A small remembrance for Arthur Winograd

This one is for Larry Austin who was kind of enough to remind everyone of the unfortunate passing of Arthur Winograd.

This particular recording was one of a number that Winograd made in London, along with Alfred Wallenstein, with this very fine pickup orchestra,"The Virtuoso Symphony of London." Winograd conducted the "highlights" programs while Wallenstein tackled full scale orchestral works. The Audio Fidelity Company had high hopes that they could develop a label that would sell on a mass scale while promoting itself as the most state of the art in high fidelity. Well, as we know, it wasn't to be though the products of the short association display good intentions and excellent musical programming.

This collection of marches is a lot of fun and well worth hearing for the no nonsense presentation and fine playing of the orchestra. I think that it is a fitting tribute to a  very fine musician.

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Two for Three...in Brahms....golly gee!

Ok...A bit corny this title!

I was really lucky to pull out of the local Salavation Army store a Columbia Entre LP of Frederick Stock conducting the CSO in Brahms' wonderful Third Symphony. Overall the record was in a good shape...I lucked out! I thought it would be kind of cool to juxtapose the Stock with Reiner's take of some 15 or so years later. My copy of the Reiner is not in living stereo but rather the mono version, albeit a rather clean copy to say the least.

The Stock version is simply the warmest, most lush performance that I have ever heard. I would say that this is very much a 19th century take, edges are smooth and the whole performance just sort of "plays itself." I don't think that Stock offers any profound insights but rather, he lets the music relate the message with beautiful, lush playing. I like this approach but I suppose that folks raised in Toscanini or Reiner will probably find something that isn't to their liking.

Yes, with Reiner we get precision, immaculate phrasing and in general, a more 20th century, literal approach. In comparing the orchestral sound, I will say that Reiner has superior strings and woodwinds, but I really do love the brass sounds of the Stock ensemble, especially the trumpetes (I'm a trumpet player you know). I believe that the trumpets in Stock's orchestra would have been Renold Schilke and Eldon Benge, two of the great orchestral trumpeters of the 20th century AND outstanding trumpet makers to boot! Imagine that, great players AND great horn builders, one in the same! Anyway...listen how the orchestra changed between 1940 and the later 50's...really quite fascinating and a testament to the will, and talent, of a great conductor, at least that's what I think.


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Paul Sacher conducts two cassations of W A Mozart

From a while back....Paul Sacher conducting the cassations K 63 and K 99 of W A Mozart.

In a previous post, I mentioned my admiration for Sacher so I thought another offering was in order. These occasional pieces are really quite enjoyable and full of experimentation by the youthful Mozart, at least that's what I hear when I listen to them. My opinion is that they are among the more interesting of Mozart's early works but they somehow get shortchanged. Oh well..at least Sacher took the time with his excellent Zurich group to bring them to life on vinyl and we can all be grateful for that!

As fillers, I've included items from a Stradivari lp, (notes within) of wind music by Haydn and Mozart. These pieces are uncomplicated and admittedly, 2nd rate work by both the composers, in the case of Mozart, probably 3rd rate. However, it is important for us to remember that not everything by these masters were masterpieces; much was tossed off to suit an occasion and the small payment that came along with the commission! The Haydn serenades are performed well by the wind players of the Vienna SO, the Mozart pieces are at best "tolerably" attempted by the Salzburg wind ensemble. Still, an interesting listen, though Sacher is the only first rate performance on this particular post.

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Menahem Pressler performs Shostakovich

Here's a very refreshing find: one of those MGM releases with no album cover but instead having a circle in the middle to allow you to see what the program is by reading the record label.

All of you know that most of what Menahem Pressler recorded was in his role as the "anchor" of the famed Beaux Arts Trio. Scores and scores of definitive performances. However, Pressler did record as a soloist, from time to time, and that's what we have here: the Sonata in b and the fabulous first piano concerto of Shostakovich.

These are strong recorded interpretations. The sonata is beautifully realized and based on this record, I cannot understand why it is not more of a repertoire work. The slow sections are ravishing and the only problem with the lp is some record noise toward the end of the last movement that I could not remove, about 15 seconds of some pop, not enough to spoil this 25 minute masterpiece of musicianship.

The piano concerto features the famed Harry Glantz on trumpet with Theodore Bloomfield conducting the the "MGM Orchestra." Presumably this orchestra is made up of members from the NYPO and NBCSO however, it IS a small ensemble..very SMALL indeed! However, the performance moves along well and Pressler shines throughout, especially in the slow sections. The man really is a poet at heart!

Recordings date, I believe, from the mid to late 50's.

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The Kehr Trio in Mozart's Divertimento K. 563

Here's another one of those Dover "budget"releases. This one features the Kehr Trio in Mozart's wonderful Divertimento K.563.

The Kehr Trio is led by violinist-conductor Gunter Kehr. Many of you probably know Kehr by his many recordings with the Mainz Chamber Orchestra, most released by Vox during the 50's through 70's. Kehr's Mainz recordings appeared during the evolution of performance practice from "big band" chamber orchestra to the "period" instrument fashion of the present. His last recording in Mainz, a very fine, but in your face, set of Brandenburgs, released by Vox during the 80's, was with period instruments. It has since disappeared though an earlier, but less satisfying  take on them is still around.

Divertimento K. 563 is a beautiful piece of writing, wonderfully constructed and architecturally perfect. My favorite performance features Heifetz, Feuermann and Rubinstein...incomparable musicians, all strongwilled for sure but properly deferential to Mozart who was their superior in every way...and those fellas knew it! Kehr and his colleagues are a different kind of ensemble, maybe more participatory and less egotistical, but musically satisfying all the same. It is interesting to hear Kehr after experiencing Heifetz and his cohorts though.

The recording here was released in the early 60's and the sound is ok but by no means "hi-fi."

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Two Pianos are Better Than One!

A little while ago, The High Pony Tail posted a very lovely, but neglected, LP of Schubert's Grand Duo that featured the wonderful duo of Gold and Fizdale. Though much celebrated in their day, the recorded legacy that they left behind has sadly languished in the vaults. I greatly enjoyed the Schubert and recently, I was fortunate to come across this record of the two performing Brahms and Debussy.

Brahms' Haydn Variations is just a superbly realized creation and Debussy's "Children's Games" sparkle with an effervescence that only "little ones" can innocently muster. Very different compositions yes, but Gold and Fizdale manage the transitions between the two in a masterful fashion. This is excellent music making by the premier duo of the time. Artists like the Lebecque sisters don't hold a candle to G & F and  the former often resort to cheap trickery to get their message across. Gold and Fizdale let the music breathe and fly on its own initiative and this Odyssey reissue was well pressed for a budget offering.

I've included another wonderful duo to round off the program, the husband and wife team of Walter and Beatriz Klien. Walter Klien was a very admired interpreter of Mozart, however, he and his wife make a strong impression in this French program of Debussy, Ravel and Milhaud. I especially like the Scaramouche of Milhaud though the Debussy in the Klien's hands is handled so delicately and with a tender touch. A beautiful program released by Vox.

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The MacDowell piano concertos realized by Vivian Rifkin and Dean Dixon

This was an exciting one to find! Not only because Dean Dixon's name was on the cover, but also because I believe it represents the first recording of both of MacDowell's concertos on disc together. And, lastly it is a wonderful document of a husband and wife performing together in a solo and conducting role!

Vivian Rifkin really plays the hell out if these wonderful late romantic works and Dixon provides strong, loving accompaniment. Together, they offer the best argument on why MacDowell should be placed higher up in the repertoire list. I don't think that I've enjoyed these works as much as in this recording.

Rifkin was a fine pianist who made comparatively few recordings, most in the first half of the 50's. I believe that she was for many years a respected teacher in New York after she parted from Dixon. On a diversity note, she and Dixon must have been extremely brave individuals for being an interracial couple in the 50's was no small matter! 

Westminster must have loved these two concertos, for the company recorded them again several years later, also in Vienna, with Eugene List as the soloist and Carlos Chavez as the conductor.

My copy of this present issue was in overall pretty good shape. I did have to do a small splice in the first concerto and I think it came out ok. Enjoy the music!

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Andre Kostelanetz conducts Opera without Words

In his day, Andre Kostelanetz was American Columbia's answer to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. A talented conductor, arranger, and instrumentalist, Kostelanetz could do it all and the results of his talent were scores of light classics that sold in the millions, financing many projects for the more "serious" classics released by Ormandy, Szell, Mitropoulos, among others.

Time though, has not been kind to Kostelanetz. Whereas Fiedler is still a household name some 30+ years after his death, Kostelanetz has all but faded from the scene. I wonder if this could be due to the fact that most of the latter's works were recorded with "anonymous" orchestras while Fiedler always had the famed "Pops" on the label in equal billing. Well, just a thought.

Kostelanetz did view himself as somewhat of a musical educator and his arrangements of music from La Traviata and La Boheme were efforts to capsule highlights from these masterworks into a neat 40 minute package. From my perch, I believe he succeeded brilliantly and these two productions are executed on a high order. In fact, Erich Kunzel would revisit these Kostelanetz efforts much later, inspiring him to record more "opera without words" thus snagging a few grammys along the way.

I hope you enjoy this well filled offering as much as I do. Both date from the early 50's I would say.

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Charles Ives' teacher: Horatio Parker and his Hora Novissima

I've revisited one of my first transfers, one that did not come out all that well and deserved a second chance. Here is Horatio Parker's epic cantata-oratorio Hora Novissima.

Horatio Parker was Charles Ives' principal composition teacher at Yale. Parker himself had been a student of the influential John Knowles Paine and clearly, Parker was very heavily influenced by Paine's Mass in D and epic oratorio St Peter. Parker and Paine's music is deeply conservative, Germanic in leaning, and very much in debt to Mendelssohn and Schubert. Small wonder that Ives' wayward ventures with tonality and harmonics clearly left Parker perplexed and, probably downright shaken!

Hora Novissima is a grand work and deserves a first rate performance from time to time. A good number of years ago, Gunther Schuller recorded for New World Records a magnificent Mass in D by Paine; too bad he couldn't do the same for Hora Novissima. Schuller's intelligence, talent, and inspiration would yield a truly memorable result.

The offering here conducted by William Strickland in Vienna during the early 50's is more then adequate though it is obvious at times that this unfamiliar work poses challenges for the performers. One gripe that I have is the overall operatic quality given the vocal work here. The choral writing calls for a more somber, less mannered approach, I think.

The filler on side 4 of this set is Norman Dello Joio's Serenade. This is an extremely odd coupling, what with Hora Novissima being written in 1893 and Serenade over 50 years later and, for a different purpose and venue in mind. That said, the venerable Hans Swarowsky leads the VSO in a beautiful reading of a truly gorgeous composition. I'm convinced that you, the listener, will find this piece a true gem.

One note: the Dello Joio appears recorded in true stereo while the Parker is electronically enhanced. Go figure!


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Anthony Collins conducts Delius

Here's that Delius that I've promised to Buster. I've transferred from a London LP, one of those special "Coronation Releases" issued back in the early 50's; The cover art above is from the Decca issue. Buster's transfers of Delius are better then mine so be forewarned!

Anthony Collins had an interesting recording career. During a relatively short period of time, the late 40's through mid 50's, he was an extremely prolific recording artist. Among the highlights was his integral Sibelius symphony collection, one of the first, if not the first issued on vinyl. Sixten Ehrling recorded his set around the same time but I'm not sure which was released first.  Both are well interpreted though the Stockholm PO and LSO were hardly the finest bands of their day.

This is very well done Delius. It is totally unsentimental and rather brisk if one compares to the greatest of Delians, Thomas Beecham. The LSO plays well, if not reaching the heights that they scaled during the late 60's and early 70's. The presentation overall makes the best possible case for the enigmatic Delius.

Anthony Collins was a good, though hardly exceptional, conductor. His work is no-nonsense and devoid of mannerisms of any kind. Its a pity that his recorded legacy has largely disappeared but that it probably due to the fact that is predominantly recorded in monaural sound.

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CPE Bach conducted by.....Pierre Boulez?!

Though I've got a few other offerings in the "can," I had to commence work on this recording of works by CPE Bach posthaste (release 1962), since the name Pierre Boulez appeared on the record cover! When I picked up the Vox recording (the cover above is from another issue of the record), I just could not believe Pierre Boulez...Pierre Boulez??!! CPE Bach!?? ..should it be Ligeti or Stockhausen??

Let me say that this is an extremely lively, well played, and enjoyable record. Bach's d minor flute concerto is played quite beautifully by none other than Jean Pierre Rampal and the cello concerto in A major is deftly handled by Robert Bex. The orchestra is identified as "Chamber Orchestra" but it may, in fact, be the Paris Opera Orchestra.

For those that think Boulez a rather clinical modernist, this is a good example of the all around, exceptional musician he is...or was, at least in his youth.

I've added a couple of fillers by Mozart from an older Vox (1954 release)LP, performed by soloists of the Pro Musica Orchestra Vienna (VSO) with no conductor credited. We have the Andante in C for flute and orchestra and, the rare Adagio and Rondo for Glass harmonica, flute, viola, cello etc..The latter is so childlike and innocent, I think you will think of fairies and pixies while having a listen! Details are included in the download.

Next up...I hope...is a transfer of Mozart Cassastions with Paul Sacher conducting. And, I do owe Buster that 12 inch of Collins conducting Delius!

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Kurt Sanderling, Rachmaninoff and the Great Leningrad PO

I saw this electronically re-recorded in stereo LP by Everest and had to have it. Though Rachmaninoff's first symphony has gotten an unnecessarily bad wrap over the years, I still like it warts and all. This is not the Rachmaninoff of the 2nd piano concerto but rather, a composition by a talented, intelligent, young composer struggling to find his voice amongst an environment that was severe, conforming, and decidedly conservative. An interesting piece that surely doesn't deserve to be neglected.

Ok...and of course, the Leningrad Philharmonic and its SPECIAL sound. During the Soviet heyday, this was THE celebrated orchestra in the East. Drilled as the epitome of precision by Mravinsky, the special sound quality had much to do with the distinctive Soviet made instruments. Sadly, much of that sound has been lost today as borders have fallen and musicians from the East now choose the best quality instruments from the West. But, we still have these historic documents in the archives and its great to have that occasional listen!

Sanderling was for years the second conductor of the Leningrad orchestra, usually handling the repertoire that Mravinsky had little sympathy towards. A lifelong socialist, Sanderling fled East before the second world war, made a career in the Soviet Union, finally returning to Berlin to head the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. East German authorities had high hopes that he could go toe to toe with Karajan however the latter had, of course, the much finer orchestra. Here though, Sanderling proves a strong advocate of Rachmaninoff's youthful work and it is great to hear it performed in the sound world that the composer had in mind. This work was composed in Russia for a Russian orchestra  unlike, say the Third Symphony which was composed with a very different ensemble in mind; in that case the great Philadelphia Orchestra.

Enjoy Sanderling, Rachmaninoff and those fabulous Leningraders!

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