Johanna Martzy; Michael Mann - Complete Deutsche Grammophon Recordings [CD]

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Complete on CD for the first time, the Deutsche Grammophon legacy of cult violinist Johanna Martzy, and of violist Michael Mann. Five original DG albums complete on two CDs.\r
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The brilliant tone and discriminating taste of the recordings made by Johanna Martzy (1924-79) mark her out among the finest violinists of her generation. Her EMI albums, supervised by Walter Legge, were once highly prized rarities. \r
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However, her recording career began with DG, who partnered her with two of their star conductors, Ferenc Fricsay and Eugen Jochum, in concertos by Dvo 345;\xe1k (1953) and Mozart (No 4, from 1955). She had performed the Dvo 345;\xe1k with Fricsay in concert, and their recording preserves a harmonious meeting of two fierily temperamental artists, widely rated among the best of the non-Czech recordings of the work. \r
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Plans for Martzy to record Tchaikovsky\u2019s concerto were abandoned when Legge poached her for HMV/EMI but subsequently lost interest. We are left with a small, precious legacy which opened in 1951, in the dying days of 78rpm recording, with her most constant recital partner, Jean Antonietti, at the piano. Encore pieces by Ravel, Milhaud, Falla and Szymanowski capture her Hungarian fire but do not represent her inclination away from virtuoso repertoire and towards the great sonatas and concertos. Mozart\u2019s F major Sonata followed, and then Beethoven\u2019s Op. 30 No. 3 as a coupling for the Mozart. \r
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When Martzy\u2019s encore pieces were reissued on LP, they were coupled in original fashion with two modern viola sonatas played by Michael Mann (1919\u201376), son of the novelist Thomas Mann. Mann\u2019s DG recordings were completed a few months later in May 1952 with the Quatre visages of Milhaud, issued on a seven-inch 45rpm disc; with this release they reach CD for the first time. In his time Mann was recognised as a fine musician in his own right and not merely his father\u2019s son. He played in the San Francisco Symphony before teaching German literature at the University of California, Berkeley.\r
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Tully Potter provides the fascinating background note.\r
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\u201cJohanna Martzy acquits herself admirably in the Dvorak Concerto ... Her assured technique, mellow tone, and sympathetic interpretation make this one of the best versions of the Dvorak available.\u201d High Fidelity, January 1957\r
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\u201cMartzy plays \u2026 with all the spirit and elegance one could hope for \u2026 the relationship between her and the orchestra sounds unusually natural \u2026 a most rewarding issue.\u201d Gramophone, March 1960 (Mozart: Violin Concerto No.4)\r
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\u201cAccomplished and stylish performances\u2026 Michael Mann, backed splendidly by Dika Newlin, gets right to the heart of Honegger\u2019s Viola Sonata\u2026 With Yaltah Menuhin as an equally sympathetic partner, he deals faithfully with the less significant Krenek Sonata.\u201d Gramophone, August 1960\r
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\u201cFor a listener of catholic tastes desperately torn between the four girls [of Milhaud\u2019s Quatre visages], perhaps the easiest way is to love all of them. Michael Mann and Dika Newlin play seductively enough to make this seem the obvious solution.\u201d Gramophone, September 1958

DVORAK: Violin Concerto In A Minor, Op. 53

BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 8 In G Major For Piano And Violin, Op. 30 No. 3

RAVEL: Berceuse Sur Le Nom De Gabriel Faure

Piece En Forme De Habanera

MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 4 In D Major, KV 218

MILHAUD: Ipanema (from Saudades Do Brasil)

DE FALLA: Danse Espagnole (from La Vida Breve, Arr. Kreisler)

SZYMANOWSKI: Notturno And Tarantella, Op. 28

Sonata For Piano And Violin In F Major, KV 376 (374d)

KRENEK: Sonata For Viola And Piano

HONEGGER: Sonata For Viola And Piano

MILHAUD: Quatre Visages