Arrau question for Tom Deacon

[Randy Lane]

Knowing you played a large role in creating the Arrau Heritage
Edition, I'm curious to hear your assessment of the recordings
featured in this forthcoming Tower Japan Decca/Philips release:

http://tinyurl.com/byh277z

Title is "Munich Recital (: Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata"; list:
Beethoven Ballade No. 2; Chopin: Scherzo No. 2)" and appears to be a
live recording from 1983.

[td]

I have no knowledge of this item. That it appears on the Decca/Philips label in Japan in no way suggests a connection with the Decca label in the UK. Japan does what it wants and sticks a label on it with impunity. Their copyright laws are not like ours.

This is not dissimilar to the Arrau recital I recorded at RTH in Toronto in the 1982/3 season. That, as far as I know, has never appeared on CD. The CBC archive holds the digital mastertape of this concert.

TD

[Steve de Mena]

On 5/18/13 5:24 AM, td wrote:
> I have no knowledge of this item. That it appears on the Decca/Philips label in Japan in no way suggests a connection with > the Decca label in the UK. Japan does what it wants and sticks a label on it with impunity. Their copyright laws are not like > ours.

Decca Japan is owned by Univeral Classics in Europe, no? You make it
sound like they are a separate entity. Would they really release an
Arrau recital without compensating the Arrau estate and/or the owner
of the tape, like a common pirate label?

Steve

[td]

Answer? Yes. This is not the first time such stuff has appeared in
Japan. Remember all the Kubelik monaural MLPs? How about the Bach
sonatas and Partitas with Enescu? And the whole series that was just a
part of?

Their "independent" releases (Franz Schalk?) often have no connection
whatsoever with the Universal company or its labels. Most of their
releases get no attention at Universal headquarters.

TD

[Steve de Mena]

Raiding the company library isn't what I was referring to. I think it
is the source of this live Arrau recital people are interested in. Is
it something Philips themselves recorded and never released (maybe
Arrau did not approve it), or did Decca Japan acquire it on their own?

Actually the poor (VERY POOR) translation says this recording had been
released in other countries, but not Japan.

"Memorial 110 years birth. The Japan's first release! Super valuable
performance revives the 1983 live visionary! ultra rare board of
Claudio Arrau now in its birth 110 years in 2013 will be released. In
live in Munich in March 1983, is a rare record was released only
abroad only a few times before this one. Besides, it was not released
in Japan. In the recording at the time of the 80-year-old Arau, this
album was little that to climb even the topic until now this 3
recital. Tracks in New York as a (birthday anniversary performance of
February 6 about 1 month ago just songs) including also had been
released in the video. Three songs Because these are the main
repertoire of Arau, until now will still be able to view two or more
sound sources, including live. It is Arrau that was said to have
exceeded the peak as a pianist at the time, but you can listen here
the passion that extraordinary or partly that live. Good acting as the
supreme art of Washing continued to reign as masters more Become a
80-year-old carved, this performance will also be engraved on the
memory of people for a long time. "

The cover, if you enlarge it, has a "TRESORS CLASSIQUES" logo I seem
to recall seeing on some French LPs of the 80s. That with the other
french writing on the cover and the claim of "original jacket design
use" leads me to believe it was once issued in France.
http://cdn.tower.jp/za/o/24/4988005773524.jpg

Steve

[td]

So, perhaps an audio version of the birthday video, which was never available (or licensed) for audio only. That would not perturb the Japanese one bit.

TD