Jorge Bolet and Gyorgy Sandor play Liszt and more

Couple lps offered up today by two fine pianists, both coincidentally noted as specialists in the music of Ferenc Liszt. Gyorgy Sandor plays an all Liszt program on a Columbia Special Products reissue (with judicious removel of the awful electronically stereo enhanced effect) and Jorge Bolet performs a recital program, featuring Liszt, on one of his first recordings, that being Boston Records B301. Appian has repackaged the Boston issues B300 and B301 but I thought it would be fun to have a go at it myself.


Gyorgy Sandor, piano

LISZT: Sonata in b; Funerailles; La Leggerezza; Liebestraum #3; Hungarian Rhapsody #15
Columbia Special Products P14138, reissue of ML4084

Jorge Bolet, piano
1 SAINT-SAËNS: Etude en form de valse Op 52 No 6 
2 MOSZKOWSKI: En Automne Op 36 No 4
3 MENDELSSOHN: Hunting Song (Song Without Words Op 19 No 3)
4 MENDELSSOHN: Rondo Capriccioso Op 14
5 LISZT: Funérailles (Harmonies poétiques et religieuses No 7)
6 BEETHOVEN : Andante Favori in F WoO 57
Boston Records LP B300 Recorded 1952

There is some fine playing here. Sandor, I think, was quite underrated and unappreciated while Bolet is remembered for his later records, which in places are quite mannered. Here, both play with an unfettered style which is clean, direct and quite appealing. The older I get, I really appreciate the Liszt gems for they are introspective in places, possessing a somberness at times which is both world weary but telling.

The Beethoven Andante Favori will melt your heart, it is absolutely brilliant!

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Luboshutz and Nemenoff perform Brahms, Schumann and More

A wonderful rescue from the trash heap here. Though the cover slipcase was waterlogged and ruined, this Camden reissue cleaned up quite nicely (once I removed pieces of cardboard that had adhered to the vinyl). The husband and wife piano duo of Pierre Luboshutz and Genia Nemenoff play Brahms, Saint Saens, Schumann and Mendelssohn.

I never tire of the Brahms' Haydn Variations in any shape or form and it was good to make the acquaintance of this record. Luboshutz and Nemenoff play in a very direct, almost willful way, but what is most stunning is the unity of interpretation. If there is a definition of harmony in marriage, I would say this performance is the musical equivalent. Listen and you will swear that this is one artist and not two, it is that cohesive. This is unsentimental playing, hardly heart on the sleeve, and the artists let the music speak for itself. I was surprised that there is little reflection at the end of each variation, one seems to march into another almost in a brusque way, though it is not to the point of annoyance or is it damaging to the structure of the piece. Again, I want to stress the unity of the presentation is what sells me here.

Very much the same approach holds forth in the Beethoven Variations of Saint Saens, the Allegro Brilliant of Mendelssohn and the Schumann Andante and Variations. The Saint Saens, in particular, is tossed off in a brilliant tour de force - it is simply a delight and reminder of what a creative, and at at his best, inspired composer Saint Saens indeed was.

I've mentioned before that I have come to really enjoy the two hand and two piano art form especially when the artists subordinate their solo will to the fine art of collaborative dialogue. Luboshutz and Nemenoff are the benchmark in this regard.

I believe that the recordings are all mid to late 40's, Camden provides no information.

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A Virtual Concert with the Stadium Concerts Symphony Orchestra

Fredell Lack

Recently, I came a number of items destined for the great mound of garbage at the transfer station. These records were Music Appreciation and Musical Treasures of the World issues. Released beginning in the 50's, these records were sold by subscription, club membership and in places like the local supermarket and Woolworth's. Some were older recordings relabeled with pseudonyms while others were fresh new recordings cut by musicians looking to make a couple bucks outside of their normal concertizing. Today, I offer two records from the Music Appreciation series, released by the Book of the Month Club. Both feature the "Stadium Concerts Symphony Orchestra" aka the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York. The Mendelssohn Violin Concerto is performed by Oklahoma born violinist  Fredell Lack with radio conductor Alexander Smallens conducting and the Tchaikovsky Symphony No 5 is led by famed resident conductor at the Met and former Cincinnati SO director, Max Rudolf.

Alexander Smallens

Prior to this recording, I had never heard of Fredell Lack. Ms Lack appears to have had a relatively short career in the limelight, primarily as a soloist and member of the Little Orchestral Society in New York City. By the age of 30, she had relocated to Texas where she would spend many years as a distinguished professor of music at the University of Houston and, as leader of the Lyric Arts Quartet. On evidence of this recording, she is strong soloist with a sweet tone and impeccable finger work. Lack is ably supported by noted radio conductor and arranger, Alexander Smallens. The latter was one of these musicians who could apparently step in to a scene quickly and coax fine results by musicians with little preparation for producers whose eyes were constantly on the clock.

Max Rudolf

Max Rudolf is a name familiar to most, a conductor of impressive stature who spent his earlier years in the opera pit but emerged later as a conductor who could lead convincing performances in the concert hall minus the trappings of the operatic stage. Rudolf's Tchaikovsky is taut, no nonsense and almost businesslike but not in a way that would denote boredom or indifference. This is Tchaikovsky for people that do not want over exaggeration but rather prefer the music to speak for itself. In essence, this is performance by an operatic conductor who has to regularly bring differing performing styles together and have them coalesce into a work that is interpretively consistent. I find Rudolf refreshing and he coaxes some very good playing from an orchestra that is probably recording late into the evening or into the wee hours of the morning.

These mono records were a bit of a challenge to work with. Again, I would guess that there were not many takes as time and money dictated that a product had to be produced quickly, efficiently and cheaply.  Consequently, I don't believe that recording conditions were at all ideal. Even so, its nice to have these recordings available as they are a fond remembrance of musicians that left their individual imprints on the music of the day.

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Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops on Camden

Here's the contents of two very fine Camden reissues of early recordings by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. CAL-165 features the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No 1 and Liszt's Totentanz and CAL-166 highlights extended excerpts from Glazunov's ballet Raymonda  and the bacchanale from Samson & Delilah  of Saint Saens. The pianist featured on CAL-165 is the excellent Jesus Maria Sanroma, who was the official pianist of the Boston Symphony for Koussevitzky during the 1930's and early 40's.

The Mendelssohn had been transferred previously, from the 78's, by Bryan at The Shellackophile. Bryan did a great job of retaining warmth from the original recording, something that the Camden reissue producers admittedly did not place high on their list while transferring from 78 to 33 1/3. (The Liszt on the flip side fares better.) In spite of any sonic limitations, Sanroma and Fiedler turn in a superb account of this well proportioned and inspired concerto of Mendelssohn. In  the Liszt, both experienced musicians keep the piece from turning into a gaudy display of overblown technique and banal passages.  I've got to say that Fiedler was a terrific concerto partner on evidence of this recording and others. I still wonder how he kept a straight face and musical dignity while accompanying Al Hirt in the latter's infamous account of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto!

The extended excerpts from Raymonda are simply superb. Glazunov often gets short shrift because he was so prolific and at times rather less then inspired. That is not the case with Raymonda. It is a marvelous ballet, right up there with the best of Tchaikovsky. Terrific tunes and masterful orchestration make this a delight for the ears and of course, Fiedler does not disappoint. Having the great Pops (actually the BSO minus the principals) strings caress Glazunov's skillful writing reaps great dividends in this recording. And, what an encore with a supercharged, but entirely tasteful, bacchanale from Samson and Delilah. Richard Strauss must have been taken by this for his Salome's dance bears striking characteristics of this gem of a piece.

Enjoy Fiedler at his best!

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The Casadesus Duo performs Mozart and Schubert

Greetings from Mt Snow, Vermont! The band participated in the annual Oktoberfest and it was the usual great time, inspite of the cold wind blowing down the mountainside on Saturday. However, with ample quantities of fine, local microbrew and the elixir known as Jaegermeister, we were able to stay sufficiently warm and give the masses the show they expect....and deserve.

Here's another of those fake stereo, Columbia Special Products reissues this morning. I've dissed the fake stereo and in its mono excellence is the Casadesus Duo performing Mozart and Schubert. And, as a fill we have a little more Hambro and Zayde, from a Command Classics record, thrown in for good measure.

I really love the playing of the Casadesus couple. Both Robert and Gaby were superb solo artists and unlike some soloists who have difficulty collaborating in "committee," this husband and wife instinctively support and value each other's unique contribution. With the Casadesus, the playing is aristocratic, and when I say that I mean, beyond reproach. It is unfailingly elegant, precise, and deferential to the composer, without being slavish. I hope I'm clear here! Mozart and Schubert with delicacy, power when needed but always properly controlled and lucid. This is the real deal!

Hambro and Zayde offer another type of playing, more muscular and with a different palette of color. It is a "larger" conception, less intimate, however striking in its own right. If I was to sum it up simply, I would say that the Casadesus are best enjoyed in a salon setting while Hambro and Zayde are Concert Hall listening.

Hope you enjoy two distinctive styles of Four Hand piano music. As I have said before, I've grown to really love and appreciate this kind of collaborative art form. As a side, I picked up Brendel and Klien in Brahms' Hungarian Dances and I hope to get that up here within the near future.

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Sir Adrian Boult conducts Mendelssohn's Italian and Scottish symphonies

Here's two of my very favorite works by Mendelssohn in sparkling performances under Sir Adrian Boult. These are Nixa/Westminster recordings from around the mid 50's which feature the Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra (of course, the London Philharmonic in contractual disguise).

What strikes me most regarding these performances is the briskness of tempo and the need to move the music along. These are unsentimental renderings with absolutely no sign of "heart on the sleeve." What we have here is almost businesslike, well prepared, and devoid of any "19th century" excesses. In short, as I listened, I heard a definite connection between Boult and period performance, in particular Roger Norrington's Mendelssohn recordings. The Scottish, especially, held my attention quite firmly; I'm spellbound by this performance as it would appear to be 25-30 years ahead of its time. Fascinating...really. Definitely a much different rendering of the Scottish then Maag's roughly contemporary lp with the LSO.

One last observance about Boult:  every performance of his that I encounter is so well prepared, and thought out, that though spontaneity may be lacking, craftsmanship, taste and diligence are always there. With Boult, you get your money's worth.

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