Description

HARVEY SHAPIRO (NEW YORK CITY, JUNE 22, 1911 – NEW YORK CITY, OCTOBER 25, 2007)

 

 

 

 

Harvey Shapiro, of Russian parentage, was born in New York City. His first cello teacher was Willem Willeke (1880–1950), who was both a medical doctor and a well-known cellist of the early 20th century. Willeke was the principal cello teacher at the Institute of Musical Art, which merged with Juilliard in 1926. Shapiro also studied with Diran Alexanian, who was both a pupil and partner in teaching with Pablo Casals. Shapiro was a winner of the highly regarded Loeb and Naumburg Prizes. In 1937 he joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini, and from 1944 to 1946 he served as principal cellist. In 1938 or 1939, at the invitation of NBC, he, Oscar Shumsky, Josef Gingold and William Primrose founded what came to be called the Primrose String Quartet, considered to be one of the finest quartets of its time. He and the Primrose Quartet along with Emanuel Feuermann, another famous cellist, gave historic performances of the Schubert Quintet. From 1947 to 1963 Shapiro performed with the WQXR Radio Quartet. He recorded as soloist with Victor Records, Columbia Records, US Decca Records and Nonesuch Records. In 1970, on recommendation of Leonard Rose, he became professor of cello at the Juilliard School in New York, a position he held for more than thirty years. Many of his students have gone on to become famous cellists in their own right. In 1991 he was nominated as “Best Teacher of the Year” at Juilliard, and he was awarded the Schatzer Award. He remained an active teacher into his 90s. In March 1998 he gave a very well received recital at the Prince Regent Theatre in Munich, Germany. He continued to give master classes in Europe, notably in Salzburg, Vienna, Engelberg and Florence until 2006. Shapiro was married to violinist Rena Robbins from 1947 until her death in 1980. Shapiro died in New York on October 25, 2007.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Luigi Boccherini / The Stradivari Quintet Assisting Artist Harvey Shapiro –String Quintets

Label: Musical Heritage Society – MHS 645, Musical Heritage Society – MHS 645S

Format: Records, LP, Stereo

Country: US

Release date: 1966

Genre: Classical

Style: Classical

A Opus 13, No. 5 in E Major

B1 Opus 20, No. 4 in F Major

B2 Opus 37, No. 2 in G Minor

Recording company – Musical Heritage Society, Inc.

The record manufacturer is Columbia Special Products.

Cello – George Ricci, Harvey Shapiro

Composed By – Luigi Boccherini

Ensemble [Quintet] – The Stradivari Quintet

Producer, Music Director – Dr. Michael Naida

Viola – David Mankovitz

Violin – Arnold Eidus, Raoul Poliakin

-Liner Notes by James Davis (unidentified artist)

-A Musical Heritage Society Recording produced under the direction of Dr. Michael Naida

Matrix / Inner Ring (Side 1 Label): XSV 105435

Matrix / Inner Ring (Side B Label): XSV 105436

Die / Inner Ring (Side A Runout Stamped): XSV105435-1B

Die / Inner Ring (Side B Runout Stamped): XSV105436-1A

Other (Library of Congress Cat. No.) : R65-2752

 

Luigi Boccherini / The Stradivari Quartet Assisting Artist Harvey Shapiro –String Quintets

Label: Musical Heritage Society – MHS 694, Musical Heritage Society – MHS 694S

Format: Records, LP, Stereo

Country: US

Release date: 1966

Genre: Classical

Style: Classical

Opus 37, No. 1 in C Minor

A1 Molto Lento (Grave Assai) – Andantino Con Innocenza

A2 Minuetto

A3 Grave Assai, Come Prima

String Quintet in C Major

B1 Andante with Moto

B2 Minuetto

B3 Largo Cantabile

B4 Rondo Allegro Con Moto

Opus 47, No. 1 in A Minor

B5 Allegro Non Molto

B6 Minuetto

B7 Largo Cantabile

B8 Finale: Allegro Giusto

 

Dmitri Shostakovich / Richard Strauss – Harvey Shapiro, Jascha Zayde – Sonata For Cello And Piano Op. 40 / Sonata For Cello And Piano In F Major, Op. 6

Label: Nonesuch – H-71050

Format: Records, LP, Reissue, Stereo

Country: US

Release date: 1972

Genre: Classical

Style: Modern, Neo-Romantic

Sonata For Cello & Piano In F Major, Op. 40

Composed By – Dmitri Shostakovich

A1 Moderate

A2 Moderate With Motorcycle

A3 Largo

A4 Allegretto

Sonata For Cello & Piano In F Major, Op. 6

Composed By – Richard Strauss

B1 Allegro Con Brio

B2 Andante Ma Non Troppo

B3 Allegro Vivo

 

Sergei Rachmaninoff / Zoltán Kodály – Harvey Shapiro, Earl Wild – Sonata In G Minor, Op. 19 For Piano And ‘Cello / Sonata, Op. 4 For ‘Cello And Piano

Label: Nonesuch – H-71155

Format: Records, LP, Album, Stereo

Country: US

Release date: 1967

Genre: Classical

Style: Modern

Sonata In G Minor, Op. 19 For Piano And ‘Cello

Composed By – Sergei Rachmaninoff

A1 I. Lento; Allegro Moderato

A2 II. Allegro Scherzando

A3 III. Andante  5:17

B1 IV. Allegro Mosso

Sonata, Op. 4 For ‘Cello And Piano

Composed By – Zoltán Kodály

B2 I. Fantasy

B3 II. Allegro Con Spirito

Cello – Harvey Shapiro

Cover [Art] – Bill Hoffman

Design [Cover] – William S. Harvey

Engineer, Supervised By [Musical Supervision] – Marc J. Aubort

Piano – Earl Wild

Recording Supervisor [Production Supervisor] – Teresa Sterne

Sleeve Notes – Edward Tatnall Canby

Also released in mono H-1155.

 

Smetana Quartet No. 1 (Primrose Quartet, 1940)

Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E minor (“From My Life”)

The Primrose Quartet:

Oscar Shumsky, violin I

Josef Gingold, violin II

William Primrose, viola

Harvey Shapiro, cello

Recorded February 6 and 15, 1940, in RCA Victor Studio No. 2, New York City.  Issued in July of the same year as Victor Musical Masterpiece Set M-675 (records 16313 through 16316-S), in slide automatic sequence as Set AM-675 (records 16317 through 16320-S), and in drop automatic sequence as Set DM-675 (records 16321-S through 16324).  In all three cases, the final side was left blank; the manual and drop automatic sets were reissued in 1946 with a filler, Bach’s “Komm, süsser Tod” played by Primrose on the viola with organist Vernon de Tar, a recording of October, 1945.  I do not have this, however.

The side and matrix information:

Side 1 (CS-047008-2): First movement (Allegro vivo appassionato), part 1

Side 2 (CS-047009-2): First movement, part 2; Second movement (Allegro moderato a la Polka), part 1

Side 3 (CS-047010-1): Second movement, part 2

Side 4 (CS-047011-1): Third movement (Largo sostenuto), part 1

Side 5 (CS-047012-1): Third movement, part 2

Side 6 (CS-047013-1): Fourth movement (Allegro vivace), part 1

Side 7 (CS-047014-1): Fourth movement, part 2

Although the set was originally issued without a filler, one may have been intended for it: the Primrose Quartet recorded the Scherzo from Tchaikovsky’s Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat minor, Op. 30, at the February 15 session (on matrix CS-047062), but this was not approved for release.  Coincidentally, the very same piece was used as a filler for Columbia’s competing version of Smetana’s “From My Life” Quartet, made about the same time, by the Curtis String Quartet (Masterworks Set M-405).