The name of Lionel Tertis may not be as well known as that of Pablo Casals, but what he did for his instrument -- the viola -- was similar to that what Casals did for the cello. Tertis moved the viola out of its usual context as an accompanimental instrument and helped establish it as a viable solo voice. The idea of a four-disc collection of Tertis' recordings may not have you jumping up and down just yet, but Biddulph's Lionel Tertis: The Complete Vocalion Recordings (1919-1924) nonetheless is something to write home ...
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The name of Lionel Tertis may not be as well known as that of Pablo Casals, but what he did for his instrument -- the viola -- was similar to that what Casals did for the cello. Tertis moved the viola out of its usual context as an accompanimental instrument and helped establish it as a viable solo voice. The idea of a four-disc collection of Tertis' recordings may not have you jumping up and down just yet, but Biddulph's Lionel Tertis: The Complete Vocalion Recordings (1919-1924) nonetheless is something to write home about if your interest runs to early chamber music recordings and to performance practices among string players of the nineteenth century. On the longer chamber music recordings, violinist Albert Sammons joins Tertis and the interaction of these two players is electrically charged, even though the recordings are acoustic.There has probably never been a collection boasting such a wealth of acoustically recorded chamber music as Lionel Tertis: The Complete Vocalion Recordings. On the first...
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