Izler Solomon and Arthur Winograd in the music of Aaron Copland

Izler Solomon

A nice compilation of several 1950's MGM records of the music of Copland, here issued on E3367. Izler Solomon and Arthur Winograd conduct the MGM Chamber/Full Orchestra which is probably made up of New York or Los Angeles studio/freelance musicians and not the official MGM studio orchestra used for movie productions.

The program here is Copland's music drawn from compositions that he wrote for films, theatre and radio. It's all vintage, 1940's Copland - Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring listenable with memorable tunes which at times paint clear mental scenic pictures in your head. Great stuff in my opinion though quite traditional in writing and scope.

As with many of these MGM records, the recording is very close and upfront, incredibly "studio" in its presentation. It's almost like the conductor is surrounded on all sides by the musicians, like those early recordings done into a recording horn. Still, the performances are lively and there is a lot of zip to them.

A refreshing program.


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Howard Hanson leads Americana for Solo Winds

A little homage today to Howard Hanson and his tireless efforts to promote, educate, and record modern American music of the midcentury. This is volume 4 of Mercury's "American Music Festival" series, MG40003, recorded in 1954 at the Eastman Theatre. Here, we have pieces written for solo winds accompanied by string orchestra.

The composers on this record are pretty much forgotten, what with the exception of Hanson and Copland. Bernard Rogers, Homer Keller, Kent Kennan, and Wayne Barlow were contemporaries of Howard Hanson and worked with him frequently at the Eastman School. All of them write in what might be called a "romantic" style which features lovely melodies and easy harmonies. It's conservative music led by a conservative composer conductor who reveled in full, rich, string passages and welcomed extended solo lines for woodwinds.  This is a lovely album and a bit of an antidote to the spiky rhythms and often disjointed melodic lines of these composers' colleagues on the other side of the spectrum.

I don't think that enough can be said for the work done by Howard Hanson and Robert Whitney to promote and argue the validity of modern American composition during their lifetimes. These recorded documents remind us of a time when offering and nurturing culture to the masses really mattered.

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Walter Hendl conducts Copland and Barber for the American Recording Society

Today, American Recording Society Number 26  featuring Walter Hendl and the "American Recording Society" Orchestra in Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite and Barber's Overture to the School for Scandal and Music for a Scene from Shelley.

This is a very persuasive offering by an American  born conductor who has all but disappeared from the musical radar. Though Hendl would rerecord with Copland with the formidable Chicago SO, this earlier effort from Vienna captures beautifully the spirit of Copland's great rural ballet with surprisingly alive and alert orchestral playing. I will echo the same for the Barber pieces as they positively come to life with great energy and virile excitement. Considering that this was the first time these Viennese ever saw the music and, recorded with minimal rehearsal time, the results are simply astonishing, at least for this listener's ears. Hendl was known as a conductor who could work under extreme conditions and this record  is a testament to his excellence as an orchestral coach with solid interpretive skills, second to none.

You will love Hendl's Appalachian Spring. What gorgeous music!

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Howard Mitchell and the National SO in an all Copland program

Here's a recent acquisition and with due thanks to ClickRepair, it is now quite listenable! From around 1956, an all Copland program on Westminster - the usual suspects, Appalachian Spring, El Salon Mexico, Billy the Kid Suite and Fanfare for the Common Man played by the National SO of Washington DC.

Howard Mitchell had a nearly 20 year tenure as conductor in Washington and the general appraisal of his efforts is mixed at best. A solidly trained musician from the American midwest, Mitchell, nonetheless, lacked the intellectual gifts of a truly inspiring conductor. For the most part, his reviewed performances document a generally well prepared ensemble which offered no new insights in to the repertoire but rather followed conventional norms and practices. Interestingly though, Mitchell did achieve some status for his Shostakovich recordings in which he displayed a certain affinity for this complicated artist. Go figure.

The Copland program is, well, pretty difficult not to play well. These pieces are crowd pleasers and Mitchell, as expected, knows the "American" idiom well. What is served up here is enjoyable, though not life affirming, as you would get with Bernstein. The NSO plays well but not as well, surprisingly, as it does in Shostakovich's 1st and 5th symphonies or, The Age of Gold ballet Suite, RCA and Westminster releases. Those expecting the NYPO or the Philadalphia Orchestra won't get in Washington. What one does get, is a good second tier orchestra, of mainly American musicians, enjoying and playing music by one of their own.

Oh, these are mono FLAC's.

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Gershwin and Copland by the young Leonard Bernstein

No one, NO ONE, owned this repertoire like Leonard Bernstein. When it came to making a case for Copland or Gershwin, hands down Leonard Bernstein could do it better then anybody.

This Camden issue (though the picture above is from the original issue), highlights impressive accounts of An American in Paris and the Billy the Kid Suite dating from 1947 studio sessions for RCA. Because the RCA Victor orchestra is small, probably no more then 50 musicians , many details that are often buried in larger ensemble presentations, literally leap out of the score in these accounts. Bernstein's swagger, lilt, nervous energy and kinetic approach is in full display and these performances auger a bright future for the dynamic young Bernstein.

This is great music for a beautiful sunny day and, is a fitting reminder of a special, albeit highly individual, American legend.

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