Remembering János Starkeron (OK, slightly after) his 100th

János Starker (July 5, 1924 — Apr. 28, 2013)

BRUCH: Kol Nidrei -- Adagio on Hebrew melodies, Op. 47


János Starker, cello; London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati, cond. Mercury, recorded in Watford Town Hall, London, July 10, 1962

FAURÉ: Élégie in C minor, Op. 24


János Starker, cello; Philharmonia Orchestra, Walter Susskind, cond. EMI, recorded in Kingsway Hall, London, July 16-17, 1956

by Ken

I've been trying like heck to finish up our Boston Symphony new-concertmaster series, eapecially now that the new incumbent, Nathan Cole, is officially on the job. I've made grinding but steady(ish) progress but still haven't gotten there. I might make casual mention of certain, oh, medical issues, possibly involving picturesque words like "major" and "surgery" and "this week," but that would fall ignobly under the heading of dime-store alibi-ing.

Anyway, I decided, as you'll have noticed, that we'd join The Strad, which has been publishing and republishing encomia on a daily basis, in remembrance of the great, protean cellisst János Starker, on -- or slightly after -- what would have been his 100th birthday, and we'll do it by dipping into the predictably Starker-rich SC Archive. We've led off with the two great cello-and-orchestra elegies. We can lighten the mood by selecting carefully in the musical set for which Starker was probably most famous, the six Bach cello suites. We'll go with the C major Suite, No. 3.

BACH: Suite for Solo Cello No. 3 in C, S. 1009:
i. Prélude; ii. Allemande (at 4:09); iii. Courante (at 7:03);
iv. Sarabande (at 9:13); v. Bourrée I-II (at 12:32); vi. Gigue (at 15:41)


János Starker, cello. Mercury, recorded in Ballroom Studio A, New York City, Dec. 21-22, 1965


WE HAVE DELIGHTFULLY DIFFERENT PERFORMANCES
OF DEBUSSY'S "GIRL WITH THE FLAXEN HAIR"

The 1958 one with Gerald Moore is rhythmically bracing, the 1978 one with Shigeo Neriki, more languidly impressionistic.

DEBUSSY: Préludes for Piano: Book I, No. 6,
"La Fille aux cheveux de lin" ("The Girl with the Flaxen Hair")


(arr. Fouillard) János Starker, cello; Gerald Moore, piano. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London, June 4-7, 1958

(arr. Roques) János Starker, cello; Shigeo Neriki, piano. Denon, recorded in Nippon Columbia Studio No. 1, Tokyo, June 20, 1978

And a wholesome Schubert "moment," with a rather more frenetic one courtesy of Mussorgsky.

SCHUBERT: Moment musical, D. 780, No. 3 (arr. Becker)


János Starker, cello; Gerald Moore, piano. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London, June 4-7, 1958

MUSSORGSKY: The Fair at Sorochinsk: Gopak (arr. Stutschewsky)


János Starker, cello; Gerald Moore, piano. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London, June 4-7, 1958


ODDLY, WE DON'T HAVE STARKER PLAYING
THE DVOŘÁK CONCERTO IN THE ARCHIVE

But you can find the indispensable Mercury recording with Dorati and the LSO in several forms on YouTube, which also hosts live performances from Tokyo and Budapest. In its place, let's conclude with --

BRAHMS: Double Concerto in A minor, Op. 102:
i. Allegro

ii. Andante

iii. Vivace non troppo

Henryk Szeryng, violin; János Starker, cello; Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Bernard Haitink, cond. Philips, recorded in the Concertgebouw, September 1970


OKAY, MAYBE ONE MORE BRAHMS MORSEL -- IF ONLY
TO HEAR STARKER & JOSEF SUK AS A VIOLIN & CELLO DUO

BRAHMS: Piano Trio No. 1 in B, Op. 8:
iii. Adagio

Josef Suk, violin; János Starker, cello; Julius Katchen, piano. Decca, recorded at the Maltings, Snape (England), July 1968

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