Walter Hendl conducts Sessions, Harris and Schuman on ARS

How happy I was to find this lp, again, last week. I've owned a copy for years but it proved to be in a very poor shape and though I tried to transfer it, the odds were against that enterprise. So, when I came across this in a second hand shop, I rejoiced. Great condition and eminently transferable...here it is.

We have here Sessions' The Black Maskers, Schuman's American Festival Overture and Harris' monumental Symphony No 3. Everything is led by the underrated American conductor Walter Hendl with the American Recording Society Orchestra, whomever they be.

These are strongly shaped and idiomatic performances. No excuses need to be made for committed music making even if the orchestra is less then first rate. Hendl understands, and loves, this music well and the results bear witness to that. Listen to the "dirge" from Black Maskers and you'll get the picture. Great mid 20th century fare, no doubt about that.

I'd like to hear more from Hendl. Hopefully some other bloggers will take notice; I'll be on the lookout for his other recordings.

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Mogens Woldike conducts Haydn's Missa Sancti Bernardi Con Offida (Heiligmesse)

One of my very favorite conductors of the music of Franz Josef Haydn was the esteemed Danish musician, Mogens Woldike. I can remember the first time listening to his Vienna recording of Symphony No 102. The performance bounced along with merriment and humor in a rustic, "everyman" kind of way. No pompousness, just exhiliarating music making, scrupulously prepared and observant of the composer's intentions which was to entertain and, subtly educate, the listener.


As I do love Woldike's Missa in tempore belli, also from Vienna, I was excited to come across this earlier recording, from 1953.  Woldike is on his home turf, utilizing an outstanding boy's choir for choruses and solos and the fine Copenhagen Opera orchestra for instrumental support. This Heiligmesse does not disappoint. Like Woldike's Missa in tempore belli, there is firm structure and movements are well connected since the conductor understands that the liturgy is cohesive in meaning and cannot be approached as a series of distinct musical movements. And, most important, the Copenhagen Boys Choir is marvelous, a superb assemblage of highly talented and motivated boys and young men.  Clearly they understand the intent of their director and the music and, their presentation has that nobility and spiritual quality that Catholic masses had to convey to the congregation and the celebrants. Importantly,Woldike is as "in tune" with the mass as he was with the symphony, though they are very, very different forms of writing. 

I think this recording has held up well, I prefer it to Gardiner and Hickox. I am most pleased to share it.

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Tchaikovsky and Rimsky - Korsakov led by Scherchen!

Ah! A special treat here...at least for me! Yes, Scherchen leading strong, monaural recordings of Rimsky - Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture and Tchaikovsky's 1812 with the London Symphony and then Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4 with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. I want to point out that the 1812 here is, in my opinion, better then the stereo remake with the VSOO. The LSO sounds like they are on a firmer footing then the often erratic Viennese ensemble.

The most pleasant aspect of these recordings is that Scherchen does not take the proceedings over the top, as was his case at times with Beethoven and Mahler, to name just two. The 1812, in particular is presented as good, noble music and every part is musically rendered sensibly and almost businesslike but with personality. Those expecting cannons and muskets and wind machines or whatever, should note that this performance is for musical instruments alone, and, played as they are here, the sounds of battle are conveyed in a wholly appropriate and effective manner. The Russian Easter overture has the requisite nobility and seriousness of the holiday, this is a broad approach taking into account the spiritual aspects of the most important holiday in the orthodox calendar.

The surprise of the 4th symphony is that precision is quite good and eccentricities are non existent. In fact I think Scherchen's approach is not far off from  that other fine 4th of the early 50's, Kubelik's marvelous Chicago recording. Especially delightful for me are the urgent, yet sensitive, pizzicato's  in the Scherzo. Again, I'll stress that the VSOO is very well behaved and obviously Scherchen took great pains to work out various technical challenges. All in all, a fine 4th!

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Wind Music by Beethoven performed by the NY Woodwind Ensemble

Delightful music, perfect for thoughtful relaxation. Impeccably played by the NY Woodwind Ensemble, this occasional music by Beethoven will bring a smile to your face. Players like David Glazer and Arthur Weisberg were among the very best on their respective instruments during the 50's and 60's and they set a standard that has kept the NY Woodwind Quintet, of which the ensemble in this recording is the augmented group, a viable and important institution for over 50 years. You'll enjoy this!

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Chamber Music by Brahms and Telemann



Couple early Westminster issues today.

First up is Brahms' posthumous Trio in A Major performed by the "Huebner"Trio. I admit to not knowing this piece but found it a rather pleasant discovery. From what I have read, there is some disagreement about authorship however, it is Brahmsian in structure and sound, at least to my ears! An interesting work though it strangely does not stay with me like the "opused" three trios.

I have included music from Telemann's Tafelmusik as a fill since it features the fine flute playing of Milton Wittgenstein with Sylvia Marlowe on harpsichord, Marcel Hubert - cello, and Engelbert Brenner - oboe.  I do not believe the Telemann to be an odd discmate for the Brahms since the latter would have known Telemann's music and drawn a level of inspiration from it. Of all his contemporaries, Brahms looked to the past quite often for knowledge and ideas.

These are early 50's recordings and soundwise not too bad.

 

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Respighi from Vienna with Argeo Quadri conducting

The second of two lps conducted by Italian opera conductor Argeo Quadri. This one features those two marvelous Roman tone poems, The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome. One wishes that Feste Romane was included but that might have made the Fountains side prohibitively long and, a side break in any of these pieces would have been a very bad idea.

These are strong, vital performances and again, I will say how impressed I am with the execution by this notoriously inconsistent Viennese ensemble. There is a picture of Quadri on the back of the record, taken during recording or rehearsal, and his intensity is strikingly vivid. Perhaps it all lies in Beecham's observation that there are no bad orchestras, only conductors. Whatever the case, Quadri solicits brilliance from these Viennese players who were probably very unfamiliar with these colorful works.

These early 50's recordings were well recorded and packaged quite nicely, in my opinion.

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Munch and the BSO perform Haydn and Beethoven.

Here's one one that I have had "in the can" for a few weeks. Charles Munch and the "aristocrat of orchestras" in Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 and Haydn's "Drumroll" Symphony. I was lucky enough to obtain a fairly clean copy of LM 1200 and here it is for your listening pleasure.

Munch is too often pigeon holed as a "French" specialist and this is not at all a fair assessment of his abilities and talents. People tend to overlook the fact that he was, for the most part, German trained and, while a violinist with the Gewandhaus, he had the opportunity to play the German-Austrian masters under the likes of Furtwangler, Klemperer, Walter, to name but a  few. In short, his background and training provided him the authority to present credible renditions of works by these composers. Munch himself,
did not appreciate the "French" tag in much the same way as Paray and Monteux bristled at it.

There is good Beethoven and Haydn here, played with spirit, panache and, a sense of earthiness. I suspect the Beethoven suffered in sales since it was released near about the same time as Toscanini's early 50's traversal of the complete set for RCA. In regards to Haydn, probably the shadow of Beecham in this music was tough to overcome? Be that as it may, no excuses need be made for vital music making by a conductor who had the ability to electrify and an orchestra that was as refined and beautiful instrument. as any out there.

There are a couple of slight skips in the Drumroll that I believe are the result of the pressing and not human damage. I don't think these are enough to deter you from a pleasant listen. As I have said before, transferring from shellac or vinyl is not an exact science.

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Argeo Quadri conducts Scheherazade

An extremely pleasant discovery! Recently, I happened to come across a couple of old Westminster issues conducted by Argeo Quadri, a name that honestly meant nothing to me. This will be the first of two transfers and based on the musical evidence here, I am at a loss on why I do not know Quadri.

Argeo Quadri was for most of his career an opera "house" conductor and his career was Europe centered and based out of Vienna. For whatever reason, his discography is small but certainly vital, consisting of a handful of orchestral issues, full length operas and "recital" accompaniment albums. This recording in question, Rimsky Korsakov's masterpiece Scheherazade, is truly outstanding, brilliantly interpreted and played with a vitality that I find lacking in many recordings of this overplayed warhorse. In Quadri's hands, the work comes alive and the you can sense that the Viennese musicians are playing on the edge of their seats. This is one time where the overworked and often under rehearsed Vienna State Opera Orchestra sound positively razor sharp and whip smart. Quadri's sense of story telling and structure is second to none and his Viennese musicians play with a wonderfully idiomatic flair!

I want to stress that this was a great surprise for me. An Austrian orchestra under an Italian opera conductor playing the socks off of a piece that has had gazillion recordings by some of the greatest maestros of the last 75-80 years. I will be offering Quadri's magnificent traversals of the Pines and Fountains of Rome as my next post.

This recording was released in 1953. By the way, I want to point out the wonderful cover art by Otto Rado. Really exquisite isn't it? Enjoy!

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Eugene Ormandy Conducts Richard Strauss from 1947

A quick one here as I'm going to be out of town for several days. Eugene Ormandy conducting Richard Strauss' Death and Transfiguration and Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, presumably the Dorati arrangement. This is a Columbia Special Products reissue restored to its mono original. Recordings date from 1947.

I've grown to like these early Ormandy recordings. If you only know Ormandy from his later recordings, you are not getting the full picture of the man. In his younger days, he was clearly inspiring and somewhat daring and, he had the great fortune of having a brilliant orchestra at his disposal. These are vital recordings and thoroughly engaging, in fact, I got to thinking about Beecham while listening!

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