Reine Gianoli plays the French Suites of J S Bach

Originally from 1953, here are the later reissues on Westminster, over two volumes, of Reine Gianoli playing the French Suites of J S Bach. This might have been one of the first integral recordings of these delightful works as played on a modern piano.

Gianoli has a splendid touch, which when combined with a keen sense of structure, yields a first rate performance. This is a magnificent achievement from start to finish and Gianoli makes the strongest possible case for these works being viable within the sound world of a modern piano.


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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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Paul Jacobs performs Busoni's transcriptions of Bach and Brahms

Here is Nonesuch H-71375 featuring the insightful pianoo talents of Paul Jacobs. The program consists of Busoni's transcriptions of chorale preludes by both Bach and Busoni and it was  recorded in 1979. Arbiter has reissued this lp as part of a two cd set.

Paul Jacobs was a brilliant musician, especially valued as a collaborator to late 20th century composers such as Elliot Carter, John Corigliano and William Bolcom. One of the first prominent artists to succomb to the scourge of AIDS in 1983, Jacobs still left behind a valuable discography in roles as a pianist and producer. His Nonesuch recordings of the piano music of Debussy, in particular, are considered among the finest achievements by any pianist in this composer's works.

The chorale preludes are rendered with magnificence as Jacobs has the full measure of each work and understands how to project the music utilizing the smaller means of piano as opposed to the grandeur of an organ. I especially appreciate Paul Jacob's impeccable phrasing and attention to the turns of detail in each of these preludes.

Paul Jacobs was also an integral part of an lp by Nonesuch of the collection of musical "portraits" by Virgil Thomson. I think it was one of his last recordings. I will be posting that soon.


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Karl Haas and his London Baroque Ensemble in the Brandenburgs

I'm on a bit of a Bach "binge" lately and here's the complete Brandenburgs conducted by scholar-conductor Karl Haas with his London Baroque Ensemble. Recorded in the early 50's, this set was held in high regard into 60's surpassed only by versions featuring Menuhin, Richter, Marriner and Pailliard. With musicians such as Jean Pougnet, Georges Tessier, Emmanuel Hurwitz  Anthony Pini, Frederick Riddle, Richard Adeney, Carl Dolmetsch and Sydney Sutcliff, it is not difficult to understand why this set held ground for such an extended period of time.

As mentioned in a previous post, Haas was one of the more important influences on what we know as today's style of period performance. A German refugee, he settled in London and spent many years there teaching, conducting, and doing scholarly research. It's no wonder that London was probably the "capital" of the early music movement due to, in no small part, to Haas' presence and that of his numerous students and acolytes. 

Karl Haas

For sure, this set peels away a lot of the varnish and exposes Bach's intricate and detailed writing in a clear and precise manner. Details are abundant and lines that were formerly buried in excess string personnel leap off the score. If I have any criticism it is that some of the tempos, notably the first movement of No 6, are somewhat slower than what we are used to today. And, the recorder substituting for the clarino in No 2 is far less satisfying than the brilliant trumpeting that we would have afew years later by the likes of  Andre and Scherbaum. Still, the sum of this accomplishment of Haas is greater than the parts so we should be fortunate to have this document which, when all is said and done, is a step on the road to a better historical understanding of the needs, demands, and wants of J S Bach.

I'd like to mention that for some reason, the first lp (featuring No 2) of this three lp series was recorded in the UK while the remaining two were recorded in France. Looking at the personnel on these records, I noticed a mixed French and English ensemble for the French recordings and an "all" English crew for the record from the UK. Quite interesting and if anyone knows the tale behind this, I'd love to hear it!

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Agi Jambor performs Bach

Followers of this modest blog probably figured out long ago that I love Bach's keyboard works played on piano. There is just something completely satisfying and mesmorizing when listening to one masterpiece after another brought to life on a concert grand piano. My latest installment features Toccatas and Fantasias as realized by the Hungarian-American pianist/teacher Agi Jambor.

Jambor was a fascinating woman, an excellent pianist and a true citizen of the world. From a 1993 Baltimore Sun profile, Stephen Wigler writes:

" She achieved fame as a pianist twice, and was forgotten each time; she used to play duets in Berlin with an amateur violinist named Albert Einstein; she arrived penniless in America after World War II, unable to speak English and without a piano, and resumed her career by practicing on a battered upright at a YWCA in Washington; she married and divorced a Hollywood star; and she was a hero of the anti-Nazi resistance in her native Budapest, where she narrowly escaped death several times by passing herself off as a prostitute named Maryushka."

Incredible stuff I would say. If Jambor did not play Bach with such conviction, she would surely have won an Emmy for a reality television series! Her mastery of the material is without a doubt absolute and it is quite obvious that the fingerprints of her esteemed teacher Edwin Fischer are liberally spread throughout this program. This is strong, reverential Bach played with a masculine touch by a remarkably feminine but strong willed woman. That is fascinating in itself. I am pleased to have come across this unique 2 lp set for it adds to another dimension of my listening from this greatest of masters.

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Sylvia Marlowe performs keyboard concertos of Bach with Daniel Saidenberg conducting

Today, concertos for multiple harpsichord of Bach performed by Sylvia Marlowe with Pamela Cook, Robert Conant and  Theodore Saidenberg. The "Baroque" Chamber Orchestra (not sure if this is a pickup group or the Saidenberg Little Symphony) is led by the longtime leader of the Saidenberg Little Symphony, Daniel Saidenberg. My transfer is from an American Decca release, DL10028, though the cover above is from a different issue on another label.

These early attempts at "authentic" baroque always fascinate me. Here, the harpsichords are obviously large and somewhat clanky and the orchestra hardly is observant of what we now consider period practice and balance. Still, there is a delight here in the playing as the musicians relish the way Bach's melodies and harmonies intertwine and develop like peeling the layers back from an artichoke. This is definitely not "run through" Bach since Marlowe and Saidenberg have given careful time and preparation to this lp. Definitely a byway on the road to where we are today in performance and practice of baroque classics.

I think records like this are important  because they document the work of individuals who, in their day, worked tirelessly to promote good music and culture to wide swaths of people from varied backgrounds. Marlowe was a gifted and energetic ambassador of the harpsichord and Daniel Saidenberg a great founder, builder and leader of numerous orchestras in the US. As years go by and tastes change, we slowly forget these pioneers and finding records like this one are important in jogging the collective memory.

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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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Two Bach Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin performed by Bronislaw Gimpel

The 21st century got you down? Is the fast paced, impersonal, technology driven society enough to give you a longterm headache and fuel your desire for an alcoholic relaxant? Well, I have a better idea. Relax for a about a hour with Bronislaw Gimpel playing Bach at his best (by himself!) and you'll have an antidote for the weary, crazy days we are living in at this very moment!

Bronislaw Gimpel needs no introduction from me. A career that spanned well over half a century, he was justly praised as a soloist, orchestral concertmaster, chamber music partner, teacher, theorist and conductor. For more information about him and, and his talented family, I will direct readers to the excellent Gimpel Family Archive .

There is a style of playing in these two sonatas for unaccompanied violin (Nos. 2 & 3) which partners technique, musicality, wisdom, and intellect all into one neat package. Many violinists have recorded these pieces but I think, few have been as persuasive as Gimpel. (For the record, warts and all, I love best Enescu's set of the complete sonatas and partitas, his swansong to his extraordinary instrumental and interpretative prowess.) When Gimpel set these sonatas to record, he was in his mid 40's and had been concertizing for well over 40 years. He also had witnessed destruction on an unimaginable scale and therefore set out, like others, to preserve something of the old world amid the chaos and changes of a brave new world. Hence, this style of playing which is intimate, approachable yet dazzling, and so infused with the spirit of being "human." And like Schnabel, Gimpel practices the concept that the music is not necessarily captured solely in the notes but it also resides in the silence between the notes.

Gimpel recorded the entire set of sonatas and partitas. I have only located this Dover mono reissue. If I do come across the remaining items, I will, of course, post them. They deserve it. This playing speaks of genuine human goodness and I need as much of that as I can get.

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Sylvia Marlowe on Remington

Back around 1950, about the time this recording was made, the harpsichord was pretty much an oddity in the concert hall. Considered an ancient instrument for specialists, it was going the way of the Latin language, in other words slowly breathing its final breaths on the world stage. If not for a resurgence of interest in Bach and his contemporaries, new music by such luminaries as Manuel de Falla and the superb, dogged advocacy of two remarkable ladies, the harpsichord might have gone the way of the serpent or chalumeaux.

The ladies are, of course, Wanda Landowska and New York born Sylvia Marlowe. Both women, through recordings and concert appearances, deftly illustrated how the harpichord and clavichord were capable of tonal colors, contrasts in dynamics and timbre and, expressive beauty.

This particular issue features music by the three greatest composers for keyboard during the baroque, J S Bach, Couperin and Domenico Scarlatti. I'd like to call special notice to the Scarlatti sonatas. Hardly sonatas in the traditional sense, these are more like quick glimpses into Scarlatti's interior as they display mood and feeling in a way that is not anguished, self centered or protracted. There is contemplation, happiness, brooding, melancholy, all presented in a way that was acceptable for the time and place. These works are also technical gems, requiring an artist of intelligence and skill to execute them in a convincing way. Marlowe is certainly up to the task as is my favorite performer of this genre, the great Dubravka Tomsic, albeit the latter on piano. Listen carefully and you will hear magic from Marlowe's fingers; what a coup this record was for Don Gabor!

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Erno Balogh plays the music of J S Bach

A while back, my fine colleague Larry at Vinyl Fatigue prepared and posted an exquisite recording by Hungarian born pianist Erno Balogh playing the the Italy portion of the Années de Pélerinage by Ferenc Liszt. Lucky me was able to pick up this superb Bach issue by Balogh and his playing, like that in the Liszt, is utterly incandescent. It's a damn sahme that he is all but forgotten, except perhaps by his many students from the Peabody Conservatory.

Unpretentious playing like this is all too rare these days. Phrasing, dynamics, timing and technique are impeccable. I consider this recording indispensable.

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A grab bag of sorts - Mozart, Mahler, Vivaldi and Bach led by Reiner and Schneider

Reiner and Schneider..it rhymes! Busy last couple nights. Oktoberfest season is in full swing and between the beer, brats and brewhaha....the band had a great time last night (my lips are shot!), thousands at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston and oh, how I love taking those pictures with the younger crowd! Anyway...

Here are two short lps that I'm offering as a grab bag of sorts. We have Alexander Schneider leading Mozart and Vivaldi with the the Dumbarton Oaks Chamber Orchestra  and then Carol Brice singing Mahler's Wayfarer Songs with Reiner and the Pittsburgh SO and selected Bach arias with Daniel Saidenberg leading the Columbia Broadcasting Orchestra.

Though Dumbarton Oaks is outside of Washington DC, the music was recorded in 1949 in NYC if memory serves me right. This leads me wondering if Dumbarton Oaks is just a name for a NYC based pickup orchestra. Whatever the case, Schneider proves the experienced and vital leader and the Vivaldi and Mozart pieces come off marvelously. You know, my fear is that we are fast forgetting the immense contribution of Alexander Schneider to the American musical scene. Soloist, conductor, teacher, editor, impresario, the man did everything and did it so well. In my book, perhaps his single greatest achievement was to force the great Casals from retirement. No one else had the stature, or "balls" to do this and we all benefited beyond belief from Schneider's chutzpah.

I know not much of Carol Brice though her voice has at times a Ferrier quality to it. Primarily a musical theatre performer, Brice did record several times with Reiner, noting down a rather well regarded El Amor Brujo. A performer of African American background, Brice was one of those brave and focused individuals who laid the groundwork of integration and made possible the later successes of Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman, to name a few. Her Mahler and Bach are thoughtfully performed and I especially hold her diction in regard. I do love it when I can hear the pronounciation of words! This must have been one of Reiner's first Mahler recordings and he shapes everything quite nicely. The same goes for Saidenberg and his studio orchestra - Brice performs the selected Bach arias flawlessly. Recorded dates are from the late 40's, give or take.

So, here's my "mono FLAC" grab bag for the day....Prost!

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Bach's Musical Offering in the Vuataz edition - Hermann Schechen conducting

I'm going to say very little here. Scherchen, Bach, you either love it or hate it. Simple as that.

I was most fortunate to locate this Musical Offering, recorded in 1951, this past week - it was in the plastic sleeve without jacket, located on the bottom of a pile of junk records. And! Surprise, surprise! the lp turned out to be in a splendid condition. This recording features 9 members of the Vienna Symphony in Scherchen's second take on Bach's highly original, at least I think so, work. This is the Roger Vuataz edition; Scherchen would call upon Vuataz's edition of the Art of the Fugue at a later date.

For this recording, Scherchen dispensed with a fuller string complement and opted for a minimalist approach, really the first of its kind. By adopting this approach, Bach's lines and textures are cleanly presented  and the listener is able to clearly hear the beauty of the polyphonic writing. The results are striking and for my hears, immensely pleasurable.

As a filler, I have included the Brandenburg Concerto No 5 from Karl Haas' traversal of the cycle for Westminster. Unfortunately, I possess only 3, 4 and 5. At some point, I would like to be able to present the integral set.  As for the fifth concerto, it is extremely well done by forces that are not much bigger then Scherchen's chamber ensemble. Again, detail is laid bare and as with the Scherchen, the recording by Westminster is very well done for its day, most excellent monophonic results.

Rather pleasant listening for a Sunday..at least until the Patriots - Bills game commences!

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If you are going to have one cup of coffee, then why not two!

The same goes for Bach's wonderful Coffee Cantata. It's such a tuneful, lighthearted, magical piece, that one cannot but listen to it twice in one sitting. So....in order to accommodate that desire for good coffee, here are two rather interesting, and possibly pathbreaking performances.

The first rendition comes from an Allegro release c. 1952 or so and it is unique for it is quite minimalistic for its day. The Allegro Chamber Ensemble is a 1/2 dozen of New York's finest and the soloists are Met house singers. I've never heard the coffee cantata performed with such a sense of intimacy, almost like parlor music. The down, admittedly, is that the recording sounds like it was recorded in my kitchen and there are some pitch problems, I believe on the engineering side. I've been playing with Audacity in order to improve postings but this vinyl had many challenges as you will hear from time to time. My friend Buster of the Big 10 Inch blog commented once on Remington vinyl (hoo boy!) but these Allegro pressings that I've seen may be more of an "oi veh!"

The second recording comes from Vox and is conducted by Rolf Reinhardt. Maestro Reinhardt was kind of a house conductor for Vox during the 50's and 60's and he recorded a lot of music from Baroque to Bartok. He is quite convincing in Bach and his Sturttgart orchestra is more of what we are accustomed to hearing as accompaniment in the Coffee Cantata. The singers are unknown to me. Vox would replace this performance with one from Wurttemberg sometime in the late 60's I believe.

I've included notes in the files. Brew up a fresh pot of Joe and enjoy the light side of old J S!

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How about an orchestra of cellos under Heitor Villa Lobos?!

Well..ok..I've been busy this weekend, but probably not the RIGHT kind of busy! My son is off with his buddy and the wife is sleeping off a stomach virus and here I am....blogging away!

An orchestra of cellos! This truly is different. How many pieces do you know that are expressively written for an orchestra of cellos? Metamorphosen and then....I can "hear" the silence. Anyhow, this rather interesting LP was found by me as part of free lot available on craigslist. The prolific composer Heitor Villa Lobos assembled New York's finest cello players, during the 1950's, into the Violincello Orchestra and either arranged music for them to play or, wrote specifically for them. Villa Lobos was a cellist by trade so he knew the instrument intimately and, obviously loved it deeply. Here, we have his Fantasie Concertante on Side 1 and arrangements from Bach's Well Tempered Klavier on Side 2.

Though admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the thought of a cello orchestra, I can admire the musicianship and dedication to the concept by Villa Lobos. This LP was released in 1959 by Everest and unfortunately, my copy is the mono version though the cover here says stereo. If anything, this is an interesting novelty, worth a listen.

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Charles Munch, the BSO and........Bach!

Munch and Bach??? Munch and Berlioz yes, but Munch and Bach?

Well...YES... and very fine music making it is! We have here the Brandenburgs numbers 4 through 6 played with panache, a lightness of touch and exquisite musicianship. After all, with soloists like Richard Burgin, Lukas Foss and a very young Doriot Anthony Dwyer on flute, would you expect otherwise?

Back to Munch and Bach. Though modern day listeners will remember Charles Munch as the quintessential "French" conductor, he did spend his early years studying and playing the violin in Germany and, he also served in the Imperial German Army during  WWI as his native city Strasbourg was part of the German Empire. So strong  the German ties that Munch was asked to become the concertmaster of the famed Gewandhaus Orchestra while Furtwangler was the conductor of that esteemed ensemble. One can imagine that during his time in Leipzig, Munch had plenty of time to absorb and participate in the rich musical tradition that culminated in the genius of Bach. Munch and Bach...YES!

So...very much a surprise here for sure. I hope to locate a nice copy of the first three Brandenburgs, if for anything to hear Roger Voisin play that clarino part! Enjoy!

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Harpsichord Concerti by J S Bach conducted by Karl Ristenpart

This really nice Nonesuch LP was one of my very first records, bought some 30 years ago when I wa in high school. I used to visit the old Strawberries Records (a Boston chain long time gone..I think bought by Sam Goody) on Friday nights as my dad would drive me down to the local mall where it was located. Strawberries had a good selection of $2.95 albums which were perfect for the high school kid on a budget!

Karl Ristenpart recorded a substantial number of Bach recordings during the 60's with his very fine Chamber Orchestra of the Saar. Especially notable was a very popular, and omnipresent item for Nonesuch, of Bach's Magnificat. I think Ristenpart, along with Karl Richter, really dusted the cobwebs off of Bach and their efforts helped to spawn the movement toward period performance practices. Certainly, what we have here are four concertos for one and more harpsichords which are splendidly rendered and very tastefully performed. They really do sparkle and are a joy to listen to some 40 years+ after being recorded.

You know, I really miss the old Nonesuch LP label. I grew up on it and really built a good collection of LP's and performances from it. I still have my first Nonesuch LP, The Art of the Baroque Trumpet with Edward H Tarr - a great, great record. It's too bad that Warner/Elektra (or whatever that conglomerate is called now) lets the awesome collection from Nonesuch rot away in some warehouse. Many gems are in that collection, including this one!

Enjoy...full notes etc. in the download.

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Bach's Cantata BWV 30 performed by the Brattleboro Bach Festival under Blanche Honegger Moyse

Here's my second posting from Vermont: Blanche Honegger Moyse conducting soloists Benita Valente, Mary Burgess, Seth McCoy and Leslie Guinn along with the orchestra and chorus of the Brattleboro VT Bach Festival in Bach's Cantata BWV 30. The recording on the Ars Nova label dates from the early 70's.

Moyse was a longtime participant and fixture in Vermont musical life. Along with directing the Brattleboro Bach Festival she was closely associated with the Marlboro Music Festival and with the college where the festival takes place. Among her admirers, and close colleagues were Rudolf Serkin, Alexander Schneider and Pablo Casals to name a few. She was, I believe, a niece or cousin of Arthur Honegger and she was married to the great flutist Louis Moyse, son of another great flutist Marcel Moyse.

Moyse was one of the pioneers in performance of Bach cantatas in the Northeast United States. Along with Craig Smith at Emmanuel Church in Boston, she introduced the masterpieces of Bach during a time when much of his body of work was unknown. Though her chorus in Brattleboro is decidedly on the amateur side and much of the orchestra is pickup in nature, the fervor and commitment of her work is readily apparent. This is inspired music making.

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Oistrach conducts Bach and Handel from Moscow

Everyone knows that David Oistrach was a superb violinist, technically without par and with a sound so individual and special...where are these guys today? Many don't realize that he was also a very fine conductor, no mere beater of time!

Oistrach loved Bach and Handel and this recording of him conducting the soloists of the Moscow Philharmonic in Bach's Suite in b and Handel/Harty's Water Music Suite provide ample evidence of his podium gifts. The results here are tasteful, elegant  and wholly appropriate to the style of the baroque.

From a Melodiya LP that I purchased in Bulgaria some years ago, recorded some 40 years ago, give or take.

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A Bach Festival with E Power Biggs and BSO Brass

Biggs, the BSO brass and Bach!  During the 50's and 60's, organist E Power Biggs made a number of recordings with members of the Boston Symphony, introducing much repertoire of the baroque period to American audiences. This recording features music of Bach and several contemporaries, mostly chorale preludes and such. The full program is included in the download.

The BSO brass section was a very, very good one, anchored by two of the best, and more celebrated orchestral trumpeters of their time: Roger Voisin and Armando Ghitalla. Though very different players in style, Voisin being the epitome of the French sound and Ghitalla the more warmer "American" style, the pair did complement each other rather well. Many readers might be familiar that with the story of how Leinsdorf demoted Voisin in his efforts to dismantle the BSO's long time "French" sound. It was often said that the best French orchestra in the world was the BSO!

Make no mistake, these pioneering efforts on behalf of Biggs, Voisin et al...paved the way for later musicians and opened up the eyes and ears of concert goers to the many major and minor masters of the Baroque and early classical periods. A debt of gratitude is owed by all!

Enjoy!

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