Tibor de Machula · German Radio Recordings 1944-1952

9.99 

Although Tibor de Machula’s discography is fairly substantial, these broadcast recordings greatly contribute to his recorded legacy. The Boccherini and Schumann concertos were captured near the end of World War II, during Machula’s tenure as principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic. The Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky pieces were recorded in 1952.

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TIBOR DE MACHULA plays Cello Concertos

BOCCHERINI: Cello Concerto No 9 in B-flat Major, G 482
Omroep Symphonie Orkest
Pierre Reinards ∙ conductor

Recorded ∙ 03 April 1944 ∙ Hilversum ∙ Studio B ∙ Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft ∙ Radio Studio Recording

SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op 129
Berliner Philharmoniker
Karl Böhm ∙ conductor

Recorded ∙ 27 January 1945 ∙ Berlin ∙ Admiralspalast ∙ Reichssender Berlin ∙ Radio Studio Recording

SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto No 1 in A Minor, Op 33
SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden
Hans Rosbaud ∙ conductor

Recorded ∙ 21 September 1952 ∙ Baden-Baden ∙ Studio ∙ Südwestrundfunk ∙ Radio Studio Recording

TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op.33
Sinfonie-Orchester des Süddeutschen Rundfunks
Hans Müller-Kray ∙ conductor

Recorded ∙ 27 September 1952 ∙ Stuttgart ∙ Villa Berg ∙ Süddeutscher Rundfunk ∙ Radio Studio Recording

Article number: MC 3014
UPC barcode: 791154054574
Release date: 16 July 2019
Booklet: 8 Pages
Total timing: 77:57
From the Original Masters ∙ © 2019 Meloclassic

October 2019 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Tibor de Machula ∙ German Radio Recordings 1944-1952
The radio recordings here come from either side of the great dividing line in Tibor de Machula’s professional life. The Boccherini and Schumann concertos were taped toward the end of the Second World War when Machula (1912-82) was still principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic. In 1947 he left the orchestra to take up the same position with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, a position he held for a further three decades. The Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky works were recorded in 1952, three years before he became a Dutch citizen. The very helpful booklet is neatly housed in a gatefold album. Splendid restorations enhance this valuable release.
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December 2019 ∙ British Gramophone ∙ Rob Cowan ∙ Tibor de Machula ∙ German Radio Recordings 1944-1952 1965-1968
Tibor de Machula’s distinctive cello playing (MC3014) – fast, tremulous vibrato, tonal warmth and a consistently musical approach to phrasing. The CD opens with Boccherini’s Concerto No 9, the central Andantino grazioso being a highlight. The Schumann Concerto with Karl Böhm and the Berlin Philharmonic was recorded in January 1945, and although frequently eloquent it lacks the depth of feeling that characterises his earlier wartime version under Furtwängler. Best is Saint-Saëns’s First Concerto under Hans Rosbaud, the closing Tempo primo extraordinarily virtuosic. Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations (also from 1952) under Hans Müller-Kray takes a similar interpretative route that straddles the border between brilliance and introspection.
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March 2020 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Tibor de Machula ∙ German Radio Recordings 1944-1952
Boccherini’s No.9 is the best known of his twelve cello concertos. De Machula performs it to the manner born with unruffled ease and intensity. The melancholic slow movement is expressively sculpted and the finale is delivered with lightness and wit. Robert Schumann took only two weeks to pen his Cello Concerto. De Machula delivers an impassioned reading. He takes an introspective view of the first two movements, whilst the finale abounds with effervescence. Although the orchestration is transparent, Karl Böhm points up and highlights the various instrumental sections to wonderful effect. One of the positive aspects of the 1952 recording of the Saint-Saëns Concerto is de Machula’s collaboration with the conductor Hans Rosbaud. The orchestra is the South West German Radio Orchestra in Baden-Baden, which Rosbaud directed from 1948 until his death in 1962. There’s plenty of fire in the opening movement but, for me, it’s the glowing intimacy of the middle movement that really distinguishes this reading. Rosbaud coaxes magical pizzicato delicacy from the strings, gently supporting Machula’s poetic singing line. Only six days later, Machula made the recording of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations under the sympathetic direction of Hans Müller-Kray at the helm of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. The soloist is very forwardly profiled, and we’re able to fully savour his burnished singing tone. The variations are imaginatively characterized. Two of the radio recordings date from the mid 1940s, with the remaining airings set down in September 1952. Sound-wise, the earliest broadcast from April 1944, namely the Boccherini, is in coarser sound than the Schumann from a year later. The 1952 broadcasts sound significantly better to me, rendering more warmth, bloom and richness to the solo cello. The annotations, provide an excellent, detailed biography of the cellist. Although de Machula’s discography is fairly substantial, these broadcasts add significantly to his recorded legacy.
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April 2020 ∙ French Diapason ∙ Jean-Michel Molkhou ∙ Tibor de Machula ∙ German Radio Recordings 1944-1952
C’est d’abord comme violoncelle solo des Berliner Philharmoniker choisi par Furtwängler, que se fit connaître à partir de 1936 Tibor de Machula (1912-1982). Avant d’occuper la même position à Amsterdam dans l’Orchestre du Concertgebouw. Quatre archives radio allemandes documentent ses apparitions solistes : à Hilversum en 1944 (Boccherini avec Reinards), Berlin en 1945 (Schumann avec Böhm), Baden-Baden (Saint-Saëns avec Rosbaud) et Stuttgart en 1952 (les périlleuses Variations Rococo avec Müller-Kray). L’élégance des phrasés, la clarté du style et son aisance naturelle confirment partout la noblesse de son art.
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