Lukas Foss leads the Zimbler Sinfonietta in Bartok, Ives and more

A quick post today as I get myself ready to head north to Mount Snow, Vermont for their annual Oktoberfest festivities. Last weekend, the band was performing at the Harpoon Brewery on the Boston waterfront. Though rain put a damper on Friday night, the weather held for Saturday and the event drew over 10,000 thirsty patrons!

Here is the Turnabout reissue of the Unicorn record pictured above. I dissed the electronic stereo enhancement and returned the record back to its monophonic charm. Rather cutely, if you look at the cover of the Unicorn issue Lukas Foss, the conductor, has his name spelled "Lucas." Foss leads the reliable Zimbler Sinfonietta in engaging performances of the following works:

Ives - The Unanswered Question, trumpet solo Roger Voisin
Milhaud - Symphony no. 4 for strings
Skalkottas - Little Suite for strings
Bartok - Divertimento for string orchestra

There is vigorous leadership here, you might say, youthful, as Foss was in his mid 30's at the time of the recording. I think a lot of people forget just how gifted Foss was. Indeed, he was a close second in popularity to his esteemed associate Leonard Bernstein. Both shared teachers, had rich and varied talents, and were able to cross over easily into more popular forms of musical expression. Brilliant men both, without question. This record makes a strong case for Lukas Foss the modern conductor and his grasp on each piece is strong and musical.

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Independence Day and Charles Ives

Independence Day in the States! No, not the American Revolution for it was nothing of the sort. Why do they still insist on calling it a revolution? There was no period of thermidor or terror. Laymen, and historians alike can be so inept! Geez!

Ok, enough of that. What's more American then Charles Ives? Hotdogs at a baseball game? Moonshine drunk out of a Ball jar? The bikini? If anyone can be called an American original, it was Charles Ives and his music always has that brashness and freshness that characterizes the best of our homegrown composers.

Here are two lps from 1965 and 67, if I have my dates correct. Morton Gould conducts the Chicago Symphony in works ranging from Ives' student years up to the time where he was really pushing the envelope on what would be acceptable to listeners and the concert experience. This is a good cross section.

Now, there's a reason why Stravinsky referred to the Chicago Symphony as the most flexible orchestra in the world. Under Gould's inspired, electric direction, this magnificent orchestra tears into these pieces and  plays them for all they are worth. Ormandy's record of the Symphony No 1 has been much admired, and it is good, but this performance sets a much higher bar. It is brilliantly played and so exciting - who would think this was a graduation piece, it comes off sounding like the masterpiece which it isn't. It is a very fine symphony nonetheless and it is a testament to Gould's gifted podium skills. Likewise, the Robert Browning Overture blows away the other performance I know, that of Harold Farberman, a recognized expert in Ives' music.

My only complaint is that on LSC 2959, there was some very sloppy editing and engineering. The Orchestral Set has each piece ending abruptly, much like those Allegro Elite editions of the 1950's had a tendency to do. I faded each track out as not to sound too abrupt.

These two records should be in every collection since they represent the highest levels of orchestral playing and podium leadership.

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DOWNLOAD LSC 2959 PART 1

HERE'S PART 2 OF LSC 2959!

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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All Sorts of Ives

A splendid introductory album to the incredible musical imagination of Charles Ives. From a Cambridge mono lp made in the late 60's, we have Harold Farberman conducting small orchestral numbers with the hand picked Boston Chamber Ensemble and soprano Corinne Curry singing some rather interesting and quirky songs with the excellent pianist/teacher Luise Vosgerchian as accompanist.

I have to admit that much of Ives is downright puzzling at times for my simple mind. The bits and pieces of melodies, jagged rhythms and often wierd harmonics can distract away from the brilliant, inquisitive and highly intellectual mind that this man possessed. The songs, especially, are not at all easy to follow and require a level of concentration that can, and I say can, take away from the beauty that one expects in lieder as presented by a Schubert, Wolf or Brahms. However with a careful, unbiased, and studied approach, one can find great meaning and connection between the text and the music But...it ain't easy...

The musicians on this record do full justice to the music. Though Harold Farberman's career as a conductor has been somewhat uneven, he has displayed a keen understanding of Ives and probably has recorded more of this composer than anyone else on the planet. This record is one of Farberman's best offerings as an interpreter of Ives. I admit to not knowing Corinne Curry but Luise Vosgerchian was very well known in Greater Boston as a master teacher and pianist. Like fellow Bostonian, and Armenian, organist Berj Zamkochian, Vosgerchian was a local legend and treasure. This record captures her pianistic eloquence wonderfully, especially telling is her take on Ives' "Three Page Sonata."

Glad I stumbled upon this at the Goodwill. Something different but at the same times familiar.

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The American Brass Quintet in Modern American Music

The old brassman in me really loves the terrific playing on this lp. Modern American Brass Music as interpreted by the "original" members of the American Brass Quintet.

There is great sensitivity, insight and intuitiveness here. Let me point you, the reader and listener, to the original Gramophone review from 1969. I cannot better the critic's assessment of this challenging program. What I will say is that it was a damn shame when esteemed conductor Gerard Schwarz placed his trumpet in the case and closed it in place of a baton. Schwarz was one of the most gifted young trumpeters of his day - he had awesome technique, incredible chops and was blessed with keen musical insights  for a trumpet player!  I guess those qualities played a mjaor role towards him developing as an international conducting sensation.

This music on this record is not for the weary by any stretch of the imagination. It is demanding, atonal, and requires a fair amount of study and above all, an open mind. I don't usually post music such as this but the virtuosity of the musicians compels me to do so. Hopefully, you will not be disappointed.

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