Essential Historical Recordings: Pablo Casals Brought Bach’s Cello Suites to Light
Pablo Casals was a towering figure in the history of cello playing—at once artist, exponent, exemplar, and liberator.
essential historical recordings
These recordings are not new, but they are still captivating and beautiful, in addition to being inspirational and pivotal in musical history.
Essential Historical Recordings: Violinist Ginette Neveu’s Tragically Short but Musically Rich Life
The French violinist Ginette Neveu was 30 when her plane crashed in the Azores. Conductor Eugene Ormandy called her "one of the greatest interpreters on the violin of our time.”
Essential Historical Recordings: When Fritz Kreisler Changed How We Hear and Play Violin
Fritz Kreisler, who forever changed the way we listen to and play the violin, was a disarmingly charming revolutionary
Essential Historical Recordings: The Iconic Jascha Heifetz
His repertoire was enormous, comprising practically every major piece written for the instrument, but certain Heifetz recordings are especially iconic.
Essential Historical Recordings: The French Violinist Jacques Thibaud
For the first half of the twentieth century, the Frenchman Jacques Thibaud (1880-1953) was one of the world’s most beloved violin soloists.
Essential Historical Recordings: The Larger-Than-Life Cellist Gregor Piatigorsky
For several decades in the mid-twentieth century, Piatigorsky was the cello’s greatest international star.
Essential Historical Recordings: Pierre Fournier’s Envious Cello Mastery
By Sasha Margolis Pierre Fournier (1906–86), known as “the aristocrat of cellists,” was among the twentieth century’s most wonderful string artists. A music... Read More...
Essential Historical Recordings: The Tragically Short Lives of Gifted Violin Stars Hassid, Renardy, & Sitkovetsky
By Sasha Margolis When the thirty-year-old violinist Ginette Neveu perished in a plane crash in 1949, the music world experienced a deep sense of loss. In t... Read More...
Essential Historical Recordings: Violinist Erica Morini’s Silk-Smooth Tone
In a mid-twentieth-century music world dominated by male stars, Morini, a woman steeped in more sober Central European violin traditions, carved out a career as a top soloist.
Essential Historical Recordings: Violinist Zino Francescatti’s Virtuosity Extended from the Stage to the Page
Francescatti was one of the 20th century’s great soloists, with interpretations that were unfailingly gorgeous, often original, & never less than thrillingly virtuosic.