This beautiful 10 LP the very first issue of one of the great violin rarities from Cetra LPV 45008, Italian pressing, heavy vinyl, green/silver label, mono, gatefold jacket features the legendary Vasa Prihoda in exalted performances of works by Tartini and Vitali.
Note: This images you see are of the actual item these are not stock images or taken from another site. This is the actual item.
The exact contents are as follows:
Side 1
Giuseppe Tartini: Violin Sonata in G Minor Devil s Trill
Vasa Prihoda, violin
Lorenzo Lugli, violin
Enzo Francalanci, viola
Giuseppe Ferrari, cello
--------------------------------------
Side 2
Tomaso Vitali: Ciaccona
Vasa Prihoda, violin
Archi e Organo dell Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della Radiotelevisione Italiana
Armando Gramegna, conductor
Both works were recorded at the Auditorio della RAI in November 1956.
The cover reproduces a detail from Louis-L opold Boilly s famous painting Le Songe de Tartini Tartini s Dream .
The interior panels of the gatefold jacket feature liner notes uncredited about the two composers, printed in Italian only. The rear of the jacket contains a photo of Prihoda, as well as a brief biographical sketch, both uncredited.
--------------------------------------
These performances received their finest CD pressing on a 2CD set from Warner entitled V a P hoda violin . The Complete Cetra Recordings 1956-57 . The outstanding critic Jonathan Woolf reviewed this set for MusicWeb-International and is excerpted below:
It was only a matter of a few weeks ago that I reviewed P hoda s magnificent 1943 Polydor recording of the Dvo k Violin Concerto currently on Symposium for some biographical material . Now what should land on my astonished doormat but this long hoped for but seldom-expected collection of the violinist s post War Italian recordings. These were made for Cetra between 1956 and 1957, a scant few years before his early death in 1960. The German company Podium Legend has for the last few years been issuing a large number of his off-air broadcast material some fascinating things there but apart from their initial and one ancillary release on a licensed LP label the late Cetras have never been re-released in any form, to the best of my knowledge. These commercial discs, including a significant amount of literature that the violinist had previously not recorded, not least the Mozart Concertos, had relatively limited circulation outside Italy where P hoda was then living and I for one send Warner Fonit congratulations on rescuing these sides from the vaults.
The second disc is given over to three staples and an unusual example of Viotti s creativity. For the Vitali he uses the Respighi transcription, which means a string orchestra behind him. As with the finale of the Mozart D minor he responds eagerly to the contrastive potential of the fractured Chaconne in echt Romantic style intensely coiled diminuendi, elastic legato, sumptuously quick portamenti and so on for maximal emotive effect. This is a lushly romanticised effort, with some long bowing and the orchestral counter-themes brought out with magnificent explosivity at the end. The earlier Polydor recording with Seidler-Winkler used the standard Charlier edition and saw his accompanist on the organ rather than his accustomed piano. The Bach Double Concerto is the only such extant commercial example and he s joined by his Italian pupil Franco Novello. In his autobiography William Primrose mentioned a concert in London he d been to in which he saw the weird double bill of P hoda and Casals, each playing one half of the concert. The Czech violinist had come on with his finger busters and after the interval Casals played solo Bach. As Primrose put it, thinking of P hoda s gymnastics So what? Well, here is some Bach poised, attractive, unexceptional, rather heavy in the slow movement and unyielding, ultimately unmoving. As with the Vitali, so with the Tartini his earlier 78 recording with Otto Graef was his own arrangement of the Devil s Trill but this one is Vieuxtemps s, with a string trio to boot to accompany they re not named in the booklet but were Lughi, Francalanci and cellist Ferrari . This is recognisable P hoda territory pensive and slow start, delicate and withdrawn, a romantic not a classicist approach vide the older Albert Spalding with occasional intentional intonational buckles. The string trio doesn t in truth add much, certainly not any sense of authenticity. They often double the line or accentuate the harmony - and yes, for P hoda watchers he does speed outrageously, as ever, just where you feel he should hold the tempo steadier. The Viotti again features Novello and is a most worthwhile piece, rich in melodious import, full of registral contrasts for the two violin soloists, passages of unison bowing and catch-and-chase sequences and overlapping games. There are some minor moments of queasiness but overall the colouration is attractive and the slow movement nicely moulded. The finale has some incessant quasi-operatic incidents, chewy articulation from the soloists and a powerfully executed cadenza.
Admirers of this exceptional violinist have good reason to snap up this set without any delay.
--------------------------------------
CONDITION PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY:
Please do not buy this LP if you must have a flawless or near-mint copy.
I have carefully play-graded it: This is an excellent collector s copy and its condition is exactly as I have described it below.
The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.
The condition of the jacket is EXCELLENT. There are no seam splits, tears or creases. The only flaws consist of minor wear along the spine and at corners, mild discoloration and aging, and a small bit of writing timings on the rear side of the jacket, though this was done fairly discreetly. Really, it s a very handsome copy and would be hard to improve on, especially considering that this edition is now 68 years old.
The condition of the LP itself is NM- eBay does not offer NM-, so I have conservatively selected EX . Visually, there are a couple of faint spindle trails and light hairline marks and paper scuffs, but no scratches. This copy was played, but mostly likely not very often and was clearly well cared for.
In terms of sound, there are no tics, pops, or needle jumps. Nor is there any warping. The only real flaw is occasional light surface noise, though I believe this owes more to the 1950s Cetra pressing than to any problems with handling over the years. Thus, this copy is rated as NM- vs. MINT or NM . The sound is superb, even in quiet passages there is an atmosphere or ambience to the soundstage and Prihoda s magical tone is well captured .
Again, if you must a flawless or NM copy, do not buy this LP. This is a superb NM- or EX by eBay s criteria collector s copy.
SHIPPING:
There are no shipping charges. I will pay for shipping and send the LP by express airmail with a tracking number anywhere in the world. Express does not necessarily mean overnight it just means the fastest available service, which most likely would be 2-5 days delivery time, not including time spent in the destination country s customs department.
CUSTOMS FEES:
The buyer is responsible for all customs fees. Period. Most likely, there will be customs fees. This is standard. The buyer pays that. Also standard.
FEEDBACK:
Please do not leave negative or even neutral feedback without contacting me first and providing me the opportunity to resolve any issues. Thank you.
