Robert Gerle plays Brahms' Hungarian Dances

More music celebrating the spirit of Hungary. Brahms' Hungarian Dances featuring the  Hungarian American violinist Robert Gerle with pianist Norman Sheltler. This is the monaural issue of a Westminster recording dating from the mid 60's.

One interesting thing to point out is that the dances were not recorded in numerical order but rather in sets arranged by Mr Gerle. Therefore, the tracks are numbered based on their appearance on the lp.

These are well played but admittedly rather subdued encounters of these spicy gems. if the listening is expecting bravura playing with a hint of zigane flair, than this record might disappoint. However, if beautiful tone, attention to detail and a flawless technical display are in order, there is much to soothe and satisfy here. On a piano note, I do find Shetler a competent but somewhat invisible partner.

I have some more Gerle if there is further interest in his artistry.



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Music of Weiner and Bartok with Antal Dorati

An monaural Epic lp, from around 1960 I think, of Antal Dorati conducting the then newly formed Philharmonia Hungarica. The program features Bartok's Divertimento for String Orchestra and Weiner's Suite Op 18 on Hungarian Folk Dances.

Bartok's Divertimento has been well served on record and Dorati himself made at least 3 recordings of the piece; I think one of his first records in Minneapolis featured the Divertimento. Weiner, unfortunately, has fared less well though Dorati and Fritz Reiner were among a small group of conductors who would feature their fellow Hungarian's output from time to time. It's too bad because it is good music and can stand alongside Kodaly, Dohnanyi and Bartok.  Dorati, of course, achieves the desired result with his band of mostly exiled Hungarian musicians. The orchestra itself had as its nucleus, Hungarian who had fled Hungary after the failed 1956 uprising. The orchestra lived a distinguished 35 year existence ultimately disbanding after the iron curtain fell.

Antal Dorati does not get the kind of credit he deserves as an orchestra building. Along with Artur Rodzinski, in his prime, he was viewed as a conductor who could achieve quick and sustainable results. His efforts in Minneapolis, London, Washington and Detroit all offer proof of a thoughtful and meticulous musical mind. And, lending his name to the Philharmonia Hungarica ensured success to that ensemble during its fledgling years.

A nice record of music that Dorati could not disappoint in.

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Dean Dixon conducts symphonies by Cowell and Piston

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of posting the original 10 inch ARS of Dean Dixon conducting Walter Piston's Symphony No 2. Good fortune has shined down on me as I recently found the "reissue" of that recording coupled with Dixon's strong reading of Henry Cowell's Symphony No 5 on an ARS full play album.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Dixon was a unique and gifted talent but, because of the period in which he was active, his native American audience would never fully come to appreciate the gifts of this highly principled, sensitive and intelligent man. Known and respected throughout Europe, where he settled during the 1950's, Dixon as a conductor was as comfortable in Mendelssohn as he was in music by Walter Piston or Henry Cowell. Astonishing for me is how he was able to achieve such an idiomatic sound from Viennese musiciansfor these recordings. The offbeat folksiness of Cowell and somewhat spikey New England sound  of Piston shine through without a forced or agitated manner. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that that under Dixon, these Austrian musicians sound like they are actually enjoying these two unfamiliar pieces which had no real place in their repertoire.

It is disappointing that Henry Cowell's star has diminished over the years. He had a great way of balancing modern techniques against the simple folk rhythms that formed the base of his creative style. I don't think him far removed from Virgil Thomson though oddly, Thomson has fared well though he was, in my opinion, not as original, or interesting, as Cowell.

I'm really glad that I found this very clean lp. Great introduction to mid 20th century American music.

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Michel Podolski plays lute suites of J S Bach

On the Period label, a pleasant recital of J S Bach by Belgian lutenist, Michel Podolski. I'd reckon mid to late 50's on this lp. Like many Period lp's however, detail was not first and foremost on the minds of the producers so there are some abrupt cutoffs on a number of the pieces that have to do with insensitive engineering and not me!

Podolski was long a member of Safford Cape's Pro Musica Antiqua of Brussels. If you know their work, they were scrupulous pioneers in the field of period performance. I previously offered this group's lp devoted to Josquin des Prez and the fruits of the efforts there are simply stunning. High level musicianship coupled with exquisite taste. It;'s really a fantastic achievement.

Lutenist Podolski offers up some terrific lute playing at a time when he probably had the stage pretty much to himself without many peers to learn from or use as guides and/or inspiration. This is a nice record to help you wash those cares of the day away.


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Quartets by Benjamin Lees and William Denny

I've been listening to a lot of mid century American music lately and here's a very good example of some terrific quartet writing. The first quartet of Benjamin Lees and the Quartet No 2 of William Denny are the featured works on this Epic release by the Juilliard Quartet. This was part of the Twentieth Century Composers series that was spearheaded by Goddard Lieberson during his tenure as President of Columbia Masterworks.

There is some lovely, lyrical writing in both of these forgotten compositions. For those that eschew strings that produce acidic, hard edged, rather schizophrenic sounds, this lp is is your contemporary passport to bliss. Lees was vocal in his opposition to atonal and serial schools of thought and the result was a composition that bears a relationship to the works produced by late romantic composers. I'd say Denny falls into the same "school" as Lees too. Perhaps, these works hearkened back to another era in a way that is too obvious therefore pretty much negating their presence on the musical scene today. I don't know. But, what I can say that there is beauty in both works and much listening satisfaction can be had here.

The performances by the Juilliard Quartet are perfect.

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Trios by Ives and Harris



Charles Ives

Roy Harris



Two trios by Ives and Harris, from an HNH record of 1977. Very solid performances are given by the New England Trio, a group that I have not previously encountered.

Charles Ives never ceases to amaze me. Of all composers, he most brilliantly hammered home the message that music is an elastic art form. From wikipedia:



"The Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano is a work by the American composer Charles Ives. According to Charles Ives’ wife, the three movements of the piano trio are a reflection of Ives’ college days at Yale. He started writing the piece in 1904, 6 years after graduation, and completed it in 1911. It was written c. 1909-10 and significantly revised in 1914-15. The piano trio consists of three movements:

1  Moderato
2  TSIAJ ("This scherzo is a joke"). Presto
3  Moderato con moto.


The first movement is the same 27 measures repeated three times, though the violin is silent for the first, the cello for the second, and all three instruments join for the third. Interestingly, the separate duets seem full enough on their own, yet all together sound amazingly and uncharacteristically consonant.

The second movement, TSIAJ, employs polytonality, timbral contrast, and quotation for a downright humorous effect. Fragments of American folk songs are intertwined throughout the movement, although often grotesquely altered with respect to rhythm, pitch, and harmonic connotation. Folk songs appearing in the scherzo include "My Old Kentucky Home," "Sailor's Hornpipe," "The Campbells are Coming," "Long, Long Ago," "Hold the Fort," and "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood," among many others. Drawing from his college days at Yale University, Ives also quotes a number of fraternity songs including the Delta Kappa Epsilon tune "A band of brothers in DKE," which appears prominently near the beginning of the movement. It is notable that one of his sketches for the movement includes the subtitle "Medley on the Campus Fence," referring to the songs popular among Yale students during his college years. And although the composer himself acknowledged that the entire movement was a "joke," it well characterizes the unique and novel musical world that only Ives had discovered.
 The lyricism of the final movement of the piano trio contrasts strongly with the variegated montage of tunes in TSIAJ. Sweeping lyrical melodies alternate with lighter syncopated sections after the opening introduction and violin recitative. Nonetheless, Ives continues with his borrowing habits - quoting music that he had originally written for the Yale Glee Club (though it was rejected) in the lyrical violin-cello canon in bars 91-125. The coda quotes Thomas Hastings’ “Rock of Ages” in the cello, ending the movement with Ives’ characteristic rooting in American folk and popular music."

As for Roy Harris, less experimentation and music that is always tonal and outwardly positive. This very approachable trio juxtaposes well against the sometimes maddening demands of the Ives.

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More Telemann from Banchetto Musicale

There's a good reason why Boston is probably at the center of the period performance movement in the United States. With pioneering ensembles like Banchetto Musicale (now Boston Baroque) and the Boston Camerata performing, and crafting their approach for decades, we have a fine tradition in place and a receptive audience to boot.

A while ago, I posted Banchetto Musicale's Passion According to St Luke by Telemann. Here is it's "companion" record of strictly orchestral works, a nice introduction to the multifaceted Telemann, what with concerto and overtures of the bill.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it positively amazes me just how far musicians have progressed in their knowledge and expertise of playing on period instruments. We have some mighty spirited music making here but allowances do need to be made for the instrumentalists. There are some squeaks and squawks but nothing approaching some of the travesties that the old Telemann Society unleashed on the public during their Vox heyday!

The concertmaster here is the ever redoubtable Daniel Stepner. What a great institution, mentor, and visionary this man has been over his distinguished 40+ year career!


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Natan Rakhlin conducts 'Winter Dreams" and "Little Russian"

From an old Stradivari release, Tchaikovsky's symphonies "Winter Dreams" and "Little Russian, led by Natan Rakhlin with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. Yes, complete on one lp and yes, they both have cuts, but all the same are invigorating performances in a very Soviet kind of way.

I could find no reference to this record and maybe there are healthy doubts to be had. Stradivari was one of the labels of "Record Corporation of America" a somewhat spurious enterprise by reputation. Many of its issues were pirated performances or legitimate records utilizing pseudonyms to mask the true identities. However, for the couple dozen Soviet issues that it released, performers listed were tried and true though the orchestras were not fully or completely listed. So, that said, there is a strong chance that this is a true Rakhlin performance and if so, we are richer for it.

Natan Rakhlin is virtually unknown in the US and much of Europe. As a Soviet Jew, he was closely monitored by the "organs" and since his fame was not of say an Oistakh, his trips abroad were relatively few. He was a very fine talent though and premiered a number of Soviet works, probably the best know being Shostakovich's 11th symphony. I would characterize Rakhlin as no nonsense, straightforward and breathtakingly honest in the records that I have heard.

The Tchaikovsky here is brisk, totally, totally unsentimental and never lingering. These are definitely "period" performances and the sounds of the orchestra will kindle some nostalgia among older listeners. I'm still astonished that these two symphonies could be fit on one lp! Oh!, make some allowances for sound quality, ok?

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Chamber Music of Vaclav Nehlybel

From a Serenus stereo record, music by the Czech-American composer/conductor Vaclav Nehlybel. Supervised in Rome by composer/conductor Nicolas Flagello, we have Nehlybel's Trio for Brass, Slavic March, Brass Piano Quartet, Impromptus for Six Woodwinds and Three Intradas for Brass.


I don't think there is a wind player who has not played or heard of a work by Vaclav Nehlybel. A prolific composer, he tended to specialize in works for student ensembles and during his lifetime, was one of the most sought after composers for commission. Born in Czechoslovakia, he allied himself with the West following the second world war, first becoming a director at Radio Free Europe and then emigrating to the US where he taught, composed, and conducted ensembles nationwide.

I'll admit that the quality of Nehlybel's writing can be uneven and it is hard to peg him into a school though at least I can hear traces of Janacek in his works. Like Hindemith, Nehlybel wrote convincingly, for pretty much any and all combinations of instruments, and that, I think, is significant and admirable. The works on this record are lively, imaginative and in cases like the intradas, hark back across the centuries.

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