Brahms' choral works with the Akademie Kammerchor Wien

A very nice anthology, by Westminster, of choral pieces from different periods in Brahms' life. Conductors Henry Swoboda and Reinhold Schmidt lead persuasive accounts of Nanie, Gesang Der Parzen, Marienlieder, and Songs for Women's Voices in faithful monaural sound.

If you do not know the choral pieces of Brahms, you are missing something real special. Like any of his ensemble pieces for instruments, Brahms achieves a beautiful blend of lush sounds while never sacrificing articulation and clear phrasing. The music itself lends itself well to the text and the result is an experience which is pleasing to the ear and faithful to the message. Brahms' choral music captures the spirituality of the man that he could not fully express in his instrumental and chamber works. In order to capture Brahms' essence, you have to spend some time listening to the music he wrote for the most perfect of instruments.

No doubt, the Akademie Kammerchor prove to be excellent proponents of this interesting and varied program. These Viennese choristers most assuredly had this music in their blood and you can hear the love and respect they have for Brahms. You will love this program!

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More from Erno Balogh in Bach

A while back, I posted three part inventions of Bach performed by Erno Balogh and here today are the two part inventions on Lyrichord LL1, in good monaural sound.

Aside from the obvious superlatives regarding Balogh's playing, this is a must hear. Everything is perfect, the phrasing, the dynamics, the phrasing, the insight. If Bach is a god, as Casals said, then Balogh is an archangel.

Indispensable and an antidote to our troubled times.

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Arthur Winograd and the MGM Orchestra in Kodaly and Rozsa

I know that a number of people have been waiting for this particular lp and I was lucky to find it this week in the three for a dollar pile! Here we have Arthur Winograd leading the MGM Orchestra in Kodaly's 'Summer Evening' and Rozsa's "Hungarian Serenade." I believe this record was recorded in 1957 and it is issued here in a good, though dryly recorded, monaural pressing.

Zoltan Kodaly

This may have been the premiere recording of the two works on this record. Sadly, both are pretty much forgotten today and its a shame since they are atmospheric, expertly written and, very, very listenable. Summer Evening was Kodaly's graduation piece from the conservatory in Budapest and it's excellence earned him a scholarship to study abroad. As with most of Kodaly's output, it is highly influenced by folk music and this tone poem of sorts is a collection of episodes that are strung together into one cohesive piece. Kodaly revised it in 1930 and this is the version presented by Winograd.

Miklos Rozsa

The Hungarian Serenade by Rosza is one of this composer's earliest pieces, written after he had abandoned the study of chemistry for music, and it was premiered in Paris. Though Rosza admittedly did not like living in Hungary, he, from time to time, drew inspiration from his native country for his compositions. This "suite" of short pieces is an absolute delight since the writing is witty, sharp, and perfectly structured. Rosza, like Korngold, suffered from being pegged as a film composer but here is a terrific opportunity to hear music that was written long before this composer began his successful tenure in Hollywood.

Arthur Winograd

Winograd and the superb MGM players prove to be honest and thoughtful interpreters of this fare. Though a Dorati might have brought a bit more authentic atmosphere to the music, Winograd acquits himself well in, again, music that was probably quite unfamiliar to many of the musicians. Very enjoyable listening these sounds from old Hungary.

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Trumpet, Flute and Horn Concerti of Haydn conducted by Fritz Lehan

Posting again from a very warm Bulgaria, here's a nice mono Mace lp of Haydn wind concerti featuring the Consortium Musicum with Fritz Lehan leading soloists Helmut Schneidewind on trumpet, Valerie Noack on flute and Erich Penzel playing horn. These recordings date from the early 60's.

I enjoy this simple and honest way with Haydn. In particular, I've heard a lot of recordings of the trumpet concerto and enjoy very few of them, usually because of excessive brightness in tone and technical displays that jar the overall ebb and flow of the writing. I'm happy to say that Schneidewind plays warmly and collaborates with the members of the Consortium Musicum in a concertante style which I attribute to Lehan's firm leadership and a partnership of intrepretive ideas.

On my vacation: Here in Bulgaria, we spent several days in Sandanski, a spa town of sorts close to the Greek border and the reputed home of Spartacus, the "Thracian barbarian" who led a great slave revolt in the last days of the Roman Republic. In the days of Communist Bulgaria, the leaders played up the Spartacus connection as one of the first great "proletarian" uprisings. From Sandanski, the important and impressive historical sites of Rila Monastery, Melnik, and Rozhen Monastery are within easy distance. While in Sandanski, we took a brief trip to Rupite, the final resting place of Baba Vanga, a mystic who combined prophetic insights with Orthodox Christian teachings. Some consider her a saint and on her grave was an icon of her with a saint's halo. In Melnik, the famed caves hold barrels of rich red wine that is definitely the drink of the gods. We will be traveling for a few nights to Hisar, which is an ancient spa town with waters possessing curing powers  for a whole host of diseases and ailments....not that I have any ailments at this time..or that I know of! Bulgaria is an amazing country, with great beauty, variety and a rich history. Also, I will mention that the fruits and vegetables here are the best, simply delicious, a treat for the eyes and the tongue!

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Independence Day with The Goldman Band

It's the grand old 4th of July and here I am in Bulgaria thinking of fireworks, band concerts and the like. Actually, I had the good fortune to catch a free concert by the Sofia Brass Band this past Saturday and they opened the program with, what else but the Stars and Stripes Forever! So, in the spirit of the festivities, I'm able to post from abroad a classic band recording by the famed Goldman band under their founder Edwin Franko Goldman. This particular issue was the first in Columbia's "Harmony" series, the budget label that was the forerunner of the much larger, and expansive Odyssey one.

Edwin Franko Goldman is probably the most influential, and important American Bandmaster after Sousa. Besides being a superb conductor, he was a terrific composer and arranger, excellent cornetist, teacher, and founder of the American Bandmaster's Association, probably the most important fraternal band instructors organization in the world. The Goldman Band, in its heyday, was a great professional band, that set incredibly high standards for band performance and did much to popularize the medium beyond the setting in the park. These performances of Sousa marches by the Goldman Band carry on the tradition of Sousa and set the stage for Fennell and his revolutionary work at Eastman. Important documents they are indeed and a clear and clean record of a bridge of style from the 19th to the 20th century. I'm not sure of the recording dates here but I would guess the 1940's.

I have included four of Goldman's own marches as fillers. These recordings are from the mid 30's and are available on the Internet Archive. Excellent music it is with a strong imprint of Sousa.

Happy 236!

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A little Brass and with some Woodwind tossed in for good luck!

Some great brass and woodwind music today. First, by request(s), The Modern Age of Brass with Roger Voisin leading a bunch of his BSO colleagues followed by Frank Glazer and the NY Woodwind Quintet in music by Riegger and Poulenc. Both records date from the mid 50's, the Voisin in mono and the woodwind in stereo, though I have seen the latter's recording date as 1953! The stereo here appears natural.

Brass players are so indebted to Roger V for his pioneering recordings and editions of various works for trumpet and brass. Though admittedly, I have never been a great fan of the bright French school of trumpet playing that he was one of the last proponents of, I recognize him as a tireless promoter of the trumpet and music for brass ensembles. And, as I said previously, Roger was completely and utterly dedicated to music in Boston, especially the next generation of brass players. This important record, from MIT, preserves strong, pioneering excursions into great works. In particular is the masterpiece of Ingolf Dahl, his Music for Brass Instruments, a brilliant work of colors and invention. There is some fine playing by Voisin, Armando Ghitalla and Kauko Kahila here. Great stuff.

The woodwind album features two works, Wallingford Riegger's Concerto for Piano and Woodwind Quintet and Poulenc's "Piano" sextet. We all know Poulenc whose star shines pretty bright these days but Riegger is shamelessly neglected, in fact nearly forgotten. Though Riegger primarily composed within the twelve tone system, he was not orthodox enough to make his output difficult to listen to, The concerto, Op 53 and written in 1953(!) is a marvelous piece of imagination and beauty. I think it to be a great display of Riegger's understanding of the instruments and the colors and sounds that they make. Now, if we can only get a recording of his Music for Brass Choir! The Poulenc is delicious in that French 20th century kind of a way and players like Samual Baron and David Glazer eat it up for all its worth. Frank Glazer's piano conributions are insightful and a pleasant reminder of this fine, and underrated, artist.

Both of these lp's add up to a well filled cd. It all works well together, at least I think so.

Personal note: I will be on vacation through the middle of July. More posts will come after I return.
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Piano music of Faure played by Emma Boynet

I found this rather best up old record on a recent trip to the Goodwill. After transferring it and cleaning it up a bit, (Sacqueboutier is sooooo right about the value of ClickRepair!) the resulting product proved quite lietenable and I'm glad for that! This ravishing and lush music receives an exquisite performance by Emma Boynet, a performer that I knew nothing about. A little web search brought up the information that she was associated with Faure during his later years and, was a favorite soloist of Koussevitzky during his tenure in Boston. She also taught here in the States for a number of years.

To my ears, I hear connections to the music of Chopin. The great 19th century Polish composer was the master of the smaller piano art forms and Faure obviously knew, studied and absorbed Chopin's style. The Barcarolle's, in particular, are works of relaxed lyricism that incorporate quieter melodies with precise and gentle harmonies. This is pleasurable listening, however in an urgent way, because Boynet performs with a deep understanding and love for this composer. It is one of those records where the performer gets as close to the composer as one can, maybe even closer to the composer's intention than the composer himself. If you do not know these gems, and admittedly I had a vague recollection, this is the introduction disc to the piano music of Faure. You will play this twice through on the first listening and let me know if you do not, ok?

I am so happy to have acquired this lp. I believe the recordings were made around 1951 or 2.

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Victor Aller joins Felix Slatkin in Shostakovich and Hindemith

Today's lp features strong familial ties along with terrific playing by an orchestra that was for all practical purposes the cream of Hollywood Studio musicians. Pianist Victor Aller joins his brother in law Felix Slatkin and the Concert Arts Orchestra in Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings and Hindemith's The Four Temperaments.

During the 40's and 50's, Hollywood was home to some of the very best classically trained musicians in the country. Many, were drawn to the optimistic outlook of California, often coming from disparate circumstances in Europe, and others liked the idea of good pay, steady employment and, superb benefits that the studios lavished on their best of the best. Of those working in the studio were the extended Slatkin family, Felix, his wife Eleanor and her brother Victor Aller. Felix and Eleanor would found the Hollywood Quartet, which in its day was one of the finest quartets in the Americas and a pioneer in performing newer works for the string quartet medium.

Felix Slatkin was the longtime concertmaster of the Twentieth Century Fox Orchestra and often conducted this fine band, which many considered the best studio orchestra and, even a better ensemble then the famed Los Angeles Philharmonic. Slatkin had developed a relationship with Capitol through the Hollywood Quartet and during the early 50's, Capitol sought to offer a "pops" type series to rival RCA's Boston Pops and Columbia's Andre Kostelanetz. Capitol settled on Felix Slatkin to conduct larger works with Carmen Dragon directing the "lollipop" type offerings. Mostly Slatkin was put to work with overtures and ballet suites but here he is with a full scale recording of two serious and contemporary works.

Both the Shostakovich and Hindemith are well played and ideally interpreted. Aller and Slatkin are truly of one mind and what is beautiful about the performances is that Aller does not view these as solo concertos but rather as works for orchestra with a "leading" piano part. I really like this approach as I view the works in this way. The Shostakovich is a marvelous and colorful piece, probably one of the five best concertos of the last century. The Hindemith, not heard often enough, is a strong work and this performance softens ever so slightly Hindemith's often spiky manner in a beneficial way. Though very different composers with styles that are hardly congruent, this pairing makes sense and flows naturally under Slakin's able direction.

These recordings date from 1953 and were well recorded by Capitol.

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Music of Jacques Ibert led by Henry Swoboda

An early Westminster issue from 1951 with Henry Swoboda conducting a program of music by Jacques Ibert. Leading the Winterthur Symphony, Swoboda directs energetic performances of Divertissement and Capriccio and with the Vienna SO and women of the Akademie Chorus, he conducts an enjoyable Suite Elizabethaine.

This has to be one of the very first records ever to focus solely on Ibert and the program is a great window into this composer's varying styles. Swoboda, impresario, record producer, conductor was extremely adept at crafting recorded programs that were unique not to mention in some cases, premiere recordings. Though imaginative, Swoboda was not considered a great conductor but rather a competent, workaday one. However, I think that he rises above the typical assessment of his abilities on this Ibert record. This music is lively, with first class orchestral writing and its, well, all very "snappy." One cannot imagine why musicians would not like playing this fare. And, I would think that many of the musicians here were playing Ibert for the first time making the session a sense of discovery in which Swoboda rises to the occasion, much in a way we would expect from Munch, Ansermet or Monteux.

I will call your attention to the Suite Elizabethaine which is Ibert's delicious recollection of music from another time albeit with a marvelous modern twist.

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