir d’un lieu cher: Rostropovich, National Symphony (1977) stereoVIOTTI:-- Violin Concerto No.22: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1961) stereoVIVALDI:- Four Seasons: Stern, violin & conducting Jerusalem Chamber Orch. (1977) stereo- Concerto RV509 for 2 Violins (or Flute & Violin):----- with David Oistrakh: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1959) stereo----- with JP Rampal flute: Stern, violin & conducting Jerusalem Chamber Orch. (1977) stereo- Concerto RV512 for 2 Violins with Oistrakh: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1959) stereo- Concerto RV514 for 2 Violins (or Flute & Violin):----- with Oistrakh: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1959) stereo----- with Rampal flute: Stern, violin & conducting Jerusalem Chamber Orch. (1977) stereo- Concerto RV517 for 2 Violins with Oistrakh: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1959) stereo- Concerto RV522 for 2 Violins with Oistrakh: Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1955) mono- Concerto RV551 for 3 Violins with Perlman, Zukerman: Mehta, New York Philharmonic (1980) stereoWAGNER / WAXMAN:- Tristan und Isolde Fantasy with Oscar Levant piano: Waxman, Warner Brothers Studio Orch. (1946) monoWIENIAWSKI:- Violin Concerto No.2:----- Kurtz, New York Philharmonic (1946) mono----- Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. (1957) monoSONATAS for VIOLIN & PIANOCPE BACH:- Sonata H542 with Alexander Zakin (1952) monoBACH:- Sonata BWV1016 with Alexander Zakin (1953) mono- Sonata BWV1023 with Alexander Zakin (1952) monoBARTOK:- Sonata No.1:----- with Alexander Zakin (1949) mono----- with Alexander Zakin (1967) stereo- Sonata No.2 with Alexander Zakin (1968) stereoBEETHOVEN:- Sonata No.1 with Eugene Istomin (1969) stereo NOT IN THIS BOX *- Sonata No.7:----- with Alexander Zakin (1945) mono----- with Eugene Istomin (1969) stereo NOT IN THIS BOX *BLOCH:- Baal Shem with Alexander Zakin (1961) stereo- Sonata No.1 with Alexander Zakin (1959) stereoBRAHMS:- Sonatas (3) complete----- with Alexander Zakin (1947-1953) mono----- with Alexander Zakin (1960-1963) stereo- Sonata for Clarinet No.2 (arr. Violin) with Alexander Zakin (1969) stereoBRAHMS, DIETRICH & SCHUMANN: F.A.E. Sonata----- with Alexander Zakin (1952) mono----- movements 2 (Schumann) and 3 (Brahms) with Alexander Zakin (1961) stereoCOPLAND:- Sonata with Aaron Copland (1968) stereoDEBUSSY:- Sonata with Alexander Zakin (1960) stereoDVORAK:- Four Romantic Pieces Op.75 with Alexander Zakin (1969) stereoENESCU:- Sonata Op.25 with Alexander Zakin (1967) stereoFALLA:- Suite Populaire espagnole with Alexander Zakin (1952) monoFRANK:- Sonata in A major----- with Alexander Zakin (1947) mono----- with Alexander Zakin (1959) stereoHANDEL:- Sonata Op.1, No.13 with Alexander Zakin (1952) monoHINDEMITH:- Sonata with Alexander Zakin (1946) monoMOZART:- Sonata K378 with Alexander Zakin (1949) monoPROKOFIEV:- Sonatas (2) complete with Alexander Zakin (1953) monoTARTINI:- Sonata “Didone abbandonata” with Alexander Zakin (1952) monoWEBERN:- Four Pieces Op.7 with Charles Rosen (1971) stereo* Beethoven Sonatas 1 & 7, recorded in 1969, were not issued on LP until 1983, when they were coupled with digital recordings of Sonatas 2-6 and 8-10.CHAMBER MUSIC PART ONE: MONO(recorded at Pablo Casals festivals in Prades and Perpignan)BACH:- Trio Sonata BWV1038 with Wummer, Istomin (1950) monoBRAHMS:- Piano Trio Op.8 with Hess, Casals (1952) mono- String Quintet Op.111 with Schneider, Katims, Thomas, Tortelier (1952) mono- String Sextet Op.18 with Schneider, Katims, Thomas, Foley, Casals (1952) monoMOZART:- Oboe Quartet K.370 with Tabuteau, Primrose & Tortelier (1951) mono: NOT IN THIS BOX *- Piano Quartet K.493 with Istomin, Katims, Schneider (1951) monoSCHUBERT:- String Quintet D.956 with Schneider, Katims, Tortelier, Casals (1952) monoSCHUMANN:- Piano Quintet Op.44 with Hess, Schneider, Thomas, Tortelier (1952) mono* Sony forgot Mozart’s Oboe Quartet K.370 with Tabuteau, Stern, Primrose & Tortelier, recorded by Columbia at the 1951 Perpignan Festival (Columbia Masterworks ML 4566) .CHAMBER MUSIC PART TWO: STEREO RECORDINGS(includes complete recordings of the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio)BEETHOVEN:- Piano Trios (11) complete: Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio (1965-1970) stereoBRAHMS:- Piano Trios (3) complete: Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio (1964-1966) stereoHAYDN:- Piano Trio in E-flat major Hob.XV:10: Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio (1968) stereoMENDELSSOHN:- Piano Trios (2) complete: Istomin-Stern Rose-Trio (1966,1979) stereoMOZART:- Divertimento for Violin, Viola & Cello K.563 with Zukerman, Rose (1973) stereo- Quartets (4) for Flute & Strings with Rampal, Schneider, Rose (1969) stereoSCHUBERT:- Piano Trios (2) complete: Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio (1964,1969) stereoTCHAIKOVSKY:- Piano Trio Op.50: first movement with Horowitz, Rostropovich (1976) stereo

most of the Cds are outstanding.a wonderful output for dozens of years. a master at the top of his game.

Back in my earlier days, there were only a few violinists I had to purchase new albums from. Menuhin and Perlman were two, and Isaac Stern was the third. You can argue about who had better technique and interpretations of particular works for hours, but the truth was all three were amazing. Before buying this box of 75 CDs, I looked over my LP and CD collections to find I had the vast majority of these works already, but in some cases the LPs were looking a little worn out, and the fact these are remastered made it a must-buy for me.Stern recorded a lot of works, his recording career spanning from 1945 through to the 1980s. Along the way, and seven Grammy awards, he had a heck of a repertoire. If there was a significant violin work, he recorded it, along with a lot of non-name-brand pieces. Many of these works have not been on CD before: indeed, of the 75 CDs, 35 are here on silver disc for the first time. The other discs are remastered, and comparing to the CDs in my collection, the remastering has been well done. There's a clarity on the recordings I compared that is welcome. The remastering was done in 24 bit / 192 kHz standards, and I only wish they had included higher-res versions on BluRay audio or a USB stick.The box has the CDs in original sleeve art, along with a hard-cover booklet with several analysis of Stern and his career, as well as recollection pieces by artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax. The booklet is nicely done and informative. There's a full discography and a set of disc notes for the CDs presented here.This is, as you might expect, a remarkable collection representing Stern's work over 35 years of recording career, and it's a delight to sample or to work through. I have the Perlman box, too, and the two together bring out almost the entire classical violin repertoire, as well as a lot of overlap (although comparisons are interesting). Now all I need is a remastered box of Menuhin and the triumvirate is complete. This is an excellent box set, and well worth the investment.

Magnifique coffret de collection . Bravo

Life in Musicという中途半端な箱物出たことあったが、これはアナログのコンプリート。コレクターとしてはデジタルも含めたコンプリートにしてほしかったのだろうが、レコードジャケット再現も含めてこれで充分。モノラルから音も素晴らしく、何枚も持っている人でも買って損はないと思う。一昔前のCDとは明らかに違うから。