Isaac Stern - The Complete Columbia Analogue Recordings (2020) [75CD Box Set]

Isaac Stern would have turned 100 in 2020. To mark this beloved artist’s centenary, Sony Classical is proud to present a new edition of his entire American Columbia analogue discography: 75 CDs of the recordings that established the Ukrainian-born American violinist’s worldwide reputation as one of the outstanding musical figures of his time.

Like so many other of history’s famous fiddlers, Stern was a child prodigy, entering the conservatory in San Francisco (where his family had settled) when he was only eight. In 1936, at 16, he made his recital debut and played with the San Francisco Symphony under Monteux and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Klemperer. His first New York appearance came in 1937, his European debut after the war, in 1948. By then, much of the world had already heard if not seen him, performing classical showpieces under Franz Waxman’s baton on the soundtrack of the popular 1946 Warner Bros. film Humoresque. An album of selections from the movie, first issued by Columbia on 78s in 1947, appears on CD for the first time in this new set. They include Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy, a thrilling arrangement for Stern’s Hollywood debut.

The violinist’s earliest releases, beginning in 1946, already included the indispensable concertos of Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Wieniawski, Brahms and others, works he would revisit in the studio at various stages of his career. One telling example: Stern’s 1951 recording of the Sibelius concerto, with Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic, immediately was held up as a rival to Heifetz’s iconic prewar recording, also under Beecham. A recent survey of Sibelius recordings in the leading string magazine, The Strad, declares that the young Stern’s tone already burns in 1951, then extols his second recording, made in stereo with Ormandy and the Philadelphia in 1969: Stern is even more intense, more pointed, more rhythmically incisive in the outer movements, retaining and refining his total command over the sustained line in the second movement. Everyone in the session is digging in, and the sound is a miracle of balance; it hasn’t aged a day.

Needless to say, the new collection holds even more than Stern’s acclaimed recordings of virtually every major violin concerto in the repertoire, from Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart to Prokofiev, Bartók and Berg, with conductors including Mitropoulos, Walter, Szell and, above all, Ormandy and Bernstein - not to mention Stravinsky’s concerto under the composer’s baton, and newer specimens created expressly for Stern by Penderecki and Rochberg.

Tracks:

DISC 1: Tchaikovsky · Wieniawski: Violin Concertos I Hilsberg · Kurtz
DISC 2: Mozart: Violin Sonata No. 26 · Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto I Zakin · Ormandy
DISC 3: Violin Favorites I Zakin · Levant · Waxman
DISC 4: Prades Festival – Bach I Tabuteau · Schneider · Casals · Wummer · Istomin
DISC 5: Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 · Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 7 I Zakin
DISC 6: Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1 · Franck: Violin Sonata I Zakin
DISC 7: Brahms · Sibelius: Violin Concertos I Royal Philharmonic Orchestra · Beecham
DISC 8: Mozart: Sinfonia concertante · Piano Quartet I Primrose · Casals · Istomin
DISC 9: Vignettes for Violin I Zakin
DISC 10: Brahms: String Quintet No. 2; Schumann: Piano Quintet op. 44 I Schneider · Katims · Thomas · Tortelier · Hess
DISC 11: Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 I Schneider · Katims · Thomas · Foley · Casals
DISC 12: Schubert: String Quintet D. 956 I Schneider · Katims · Tortelier · Casals
DISC 13: Brahms: Piano trio No. 1 I Hess · Casals
DISC 14: Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas I Zakin
DISC 15: C. P. E. Bach · J. S. Bach · Handel · Tartini: Violin Sonatas I Zakin
DISC 16: /17 Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1, 2 & 3 · F.A.E Sonata I Zakin
DISC 18: Vivaldi · Bach: Violin Concertos I Oistrakh · Ormandy
DISC 19: Lalo: Symphonie espagnole · Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 I Ormandy
DISC 20: Bernstein: Serenade I Symphony of the Air · Bernstein
DISC 21: Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 · Saint-Saëns · Ravel I Ormandy
DISC 22: Prokofiev: Violin Concertos I Mitropoulos · Bernstein
DISC 23: Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 I New York Philharmonic · Bernstein
DISC 24: Tchaikovsky · Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos I Ormandy
DISC 25: Beethoven: Violin Concerto I New York Philharmonic · Bernstein
DISC 26: Franck · Debussy: Violin Sonatas I Zakin
DISC 27: Brahms: Violin Concerto · Double Concerto I Rose · Ormandy · Walter
DISC 28: Vivaldi: Concertos for 2 Violins I Oistrakh · Ormandy
DISC 29: Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 · Viotti: Violin Concerto No. 22 I Ormandy
DISC 30: Stravinsky: Concerto in D · Symphony in 3 Movements I Stravinsky
DISC 31: Bartók: Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2 · Berg: Violin Concerto I Bernstein
DISC 32: None but the Lonely Heart I Columbia Symphony Orchestra · Katims
DISC 33: Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 3 I Zakin
DISC 34: Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 5 “Turkish” I Szell
DISC 35: Prokofiev: Violin Concertos I The Philadelphia Orchestra · Ormandy
DISC 36: Barber · Hindemith: Violin Concertos I New York Philharmonic · Bernstein
DISC 37: Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 I Istomin · Rose
DISC 38: Bloch: Baal Shem · Violin Sonata No. 1 I Zakin
DISC 39: Brahms: Double Concerto · Beethoven: Triple Concerto I Rose · Istomin · Ormandy
DISC 40: Dvořák: Violin Concerto · Romance I The Philadelphia Orchestra · Ormandy
DISC 41: Bach: Violin Concertos · Concerto for Oboe and Violin I Gomberg · Bernstein
DISC 42: /43 Brahms: Piano Trios Nos. 1, 2 & 3 I Istomin · Rose
DISC 44: Lalo: Symphonie espagnole · Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 I Ormandy
DISC 45: haTikvah on Mt. Scopus I Friedland · Davrath · Tourel · Bernstein
DISC 46: Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 · Sinfonia concertante I Trampler · Szell
DISC 47: Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 · Haydn: Piano Trio No. 10 I Istomin · Rose
DISC 48: -51 Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios I Istomin · Rose
DISC 52: Sibelius: Violin Concerto · Karelia Suite I Ormandy
DISC 53: Mozart: Flute Quartets I Rampal · Schneider · Rose
DISC 54: Bartók: Violin Sonatas · Webern: 4 Pieces I Zakin · Rosen
DISC 55: Isaac Stern – Romance I Columbia Symphony Orchestra · Brieff
DISC 56: Mozart · Stamitz: Sinfonias concertantes I Zukerman · Barenboim
DISC 57: Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 · Clarinet (Violin) Sonata No. 2 I Zakin
DISC 58: Copland: Violin Sonata · Duo · Nonet I Copland · Columbia String Ensemble
DISC 59: Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 3 · Dvořák: 4 Romantic Pieces · F.A.E. Sonata I Zakin
DISC 60: Mozart: Concertone · Pleyel: Symphonie concertante I Zukerman · Barenboim
DISC 61: Mozart: Divertimento for Violin, Viola and Cello I Zukerman · Rose
DISC 62: Beethoven: Violin Concerto I New York Philharmonic · Barenboim
DISC 63: /64 Concert of the Century I Bernstein · Rostropovich · Horowitz · Fischer-Dieskau
DISC 65: Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 · Chausson: Poème I Barenboim
DISC 66: Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni · Concertos for Violin and Flute I Rampal
DISC 67: Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 I English Chamber Orchestra · Schneider
DISC 68: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto · Méditation I Rostropovich
DISC 69: Brahms: Violin Concerto I New York Philharmonic · Mehta
DISC 70: Rochberg: Violin Concerto I Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra · Previn
DISC 71: Penderecki: Violin Concerto I Minnesota Orchestra · Skrowaczewski
DISC 72: Mendelssohn: Piano Trios I Istomin · Rose
DISC 73: The Classic Melodies of Japan I Yamamoto · Hayakawa · Fuju · Naitoh
DISC 74: Isaac Stern – 60th Anniversary Celebration I New York Philharmonic · Perlman · Zukerman · Mehta
DISC 75: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto · Bach: Violin Concertos I Bernstein · Schneider