Ania Dorfmann (9 July 1899 – 21 April 1984) was a Russian-born American pianist and teacher, who taught at the Juilliard School in New York for many years and was the first of only a very few women pianists to play or record under Arturo Toscanini.
The first ever CD release of Ania Dorfmann’s complete RCA Victor recordings from 1939–1959. Nine CDs transferred, mixed and mastered from the original analogue master discs and tapes using 24bit/192kHz technology. The collaborations with Arturo Toscanini include her rare 1939 recording of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and the 1945 Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1. A complete cycle of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words and rare Tchaikovsky pieces, among them three previously unreleased movements from The Seasons. Facsimile LP sleeves and labels, booklet with full discographical notes.
Editorial Reviews:
Ania Dorfmann was one of the Juilliard School's most venerated piano teachers. Her considerable accomplishments as a recording artist, however, are finally receiving their due with a 9-CD original-jacket albums collection encompassing her complete recordings for RCA Victor.
With this release, the vast majority of Dorfmann's RCA recordings are reissued on 8 compact discs for the first time, transferred, mixed and mastered from the original analogue master discs and tapes, using 24 bit / 192 kHz technology. These include long sought-after rarities such as her rare 1939 rendition of the "Choral Fantasy" with Arturo Toscanini, Beethoven's "Moonlight" and "Pathétique" Sonatas, concertos by Grieg and Mendelssohn, works of Schumann, Chopin and Tchaikovsky, and one of the first complete editions of Mendelssohn s Songs without Words. Apparently Dorfmann was the first female piano soloist to collaborate with Arturo Toscanini, and their historic 1945 studio recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 marked the start of the of the pianist's relationship with RCA.
Reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ania Dorfmann, charm and poetry.
July 24, 2017
This nine CD set compiles all of Ania Dorfmann’s recordings for RCA. Never heard of Dorfmann? She never had the kind of stellar career like her RCA compatriots Rubinstein or Horowitz, and some of the recordings in this collection initially appeared on RCA’s budget sublabel, Bluebird Classics. But she was a fine pianist, as these recordings attest. Her career was curtailed in middle age by arthritis, although she continued to teach at Juilliard until ten months before her death in April of 1984.
Too many pianists try to project Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto (which was really the Second) through the lens of the composer’s later works, forgetting that the Beethoven of this era conquered Vienna as a virtuoso pianist. Not so Dorfmann, whose performance of the concerto is close to ideal – although I suspect that Toscanini had much to do with the overall interpretation. Tempos are crisp and the pianistic approach is decidedly virtuosic, particularly in the cadenza – Dorfmann plays the large one. Also included is Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy – the only time Toscanini ever programmed the work during his 68 year career. Dorfmann’s rendition of the introduction reminds one of Beethoven’s legendary improvisations. Absolutely thrilling. In both works, Toscanini and the NBC Symphony provide their usual combination of dynamism and clarity.
Beethoven’s Moonlight and Pathetique Sonatas are given straightforward performances that mostly fall within interpretive norms. The only outlier is the Pathetique’s opening movement where Dorfmann repeats the Grave section, instead of beginning again at the movement proper. Serkin took the same approach. (Frankly, I don’t have strong feelings about it either way.)
3.0 out of 5 stars Some very good, some average playing.
December 17, 2017
In terms of repertoire, the CDs cover a limited range of composer: Beethoven, Chopin, Grieg, Menotti (only 1 medium size piece), Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky. The composer that Dorfmann possesses the most affininity in the 9-CD Is R. Schumann. Even though I (as a concert pianist) don't agree with everything she does on the Schumann's Canival, she owns that piece. Everything is there: technique, interpretation, musicality, authority... The composer that Dorfmann possesses the least affinity is Beethoven. Of course, Toscanini might have a strong influence on the "way too fast" tempo Dorfman took on the Beethoven First Piano Concerto. Her Moonlight Sonata is practically colorless if you compare the first movement to both Horowitz's studio and live recording. The Chopin's waltz lacks the charm as well comparing to Rubinstein, Cortot, Darre, and Paderewski. Her Mendelssohn's complete "Songs Without Words" and Tchaikovsky's "Album's for the Young" and selections from "The Season" are all well played, but un-revelatory. To be honest, before I ordered this boxset, I had not heard one note by Dorfmann. Like some of the great bygone pianists, I was looking forward to hearing a pianist with a unique piano tone (like Cortot, Gieseking, Edwin Fischer, Wilhelm Kempff, etc.) and authoritative interpretations on some composers. Unfortunately, my expectations are not well met.
5.0 out of 5 stars A rich treasury made available once again!
August 23, 2017
"Ania Dorfmann: The Complete RCA Album Collection" is a rich treasury of very fine recorded performances, made available again through the process of digital restoration. Thank you, Sony, for reaching into the archives to allow a new generation of listeners to hear for themselves what a fine artist Ania Dorfmann was. The remastering of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 sounds better than previous vinyl and CD reissues of the original 1945 recording.
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发表于 2020-1-19 17:00:36
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