George Singer conducts Dvorak's New World Symphony with the Tonkuenstler Orchestra

The name of George Singer is probably all but forgotten today, however we are fortunate to have this well interpreted Dvorak "New World" Symphony as a momento of his work.

Singer was a Czech born musician of Jewish heritage who emigrated to what was then Palestine prior to WW II. He was a very important part of the musical establishment in Palestine, later Israel, and conducted virtually all the orchestras and opera companies there. After the war, he was contacted by Don Gabor of Remington Records to conduct a number of recordings, most made with the reconstituted Tonkuenstler Orchestra, often referred to as the Austrian Symphony, Viennese Symphonic Society and a whole lot of other pseudonyms. Among Singer's recordings were this one, a good Les Preludes and some fine renditions of a handful of Slavonic Dances by Dvorak.

The recording here is well interpreted and it is evident that Singer was comfortable with this very Czech music since he himself grew up with it. Everything sounds very right, not forced and natural though the orchestra is decidedly second tier, often dropping into third tier status. The real problem, admittedly is the brittle sound of this Plymouth re-release of  a Remington original. Plymouth was a bargain label and what deficiencies Remington had in pressings are magnified here. Still, I encourage everyone to have a listen to this fine performance by a solid, an unfortunately, rather forgotten musician.

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Mitropoulos + Minneapolis = FUN!

Here's a fun one...from Harmony HL 7129, the great Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting his Minneapolis Symphony in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a couple Slavonic Dances by Dvorak, the coronation march from Meyerbeer's 'The Prophet," Lalo's overture to Le roi d'Ys, and Gliere's Russian Sailors Dance.

I love the work of Mitropoulos. Everything he put his hand to created a kind of electricity and nervous energy. These "lollipops" as Beecham would say, positively sparkle under Mitropoulos. The orchestra is with him every step of the way and these pieces come off sounding more important then they really are.

Enjoy!

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Gunther Schuller conducts Beethoven and Brahms

About a dozen years ago, Gunther Schuller wrote a brilliant, but controversial, book called "The Compleat Conductor." In the book, Schuller analyzed, with score in hand, a selection of musical works by listening and comparing  various conductor's approaches of the works. The results are often surprising, critical, and not without throwing a few literary punches.

As a companion to the book, Schuller recorded the Beethoven 5th and Brahms 1st symphonies with a handpicked New York pickup orchestra and here Schuller took great pains to offer a realization, as he calls it, that is meticulously faithful to the score and the composer's instructions.

I picked up this disc the other day at my favorite used music store for two bucks and was, totally blown away by what I heard: details emerged that had been submerged for years, orchestral warmth was stressed, and the muisicans sounded like they were playing these warhorses  with a fresh new face.

Below is a review by Michael McDonough which speaks, with great eloquence, on what Schuller has accomplished. I'd like to share this with you, the reader.

Do we really need another recording of these two symphonies? There are, after all, countless others by legendary conductors, and didn't Claudio Abbado's recent Fifth on Deutsche Grammophon sell only 500 copies?

Composer-conductor Gunther Schuller has thought long and hard about these things, and his recording of the two most famous C minor symphonies ever written has a different aim than most: he wants to get to the core of these scores. But that's not easy when you consider the interpretive excesses visited upon them, and the "tradition" these have spawned.
 
Schuller clears these away: he takes Beethoven's metronome markings at face value and makes them work. Much of the Fifth's dynamism, of course, comes from its rhythm, and its speeds -- and their relation to each other -- clarify its structure. Schuller also gets his players, drawn from New York's finest orchestras, to pay special attention to dynamics so that you hear the rightness of Beethoven's scoring -- not flashy but completely effective. His no-nonsense approach shows how Beethoven's form gets its weight from carefully balanced instrumental color, and the nuances Schuller draws from his players is amazing. Rarely has this hoary old war-horse sounded so vigorous.

 The story of Brahms' struggles with his First -- he was cowering in Beethoven's shadow, etc. -- have obscured its magnificence. It's also probably a harder nut to crack than the Fifth because Brahms' wrote no metronome markings. Schuller therefore had to arrive at workable speeds on his own -- c 92 for Movement 1, c 50-55 for 2, c 92-76 for 3, c 100-126 for 4 -- which feel organic. Brahms has marked 1 and 2 as un poco sostenuto (somewhat sustained) and sostenuto (sustained), and Schuller follows this tempo description but finds lots of variety within it. His players also get the tension between repression and revelation -- Brahms the bourgeois vs. Brahms the man of passion -- which is at the heart of this music. And, unlike many conductors, he doesn't soup up the big string tune beginning in measure 28 of the Andante, which is Movement 2, but lets its intensity grow naturally which is ultimately more thrilling.

 Schuller's performers also articulate the rhythm with great precision, observing Brahms' minutely detailed syncopations and his frequent use of two against three. This allows the percussive character of the music, which is also a large part of its modernity, to come through. Schuller's scrupulous attention to both spirit and letter lets Brahms' orchestra, whether at full tilt or up close and personal, make its expressive points. Symphonies, after all, are objective, public affairs and private ones, too, and Schuller and his band happily make both sides matter. I also doubt you'll ever hear a contrabassoon with this much bite.

Since this recording is in print, I will decline to post a transfer. The recording is on Maestro Schuller's own label and I certainly don't want to infringe on his much deserved sales. I do encourage you to visit the site and buy this disc. It will be the best $15 that you ever spend!
 
Link to GM Recordings Site

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.

LINK

Music from Marlboro - Haydn and Beethoven Trios with Rudolf Serkin

I'm heading north into Vermont with the next two post offerings.

The Marlboro Music Festival takes place in the village of Marlboro Vermont and it is one of the great summer music festivals. Throughout the years it has featured some of the greatest musicians of our times from Rudolf Serkin, Alexander Schneider, Louis Moyse and of course, the supreme artistry of Pau Casals. Casals loved Marlboro for the bucolic setting and the ability to iimmerse himself fully with his beloved chamber music.

Here we have a recording issued by the Marlboro Recording Society of Beethoven and Haydn trios. The artists featured are Rudolf Serkin and Richard Stoltzman. I do not think this LP has ever been issued in CD format and I place the recording date somewhere around 1980. Further details are listed in the download.

I hope that you enjoy it. Serkin is effervescent.

LINK

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.

LINK

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!

LINK

Koussevitzky and the LPO in Beethoven and Mozart from 1934

Serge Koussevitzky was certainly one of the most important, and colorful, personalities of the American concert stage during the 20th century. Although arguably the greatest friend to the American mid century composer, much scurrilous rumor has circulated that his achievements in Boston were artificial; he could not read music well and relied on at-home pianists to practice his conducting of  various pieces of music. In fact, some have claimed that the results he achieved were due in part to excellent section leaders, among them Richard Burgin the longtime concertmaster master, who actually carried and shaped Koussevitzky's performances in lieu of the maestro's inadequacies.

Well, here we have two strong, and quite individual, performances from Beecham's LPO that firmly dispel any doubts of Koussevitzky's prowess on the podium. Outside of  a Mengelbergian tempo change that is rather abrupt in the first movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40, the readings of the Mozart and the Beethoven Eroica are clean, powerful, earthy, and thoroughly engaging. They are also a testament to what a fine orchestra Beecham built, probably the best in London during this time period. There is no doubt that Koussevitzky is the star and was fully able to communicate his wishes during this guest appearance.

Enjoy these transfers from Camden LP's. Koussevitzky would record both works again with his BSO, a better orchestra, but this first crack at both symphonies is indeed satisfying.

LINK for Mozart

LINK for Beethoven

Swan Lake Excerpts played by the Ballet Theatre Orchestra under Joseph Levine

Joseph Levine and his Ballet Theatre Orchestra made a number of very good recordings for Capitol during the 1950's. I especially like his Billy the Kid Suite and  Gould's Fall River Legend. Well, here is Maestro Levine leading extended excerpts from Swan Lake.

I think that the music is wonderfully realized by this small, but fine orchestra. In fact, the forces here are more in line with  what you would expect while attending the ballet. Here, much detail is revealed and the winds are not overwhelmed by massed strings. Levine is wholly convincing.

Enjoy!

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