Paul Badura-Skoda Recordings

[The Melsons]

I had the great pleasure of lunching today with pianist Paul
Badura-Skoda, who shared one fascinating story after another about his
survival as a Jew in Austria under the Nazis, his schooling (with Jorg
Demus and Friedrich Gulda) and the early years of his career, playing
under Furtwangler, Szell, Scherchen and others.

Badura-Skoda floored me by saying he made more than 100 recordings for
Westminster in the 1950s, including all of the Beethoven concerti with
Scherchen, complete cycles of sonatas by Mozart, Schubert and
Beethoven, and more

Where are these recordings now? I have come across very few over the
years. Badura-Skoda said there were some problems with the rights to
these tapes, which are, he thinks, now owned by BMG.

Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
unavailable.

Mark Melson

[ESH Tooter]

I collected some of the Mozart violin/piano sonatas and Haydn trio recordings
back when they could be found second hand in the 70s. None really grabbed me,
but this is not music that has been widely recorded by anyone. Also, the
copies I located were pretty scratched up.

He recorded a particularly beautiful LP of Haydn sonatas for Westminster which
I still treasure, and the Beethoven concertos with Scherchen are also quite
beautiful. The latter have been released on CD by Palladio. Sound quality is
not much better than my LPs. I believe Berkshire used to have them at a very
good price. Perhaps they still do.

In fact, the most beautiful of B-S albums was the set of Schubert sonatas
(complete in 4 volumes) that he made for RCA that appeared on floppy Victrolas.
Unlike his Astree set, these were on a modern Steinway. A set of these that
is not warped is indeed a great treasure.

It seems to me I am forgetting another Westminster wonder, but I can't recall
now. I do envy your lunch with B-S.

Tooter

[Simon Roberts]

The Melsons (mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com) wrote:

: Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
: unavailable.

Several of his Westminster recordings were released by MCA, including the
Bach partitas and some Schubert; Millennium may have issued some too - I'm
not sure. Another label (I forget its name) recently reissued his
Westminster Schubert Trout, coupled with a new re-recording. Most of the
Westminster recordings don't seem to have been released on CD (except
perhaps Japan?); some of them showed up in the form of LP copies on one of
those shady Italian labels - Palladio or Exclusive or some such.

The most readily available B-S recordings are his more recent ones, mainly
on Astree (though the Eurodisc/BMG Mozart sonatas may still be in print),
but mainly on his collection of fortepianos: Beethoven and Mozart sonatas
(both complete), a few discs of Haydn sonatas, Schubert impromptus,
Schubert lieder with Soderstrom on Astree, Schubert sonatas (cpte) and
Mozart piano quartets on Arcana. There are a few modern piano recordings
on Astree too - a couple of discs of Mozart concertos, some Schubert (and
Mozart?) four hand piano music with Demus, etc. It's probably now out of
print, but there's also a CD on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi of his recordings
with Collegium Aureum of Beethoven cto 4 and the Triple cto (he recorded
both cadenzas of the Beethoven for the LP; unfortunately only one appears
on the CD). There are also a few live recordings floating around,
including an Emperor with Knappersbusch on Tahra and M&A.

Simon

[Joe Salerno]

I remember seeing them frequently in the store where I shopped for records
as a young person.
--
Joe Salerno
Video Works! Is it working for you?
PO Box 273405 - Houston TX 77277-3405
http://joe.salerno.com
j...@salerno.com
also: joe_s...@hotmail.com
Fax: 603-415-7616
"The Melsons" <mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com> wrote in message
news:3a5a5d2e.339589640@news...

[Joe Salerno]

I have a master tape of a recital of his with soprano Bettina Bjorksten from
1970. I latched onto it when I was in school & rescued itfrom the recycle
bin.

--
Joe Salerno
Video Works! Is it working for you?
PO Box 273405 - Houston TX 77277-3405
http://joe.salerno.com
j...@salerno.com
also: joe_s...@hotmail.com
Fax: 603-415-7616
"The Melsons" <mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com> wrote in message
news:3a5a5d2e.339589640@news...

[MT]

Badura-Skoda has a knack for Schubert. Some of his Mozart concerto
recordings are also treasurable. He was never a pianistic powerhouse,
but he can play with fire and elegance, not a bad combination. I once
went through a Schubert sonata craze, and it was always a relief to put
on Badura-Skoda after Richter's granitic performances.

Regards,

MrT

[Alain Dagher]

You can sample quite a few of his recordings at mp3.com (I think they had
all the late Beethoven sonatas recently).

Alain

[James Kahn]

In <3a5a5d2e.339589640@news> mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com (The Melsons) writes:

>Badura-Skoda floored me by saying he made more than 100 recordings for
>Westminster in the 1950s, including all of the Beethoven concerti with
>Scherchen, complete cycles of sonatas by Mozart, Schubert and
>Beethoven, and more

>Where are these recordings now? I have come across very few over the
>years. Badura-Skoda said there were some problems with the rights to
>these tapes, which are, he thinks, now owned by BMG.

>Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
>unavailable.

I have a couple of LPs of his recordings of the Haydn Trios with
Janigro and Fournier, on Westminster. I practically grew up
with these, so I'm biased, but they're great. They've never
made it to CD as far as I know.
--
Jim
New York, NY
(Please remove "nospam." to get my e-mail address)
http://www.panix.com/~kahn

[sch...@gefen.cc.biu.ac.il]

In article <3lrk5tshmhg1ce1ed...@4ax.com>, E.M. <e...@nospam.net> wrote:
: mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com (The Melsons) schreef
: op Tue, 09 Jan 2001 00:46:15 GMT:

:> Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
:> unavailable.

: I own, but haven't heard it for ages, a cd on MCA 80087 with Schubert
: music (Wanderer Fantasie, Moments musicaux and Inpromptus). Recorded
: 1964 and 1955, most of it is in mono. I guess that's one function of a
: ng: to remind me of neglected recordings on my shelves.

I listened to that very CD last night (neener neener) and was going
to recommend it to the original poster myself.

-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"You go on playing Bach your way, and I'll go on playing him *his* way."
-- Wanda Landowska

[David Morriss]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon Roberts" <si...@dept.english.upenn.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.recordings
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: Paul Badura-Skoda Recordings

> The Melsons (mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com) wrote:
>
> : Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
> : unavailable.
>

[snip]

> The most readily available B-S recordings are his more recent ones, mainly
> on Astree (though the Eurodisc/BMG Mozart sonatas may still be in print),
> but mainly on his collection of fortepianos: Beethoven and Mozart sonatas
> (both complete), a few discs of Haydn sonatas, Schubert impromptus,
> Schubert lieder with Soderstrom on Astree, Schubert sonatas (cpte) and
> Mozart piano quartets on Arcana

[snip]

If anyone's interested in the Mozart sonatas on Astree, try amazon.co.uk - 5
CDs priced as one (must be a mistake, but I got my set a few months ago at
that price).
I've got a Westminster LP which includes the K 394 fantasy & fugue, the
sonata K 533 and other works - marvellous stuff! (I hope it gets reissued
on CD so I can bear to listen to it. A very, very, very scratchy LP,
alas....)

DJM
(Ooops, clicked the wrong icon & e-mailed this to Simon initially instead of
posting it to the group - sorry, Simon).

[Andrys Basten]

In article <3a5a5d2e.339589640@news>,

The Melsons <mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com> wrote:
>I had the great pleasure of lunching today with pianist Paul
>Badura-Skoda, who shared one fascinating story after another about his
>survival as a Jew in Austria under the Nazis, his schooling (with Jorg
>Demus and Friedrich Gulda) and the early years of his career, playing
>under Furtwangler, Szell, Scherchen and others.
>
>Badura-Skoda floored me by saying he made more than 100 recordings for
>Westminster in the 1950s, including all of the Beethoven concerti with
>Scherchen, complete cycles of sonatas by Mozart, Schubert and
>Beethoven, and more
>
>Where are these recordings now? I have come across very few over the
>years. Badura-Skoda said there were some problems with the rights to
>these tapes, which are, he thinks, now owned by BMG.

Hie ye over to http://mp3.com/badura

I think you'll enjoy the site, run by his one studenet, Albert Frantz.

- A

--
http://andrys.com/books.html - Searches for Sheet Music-CDs-Videos
http://andrys.com/coupons.html - Current coupons, sales
http://andrys.com/books.html#dvdexpr - Browse Classical Music DVDs
http://mp3.com/stations/classical_Oasis - My classical MP3 picks
http://andrys.com/freddyk.html - Freddy Kempf on CD
http://andrys.com/argerich.html - Available Argerich recordings

[Enslev]

for his Duet and 2 pianos Mozart work with Demus can be found in Philips
Simon Roberts <si...@dept.english.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:93dpeu$u5j$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...

[Simon Roberts]

Enslev (enslev%($&@kyu.net) wrote:
: for his Duet and 2 pianos Mozart work with Demus can be found in Philips

Those are presumably his earlier recordings, no?

Simon

: Simon Roberts <si...@dept.english.upenn.edu> wrote in message

[Ward Hardman]

The Melsons <mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com> wrote:
[snip]
: Badura-Skoda floored me by saying he made more than 100 recordings for

: Westminster in the 1950s, including all of the Beethoven concerti with
: Scherchen, complete cycles of sonatas by Mozart, Schubert and
: Beethoven, and more

: Where are these recordings now? I have come across very few over the
: years. Badura-Skoda said there were some problems with the rights to
: these tapes, which are, he thinks, now owned by BMG.

: Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
: unavailable.

While in college during the late '50s I had an LP of his which, IIRC,
coupled Beethoven's Piano Concerto #2 with Mozart's K 331 sonata. The
latter was played on a delightfully twangy old fortepiano which made
parts of the Rondo alla Turca sound like a combination of a Jews Harp
and a banjo. (I could be wrong about the pairing... haven't seen the
disk in 40 years; it might have been the Fantasia, K 475. Perhaps I've
conflated *two* B-D disks.)

--Ward Hardman

"The older I get, the more I admire and crave competence, just simple
competence, in any field from adultery to zoology."
- H.L. Mencken

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <3A5A73...@yahoo.com>,

His Schubert D.959 for RCA is my favorite recording of the work, bar
none. It is much better than his remake on Arcana on a defective piano.

Ramon Khalona

Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

[Dan Koren]

In article <93gmup$sve$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

rkha...@adnc.com wrote:
>
> His Schubert D.959 for RCA is my favorite
> recording of the work, bar none.
>

Bar Schnabel ?!?

dk

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <93h69d$90f$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

Dan Koren <dank...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <93gmup$sve$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> rkha...@adnc.com wrote:
> >
> > His Schubert D.959 for RCA is my favorite
> > recording of the work, bar none.
> >
>
> Bar Schnabel ?!?

What is their signature drink? I don't believe I have visited the place
:-)

RK

[Henry]

I recently acquired (from jpc, IIRC), but not yet listened to, a two CDs
set titled "In the Mirror of Time..." with, on each CD, the Trout Quintet
and the Adagio e Rondo Concertante D. 487, played by P B-S and friends. The
recordings on the first CD are from 1997, those on the second from 1965. It
is a "edicion especial para la Sociedad Filarmonica de Lima en su noventa
aniversario". The label, Amiata Records, has a web site:
www.amiatamedia.it.
Henry

[jony...@my-deja.com]

His Beethoven-Liszt Fifth Symphony on Harmonia Mundi is very good (and
I understand is being re-released as a budget HM disc). His late
Beethoven sonatas on his mp3 site are also worth a listen.

jy

In article <93e8ag$r72$6...@news.huji.ac.il>,

<sch...@gefen.cc.biu.ac.il> wrote:
> In article <3lrk5tshmhg1ce1ed...@4ax.com>, E.M.
<e...@nospam.net> wrote:
> : mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com (The Melsons) schreef
> : op Tue, 09 Jan 2001 00:46:15 GMT:
>
> :> Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
> :> unavailable.
>

[ESH Tooter]

Ramon Khalona wrote:
<< His Schubert D.959 for RCA is my favorite recording of the work, bar
none. It is much better than his remake on Arcana on a defective piano. >>

I find the other 21 sonatas in the set just as well played. Have you heard
them or only the single LP reissue?

Tooter

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <20010111204958...@ng-cg1.aol.com>,

I have them all and enjoy them, but the penultimate sonata has always
stood out for me.

RK

[Dan Koren]

In article <93ib6s$92v$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

rkha...@adnc.com wrote:
> In article <93h69d$90f$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> Dan Koren <dank...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> > In article <93gmup$sve$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> > rkha...@adnc.com wrote:
> > >
> > > His Schubert D.959 for RCA is my favorite
> > > recording of the work, bar none.
> >
> > Bar Schnabel ?!?
>
> What is their signature drink? I don't believe I
> have visited the place :-)
>

The signature drink is "Fur Elise".

dk

PS. The bar is on Abbey Street in London.

[Nassib Nassar]

On Tue, 09 Jan 2001 00:46:15 GMT, The Melsons wrote:
>Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
>unavailable.

I used to have his Chopin E minor concerto on Westminster, and it was
wonderful playing, very memorable.

Nassib

--
http://www.mp3.com/nassar

[Nicolas Hodges]

The Melsons <mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com> writes

>Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
>unavailable.

Until now all I have heard is one disc, I have to admit, of Beethoven
(including Appassionata) on a fortepiano on Astree. I won't say what I
thought of it, but suffice it to say I've never listened to him again
(though I very much appreciate his Bach book - highly recommended).

I've just picked up a Westminster LvB disc including the Appassionata,
and have inherited some Chopin (Saga maybe?). So I'll be reporting
back...
--
Nic

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <3a5a5d2e.339589640@news>,
mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com (The Melsons) wrote:

>
> Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
> unavailable.

Don't forget his Debussy disc (Suite Bergamasque + asstd.preludes) and
his disc of Schubert's B-flat + Moments Musicaux on Harmonic Records.
Mercifully, he uses non-obsolete pianos on both of these.

Ramon Khalona

[ppa...@mediaone.net]

Here's an 3 LP set of PB-S within easy reach of this computer.
Westminster Multiples 3 LP set
JS Bach: Toccata in C minor
Italian Concerto
Chromatic Fantasy in Fugue in D minor
Conceto in D minor (after Marcello)
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 15 (pastorale)
Piano Sonata No 17 (Tempest)
Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor

Westminster LP in plastic wrapper within easy reach of this computer.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3
with Scherchen VSOO and PB-S
on DAT tape from Westminster LP WL 5302 within easy reach of this computer
Beethoven Piano Concerto No 2
Scherchen VSOO and PB-S

On Westminster LP XWN 18546 within easy reach of this computer.
Mozart Concerto for 2 Pianos Nos 7 & 10
Scherchen VSOO, PB-S and Reine Gianoli

Finally within easy reach of this computer
Haydn Syms Nos 93 to 104 and 80 Scherchen VSOO and VSO just transferred with
loving care to 5 CD set from Green, Red and Blue label Westminster LPs -
blue label pressings have severe pitch problems. This was all corrected for
the transfer.

Haydn Syms No. 88, 92 with ScherchenVSOO (XWN 18616) and 100 W-LAB 7024
(PSOofLondon) transferred to CD last year.
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 with Scherchen VSOO on Westminster WAL 207 2 LP set.
Bach Cantatas 76, 84, 198 and 210 ("Wedding cantata") on Westminster 3 LP
set.

[Nicolas Hodges]

rkha...@adnc.com writes

>In article <3a5a5d2e.339589640@news>,
> mmelson4**NOSPAM**@home.com (The Melsons) wrote:
>
>>
>> Recommendations, please, for Badura-Skoda recordings, available or
>> unavailable.
>
>Don't forget his Debussy disc (Suite Bergamasque + asstd.preludes) and
>his disc of Schubert's B-flat + Moments Musicaux on Harmonic Records.
>Mercifully, he uses non-obsolete pianos on both of these.

'Original instruments' can't possibly be termed obsolete: if they were
obsolete they would be cheap, and they're not!
--
Nic

[Simon Roberts]

rkha...@adnc.com wrote:

: Don't forget his Debussy disc (Suite Bergamasque + asstd.preludes) and

: his disc of Schubert's B-flat + Moments Musicaux on Harmonic Records.
: Mercifully, he uses non-obsolete pianos on both of these.

Mercifully, those pianos aren't obsolete.

Simon

[D. Blumberg]

I don't want to appear to be spamming this group, but I represent Paul's
recordings at the Mp3.com site. He has put much of his line there including
the Beethoven Sonatas!!!
http://www.mp3.com/badura is his first page (which links to many others he
has)

Enjoy!!!

David Blumberg
http://www.toptempo.com

"Nicolas Hodges" <n...@nicolashodges.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:hOXSxLIa...@nicolashodges.demon.co.uk...

[Brendan R. Wehrung]

When does a piano become obselete, when F# sticks?

Calling a piano obselete is like saying that nobody should play a wood flute.

Brendan

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <94afd5$csv$1...@freenet9.carleton.ca>,

ck...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Brendan R. Wehrung) wrote:

>
> When does a piano become obselete, when F# sticks?
>
> Calling a piano obselete is like saying that nobody should play a wood
flute.

Any piano that cannot make Schubert's music sing, no matter how skillful
the pianist, is obsolete in my book. Try Badura-Skoda's recording of
the Impromptus on Astree to hear my point.

RK

[Matthew Silverstein]

Ramon wrote:

> Any piano that cannot make Schubert's music sing, no matter how skillful
> the pianist, is obsolete in my book. Try Badura-Skoda's recording of
> the Impromptus on Astree to hear my point.

But it's probably not the piano. Listen to Lambert Orkis' fortepiano
recordings of the Impromptus on Virgin or Staier's recording of the last three
sonatas on Teldec. Great music-making, I should say.

Matty

[Simon Roberts]

Matthew Silverstein (matthew.s...@corpus-christi.oxford.ac.uk) wrote:
: Ramon wrote:

It might be the piano - there's a huge range of differences in sound among
different fortepianos. They also sound different - even more so than
modern pianos - depending on how close the microphones are. Or it could
be that Ramon has a different concept of "singing"....

Simon

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <94bnom$c8$1...@news.ox.ac.uk>,
"Matthew Silverstein"

Or Lubimov. I am not saying that all period pianos sound bad, but B-S
has a knack for picking bad ones (I understand he has a large collection
of them), which is unfortunate.

[rkha...@adnc.com]

In article <94c9mv$ct5$2...@netnews.upenn.edu>,
si...@dept.english.upenn.edu (Simon Roberts) wrote:

>
> It might be the piano - there's a huge range of differences in sound
among
> different fortepianos. They also sound different - even more so than
> modern pianos - depending on how close the microphones are. Or it
could
> be that Ramon has a different concept of "singing"....

No, see my other post where I basically agree with your first statement.
B-S better trade in some of those pianos.

[Simon Roberts]

rkha...@adnc.com wrote:

: Or Lubimov. I am not saying that all period pianos sound bad, but B-S

: has a knack for picking bad ones (I understand he has a large collection
: of them), which is unfortunate.

If memory serves B-S records exclusively on fortepianos from his own
collection, rather than modern copies. Many of these, especially when
recorded as close as Astree and Arcana record them, sound quite rickety.
I rather like the effect sometimes, but easily understand why others
don't, preferring the sound of the better modern copies (which is what
Lubimov, Staier and others use) or extremely well restored old ones (such
as Orkis uses).

Simon