Hans Swarowsky leads excerpts from Berlioz's "Romeo and Juliet"

Excerpts from Berlioz's dramatic symphony "Romeo and Juliet" and Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" led by Hans Swarowsky on a Musical Masterpieces (Treasures) of the World issue. Probably recorded in the mid to late 50's, this monaural lp features the "Musical Masterpieces Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra" better know as the Vienna State Opera Orchestra though not, of course, the orchestra that comprises the famed Vienna Philharmonic. Whew!

Much has been written about Swarowsky and his actual, and non actual, recordings. Considered by many the greatest conducting professor of the twentieth century Swarowsky, himself, cut many recordings from Vienna during the 1950's and 60's, often for budget labels that worked on shoestring budgets and within tight time constraints. I'd suspect that Swarowsky's pay as a professor was not all that terrific and churning out records was a great way to supplement his, and his musical students', income. Since Swarowsky probably knew intimately many of his orchestral colleagues, the results he got were most often faithful and fully representative of the score and composer, though admittedly not the last word in technical perfection.

All that said, the performance here of the Berlioz is quite good indeed. Overall, I find Romeo and Juliet to be a bit wayward, not as cohesive as Symphony Fantastique, and in the wrong hands it can become a colossal bore. Happily, Swarowsky has the right hands, a strong sense of line, and an intuitive sense of drama. The listener's attention is held firm and one can only wish that Swarowsky had taken on the complete score. Dukas' perennial favorite too is afforded a splendid reading and the story is brilliantly etched from the musical score.

A rather nice remembrance of an influential man whose legacy has often been tarnished by careless marketing and the natural pitfalls of the bargain basement recording business.

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Berlioz's Requiem performed by the Rochester Oratorio Society

A rare and interesting recording here: The Rochester Oratorio Society under its founding conductor, Theodore Hollenbach, in Berlioz's epic, and profound, Requiem. I am not sure of the date of the record but I believe it to be around 1955 or so, about the same time that Columbia was active in Rochester with recordings by Leinsdorf and the RPO. Records from Rochester were issued on the Entre and Harmony labels which were the budget labels of Columbia Masterworks prior to the introduction of the Odyssey label.

This is a Requiem for those that tire of the bombast approach to the piece. It is so easy for this music to descend into the banal because it is truly a concert hall spectacle, what with huge choral, orchestral and brass choir forces. Hollenbach navigates this mass of performers wonderfully and does not lose focus on the liturgical importance of the music. This is important since the music has to support the meaning of the text and not the other way around. Unfortunately too many performances get caught up in the excitement of the moment and performances become well,  garbage. This happens far too often with a masterpiece like the Verdi Requiem, for instance.

Admittedly, one of the challenges on this recording, in monaural sound, is to capture this huge endeavor in a way that makes the music listenable and meaningful. Overall, the engineers did a fine job as Hollenbach's overiding choral vision supports the recording process. The orchestra, by the way, play very well - I would assume that it is made up of Philharmonic members and folks from the Eastman School. In addition, tenor Ray deVoll acquits himself well in his brief solo contribution.

I think that it is important to mention that Theodore Hollenbach was an important figure in the musical activities of upper state New York for many years and that during his 40 year tenure in Rochester, he built one of the finest choral society's in the Northeast part of the United States. Hollenbach also served a tenure as the music director of the Corning Philharmonic at a time when the Corning Corporation was pouring lots of money into the cultural development of that company city.

This record was in a so-so shape but it cleaned up pretty well. There are a few skips here and there but they do not deter from a very fine and committed performance.  I believe this record to be a superb document of choral performance and a reminder of the artistic excellence existing in America's smaller cities.

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Sir Adrian Boult and Berlioz

Here's another of those Westminster Gold reissues, this time Sir Adrian Boult and the "Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra" in Berlioz. This lp features some familiar, Beatrice and Benedict and Rob Roy with some not so often heard, Les francs-juges and King Lear.

Boult really scores a home run here. I don't think that Boult is one person that comes to mind as a conductor of Berlioz but based on this 50 minutes, he demonstrates a firm grasp and understanding of Berlioz's sound world. The PPO, really the LPO, plays extremely well with precision and flair and this record proves to be one of the better Berlioz recordings to come across my plate in quite a while.

Regarding Boult: only within the last year or so have I come to fully appreciate the art of Sir Adrian Boult. I find that Boult's records are, for the most part, consistently well prepared, intelligently interpreted, and scrupulously performed. In other words, buying Boult is a pretty good bet that you will get your money's worth and that a composer's intentions will be realized honestly and professionally. What is a shame is that for many today, Boult is pegged as a specialist in English composers when in reality, his record speaks strongly that he was persuasive in many idioms, styles, and genres.

Enjoy these mono FLACs of Boult and Berlioz!


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Berlioz - Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale from Paris

My esteemed colleague Squirrel inpired me to quickly transfer this old lp, which had been waiting around for a suitable disc mate for sometime. This, along with Squirrel's transfer of Scherchen's "Harold in Italy" will fill out a nice 79 minute cd for you!

Very much a period or event piece, the Symphonie funebre et triomphale is Berlioz at his somewhat excessive in orchestration effects and, probably least imaginative in actual writing. This huge symphony is certainly not on the musical level of Symphonie Fantastique, Harold in Italy or the master's operatic endeavors, but it does serve its purpose with merit and is great fun to have a listen to from time to time. Nonesuch released this during the American Bicentennial year so I cannot help wonder if it was a small contribution to the outpouring of martial and festive music at the time.

This Nonesuch recording of the work  is one of many that conductor Desire Dondeyne made of the work, going all the way back to the 1950's. The first recording of Funebre, on Urania, is advertised from Vienna  and conducted by one Ernst Graf however many have speculated that Graf is really Dondeyne in pseudonym. Whatever the case, the man had a long association with the work and his authority is indisputed. Incidentally, the version here is without chorus in the Apotheosis though Dondeyne did use the chorus on other occasions. The version here represents Berlioz's original scoring of the work.

Have some fun, crank it up! There are a few loud bass drum whacks that will peel the plaster off of the walls! Vive le France!

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