Fiorentino 10cd booklet 03

A L S O AVA I L A B L E A selection of Piano Classics titles

Fiorentino

For the full listing please visit www.piano-classics.com

EDITION

VOLUME 4 Fiorentino EDITION

VOLUME 3

SERGIO FIORENTINO EDITION VOL. 3

RACHMANINOFF Preludes Piano Sonatas 1 & 2 Transcriptions

PCLM0033

PCLM0041

BACH

PCLD0065

Earl Wild The complete transcriptions VOLUME 2

T O C C ATA S

RACHMANINOFF SONGS

Philipp KOPACHEVSKY SCRIABIN Preludes Sonata 10 LISZT Late works

Alessandro Deljavan PCL0099

Giovanni Doria Miglietta, piano

PCL0102

PCL0103

2-CD

EARLY RECORD INGS 1953-1966

SERGIO FIORENTINO

SERGIO FIORENTINO – CONCERT ARTIST RECORDINGS, 1953 - 1966 The history of Sergio Fiorentino’s recordings is somewhat diverse. As a winner of several prestigious competitions, he had early success in the concert hall as well as a soloist and part of a trio. At one time he signed a contract with an Italian agent who lived and worked in England, one Julius Finzi. Later, William H. Barrington-Coupe took over the important role of agent and recording producer. A few years Fiorentino’s junior, Barrington-Coupe was a man with big, sometimes fantastical ideas. The recent founder of a small record label, ‘Concert Artist Recordings’, he was eager to make a name for himself and to gather young pianists with whom he planned to make recordings. Alongside Fiorentino, Clive Lythgoe and Bernard Vitebsky figured on his list. All were assured that great things would happen. The first recordings were made at London’s Levy Sound Studios, then at various other locations, both solo piano recordings and piano concertos. The catalogue expanded with orchestral recordings and licensed material from other small labels for distribution.

In the UK, plans were forged to record works of Mozart for the upcoming centenary in 1956 as well as plans for a complete collection of Chopin’s piano music. All this in competition with well-established major labels of the time.

Money was needed and the artists themselves ended up funding many of the projects. The first records were issued, some small Chopin piano pieces on 10 Mozart Concerto recording in Levy Sound Studios 1954

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inch/78 rpm discs.

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The catalogue listings of the young label appeared in The Gramophone’s edition

1953 Chopin Sonata in B flat minor, preserved on a 12 inch test pressing* faring

of March 1956. Yet most of those records were just announcements and never

better sound wise, and the 1955 Beethoven Appassionata, taken from a 1962

physically produced. At best single test pressings were made. The master

commercial LP pressing on Barrington’s label ‘Fidelio’ with the sonic inhibitions

tapes were parked on the shelves facing an uncertain fate. Then followed what

to be expected from low budget productions.

inevitably happens in the world of business when big ideas collide with too small money: the little company crashed, and the owner and his gallery of young

Whereas CD1 consists of the earliest surviving recordings, the following nine CDs

artists lost their money. Bitterly disappointed, Bernard Vitebsky eventually gave

are filled with recordings of works by various composers, closing with a ‘Chopin

up as a pianist and became a collector and dealer of stamps. His ‘Concert Artist’

only’ group of five discs. All items here were recorded between 1959 and 1966.

legacy consists of a few recordings of smaller Chopin pieces, two Beethoven

Yet again the sources for the transfers had to be different ones.

Sonatas, a Rondo and the 3rd Piano Concerto. Clive Lythgoe instead went on with his career, he seems to have made only two recordings for ‘Concert Artist’,

CD2 starts with a Bach programme coming from the master tapes. The

the piano sonatas of Howard Ferguson and of Sir Arthur Bliss, the latter of

Beethoven ‘Pathétique’ as well as the ‘Moonlight’ on CD3 have been copied

which has survived as a test pressing. Fiorentino, who had the biggest share

from a well-kept commercial stereo LP of the ‘Fidelio’ brand. ‘Otto Bergman’ is

of the label’s solo piano recording programme, went back to Italy to join the

credited as the pianist on sleeve and labels, but it can be confirmed that these

Naples Conservatory as a teacher. The bulk of master tapes which he must

are Fiorentino’s performances. The sound is remarkably spacious, contrary to the

have recorded are untraceable, they can almost certainly be considered as

slightly narrow sound picture of the ‘Waldstein’ which instead comes from the

lost. The only surviving master tape is that of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.

extant master tape.

21 recorded in October 1954, the performance of which is included on CD1in this collection. Fiorentino himself was quite critical about his early activities

Schumann’s ‘Ein Faschingsschwank aus Wien’, the master tape of which is lost,

as a recording artist. When in 1994 he had the late chance to listen to this old

had to be dubbed from one of the rare ‘Concert Artist’ stereo LP releases. It

recording he muttered: “I should have been much more careful then!” One has

starts the section of this composer’s works which Fiorentino cherished so much.

to fully agree with him, yet as a document of his playing it had to be included

‘Kinderszenen’ rounds off the disc, emphasising both the dreamy and exuberant

anyway. The remainder on CD1 are the only other surviving recordings from that

aspects of these miniatures.

rather unhappy early period of the ‘Concert Artist’ label, the 1953 Beethoven 32 Variations in C minor, coming from a bumpy 7 inch/33 rpm test pressing, the 4

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CD4 continues the Schumann selection with ‘Carnaval’, a work Fiorentino played

happened was the breakdown of RCA Britain a while later. The remainder of the

frequently in recitals, followed by ‘Arabeske’ and the ‘Symphonic Etudes’. The

well made LPs were then on offer at several mail order outlets at ridiculously low

faster parts of the latter highlight Fiorentino’s mercurial yet never showy virtuosity

prices. You could get Fiorentino’s Liszt Années ‘Suisse’, the complete Chopin

which, in my opinion, comes to its zenith in the closing work of this CD, one of the

Polonaises, some Schumann and the Rachmaninoff Preludes for almost nothing.

cornerstone recordings of Brahms’ Paganini Variations. Luckily the master tapes

The Etudes-Tableaux here had to be dubbed from a commercial pressing of

were able to be used (thanks again to Bryan Crimp for the transfers).

the Delta label. Rounded off by the Polka de W. R. and a not hugely successful performance of Bach’s Preludio in Rachmaninoff’s transcription we come finally

CD5 starts with the Handel Variations and Fugue by Brahms. Unfortunately the

to Fritz Kreisler. His Liebesfreud was one of the last recordings Fiorentino made

master tape (again transferred by Bryan) suffered from occasional squeaking

in England. Various circumstances kept him away from the British Isles after 1966

and other little blemishes due to faulty storage. These obstacles could be

and so his recording activities came to a halt for almost thirty years.

overcome at last, yet with some slight restriction of the resulting sound. Two examples of Fiorentino’s art in piano sound and pedal use can be experienced

The Chopin collection spread over the next five discs (CD6 - 10) vary somewhat

in the Mendelssohn. Has one ever listened to such gorgeous playing as in the

in terms of sound and pianistic quality. The Ballades, recorded in Paris and

Etude? And yes! He took his revered Rachmaninoff-the-pianist as a model for his

published on Delta, were dubbed from an original LP, the first two Scherzos

Spinning Song, otherwise called The Bees Wedding, a piece he liked to pull out

come from the master tapes. The other two, according to what Barrington-

in public recitals as an encore, always to the sheer delight of the audience. Both

Coupe once told me, were considered ‘sub standard’ and hence not released

transfers come from the master tapes whereas the following little Scherzo of

under Fiorentino’s name. Instead a certain ‘Auguste du Maurier’ stepped in and

Borodin had to be taken from an original LP pressing. Speaking of Rachmaninoff,

took the responsibility for them on the Fidelio label. The resulting sound on that

Fiorentino said that he completely changed his playing and way with the music

low-budget Lp is not the best, alas.

after he had heard recordings of this giant in the late forties in his home town Naples. It is a particular pleasure for me to finally present the rare recording

The complete Etudes are to follow next, the Opus 10 are from the master tape,

of the Etudes-Tableaux op. 33. The master tape together with others was lost

all others from a rather well-kept LP. Slightly restricted sound prevails. One detail

in a fire at the Orlake factory in Britain at the time when Barrington- Coupe

must be mentioned: the final but two bars of the ‘Revolutionary Etude’. Has the

had made a promising contact with RCA Britain. He had created his sub-

pianist gone crazy? The answer can be found on page 59 of the Peters Edition

label Revolution and great things would again happen for sure. What actually

of the Chopin Etudes (edited Scholtz - v. Pozniak) where an adventurous pianist

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can find the following note: “Anton Rubinstein’s version:”, followed by a small ossia measure showing that Rubinstein substituted Chopin’s original by playing alternating octaves. A smashing effect from a bygone age, nothing for the Urtext worshipers, of course!

Waltzes and Impromptus fill the next disc. Like in the series of Polonaises to follow on CD9 & 10, it was Barry’s concept that Fiorentino should play ‘the complete thing’. So there are not only the well-known 14 Waltzes, but also the hardly known ones from the composer’s youth. Apart from editorial considerations this was certainly also a way to promote the record as something others didn’t offer their customers. (The same concept was used already in the 1958 recording of the complete waltzes for Saga.) Source for the transfer was an original Delta LP. The Impromptus recorded at the same sessions in Paris show a bit of restricted sound and had to be transferred from an LP copy of the lowbudget Fidelio label.

We come to the end of this collection of Fiorentino’s recordings for ‘Concert Artist’, the ‘complete Polonaises’. The sound is amazingly clear after all those many ups & downs on the earlier discs. The master tapes used were apparently in good condition (thanks to Bryan one last time!) The recording location was the Kleine Musikhalle in Hamburg. Hamburg had been a recording location for Barrington while he was A& R man for the (once again!) short-lived Saga label. When Saga crashed around 1961 a good many tapes went over to the new owner, others were kept by Barrington. Some time passed until he had crawled once again to his feet and could go on with his very own label ‘Concert Vicars, Fiorentino and Barrington-Coupe at the Levy Sound Studios 1954 8

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Artist Recordings’. So these performances recorded in 1960 saw their first and

* My thanks go to Bryan Crimp, founder of APR and the first to publish

then only partial publication in 1965. There is some splendid playing here, and

Fiorentino’s later Berlin studio recordings as well as selections from the ‘Concert

Fiorentino gives all the charm he has to those early Polonaises which he almost

Artist’ period, for having grabbed that test pressing of the Chopin Sonata when

without a doubt played from the score. The last item is the Grand Fantasy on

it came his way. (The flip side of that record contains Lythgoe’s recording of the

Polish Airs with the Guildford Philharmonic under Vernon Handley’s firm hand.

Bliss Sonata.) Bryan must be credited also for supplying the digital transfer of

The conductor, just starting a career, was another of those talents

the recording.

on which Barrington had laid his hand first. (Handley recorded for ‘Concert Artist’ repertoire for which he was famous in later years, namely British symphonic music: Bax’ 4th Symphony and ‘The Tale the Pine Trees knew’ as well as Ernest Moeran’s Serenade and with Barrington’s pianist wife Joyce Hatto the late ‘Master of the Queen’s Music’ colossal Symphonic Variations). Handley gives Fiorentino ample support in this amiable work of the young Chopin, and in stereo that is!

This somewhat hurried traversal has come to its end. The presented collection - and some may have suspected this from the beginning - is something of a labour of love, a final tribute to an artist which I have experienced personally as a great musician and pianist. I am more than grateful to Piano Classics, who set out some years ago to present the artistic legacy of Sergio Fiorentino as comprehensively as possible. The box offered here is the last bis stone of the vault. Regardless of all defects one can find I hope it will please nonetheless.

Ernst A. Lumpe, December 2015

Sergio Fiorentino and Vernon Handley in Guildford 1966 10

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