A Whole Lot of American Music

I'm going to do something a bit different today. I've got a bunch, a BUNCH, of recordings of American classics that I have transferred over the months and been sitting on. In one fell swoop, I'm offering them up here for some industrial size transferring. Here goes!

The first one is the jacket above of music of Ruggles and Cowell, a monaural Columbia recording, ML4986. Pianist John Kirkpatrick shines in Evocations! It's a masterpiece played by a master!

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Monaural ARS-38 - music by Henry Brant and Burrill Phillips.

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The excellent Beveridge Webster playing Copland, Sessions and Carter on Dover HCR5265 - monaural.

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Dean Dixon conducts symphonies of Cowell and Piston on ARS 112 - monaural. One of my favorite conductors.

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Music of Swanson, Diamond and Hanson of ARS6 & ARS 7 - monaural. Dean Dixon again along with the underrated Texan, Walter Hendl.

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Chamber Music of Harris and Diamond with Lawrence Sobol, clarinet. Grenadilla GS1007 Stereo. Mid 70's Super, super musicianship here.

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Longtime New England Conservatory professor Veronica Jochum plays MacDowell and Griffes on stereo Golden Crest CRS4168. Mid 70's. If you do not know Eugen Jochum's daughter, now is your chance to make her acquaintance!

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Have fun! Whew!

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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Kjell Baekkelund plays Grieg and Dean Dixon conducts Tchaikovsky

A couple more transfers for requests that were made sometime ago. Man oh man, I'm starting to develop quite a backlog!

First off, we have the Grieg piano concerto played by the very, very fne pianist Kjell Baekkelund. This release was part of the series of recording made in Oslo for RCA and released on Camden, Victrola and licensed to the National Recording Society for distribution through non traditional channels like supermarkets and drug stores. This particular recording is led with great authority by Odd Gruner-Hegge, a Grieg interpreter whose only peer was probably Beecham and maybe Barbirolli. The Grieg is one of the most glorious of war horses and is often over played to the point of auto pilot play but, in this instance, pianist and conductor bring a certain freshness to the score while the latter takes pains to point out superb orchestral detail. For my money, this is one of the better Grieg's out there.

The "symphony" part of the program features a conductor who I've long taken a special interest in, namely Dean Dixon. Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony is given a very broad reading, actually rather expansive, and as typical with Dixon, there are no mannerisms and/or hidden emotions that are pulled way the hell out of whack. This conductor simply lets the music unfold naturally with minimal interference - with this particular symphony, this may or may not totally work for the listener. For a contrast of styles, I suggest a listener comparison of Mitropoulos v. Dixon! This Everest issue identifies the orchestra as the "Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra,"but declines to mention which "radio" orchestra. I've seen reference to the orchestra as being the Cologne or Hessian (Frankfurt am Main) and I'm inclined to say Hessian since Dixon was general music director there for a number of years. The orchestra has great discipline and it is obvious that this is far from being a run through. Whomever the orchestra is, the body of musicians play quite well with sensitivity and refinement.

I will be offering my take on Dixon's "Scottish" symphony of Mendelssohn shortly. reDiscovery offered it during the summer but it was not a transfer from the Nonesuch lp. It is a very, very romantic iterpretation and the contrast between it and the Boult (offered here on my blog) is beyond striking. In fact, it is rather mind blowing! But more on that later.

Both recording are stereo and available in FLAC format.

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Dean Dixon and Howard Hanson conduct American Masters of the mid 20th century

Catching up on some transfers since I've basically been tied to the house this weekend with a queasy stomach. Perhaps its the chicken I ate the other night....

Here's some American music of the middle part of the last century. My pick here is the 10 inch (in honor of Buster) that I picked up a while back of Dean Dixon conducting Walter Piston's 2nd symphony with the "American Recording Society Orchestra." Recorded around 1950, it is the label's ARS-1 and the results of this first issue are absolutely thrilling. In my opinion, a composer could not ask for more powerful advocacy then what Dixon puts forth here. Orchestral playing is in spades here, a remarkable achievement for a pickup orchestra of sorts and this is possibly Dixon's finest recording of anything - it is THAT good. I am VERY happy with this transfer and I hope that you the listener will derive much pleasure from it. Piston's second is truly THE American symphony!

Howard Hanson conducts the balance of the program which includes Sessions' Suite from the Black Maskers, Hovhaness' Prelude and Quadruple Fugue, Barber's Overture to the School for Scandal and Adagio for Strings, and LoPresti's The Masks. I like the last piece very much; LoPresti was a rather prolific composer and arranger and he has a firm grasp on orchestral textures along with a solid gift in melody. Hanson, of course, proves a strong advocate of the music in this program since he was well acquainted with each composer in both a professional and personal setting. All composers write in a highly listenable vein which is bent on a conservative streak. Nuthin' wrong with that!

I think these compositions make for a nice, quite representative program of a very rich period in the musical life of my country.

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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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Schubert's Incidental Music to "Rosamunde" conducted by Dean Dixon

I was lucky to find a decent copy of this first ever recording of the Incidental Music to Schubert's Rosamunde led by the fine, and underrated,  Dean Dixon. I've spoken in the past on Dixon; truly a man of great abilities who appeared on the American musical scene "before his time" as the old cliche goes. It's a damn shame that his greatest success was in Europe, with its more liberal racial climate and, not in his home country. Only toward the end of his life did he begin to gain recognition here - he died at the terribly young age of 61.

This recording is a fascinating and satisfying affair. Dixon strives for clarity and his brisk tempos would be more in line with period performance practice then the romantic, big bodied approach that Schubert was typically given during the early 50's when Westminster recorded this performance. I like Dixon's way, he doesn't linger or get overly sentimental and nothing is forced, in short, he lets the music speak for itself. His efforts are well supported by Ferdinand Grossman's fine Academy Chamber Choir and the famed contralto Hilde Roessel-Majden. Interestingly, the overture to Alfonso und Estrella is included as the opening number.

My opinion is that had Dixon lived, he would've achieved greater fame in the US and been counted as one of the major podium presences of his time. Instead, we have here a document of an immensely talented man whom the fates dealt not the best hand.

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