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NEW LISTINGS FOR MARCH, 2009

CONDUCTORS

BERGLUND: Sibelius: The Bard, Op. 64. Bournemouth Symphony

BERNSTEIN: Bach: Magnificat. w/ Lee Verona & Jennie Tourel, sopranos; Russell Oberlin, countertenor; Charles Bressler, tenor; Norman Farrow, bass; New York Philharmonic; Schola Cantorum [31:36] Copland: Seven Anniversaries. Bernstein at piano (archival recording circa 1950)

BOHM, Karl: Mozart: "The Magic Flute" complete. w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Vienna State Opera Chorus; illustrious soloists [See details under "Opera, Vocal & Choral" listings below.]

BOULT, Sir Adrian: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1, D Minor, Op. 15. w/ London Philharmonic; recorded 1938. [Wonderful, classic performance; Schnabel sculpts the music from warm granite and Szell is the perfect partner.] Holst: The Planets, Op. 32. w/ BBC Symphony Orchestra & Women's Chorus. [Sourced from a very rare early HMV LP, this is Sir Adrian's FIRST (of, what? Four I think) recording of this work, from 1948, and it still sounds formidable -- very fresh and dramatic, with excellent sound. There are some scratches, but no major defects; the music does come through cleanly.] Wagner: "Gotterdammerung" -- "Dawn & Rhine Journey". w/ London Philharmonic Wagner: "Gotterdammerung" -- "Siegfried's Funeral Mucous' w/ London Philharmonic Wagner: "Siegfried" -- "Forest Murmurs". w/ London Philharmonic Wagner: "Tannhauser" -- Prelude, Act 3. w/ London Philharmonic Wagner: "Tristan" -- Prelude to Act 3. w/ London Philharmonic. Wagner: "Die Walkure" -- "Ride of the Buxom Babes". w/ London Philharmonic. [Now, when this album was released in American shops, circa 1975, most everybody gave it a cursory glance and went about his business. Boult just was NOT thought of as being a "Wagnerite" -- too reserved, too "Briddish", etc. So the very audience-segment that most likely be interested, just sniffed in ignorance and passed it by. Too bad, since these performances turned out to be first-class in every respect and not even the "authorized" pirates at Testament have shown the slightest interest in re-issuing the master tapes in digital transfers, at FIVE TIMES the asking price of the 1975 Seraphim LP that is MY Scource. Sir Adrian never slightest a single composer, even those whom you might really suspect of being quite alien to his sensibilities. In sum, these are handsomely recorded and unfailingly eloquent interpretations and as of today (2/ 22/ 2009), there just is no other retail-outlet web site where you can order it from…]

BUSCH, FRITZ: Schubert: "The Fair Melusine" Overture. w/ Winterthur Symphony Orchestra [24:33] Schubert: Symphony No. 5. w/ Winterthur Symphony Orchestra, c. 1952 [9:36]

CAMERON, Basil: Sibelius: Symphony No. 2. London Philharmonic Orchestra

CANTELLI: Debussy: Le Martyre de St. Sebastien, Symphonic Fragments. w/ RAI Symphony, Rome; live, 11/ 20/ 1954 [19:23] Ghedini: Pezzo Concertante per violin, viola, & orchestra. w/ RAI Symphony, Rome; live, 11/ 20/ 1954 [12:36] Hindemith: Mathis der Maler. w/ RAI Symphony, Rome; live; 11/20/ 1954 [24:33] Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe, Suite No. 2. w/ RAI Symphony, Rome, live; 11/ 20/ 1954 [13:52] [This apparently is the only surviving complete concert of Cantelli with his home-town orchestra, which plays with unusual warmth for him. Decent mono sound.]

DAVIS, Sir Colin: [Special listing: the three blockbuster items listed below represent Sir Colin's FIRST recordings, from 1976, and since none appears to have been available for many years (superceded by much more advanced digital re-makes), I feel reasonably secure in offering them. Moreover, I obtained them in some kind of "book club" edition, a flimsy box with truly ugly cover printing, which I bought as a remarkably cheap cut-out some 26 years ago! None of these factors militates against the excellence of the performances (although the sonics are hardly state-of-the-art and there's a touch of gritty congestion in the big climaxes of the Requiem), for even at the start of his career, Sir Colin revealed an uncommon sensitivity to the Berliozian Thing. Be all that as it may, and even though I am offering these now-antique LPs with a clear conscience, if anyone at Philips Records objects to their being so posted, all he or she need do is send me a polite "cease-and-desist" request ON LETTERHEAD STATIONERY, PLEASE, and as I promised five years ago when I started this demented crusade, I will happily delete the items in question, for it has never been my intent to deprive any artist of so much as a dime's worth of legitimate royalties (and a surprising number of conductors AND composers have quietly encouraged me to list their older recordings, because at least my advocacy keeps those things available and alive, when the legal copyright holders show utterly no interest in returning them to circulation. And NO, I will NOT tell you who those musicians are -- although I guar-an-damn-TEE you that some of their names would startle you; a promise is a promise and in return for their generosity and support, I gladly honor their requests for anonymity. Anyhow, here are Colin Davis's first recordings of three major Berlioz works, all of which he has since become solidly and deservedly identified with…] L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25. w/ London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Dame Janet Baker, mezzo; Thomas Allen, baritone; Eric Tappy, tenor; Jules Bastin, bass; Joseph Rouleau, bass; Philip Langridge, tenor, Raimond Herincx, bass; The John Aldis Choir Requiem, Op. 5. Sir Colin Davis; London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Ronald Dowd, tenor Te Deum, Op. 22. Sir Colin Davis; London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Franco Tagliavini, tenor; Wandsworth School Boys Choir

DIXON, Dean: Dvorak: Cello Concerto, B Minor, Op. 104. w/ Antonio Janigro, cello; Vienna State Opera Orchestra. [Here's a rarity indeed! Dixon, the splendid Afro-American conductor who had to leave the U.S, in order to pursue a full career, leading the VSOO, accompanying one of the first -- if not THE first -- concerto recordings made by Janigro!] Moore, Douglas: Symphony in A. w/ "American Recording Society Orchestra" (probably the Vienna Symphony; these ARS records did great service in their day, providing at least adequate readings of American orcvhestral works that otherwise would have gotten little or no exposure; but they were notoriously low-rent affairs, with maybe an hour's rehearsal time and sonics that were nothing to write home about (along with some of the most butt-ugly cover art in the history of LP albums), but conductors such as Dixon and Swarowsky worked very hard to obtain decent results, as this antediluvian 12-incher proves. Some light scratched, but nothing major; both sonics and orchestral playing are merely "okay", but Dixon turns this featherweight neo-romantic score into a work of considerable, tuneful charm. I think he does even better with the wonderful Randall Thompson Second -- although Bernstein's is clearly the reference standard, IF you can find a copy of it. The Thompson score has always moved me neigh unto tears, primarily because it's so powerfully "nostalgic", but that nostalgia seems to flow through generations. Obviously, I am not longing for the same artifacts, people, or moods as a composer born in1899, but Thompson's achingly bittersweet melodies and Prairie-Romantic harmonies transfer smoothly to the things I AM nostalgic for. Maybe this isn't a "major" American symphony, but every time I play it, I'm surprised anew at how it gets under my skin. Dixon may have an under-rehearsed second-rate orchestra (and Lenny of course has the New York Philharmonic. Not to mention first-class stereo sonics), but interpretively the two conductors are startlingly close to each other and considering how palpably inferior Dixon's forces are, I think this ancient and now very hard-to-find record is an enduring testament to how richly talented this long-suffering Afro-American maestro was. A box-set of his best work is long, long overdue!] Thompson, Randall: Symphony No. 2. w/ "American Recording Society Orchestra

FOURNET. Jean: Debussy: La Mer. w/ Czech Philhatonic & women's chorus. [Almost from the day it was published, in late 1964, this Supraphon recording has been held in veneration as cult classic, even though Jean Fournet is not generally held in the greatest esteem by conducting mens. It's one of those rare gems in which EVERYTHING "CLICKED" -- THE CONDUCTOR WAS "ON", the venue was perfect, the mikes' placement captured everything, even the softest, most gossamer strands of Debussy's orchestral fabric, WITH SUAVE, SILKEN TRUTHFULNESS, AND RARELY HAVE THE Czech Philharmonic's glorious winds been captured so flatteringly. And Fournet's reading? It is inspired: broad enough to permit him to luxuriate in its beauties, yet sustained and given momentum by a fairly dramatic basic pulse. Both sonically and interpretively, this is a truly distinguished interpretation, simply bathed in sumptuous sound.]

FURTWANGLER: Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72-B. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live; 7/ 13/ 1950. [14:33] Schubert: "Rosamunde" -- Overture, Entr' acte N o. 2 & Ballet Music. w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra [See comments below under "Unfinished Symphony'] w/ Vienna Philharmonic. [This Schuubert LP, along with a handful of other documents of Furtwangler's core repertoire, appeared briefly in the early-mid Sixties. And since then, of course, refurbished "restorations" of these same reading have proliferated on a dozen specialty "collectors' labels" ) (Read: eight or ten differently-named semi-pirate exporters all working out of the same seedy warehouse in Milan), as well as on several highly respected and legal specialist labels. Traditionally, the Japanese do the best job of refurbishing grand elderly material, but for some reason, this low-priced French EMI cycle (plain rather flimsy albums with burlap-textured graphics; not even any notes enclosed!) has always struck me as eminently satisfying. Without any detectable re-mixing or reverb adding or bogus "stereo" mutilation, they took highly variable originals and offered these great readings in sound that was uniformly warm and smooth, well-balanced, and with a remarkably wide-open dynamic range (when the trombones make their stentorian proclamation mid-way through Movement I, the weight, burnished tone, and unforced majesty of the sound is truly thrilling!) Altogether, this is one of those Furtwangler archival recordings you might use to demonstrate to a skeptical young listener just what the qualities are that distinguish a titanic specimen of Golden Age conducting from even the most famous "star" conductors of today. For sheer nobility of utterance, and an almost gothic sense of fated tragedy, this 1951 Vienna reading, is worthy to stand atop Olympus with the very different (and more viscerally, theatrically exciting Mengelberg reading preserved from the dark days of 1941m wuth the French Radio Orchestra reading, derived from air-checks made during the middle of the Nazi occupation, as Schubert's "Unfinished" that unflinchingly confront the darkest, most tragic possible interpretive stances; they're both "cosmic Schubert" and no conductor alive today would or could try to offer competition. An essential documentation of Furtwanger's interpretive genius at its most glorious! It blew me away when I first heard it, in 1964, and it can still evoke shivers down my spine!] Schubert: Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished"), w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded Wagner: Gotterdammerung, Act III. / w/ Flagstad, Melchior, Jansen, Thorborg; live, 1937. [Legendary and deservedly so; the soloists are in prime voice, Furtwangler -- still untouched spiritually by Hitlerism -- is fiercely animated yet meticulous in his handling of details. The BBC acetates yield startlingly faithful, full-bodied sound, with only a tiny trace of overload in the loudest climaxes. I'm especially proud to list this treasure because it does not seem to be in print, anywhere, at this time -- my Source was a now-very-scarce Bruno Walter Society box in fine condition. I reckon the copyrights were renewed, otherwise -- surely! -- Fred Maroth of Music & Arts would have re-issued this magnificent testimonial on CD long ago, if there were any way he could legally do it. Fabulous singing, titanic conducting, inspired playing; the crowd went mad after the final fade of the "Immolation Scene", and so will you if you're a true Wagnerite and have somehow managed never to hear this awesome souvenir of Furtwangler's last visit to the U. K. before war tore both Europe and the conductor's noble heart asunder!]

GIULINI: Schumann: Piano Concerto, A Minor, Op. 54. w/ Artur Rubinstein; Chicago Symphony [32:46]

GOODDALL, Sir Reginald: Wagner: "Gotterdammerung" -- Siegfried's Death & Funeral March. English National Opera Orchestra, live, mid-eighties [Slow but majestic live readings by "The English Furtwangler"]

GOOSENS: Ginastera: "Estancia" Ballet Suite, Op. 8-A. w/ London Symphony Orch. [12:32] Ginastera: Panambi, Ballet Suite, Op. 1-A. w/ London Symphony Orch. [12:28] [See comments under "Composers"] Villa-Lobos: The Little Train of the Caipira. w/ London Symphony Orch. [4:33]

GUI, Vittorio: Rossini: "The Barber of Seville", complete opera. [See details under "Opera & Vocals". What a marvelous conductor he was, and what a pity so few of his non-operatic recordings were available beyond Italy!]

HAITINK: Baddings, Henk: Concerto for 2 Violins & Orchestra. w/ Hermann Krebbers & Theo Olaf, violins; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date uncertain

HANNAKAINEN, Tauno: Sibelius: Lemminkainen Suite ("Four Legends"), Op. 22. USSR State Radio Symphony. [Previously listed, but I found a copy in better shape. Splendid reading by a Finnish conductor far too little-known, but whose handful of recordings are highly collectible.]

KLEIBER, Erich: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Op. 55, "Eroica". w/ NDWR Symphony of Cologne; live, 12/ 31 / 1955 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, Op. 67. w/ Stuttgart Radio Symphony; live, December, 1955 Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, "Pastorale". w/ Stuttgart Radio Symphony, same live concert, December, 1955

KOUSSEVITZKY: Debussy: La Mer. w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream -- Scherzo. Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4. 1947 [4:35] Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1, G Minor, Op. 24. Lucas Foss, piano; Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4/ 1947 [19:00] [Wow! Lucas Foss as pianist in Mendelssohn! And a terrific job he does, too!] Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, A Major, Op. 90, "Italian". Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4/ 1947 [24:35] [Koussie's studio recording was long considered the best of the mono era; this live rendition, predictably, has just that crucial extra bit of zip and intensity and the air-check sound is quite listenable.] Mozart: Symphony No. 29, A Major, K. 201. Boston Symphony; live, Tanglewood, 7/ 17. 1948 [16:10] Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra [It's deja-vu all over again! Yes, I already HAVE listed these indispensable landmark versions, in one of my first updates in fact. HOWEVER, like most younger collectors, my Source was the RCA Camden budget re-issues, which certainly sounded better than the original 78s, but the quality of Camden reissues was insanely variable and although my copy served me well for 47 years, I did not realize how coarse and uncaring the American re-issue was until someone recently and very kindly donated a near-mint copy of a French RCA reissued and had obviously been done with significantly more love and care than the US iteration. Not only was were the LP surfaces MUCH quieter and the louder parts of both scores dubbed without distortion, but the exquisite Russo-French (dunno what else to call it, really!) timbres and nuances of the BSO's winds and strings came through so much more cleanly and realistically, that my already high regard for these interpretations soared to a new level. The orchestral playing in both is simply astonishing, even by today's global standards (which are, let's be honest, incomparably higher than they were in the Thirties -- partly because Koussevitzky, Mengelberg, and Stokowski showed how great an orchestra COULD sound and the bar was forever raised. No kidding, folks -- last season, the Greensboro Symphony turned in a walloping terrific "Rite of Spring" -- under its esteemed current Music Director, Dimitri Sitkovetsky -- that sounded better and more confident, in numerous places, than the Boston Symphony's fabled LP under Pierre Monteux! THAT's how much better the world-wide standard of orchestral playing has become since the heyday of Koussie in Beantown. But, still, when you hear these performances restored with the sort of clarity, realistic perspective, and faithful timbres heard on the French LP. It's easy to marvel once again as the suave gorgeousness and eloquence of the ensemble Koussevitzky created in Boston; that Munch preserved and added some Gallic fire to…and that the inscrutable Ozawa spend twenty-odd years gradually ruining, while the local critics either went deaf or went on-the-take. And although I once was utterly indifferent to James Levine's recordings, I'm been very pleasantly surprised by how strong a music director he's proven to be in Boston, where he has systematically restored some of the élan and sheer moxie to that great orchestra, and by the way his energy has swept most of the sleep-inducing pixie dust out of Orchestra Hall, where most listeners as well as reviewers seemed to fall under the same spell of somnolent mediocrity that was Ozawa's primary trait. (Doesn't mean I won't make some more stinky jokes about "Chicago Fats" and his succession of lithe young houseboy companions, but I promise to dull the previously nasty edge! Fair enough, Jimmy?)]

KUBELIK: Kubelik: "Orphicon", Music for Orchestra. Composer; NY Philharmonic; world premier, 1981 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4. NY Philharmonic; live, 1981 [See comments under "Composers"]

LEIBOWITZ:

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< VERY SPECIAL LISTINGS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

BEETHOVEN: THE COMPLETE SYMPHONIES -- THE GREATEST AND MOST HARD-TO-FIND OF ALL THE MASSIVE "READERS DIGEST" BOX SETS, IN IMMACULATE CONDITION ! SPECIAL RATE: 4 CDs for the price of, well, TWO-AND-A-HALF! ( $26. 50)

[Snobbery often brings its own punishment; most "serious record collectors I knew back then just sort of sniffed in disdain and airily turned aside from any box set issued under the aegis of that notoriously low-brow publication Readers' Digest. We just assumed the quality of performances would at best achieve faceless mediocrity; the orchestra were palpably second-tier ensembles, and -- at least in the first two slip-cased compendia, the conductors were either men we knew had NEVER made a major-label recording (I mean, here's this Norwegian dude named "Odd" Something-or-other! How could you take seriously an interpretation offered someone named "Maestro Odd. And although Rene Leibowitz WAS known to us, it was entirely from the obscure -- and often unintelligible recordings he made of fearsome post-modernists who fame was much wider than the circle of otherwise smart, well-educated collectors who dipped their toes now and again in Lake Stockhausen, found its waters just as chilly, anti-emotional, and either "unpleasant" to hear, or just plain old fur-lined-teacup mountebankery. Intended, one supposed, to annoy the hell out of the middle-class mass audience which, on the one hand, SUPPORTS classical concerts, even if its level of sophistication ends with the kind of buoyant sewing-machine batoq1ue dreck too many FM stations play under such revolting titles as "Tea Time with Mozart" or "Classical music to Unwind with after a hard day at the office. Leibowitz was entrenched on the avant-garde side; he programmed things like "Erwartung" and that gigantic piece Pierre Boulez has been composing, rehearsing parts pt it on the radio and conning guys like Leibowitz to play the latest iteration, whilst most of us in the audience are still trying to find thematic centers of gravity in the first or second version.

Moreover, the most substantial work Leibowitz was assigned to conduct for a Readers Digest b ox was "L'Sacre", for which he drew an outfit in Rome (maybe not even associated with the St. Cecelia Academy, and recorded a rendition of this thunderous masterpiece that was the sonic equivalent of a limp dick. Only interpretation I've yet encountered that was duller and less filled with "pagan" emotion than the almost dainty, prissy little reduction (one can hardly call it a serious "interpretation") .

So when collectors like me saw the Readers' Digest ads for a BEETHOVEN cycle conducted by this timid little Frog, we passed right on by.

Today, of course, a complete set in prime condition will cost you upwards of $200 on E-Bay, if you're filling to wait and wait for someone to die or become so desperate for cash that they start selling off their most valuable records.

Well, here the bloody thing is and I'm here to t ell you that the interpretations are sensitive, wise, and packed with all the nerve and muscle you could want; the sonics by Gerhardt are inhumanly fine, and there's not a weak movement in the lot!

Believe it or not, it was DONATED to "Records in the Attic" by a generous colleague/collector who swore its inclusion in our catalogues would be viewed as a kind of litmus test, and the multi-CD dubbings would almost certainly become one of our most fiercely discussed and frequently ordered items. I sure hope he's right. Considering how much work I'm putting into the Master Source and how hard I'm trying to make these releases LOOK as handsome as their reputation seems to warrant. I'll need more advice, too, before I can even guess about marketing and prices ************************************************************************************************************************************************

LEINSDORF: Mozart: Symphony No. 6, F Major, K. 43. w/ London Philharmonic Mozart: Symphony No. 7, D Major, K. 45. w/ London Philharmonic Mozart: Symphony No. 8, D Major, K. 48. w/ London Philharmonic Mozart: Symphony No. 9, C Major, K. 73. w/ London Philharmonic [I *think* Leinsdorf was the first conductor to record a complete Mozart symphony cycle, for good ol' Westminster. During the early-to-mid-monaural era, and ever since I picked up Volume One, when I was about fifteen, I've wondered why it's been so rare to find the other umpteen albums in the series. I actually kinda-sorta liked symphonies 1-5, even though it's pretty obvious Poppa Leopold probably wrote most of the notes. Leinsdorf gave those trifling little exercises in precosity a nice elegant gloss and kept the rhythms springy and the horizontal lines very clean, but, really, there's not much ANY conductor can do to or for the first dozen-and-a-half except make sure the ensemble comes in and stops together. It's probable that if anyone other than Mozart had composed them, they would be utterly forgotten as the early-Classical-era bubble-gum-card trifles they are. Okay, he was a child prodigy, but a trained chimpanzee could have written some of this formulaic stuff, and as the series moved into the really GOOD symphonies, Leinsdorf's cycle lost both its uniqueness and its novelty value. Beyond, say, Number 27, the competition got fierce. Still, I'd have enjoyed adding another 3-4 albums of it to my collection -- I just never found them on sale in the record shops. Until LAST WEEK (March 8, 2009), when I located Volume 2 in a Goodwill thrift store, STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL SHRINKWRAP AND BEARING A PRICE TAG MARKED "50 cents"…how could I pass that up? How could I not list it quickly? Which, behold, I have just done -- so if you order a dub, be assured it's as close to pristine as you can get. The symphonies 6-9 are still not very interesting, but they have some nice moments of dash and filigree, and the London Philharmonic guys sound like they're having fun and every so often you DO hear a suggestion of the deeper, more developed personality of the not-yet-pubescent composer! Lord knows what something this rare and in factory-fresh condition would fetch on E-Bay, but it'd sure as hell be more than the $13.50 I'm going to charge for a dubbed clone!]

Mozart:

MAAZEL: Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20. w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Strauss: Tod & Verklarung, Op. 24. w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra [This was one of Maazel's first collaborative efforts with the Vienna Philharmonic and the chemistry seems to have been strong from the start. Orchestral playing and recorded sound are tremendous, and Maazel's conceptualization is ardent, virile, and executed with a manly stride -- one of my all-time favorite "Don Juan"s.]

MENGELBERG: Brahms: Symphony No. 4, E minor, Op. 98. w/ Concertgebouw Orchestra. of Amsterdam; rec. 11/ 30/ 1938. [This was the last Mengelberg/ Brahms recording to be successfully transferred to LP format, and when it WAS so reissued, the Concertgebouw's "parent label" (Telefunken) dropped the ball so badly that you almost can't believe the transfers were done by engineers with good hearing! It's full of inner-groove wear, subway-rumbles, mysterious "thunks" and "clicks", and the formidably-conducted climaxes are more often then not ruined by distortion. After a merciless drubbing by the critics, Telefunken withdrew that issue from the market (yeah, I have it, but it truly is SOOOO bad that I wouldn't dub it, list it, or even mention it, unless somebody out there wants it for teaching or illustrative purposes!). Four years later, along came this itty-bitty Canadian label ("Past Masters") which searched high and low until a nearly mint-condition set of pre-war Telefunkens was located and made their dub directly from, those, without any digital intervention, electronic repair work, no nothin' except a set of clean 78s and well-trained sets of Human Ears, Mark One. And my God, is it a gorgeous transfer! In t he 20s and 30s, Telefunken's engineers were the best in Europe, and they mastered the Concertgebouw's acoustical quirks as no subsequent recording team has done. In THIS flawless pressing, for instance, you can hear with surgical clarity how the hall's ambience clarifies and flatters the hard-to-record sound of horns playing in unison with woodwinds! That's a Brahms "signature", if ever there was one, but despite the importance of that orchestral combination in so many of Brahms' works, very few conductors have taken the time and trouble necessary to nail that singularly fragile tone-color. Come down too hard on one group of instruments, and the other gets drowned out or submerged in a scruffy, "blended" sound that sometimes just sounds "gray". You can also hear how Mengelberg had trained his strings to play with and against each other in the manner of a chamber-music quartet, and you can actually HEAR that effect at many magical moments of this performance! The cross-rhythms in III, which very few conductors manage to nail (Klemperer was one who did, and HE always voiced considerable respect for Mengelberg's art!) are dispatched with breath-taking confidence and dash! I could go on and on, but you get the picture by now.] Dopper: Symphony No. 7 ("Zuider Zee"). w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live broadcast, December 8, 1940. [The two Dutch works offered here are among the scarcest of Mengelberg's recordings. Not even the "official" box set of live broadcasts from the Radio Nederland archives contains them, which is very curious indeed, and I know of no other small-label issuance of them except for the one I've used as my Source here: "Past Masters PM-18". Dopper's "Gothic Chaconne", however, WAS commercially recorded by Mengelberg and has been available intermittently. Cornelius Dopper (1870-1939) was a very cosmopolitan musician, widely traveled and thoroughly professional, both as a performer and a conductor (he was Mengelberg's chief assistant from 1909 until his death), and a master of orchestration. Mengelberg once described Dopper as "the most Dutch of Dutch composers", and a deep nationalistic fervor informs his finest works. The slow movement of this symphony, for instance, is a seascape combined with an eerie nocturne, magnificently conceived and colored with a Turner-esque palette. And the finale is so energetic and buoyant that it might well be described as a "Dutch furiant". It's terrific music, whether you own wooden shoes or not, and Mengelberg conducts the living hell out of it. The much shorter, almost neo-classical, Voormolen work is delight, too.] Voormolen, Alexander: Sinfonia. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live broadcast, December 12, 1940

MITROPOULOS: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10. w/ New York Philharmonic. [First-ever recording and STILL one of the most exciting and vibrant versions on disc.! Dimitri conducted it for the first time on October 9, 1954. The audience and most of the critics recognized it as a major, if not a truly "great" piece, but there were two critics who dissented in a manner so obtuse as to be comical. As I described it in "Priest of Music":

The New York Daily News, which of course did not have much clout with the cvity's intellectuals, gave its negative response in a typically telegraphic headline: 'SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 10 A TURKEY!', and its critic, one Douglas Watt, opined that it was probably unfair to judge the work on a single hearing, "But I guess I'll have to, because I don't ever expect to hear it again. I doubt that many of us will hear it again." The new guy in the reviewing bullpen, Paul Henry Lang of the Herald Tribune, won the Eduard Hanslick Award for critical boat-missing when he snidely expressed the thought that "it was good to see an orchestra with a tight budget" squander so much on the rights to the American premiere of a contemporary symphony, and then went on to describe the work in question as "sprawling, noisy, lacking in coherent style, and even in culture". Doo-dah, doo-dah! Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5. w/ New York Philharmonic; studio recording, c. 1954

MONTEUX: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14. w/ San Francisco Symphony, circa 1947-1948. [A treasured and long rare early LP, which I managed to find a mostly very good copy of about a year ago Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet, Overture-Fantasia. w/ NDWR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg; live, date uncertain [19:47] [Monteux's wonderful trademark blend of Gallic elegance and innate sense of the dramatic, makes this a most refreshing interpretation of a piece most of us could live two additional life-cycles without wanting to hear again.]

MRAVINSKY: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12 (In Memory of V. I. Lenin). Leningrad Philharmonic. [From the very first issue, purchased in Leningrad, 1964. Okay, sure, most of this piece is shallow tripe, and the parts that aren't -- mostly in the first movement -- sound like recycled out-takes from the lesser portions of the Eleventh, but be honest: would you think less or more of it, if the composer hadn't chosen to dedicate it to Lenin? Give the guy a break -- he HAD to get his ticket-punched there toward the end of Stalin's reign, and after he paid his dues by cranking out this rubbishy thing, he went on to write those last three incredible, masterful, still-being-discovered symphonies that rounded out his career with such inscrutable brilliance. For what it's worth, if you happen to enjoy even third-rate Shostakovich as much as I do, nobody does it with more apparent intensity than Mravinsky, who certainly knew how the artistic game was played in those days. Of course it's mono, but my copy has somehow survived 45 years without picking up a scratch or a Skippy ((That's probably because you've only played in four times since you bought it, Boss!)) Good point, Skippie; kinda blows my credibility as a critic, but good point anyway.] [[How many time's have I told you NOT TO INTERRUPT ME WHEN I'M RANTING, you little gnat's pizzle!]]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MYSTERY MAESTRI, FEB. 2009 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Sullivan, Sir Arthur: "The Mikado", Orchestral Suite from. [A tasty "symphonic synthesis" in the Stokowski tradition; I've no clue as to the identity of conductor or ensemble, but although there's some underlying noise from the crappy recycled vinyl used on these No-Name labels, the basic sound is quite good throughout both sides.]

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MUNCH: Blackwood: Symphony No. 1. w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra Bloch: Violin Concerto. w/ Szegeti; Paris Conservatory Orchestra; recorded spring, 1939. [[I've elsewhere listed a live air-check of Mengelberg and Szegeti performing this inexplicably neglected masterpiece in 1940, and that one's in a class by itself, thanks to the incomparable flair and dash of the Concertgebouw's playing. But Munch has the full measure of the concerto's Hebraic angst and exaltation, too, and the French EMI/Pathe engineers accorded him splendid sound (not just by pre-war standards, but by ANY standards), so this recording is about as close to "definitive" as any single interpretation gets. Szegeti and Mitropoulos gave the American premiere with the Cleveland Orchestra at some point during this same time-frame, and we may hope that an aircheck has survived because by all accounts it was an incandescent reading. Meanwhile, the sonics on this ancient commercial recording still continue to amaze with their brilliance, depth, and vividness of timbre.] Haieff: Symphony No. 2. w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra

ORMANDY: Yardumian: Chorale-Prelude. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [9:05] Yardumian: Symphony No. 1. Philadelphia Orchestra [22:45] Yardumian: Symphony of Psalms (No. 2), for Medium Voice & Orchestra. Lili Chookaqsian, contralto; Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [18:06] [Yardumian's music, luminous and heart-felt, although not fashionably complex or "post-modern" enough to attract new champions (whatever the hell "post-modern" MEANS these days), remains well worth investigating. His name and subtitles would lead you to expect music that sounds like Hovhaness's, and on occasion it does, but the two composers had a very different aesthnetic and approach. Ormandy's advocacy of Yardumian was not a matter of regional boosterism but a deeply held conviction; surely, few composers have been so fortunate as to have the Philadelphia Orchestra standing by to give the premieres of ALL their new works! These recordings, in fact, could stand as paradigms of Ormandy's best work on behalf of conservative contemporary composers -- just the sheer ravishing beauty of the sound is enough to half-way "sell" the pieces! Gorgeous stuff, passionately and expertly performed!]

PRETRE, Georges: Wagner: "Lohengrin" -- "Einsam in truben Tagen" ("Elsa's Dream"), Act I. w/ Regine Crespin, soprano; Orchestre National de la RTF Wagner: "Lohengrin" -- "Euch Luften, die mein Klagen", Act II. Regine Crespin, soprano; Orchestre National de la RTF Wagner: "Parsifal" -- "Ich sah das Kind", Act II. w/ Regine Crespin, soprano; Orchestre National de la RTF Wagner: "Die Walkure" -- "Eine Waffe lass dir weisen", Act I. Regine Crespin, soprano; Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de la RTF Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder. Regine Crespin; Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de la RTF

ROZHDESTVENSKY: Prokofiev: Cinderella, Complete Ballet. Moscow Radio Philharmonic Orchestra [Only complete recording -- every note in the original score; no timings given; requires 2 CDs]

SEBASTIAN, George: Berlioz: "Damnation of Faust", Usual 3 Excerpts. w/ L'Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire Berlioz: Funeral March for "Hamlet", Op. 18/ No. 3. w/ Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire [From an exceedingly rare 1952 Urania LP, in pretty good shape (a few light scratches near outer rim on both sides; God knows how many other people had owned this relic before I found it! Tasty readings in basically good-for-its-time sonics] Franck: Redemption -- Orchestral Prelude to Part II. w/ L'Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire

SLATKIN: Barber: Violin Concerto. Jamie Laredo, violin; Chicago Symphony Orch; live, mid-80s Schwantner; Aftertones of Infinity. Chicago Symphony, live; mid-80s Sibelius: Symphony No. 2. Chicago Symphony, live; mid-80s

SOLTI: Liszt: A Faust Symphony. Chicago Symphony & Chorus; Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor; live, 1985

STOKOWSKI: Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, "Pastorale" w/ NY City Symphony. [See comments under "Composers"] Tchaikovsky: "Swan Lake", Music from Acts II & III. w/ NBC Symphony. [I trust by now you'll take my word for it that this super-sized "Symphonic synthesis" is glorious in both sound and interpretation. But for me, what makes it so treasureable is THE ALBUM ITSELF, and if it were possible, I would clones many copies and sell 'em as two-decker collectors' items. Firstly, it's a deluxe gatefold album, with gold-stamped lettering on the spine and the lavishly illustrated program notes printed on heavy, glossy paper stock. Now here's the clincher: three of those glossy pages are given over to wispy, unutterably fey sketches of ballet dancers, one beige-colored paper, and the tiny artist's signature in the bottom left corner tells us that these stylish but almost ectoplasmic sketches are the work of a young commercial artist who signed himself "Andrew Warhol". No joke, no lie, there his signature is, right here in front of me and this record-album-gig may very well constitute the first published examples of Warhol's youthful work! If anyone out there would like me to make good-quality digital copies, on suitably regal paper stock, of all three sketches, just contact me privately at the personal URL (Wiltrotter@aol.com), and I'm sure we can arrive at a mutually satisfactory deal. These performances have been reissued, numerous times, but this original RCA gatefold album is unspeakably rare because of, well, obviously because of the stuff I just told you. I have even found otherwise good copies in thrift shop bins, in fine condition, except that some schmuck had taken a matt knife or a razor blade and neatly excised the Warhol pages! How cruel is THAT!?!] Villa-Lobos: "Modina" from Bachianas Brasileira No. 2. New York Philharmonic, 1959 [7:56] Villa-Lobos: Uirapuru. w/ New York Philharmonic [14:02]

SVETLANOV: Balakirev: In Bohemia, Symphonic Poem. w/ USSR State Symphony Orchestra [12:03] Balakirev: Incidental Music to "King Lear". w/ USSR State Symphony Orchestra. [37:08] [About the only work by Balakirev you're likely to encounter these days is "Islamay", either in its solo piano or orchestral guise; OK, fine -- it's a tasty piece. But given Balakirev's importance in the formation of the whole Russian Nationalist movement, doncha think he must have written SOME other worthwhile compositions? Yes, he did. His First Symphony is a bright, colorful jewel, but since Sir Thomas Beecham died, no conductor has taken up the stick on its behalf (well, at least Neemi Jarvi TRIED to do a good job with it. So maybe I'm exaggerating…) These two works are not in the same league, and about a third of the incidental music selections are pretty generic-sounding, BUT, there are moments of rousing drama and gorgeous Slavic melody scattered generously throughout both works, and Svetlanov, God bless him, does his damndest to get audiences turned-on by the music (nasal horns, blatty trumpets, coarse-as-dirt string playing and all, the very slovenliness of the orchestra is somehow charming and its technical shortcomings more than compensated for by sheer gutsy enthusiasm!]

SZELL: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, B Major, Op. 83. w/ London Philharmonic; recorded 1938

TEMIRKANOV, Yuri: Stravinsky: Petrouchka, complete. w/ Leningrad Philharmonic. [This 1976 Soviet import, complete with tissue-paper album cover, just like the domestic Soviet releases, showed up via inter-store transfer at Peaches # 36; Christ knows where it came from, but of course I scarfed it up. Thought it was excellent; still do. Little did I know Temirkanov would still be going strong, globally, 30 years later! Well worth acquiring, if you're a fan of this fine conductor OR this protean score.]

TENNSTEDT: Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1. Olivieros, violin; w/ Philadelphia Orch.; live, 1985 Bruckner: Symphony No. 7. w/ Philadelphia Orch; live, c. 1985

TOSCANINI:

<<<<<<<<<< SPECIAL LISTING >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Complete Concert, Lucerne Festival, September 16, 1948; Orchestra of La Scala [These relatively crude but serviceable acetates -- which sound to me like a pretty good home-recording job indeed -- are apparently the only surviving transcriptions of this important post-war appearance. If you've heard other Toscanini performances of the Schubert and Mussorgsky, you already know what to expect: forward-pressing, play-as-written literalism in the Schubert and coruscating operatic drama in the Mussorgsky. But the poked-face self-righteousness of Toscanini's late style just doesn't work in the Schubert symphony -- he squeezes the whole rhetorically huge composition into a straight-jacket and refuses to bend even at, say, the climax of Movement I, which is taken so fast and so bare of inflection that it just sounds insensitive more than "objective". However, the bright, forward point of the woodwinds and the cumulative sweep and fire of the reading make it sound much more appealing, to my ears, than his skin-and-bones NBC recording or his shamefully over-praised one-shot version with the Philadelphia. If the sort of rhetorical hauling and bending typical of Furtwangler and Mengelberg isn't your cup of tea, you may find this interpretation revelatory. I actually kind of LIKE it, while I detest both the NBC and Philadelphia incarnations. Of course, you will have to put up with recorded sound that is more than a bit problematical: mostly mid-range, dry, sand-blasted of any trace of hall ambience, and pervasively under-cut by surface noise. Still, it's clear, decently listenable and has considerable punch in the big climaxes. Hell, RCA released commercial recordings by Toscanini that didn't sound much better than this, and at least the intensity and surprising skill of the Milanese orchestra come through abundantly. A must for Toscanini collectors; and to the best of my knowledge, none of these performances has been available since the mid-Seventies, in any format.] Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition Rossini: "La Scala di Seta" Overture. Schubert: Symphony No. 9

************************************************************************* Regular Toscanini Listings ********************************************************************** Gershwin: An American in Paris. Earl Wild, piano; NBC Symphony; live, 11/ 14/ 1943 Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue. Earl Wild, piano; NBC Symphony; live, 1/ 11/ 1942 [The story goes that Toscanini was induced to schedule both of these works as a token rebuttal to the vociferous critical drumbeat focused on his glaringly obvious lack of interest in promoting American music (in contrast to, say, Mitropoulos, who championed far more composers born in his adopted homeland than he ever did composers born in Greece -- of course, there were a lot more good ones to choose from here, but let that pass). After all, during the first 5-6 seasons of NBC Symphony programs, The Maestro had selected just ONE American work to perform with any frequency (Barber's Adagio for Strings, which I love dearly, but can you imagine what Toscanini's precision and obsession with clarity might have done for the works of Roger Sessions, etc?) At the repeated and increasingly stern suggestion of NBC's executives, Toscanini finally agreed to a few token performances of these wildly popular Gershwin works. And guess what? He played the britches off of them! No, he didn't coax forth the dizzying idiomatic swing of Bernstein's readings (who could?), but he certainly didn't perform these pieces in the manner of an up-tight "square"! And the readings are surely made more memorable by Earl Wild's incendiary pianism (as I write this, Wild is STILL giving drop-dead concerts into his 90s!). Sound in the 1942 Rhapsody is startlingly good; that of the A-in-P considerably more dry and skanky-sounding, almost surely a sign that the former was recorded in Carnegie Hall and the latter in the sonic-disaster-area known as Studio 8-H. No matter; they're both knock-your-sox-off brilliant interpretations with amble "swing" in the rhythms and plenty of muscle in the climaxes.. Important recordings not only in and of themselves, but in the context of American music life of the mid-20th-century!]

Verdi: Requiem. w/ BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Zinka Melanov; live, 1938. [Check out the date and recall what was going on across the Channel! Remember that Toscanini had already violently split ran ks from the other young Fascisrs in his neighborhood as far back as the early Twenties. So is it just MY imagination setting up a contextual reason why THIS Verdi Requiem sounds so much darker and more filled with prayerful supplication than this conductor's various other performances, live or studio. Let me be honest with you: the sonics here are sometimes a trial and virtually all the big climaxes are broken by distortion. But that only adds to the raw cumulative power of this very special version. How fortunate we are that an air-check copy survived, intact, through the Blitz.

VAN BEINUM: Debussy: Printemps. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live Dvorak: 2 Slavonic Dances (A Major & D Minor). w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date unknown Mozart: Symphony No. 29. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live

VAN OTTERLOO: Diepenbrock: "Elektra", Excerpts from Orchestral Suite. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date unknown [A gripping account of some very bold and dramatic music by an inexplicably neglected Late Romantic composer. Hell, both Schoenberg and Mahler thought he was brilliant, yet even they couldn't get the stuffy Austro-German audiences interested in even trying out Diepenbrock's music. Excellent recordings exist, however, and I'll be listing some in future. This 12-minute cut is an excellent place to start!]

WALTER: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica". w/ Symphony of the Air; live, Carnegie Hall, 1957. [This is a very special Eroica, which Bruno Walter conducted In Memoriam to Arturo Toscanini, and the "Symphony of the Air", of course, WAS Toscanini's NBC Symphony. That was the name its personnel adopted during the years they struggled to hold together as a freelance and recording ensemble. It is certainly a heartfelt reading, and significantly more powerful, both in detail and cumulative impact, than either of Walter's commercial recordings. Conductor and musicians alike came together to pay appropriate honor to a fallen titan. Indispensable to Walter collectors, and to those who feel, as I always have, that no single performance can ever capture the totality of this great work.] Brahms: Symphony No. 2. w/ French National Radio Orchestra; live, 1955 [A dashing and very youthful reading, almost comically spoiled by the incredibly slovenly playing of this Frog orchestra during its most provincial period. What an insult to a guest conductor of Bruno Walter's stature! And I doubt if even the most egregious offenders were disciplined afterwards. Maybe their weekly ration of vin ordinaire was cut by half or they were forbidden to puff on their Gauloises during next week's concert, but that was probably the extent of it -- no wonder most serious record collectors feared the worst each time they dropped a stylus on to a new French National Radio Orchestra recording! They could play like angels or screw-around like feces-flinging baboons, utterly erratic and dependable only for their rudeness to non-French guest conductors and for their brass section's incredibly ability to make French horns sound like sleazy night-club saxophones! (Let me not be TOO hypocritical! As much as I like Walter's reading here, and as inexcusable as the piss-on-you misbehavior of the orchestra truly IS, it's also one of the funniest bad Brahms performances I've ever heard and I rather cherish it because it is SO French it's actually quite endearing!)] Bruckner: Te Deum. w/ New York Philharmonic; Westminster Choir; unidentified soloists; live, 1953 [I first heard this majestic work courtesy of a public library copy of Walter's commercial recording for Columbia -- probably done in conjunction with this very performance. Needless to say, the two are slightly different, although clearly conceived by the same maestro. I like the big, organ-sound blend of the studio recording, and the soloists are steadier and less nervous-sounding (the soprano in this live one tends to screech unpleasantly in her higher registers), but the live version has a shade more fire and drive -- like so many other conductors of his generation, Walter seems to have been a bit intimidated by the stop-and-go, canned nature of studio work and there's a spontaneity about his live performances that Columbia didn't always manage to capture on their LPs. The dichotomy only grew more pronounced as Walter aged and became more physically frail. But then, during the Forties, he was almost uniformly a fierier, harder-charging interpreter than he became by, say, 1955, sometimes shockingly so to those who know him only through his final series of stereo re-makes, autumnally lovely as they often are. So here's the Bruckner Te Deum as it OUGHT to be played, with lots of evangelical fervor and a full measure of theatricality!] Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 42. w/ Lotte Lehmann, soprano; Bruno Walter, piano!! [See comments under "Vocal & Opera"; a sublime disc!] Schumann: Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42. Lotte Lehmann, soprano; Bruno Walter, piano Wagner: Siegfried Idyll. w/ French National Radio Orchestra; live, 1955

COMPOSERS

ANTHOLOGY

THE YOUNG PABLO CASALS. [This album came out during the final, most chaotic stage of Everest's decline from greatness to the status of a junkyard dog; nobody seemed to know who actually owned the label or what its licensing/ re-issuing policies were; it made stupid, venal, or simply dishonest mistakes in production -- such as the notorious first-ever issuance of Furtwangler's 1942 "Nazi" Beethoven 9th, which was pitched consistently sharp throughout the whole performance, just so Everest could squeeze it on to a single LP! And yet…this same outfit put out some incredibly fine live opera sets, a half-way decent line of folk music, and a smattering of unpredictable collector's items, some of them VERY scarce and hard to find, and Everest always had list prices that were as cheap as its p[roduction values. If you knew what you wanted and didn't mind iffy sonics and a dire lack of documentation, you could pick up some interesting things. Such as this anthology of Casal's earliest 78 rpm recordings made and issued in Spain, and very few of which were ever available beyond that nation's borders. Pablo's playing is incredible -- not the least reason why is his wild showmanship, extreme portamento, his juicing-up pieces for the gallery. He was not the august elder statesman of music when he made these acoustic and early electric sidesl he was a hot ticket and a rakish young star, eager for acclaim, women, and money. He got plenty of all three, but his inate musicianship never seemed to suffer. It's great that Everest re-issued these rarities (I don't think anyone else has bothered!), and to give us their timings; too bad none of the selections is dated, nor are the original labels identified. It's quite obvious, though, that everything here is either from the late acoustic era or the very earliest and most primitive electrical stage of record technology; the orchestras aren't even identified, never mind the conductor. Doesn't matter; Spanish orchestras in the 1920s were mostly pretty awful (except for Casals 'OWN Barcelona orchestra and the Madrid band that Arbos made records with, so that's no great loss, . The sound is wildly variable and a couple of sides are pretty grisly sounding. But for cello playing like this, who cares?] Bach: "Air" from Suite No. 3 in D Major. [3:28]z Boccherini: "Allegro" from Sonata in A Major. [4:06] Campagnoli: Romanza. [3:45] Chopin: Nocturne in E Flat. [3:45] Goltermann: "Cantilena" from Concerto in A Minor. [2:50] Mozart: "Larghetto" from Quintet in D Major. [4:20] Popper: Muzurka. [2:57] Schumann: Abendlied. [3:14] Wagner: Abendstern from "Tannhauser". [4:36]

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

ADAMS, John: "Harmonium". Slatkin; St. Louis Symphony Orch. & Chorus; live, 1982

ALABIEV, (?): The Russian Nightengale. Lily Pons, soprano; Andre Koestelanetz & His Orchestra [See more under "Vocalists With Ensembles"]

D' ALBERT, Eugene (1864-1932):: Cello Concerto, C Major, Op. 20. Feuermann, cello; Leon Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, Carnegie Hall, 4/ 22/ 1040 [21:28] [D'Albert was not a great composer and this is not a great undiscovered cello concerto; but like all his other music I've heard, it IS well-crafted, very agreeable to hear occasionally, and tightly constructed -- doesn't over-stay its welcome by a minute. What the hell, it could be "Variations on Three Blind Mice" and the way Feuermann plays it, it would sound ravishing. <<Why not insert a few words here about the "National Orchestral Association" and its Conductor?>> Why, Skippy, I thought you'd never ask! He's right, folks! This doughty ensemble was founded in 1930 as an advanced student orchestra; was largely self-governing; paid itself a bare stipend for its half-dozen annual concerts in Carnegie Hall, and was generously supported by a fluctuating number of patrons, including many famous artists who contributed their time and talent for no fee. Until his untimely death in 1936, it was conducted by the great pianist/ conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch (who had married the daughter of Mark Twain!), and thereafter by the very able Belgian-American maestro, Leon Barzin -- who also served without a salary. Because it made little difference in terms of economics whether the outfit played to a packed hall or a half-empty house, its guest soloists often took this chance to perform repertoire that was dear to them personally but presumably would have been death at the box office. Not many of its concerts were recorded, and none at all were preserved until the 1939-1940 season, when donated funds made it possible to take down air-check recordings on the new 12-inch, 33.3 rpm transcriptions discs, which were a trifle noisier than conventional acetate discs but which offered a smooth frequency response over virtually the entire audible spectrum and were recorded with such fierce, in-your-face immediacy that you can readily hear how excellent most of the players were (you also get a generous amount of the inimitable Carnegie Hall ambience, too!). Perhaps by today's standards the sonics were a bit raw and harsh, but they WERE surgically clear and they could accommodate sudden loud tuttis better than the acetates could at this stage in recording technology. Feueremann's only competing with himself here, and while no listener would mistake the NOA's overall sonority for Stokowski's Philadelphia Orchestra at the peak of its tonal splendor, this live rendition is very nearly the equal to the legendary Feuermann/ Stokowski studio recording of "Schelomo", which was not only the first recording of this masterpiece, but for about 25 years its ONLY recording. Barzin certainly conducts the orchestral part with every bit as much flair and drama as Stokowski and the reading as a whole is just terrific!]

AVISON: Concerto for Strings No. 12, G Major. George Pauk; Academy of St. Martins etc; live, Lugano, date uncertain

BACH, J. S. "Air" from Suite No. 3 in D Major. Pablo Casals, cello. [3:28] [See information under "Anthologies"]

Magnificat. Bernstein; Lee Verona & Jennie Tourel, sopranos; Russell Oberlin, countertenor; Charles Bressler, tenor; Norman Farrow, bass; New York Philharmonic; Schola Cantorum [31:36] Prelude, Fugue, & Allegro in E-Flat Major. Eugene Dombois, baroque lute. [14:23] Violin Concerto in E. Grumiaux; Raymond Leppard; English Chamber Orchestra [13:33] Violin Concerto, A Minor. Grumiaux, violinist; Leppard; English Chamber Orchestra [19:43]

BADDINGS, Henk: Concerto for Two Violins & Orchestra. w/ Hermann Krebbers & Theo Olaf, violins; Haitink; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date uncertain

BALAI, Leonid (1940 - ? ): Diveretimento for Wind Quintet & Harp, Op. 7. Leningrad Philharmonic Wind Ensemble [18:28] [Quite a piece -- cool, elegant, marvelously transparent in textures, it could easily sit alongside Ravel, Debussy, or even Poulenc, and is worthy of their company. Ravishing performance and recorded sound.]

BALAKIREV: In Bohemia, Symphonic Poem. Svetlanov; USSR State Symphony Orchestra [12:03] Incidental Music to "King Lear". Svetlanov; USSR State Symphony Orchestra. [37:08] [About the only work by Balakirev you're likely to encounter these days is "Islamay", either in its solo piano or orchestral guise; OK, fine -- it's a tasty piece. But given Balakirev's importance in the formation of the whole Russian Nationalist movement, doncha think he must have written SOME other worthwhile compositions? Yes, he did. His First Symphony is a bright, colorful jewel, but since Sir Thomas Beecham died, no conductor has taken up the stick on its behalf! These two works are not in the same league, and about a third of the incidental music selections are pretty generic-sounding, BUT, there are moments of rousing drama and gorgeous Slavic melody scattered generously throughout both works, and Svetlanov, God bless him, does his damndest to get audiences turned-on by the music (nasal horns, blatty trumpets, coarse-as-dirt string playing and all, the very slovenliness of the orchestra is somehow charming and its technical shortcomings more than compensated for by sheer gutsy enthusiasm!]

BARBER: Violin Concerto. Jamie Laredo, violin; Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, mid-80s

BAX: The Garden of Fand. Sir John Barbirolli; Halle Orchestra. [See my own rapturous comments about this album under either "Conductors" or "Butterworth" What a crime this was ever allowed to go out of print…but at least you can still acquire a copy of it from a certain website!]

BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72-A. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live; 7/ 13/ 1950 [14:33] Piano Sonata No. 1, F Minor, Op. 2/ No. 1. Solomon, piano [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"] Quintet in C, Op. 29. Guarneri Quartet w/ Pincas Zuckerman, viola [29:34] String Quartet No. 1, F Major, Op. 18/ No. 1, The Busch Quartet; recorded November, 1933 String Quartet No. 9, C Major, Op. 59/ No. 3 ("Rasumovsky"). Busch String Quartet; recorded 11/ 16/ 1933 String Quartet No. 11, Op. 95. Busch String Quartet; recorded 10/ 19/ 1932 Symphony No. 3, E Flat Major, Op. 55, "Eroica". Bruno Walter; Symphony of the Air; live in Carnegie Hall, 1957. [See comments under "Conductors"] Symphony No. 3, E flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica". Erich Kleiber; Stuttgart Radio Symphony; live, December, 1955. [Hell, you already can figure these Kleiber-live relics are going to be hot and exploding with energy, so if you like his style, you'll be interested. The question then becomes, how is the sound? Some of these old "Melodram" sets, which at one time flooded the seas between here at Milan like boatloads of panic-stricken lemmings, could LOOK like great "historical" rarities but SOUND like garbage. Well, I regret to inform you that this 3-LP set continues the slovenly Melodram tradition. The 6th Symphony boasts excellent mono sound, but the 3rd and 5th are muffled, distant, and sort of gray-sounding; in order to hear Kleiber's many strong interpretive points, you really have to crank up the volume and listen hard. Much as I'd love to sell you dubs of all three, I must also state that 3 & 5 are documents, not pleasurable listening experiences, and I cannot honestly recommend them to any but Kleiber Completists -- all eight of them. Even so, there's always that extra frisson of excitement that comes from a live performance that's blowing-out on all cylinders, and that's the sort of intense music-making preserved here. Too bad you have to strain so hard to hear it. Drastic twiddling with the tone control knobs does improve matters somewhat, but many collectors are averse to such manipulations. I have no hesitation in recommending the Pastorale, which is lithe and vigorous in the Toscanini manner, but advise caution regarding the two Stuttgart artifacts. These discs MUST be drawn from private tapings, because the actual broadcasts from Stuttgart usually featured excellent sonics, and these sound as though the mike was embedded in mud.] Symphony No. 5, Op. 67. Erich Kleiber; Stuttgart Radio Symphony; live; 12/ 31/ 1955 Symphony No. 6, "Pastorale". Stokowski; N.Y. City Symphony [From around 1948, this is one of the few recordings Stokie made with the NYCS Orchestra, which he founded and led (and mostly subsidized out of his own pocket after LaGuardia decided the city did NOT want to fund another orchestra); and it's a somewhat more dynamic, earty-sounding reading than his rotten-ripe, hot-gardenias reading with the NBC Symphony, from eight years later. Rather good sonics, but a few scratches from the ancient Camden re-issue -- nothing major.] Symphony No. 6, Op. 68, "Pastorale". Erich Kleiber; NWDR Symphony, Cologne; live, 1/ 28/ 1955 Symphony No. 9. Gerhardt Zimmerman; North Carolina Symphony & Raleigh-Durham Choirs; live, October 1982. [Zimmerman turned the struggling NC Symphony into a first-rate ensemble and could be relied upon to give dynamic readings in a wide range of repertoire. This excellent 9th bears witness; sorry, but my tape didn't get the soloists' names; otherwise, the sound is good off-the-air stereo.] Violin Sonata No. 5, F Major, Op. 24 ("Spring"). Adolf Busch, violin; Rudolf Serkin, piano. Recorded 3/ 17/ 1933

BERIO: Chemin IV. Composer; Heinz Holliger, oboe; London Sinfonietta [10:55] Concertina. Composer; London Sinfonietta; Anthony Pay, clarinet; Nona Liddell, violin [9:29] Linea. Marielle & Katia Labeque, pianos; Composer; London Sinfonietta [13:52] Points On The Curve to Find. Composer; Anthony di Bonaventura, piano; London Sinfonietta [13:18]

BERLIOZ: "Damnation of Faust", Usual 3 Excerpts. George Sebastian; L'Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25. Sir Colin Davis London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Dame Janet Baker, mezzo; Thomas Allen, baritone; Eric Tappy, tenor; Jules Bastin, bass; Joseph Rouleau, bass; Philip Langridge, tenor, Raimond Herincx, bass; The John Aldis Choir Funeral March for "Hamlet", Op. 18/ No. 3. George Sebastian; Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire [From an exceedingly rare 1952 Urania LP, in pretty good shape (a few light scratches near outer rim on both sides; God knows how many other people had owned this relic before I found it! Tasty readings in basically good-for-its-time sonics] Requiem, Op. 5. Sir Colin Davis; London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Ronald Dowd, tenor Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14. Pierre Monteux; San Francisco Symphony Symphony, c. 1947. [Montuex later stero re-make with the Vienna Philharmonic is, of course, superior in sound, and to a certain extent in weight and power, but, honestly, this shimmering, intoxicated, more youthful brtdopm eoth the San Francisco orchestra, as a slightly higher energy level, a bit more of that essential "opium trip" vividness, and despite being in monaural only, it is quite a good-sounding record, too. Monteux devotees will want both, and will NOT feel as though they'd wasted a penny from the duplication/ It's also quite rewarding to hear how damned GOOD the 'Frisco orchestra sounded at that time! This very early RCA LP is now almost impossible to find in really good, playable shape, and I got very lucky indeed when I finally came into possession of this legendary recording. If you love either Berlioz of Monteux's way with his music, you MUST own a copy of this. Yes, I said "MUST"!, and if you want to order both this and the Vienna Philharmonic stereo reading together, I'll sell 'em both to you for the price of one! Only…you'd better remind me of this promise when you order a two-fer, because between encroaching senilkity and distraction (not to mention nightmares and two solid weeks of having not more than 2-3 hours of sleep per night), have certainly done a number on my usually Prussian sense of order and self-discipline. It'll pass, surely, just as the ghrief will, but help a olsd fart out, wouldja, and remind me of when I wrote that offer for you, my friends!] Te Deum, Op. 22. Sir Colin Davis; London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Franco Tagliavini, tenor; Wandsworth School Boys Choir

BISHOP: Home, Sweet Home. Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

BLACKWOOD, Easley: Symphony No. 1. Munch; Boston Symphony Orchestra

BLISS: "Adam Zero" Suite. Composer; London Symphony Music for Strings. Hugo Rignold; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

BLOCH: Schelomo. Emmanuel Feuermann, cello; Leon Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, Carnegie Hall, 11/ 10/ 1941 [19:53] String Quartet No. 3. Edinburgh String Quartet [27:40] [This Scottish outfit seems to have vanished 20-odd years ago, and they recorded mainly for the sometimes-hard-to-find Monitor label, but every one of their LPs was outstanding, and their cycle of the Bloch quartets may have been the best ever; trerrific sense of "swing" in the rhythms and a marvelous gentleness in the lyrical passages. Good early stereo sound, too.] Violin Concerto. Szegeti; Munch; Paris Conservatory Orchestra; recorded 1939 [32:15] [See comments under "Conductors"]

BOCCHERINI: "Allegro" from Sonata in A Major. Pablo Casals, cello [4:06] [See info under "Anthologies"]

BORODIN: Polovtsian Dances. Vaclav Smetacek; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus [13:10] Symphony No. 2, B Minor, Op. 5. Vaclav Smetacek; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra [26:49] [Smetacek's kind of the "quiet one" amongst the well-known Czech conductors; relatively few of his records were imported during the hey-day of Partliament and the only one that made any kind of splash was a pretty good "Carmina Burana". But you can't, ever, judge a conductor by THAT piece alone! I was pleasantly taken by this Borodin disc; the orchestral playing is snappy and colorfully detailed (again, those Czech woodwinds are glorious!), the chorus sings with its customary verve, and Smetacek secures one of the more poetic and rapturous accounts of the symphony's slow movement since the old Sanderling/ Leningrad classic (why, oh why, didn't RCA let Stokowski record that symphony??) I know, I know; you probably need another version of these two pieces like you need a root canal job, but IF you'd like a colorful, well-recorded alternative account. One that SOUNDS as "Czech" as it does "Old Russia", this might be just the ticket.]

BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances, 1 - 10 (original version). Michel Beroff & Jean-Phillipe Collard, duo pianists [24:10] Piano Concerto No. 1, D Minor, Op. 15. Artur Schnabel; George Szell; London Philharmonic; rec. 1938 Piano Concerto No. 2, B Major, Op. 83. Artur Schnabel, piano; Sir Adrian Boult; BBC Symphony, rec. 1935 [Wonderful performances, both; Boult's accompaniment is very warm, Szell's very dramatic.] Symphony No. 2. Bruno Walter; French National Radio Orchestra; live, 1955 [Great reading; typically scrappy orchestral playing, but at least the horns don't sound like half-drowned saxophones] Symphony No. 4, E Minor, Op. 98. Mengelberg; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; recorded 11/ 30/ 1938 [See messy but enthusiastic little essay about this landmark interpretation..]

BRUCH: Symphony No. 2, F minor, Op. 36. Kurt Masur; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. [Bruch's three symphonies are full of good things, but there's a certain formal stiffness to them that needs the hand of an affectionate and relaxed conductor to bring overcome. Masur, who usually bores the crap out of me in dramatic music, seemingly has just the right touch to make this piece blossom. Excellent playing from the Gewandhaus ensemble and the sonics are quite good.] Violin Concerto No. 1. Olivieros; Tennstedt; Philadelphia Orch; live, 1985

B UTTERWORTH, George (1885-1916): A Shropshire Lad. Sir John Barbirolli; Halle Orchestra. [Young Butterworth had finished only three orchestral pieces -- his young friend Adrian Boult recalled sixty years later how he had begun, spontaneously, to weep unashamedly at the poignant, wet-green-hillside beauty of Butterworht's Houseman-inspired little tone poem. When he heard the great Hans von Bulow conduct a hastily arranged premiere just before Butterworth and his regiment were shipped-out to France, his friend and fellow music-lover Adrian Boult, felt his spirit so ennobled by the poignant beauty of the work's main theme, that he began instantly and unashamedly to weep. Young George was as brave a soldier as ever served the King, and when his regiment was sent "over the top" on the first day of that colossal and strategically pointless act of butchery later dubbed "The Battle of the Somme", he fixed bayonet, watched the sweep hand of his watch creep toward "Zero Hour", and stoically led his platoon up the ladders and over the sandbags and toward the ragged gaps torn in the German barbed wire by the same artillery storm that had deafened both George and almost every man in his outfit. George advanced no more than twenty-five yards before an expert German sniper drilled him directly through the heart, killing instantly a man who would surely have become one of England's greatest composers. Because of his personal closeness to Butterworth, Sir Adrian's numerous readings of this miraculous little rhapsody have always been very special, but Barbirolli was also a contemporary of Butterworth, and he evokes the timeless majesty of the score with a fervor equal to Sir Adrian's. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard an inadequate or less-than-deeply moving performance of "A Shropshire Lad", and this performance is right up there at the top of the list; when coupled on CD with the Vaughan-Williams' Sixth and Bax's "Garden of Fand", you have as perfect a collection of English Pastoral sorcery as you could ask for. This is just a great, great LP, in every respect]

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7. Tennstedt; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1985 Te Deum. Bruno Walter; New York Philharmonic; Westminster Choir; unidentified soloists; live, 1953. [See comments under "Conductors"]

CAMPAGNOLI: Romanza. Pablo Casals, cello [3:45] [See info under "Anthologies"]

CARTER: Elegy for String Orchestra. Oiyama (sp?); Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, 1984 [Here's a winner! An Elliot Carter piece that dates from the earliest stages of his career, when he had not yet decided to write music of the utmost complexity that can be played by mere human beings. It's fascinating, even moving, and so what if it sounds more like Copland in his Prairie Dog mode than anything we would normally associate with Carter. It lasts about ten minutes and fully commands you attention during that time. Kudos to Maestro Oiyama (then assistant conductor of the LAPO) for unearthing it, programming it, and leading such a heartfelt performance.]

CHAUSSON: Viviane, Op. 5. Antonio de Almeida; New Philharmonia Orchestra [11:34]

CHOPIN: Etudes, Op. 7, No's 1-3. Jose Iturbi, piano Etudes, Op. 10, No. 3, in E. Jose Iturbi, piano Impromptu No. 1, A-flat, Op. 29. Jose Iturbi, piano Nocturnes, Op. 9 -- No's 1, 2, 3. Ivan Moravec, piano. [See comments under "Solo Virtuosi] Nocturnes, Op. 15, Nos 1-3. Ivan Moravec, piano. Nocturnes, Op. 27, Nos 1 & 2. Ivan Moravec, piano Nocturnes, Op. 32, Nos 1 & 2. Ivan Moravec, piano Nocturne in E Flat. Pablo Casals, cello [3:45] [See info under "Anthologies"] Polonaise No. 3, in A, Op. 40/ No. 1 ("Military"). Jose Iturbi, piano Waltzes, Op. 34, No's 2 & 3, A Flat & A Minor. Jose Iturbi, piano Waltzes, Op. 64; No's 1, in D flat, & 7, in C Sharp Minor. Jose Iturbi, piano Waltz No. 9, A Flat, OP. 61/ No. 1 ("L'adieu"). Jose Iturbi, piano Waltz No. 11, G Flat Major, Op. 70/ No. 1. Jose Iturbi, piano

CIMAROSA, Domenico (1749-1801): Requiem. Vittorio Negri; Lausanne Chamber Orchestra & Chorus; Elly Ameling, soprano; Birgit Finnila, contralto; Richard van Vrooman, tenor; Kurt Widner, bass. [Here's another one of those agreeable surprises -- which keep me doing this week-in and week-out: Cimarosa's elegant, eloquent Requiem, which contains some surprisingly vivid, individualistic touches (for a composer generally regarded as "generic Late Baroque"). Lest we forget, the man was Europe's most widely performed opera composer before and during Mozart's life, so he knew a trick or two when it came to pleasing audience and he did not hesitate to employ them in a sacred work! Performance and sonics leave nothing to be desired (just look at the names of those soloists!), and the commercial catalogues aren't exactly over-flowing with competing versions of Cimarosa's…well, anything!]

CLEMENTI, Muzio (1752-1832): Symphony No. 1, C Major. Claudio Scimone; Philharmonia Orchestra Symphony No. 2, D Major. Scimone; Philharmonia Orchestra Symphony No. 3, G Major, "Symphony of the Nations". Scimone; Philharmonia Orchestra Symphony No. 4, D Major. Scimone; Philharmonia Orchestra. [Despite some eloquent essays to the contrary, Clementi remains mired under the shadow of Beethoven; most unfair. In all of his four symphonies, there are passages of masterful technique, episodes of deep lyricism, and a sure dramatic touch that make at least some portions of these works not markedly inferior to Beethoven's work (at any but its most exalted level). Beethoven himself had deep respect for Muzio, and his contemporaries responded with great enthusiasm to premiers of his new compositions. My Scource is a 1978 Erato set in mind condition, and Scimone's readings are elegant, poised, and committed. The subtitle of No. 3, incidentally, derives from the composers' very sophisticated working-in of themes from "God Save the King", a clever device both compositionally and diplomatically, since it helped his music gain considerable popularity in Great Britain. This was the first and so far only integral set of these strong, absorbing works, and it's unlikely to be bettered any time soon, if ever. N.B., complete set requires two CDs]

COPLAND: Billy the Kid Ballet. Joseph Levine; Ballet Theater Orchestra "The Red Pony" Suite from the Film. Thomas Scherman; the Little Orchestra Society [This "Rodeo"-like suite is drawn from the next-to-last movie score Copland wrote, in 1948, and has pretty much the same nice-Jewish-Boy-goes-to-a-dude-ranch flavor as the vastly more familiar and frequently heard ballet suite. The under-appreciate Maestro Scherman and hid doughty band infuse the music with considerable zest and they don't SOUND all that "small", at least not as skillfully recorded as they were by Decca's engineers on this now-very-rare LP. This suite, in fact, would make an ideal selection for any conductor who wants to score points for original programming but doesn't want to annoy his reactionary Board of Directors by suggesting anything TOO "modern"; this is Copland at his folksiest (never mind that in Copland's case, these Populist gestures were about as genuine as a three-dollar bill) and the music does set your toes a-tapping even if you're a cynical old critic who knows the whole "Prairie Romantic" side of Copland was pure opportunistic hokum.] Seven Anniversaries. Leonard Bernstein at piano (archival recording circa 1950)

DEBUSSY: Arabesque No. 2. Menahem Pressler, piano Estampes. Menahem Pressler, piano La Fille aux chevaux de lin. Menahem Pressler, piano Le Martyre de St. Sebastien, Symphonic Fragments. Cantelli; RAI Symphony, Rome; live, 11/ 20/ 1954 [19:23] La Mer. Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony [See important update into under "Conductors"!] La Plus que lente -- Valse. Menahem Pressler, piano Printemps. Van Beinum; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date uncertain Suite Bergamasque. Menahem Pressler, piano. [From one of this distinguished artist's earliest releases, on a now-all-but-unfindable MGM LP.]

DIEPENBROCK: "Elektra" -- Orchestral Excerpt from. Van Otterloo; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date unknown. [See comments under "Conductors"] "Kyrie" from the Mass For a Festive Occasion. [Live Radio Nederland concert; performers not identified. Demonstrates how superbly this composer managed to synthesize the rich polyphonic heritage of Sweelinck, et. al, with…Wagnerism?? Yep; if you think that sounds juicy, you're right!]

DONIZETTI: "l'Elisir d'Amore" -- "Una Furtiva Lagrima". Beniamin Gigli, tenor. Recorded 12/ 19/ 1929 "Lucia di Lammermoor" -- "Tombe Degla'avi Miei" Beniamin Gigli, tenor. Recorded 12/ 12/ 1927

DOPPER: Symphony No. 7 ("Zuider Zee"). Mengelberg; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 12/ 8/ 1940. [See comments under "Conductors"]

DOWLAND: Fantasia. Julian Bream, lute Farewell (A Fancy). Julian Bream, lute Lachrimae - Antique Pavan, Julian Bream, lute Mrs. White's Nothinge. Julian Bream, lute Mrs. Vaux's Gigge. Julian Bream, lute Orlando Sleepeth. Julian Bream, lute Queen Elizabeth's Galliard. Julian Bream, lute [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi]

DRAESKE, Felix (1835-1913): Requiem, Op. 22. Udo Follert [[UDO???]]; Collegium Instrumentale, Cologne; Leichlinger Kantorei Singers. {I first heard of, and became interested in, this almost-but-not-quite composer back in 1961, when my local record shop stuck a bizarre-looking Urania LP into their cut-out bin, featuring Draeske's "Sinfonia Tragica" (I wish I could reproduce the cover -- looks exactly like a production sketch for "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"!). Even at age 17, I could hear the obvious parallels to Beethoven's Eroica, but I also heard a second-rate composer trying so hard to become a first-rate one that numerous times an ingratiating raw power transformed the music and made it, at least intermittently, quite gripping. I still feel that way about that symphony, and now there are a couple of very persuasive modern recordings available (I retain, however, my affection for the rough-and-ready Leipzig Radio Symphony's Urania traversal, under the always earnest maestro Gerhard Pfluger! (Where did they FIND these guys? My favorite is the one named "Adolf Fritz Guhl", which of course Phil Link and I immediately transformed into "Adolf Fritz GHOUL", complete with altered cover art showing this poor East German functionary as a slavering, gore-spattered cannibal, straight from the cover of an EC horror comic!). Where was I? Oh, yes, about this requiem. An undiscovered masterpiece it isn't. Draeske was certainly capable of spasmodic inspiration -- there are episodes of genuine pathos, grandeur, and drama here and there -- but seems incapable of connecting the dots between them, so as to generate a unified, strongly developed musical argument. I think there are enough Good Things in this admittedly over-long opus to justify owning it, especially if you're into obscure, marginal Late Romantics, but as much as I'd like to endorse it, I do not predict a return to the active repertoire. The performers do their best, which is respectable without being very impressive, and the recorded sound is okay but a trifle distant. No timings given, but I eye-balled the clock at 54 minutes & change.]

DUPARC, Henri (1848-1933] Lenore. Antonio de Almeida; New Philharmonia Orchestra [12:26] [Duparc was a tragic case. One of the earliest -- and in Franck's opinion, most sheerly talented -- pupils of Cesar Franck, he was only 33 years old when he was attacked by a still-mysterious nervous disorder, which left him in full possession of his faculties, but totally unable to work! (My idea of Hell!) Although he lived for another half-century, this strangely Lisztian tone poem and a handful of exquisite songs are his -only surviving works; ruthlessly self-critical, Duparc often destroyed scores he felt were second-rate; one hopes that, had he suspected his creative life would be so truncated, he might have spared a few more pages. Be that as it may, this is a sumptuous work, superbly realized by the very able De Almeida.]

DVORAK: Cello Concerto, B Minor, Op. 104. Antonio Janigro; Dean Dixon; Vienna State Opera Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"] Rondo in G Minor for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 94. Feuermann, cello; Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, 11/ 10/ 1941 [7:01] 2 Slavonic Dances (A Major & D Minor). Van Beinum; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, date uncertain Silent Woods, Op. 68. Feuermann, cello; Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, 11/ 10/ 1941 [6:05] [The most beautiful reading of this slight piece you're likely ever to hear.]

De FALLA: Homenajes. J.J. Castro; Rome Symphony Orchestra {Odd that this rather up-tight suite is the ONLY purely orchestral work De Falla left us, but I've come slightly more to enjoy it than when I first listed a recording of, when I described it as "a musical nothing-burger", but it still isn't a patch on the "Three-Cornered Hat"]

FINZI, Gerald: In Terra Pax. [17:07] Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Introit. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Magnificat. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone [Very beautiful choral/orchestral works by a major 20th Century British composer.]

FORTNER, Wolfgang: Prologue to "Elizabeth Tudor". Gerd Albrecht; Berlin Radio Symphony; live, 1980 [Sorry, but the tape ran out a few minutes before the music did; still, it's not been recorded and I can at least supply a dynamite performance of 98% of it. ]

FRANCK: Redemption -- Orchestral Prelude to Part II. George Sebastian; L'Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire

GERSHWIN: An American in Paris. Earl Wild, piano; NBC Symphony; live, 11/ 14/ 1943 Rhapsody in Blue. Earl Wild, piano; NBC Symphony; live, 1/ 11/ 1942 [The story goes that Toscanini was induced to schedule both of these works as a token rebuttal to the vociferous critical drumbeat focused on his glaringly obvious lack of interest in promoting American music (in contrast to, say, Mitropoulos, who championed far more composers born in his adopted homeland than he ever did composers born in Greece -- of course, there were a lot more good ones to choose from here, but let that pass). After all, during the first 5-6 seasons of NBC Symphony programs, The Maestro had selected just ONE American work to perform with any frequency (Barber's Adagio for Strings, which I love dearly, but can you imagine what Toscanini's precision and obsession with clarity might have done for the works of Roger Sessions, etc?) At the repeated and increasingly stern suggestion of NBC's executives, Toscanini finally agreed to a few token performances of these wildly popular Gershwin works. And guess what? He played the britches off of them! No, he didn't coax forth the dizzying idiomatic swing of Bernstein's readings (who could?), but he certainly didn't perform these pieces in the manner of an up-tight "square"! And the readings are surely made more memorable by Earl Wild's incendiary pianism (as I write this, Wild is STILL giving drop-dead concerts into his 90s!). Sound in the 1942 Rhapsody is startlingly good; that of the A-in-P considerably more dry and skanky-sounding, almost surely a sign that the former was recorded in Carnegie Hall and the latter in the sonic-disaster-area known as Studio 8-H. No matter; they're both knock-your-sox-off brilliant interpretations with amble "swing" in the rhythms and plenty of muscle in the climaxes.. Important recordings not only in and of themselves, but in the context of American music life of the mid-20th-century!]

GHEDINI (1892-1965): Pezzo Concertante per violin, viola, & orchestra. Cantelli; RAI Symphony, Rome; live, 11/ 20/ 1954 [12:36]

GINASTERA: "Estancia" Ballet Suite, Op. 8-A. Sir Eugene Goosens; London Symphony. [12:40] "Panambi" Ballet Suite, Op. 1-A. Sir Eugene Goosens; London Symphony [12:28] [Sensational early stereo on the original Everest -- recorded on 35 mm. tape, c. 1959 -- and this inexplicably neglected music has the same sort of kick-in-the-liver intensity as "Le Sacre"; most exciting!]

GOLTERMANN: "Cantilena" from Concerto in A Minor. Pablo Casals, cello [2:50]

GURDJIEFF: Hymns of Gurdjieff. Keith Jarrett, piano

HAIEFF, Alexei: Symphony No. 2. Munch; Boston Symphony Orchestra

HAYDN: Violin Concerto in D. Grumiaux; Leppard; English Chamber Orchestra [14:43]

HEALY, Deryck: Concerto for Organ, Strings & Timpani. Organist unknown; John Avison; CBC Vancouver Symphony [Richly atmospheric work, touched, as it were, with the Vaughan-Williams brush. From a Canadian composer otherwise unknown to me, but from whom I would enjoy hearing more!]

HELPS, Robert: Symphony No. 1. Zoltan Rosznyai; Columbia Symphony Orchestra; [21::45]

HOFFMAN, E. T. A. (1776-1822): Overture to "Undine". Roland Bader; Berlin Radio Symphony [9:46] Overture & Entr'acte to "The Merry Musicians". Lothar Zagrosek; Berlin Radio Symphony [9:10] Symphony in E-flat major. Lothar Zagrosek; Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra [22:20] [I can't believe this is the ONLY recording of such an attractive work! Imagine if Mozart had been just a smidgen more "romantic" -- this is the sort of music he might well have written. Tasty, tuneful, imaginative, and rather richly expressive. The two overtures are more than just filler; both sonics and interpretations leave nothing to be desired.]

HOLST: The Planets, Op. 32. David Nazareth; Stuttgart Radio Symphony, live, late 70s. [Outstanding interpretation from an unlikely orchestra and a conductor too-seldom heard from!] The Planets, Op. 32. Sir Adrian Boult; BBC Symphony & Women's Chorus. [Sir Adrian's first recording of this work, from 1948. See comments under "Conductors"]

HILLER, Ferdinand: Konzertstuck for Piano & Orchestra, Op. 113. Jerome Rose, piano; Pierre Cao; Radio Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra [20:45] [A good-natured, entertaining little piece, obviously meant to put a smile on the listener's face, which it does for this listener at any rate.]

HINDEMITH: Mathis der Maler. Cantelli; RAI Symphony, Rome; live; 11/20/ 1954 [24:33] Sonata for Four French Horns. Leningrad Philharmonic Wind Ensemble [17:37]

HURLSTONE, William: Piano Concerto in D -- Fantasy-Variations on a Swedish Air. Eric Parkin, piano; Nicolas Braithewait; London Philharmonic.

HURST, Michael: Pentagon. Patrick Thomas; Sidney Symphony Orchestra (world premiere; early 80s} [Not so abstract as the title would suggest -- a brisk, muscular, scherzo-like piece that I find quite impressive. Lasts about 7.5 minutes]

IPPOLITOV-IVANOV: [Yes, it's true! The dude DID write other tuneful, very listenable works OTHER THAN THE "Caucasian Sketches" -- you just never hear them. Unless you order a dub of this Soviet Melodiya anthology, which will really round-out your appreciation (assuming you have any) for this supposedly minor figure. No undiscovered masterpieces here, true, but the music is flavorsome, mildly spiced with exoticisms, and it sure goes down easy. One can imagine sexier readings than the otherwise unknown Maestro Mynbaev coaxes from his rough-and-ready ensemble, but at least the sonics are good and the interpretations strive to be idiomatic. Go on, see what else old Ipp-Ov (as his arch rival Caesar Cui liked to call him) had in his musical bag o' tricks!] Symphony No. 1, E Minor, Op. 46. Timur Mynbaev; USSR State Radio Orchestra [35:28] Turkish Sketches and March, Op. 62. Mynbaev; USSR State Radio Orchestra [18:49]

IVANOVS, Janis (Latvian, 12909 - ? ): "Lacplesis" ("The Bear-Ripper"), Symphonic Poem. Vassily Sinaisky; Latvian SSR Symphony Orchestra [14:05] [As nearly as I can decipher the pre-Glasnost gibberish that passes for program notes, the "Bear-Ripper" is simply a virile, heroic archetype from Latvian folk mythology and pagan-era poetry. Hence, it's not like naming your tone poem "The Cock-Fighter" or "The Pit Bull Abuser". The music, like most of Ivanov's output, is actually rather on the mild, tuneful side, rather than the thunderous, barbaric genre. The composer obviously knew who buttered his bread, because in the album notes, it DOES cop the following plea: "…the folk hero's image has attained humanistic generalization (whatever the hell THAT might mean), in light of the ideals promulgated by Soviet patriotism, happiness, and the brotherly communality among peaceful nations". Yeah, right. Why not re-title it "He Who Peacefully Co-Exists With Bears"?] Symphony No. 17, C Major. Vassily Sinaiski; Latvian SSR State Symphony Orchestra [31:48] [Now this is more like it! When I first started acquiring works by Ivanovs, some unkind critic or other cattily described his style as "gutless imitation Gliere". I can see what he was driving at (in fact, that sounds like the sort of smirky put-down you MIGHT find occasionally in these pages!), but the differences between those two composers are so huge and so blatantly obvious that the bon mot loses its "mot" as soon as you look at it hard. Ivanovs wasn't particular interested in making big heroic statements; that's not to say his music lacks drama, or even episodes of considerable power, but his driving impulse is expressive lyricism, and his special area of mastery is in the more restrained and delicate shades of orchestral color. No miniaturist, he composes full-boned symphonies, but I think it's fair to describe him as a water-colorist, whereas Gliere was more of a bright thick colorist, a van Gogh of tone. The impatient or the unkind might dismiss Ivanovs as a "pretty boy" without large ambition, content to dispense attractive yet rather thin-blooded scores which, while full of "good tunes" and optimistic outlooks, tend to float just above the roil and ruck of real life, daintily holding their noses at the stink of contention and struggle among the groundlings below. Oh dear me, did I just characterize Ivanovs' music unfairly? I'm sorry; he's just such an easy target! Actually, there are times when this kind of serene, wispy lyricism is just what the doctor ordered, and since only about ten per cent of this composers surprisingly large output has ever surfaced outside of the Baltic region, any blanket judgments are suspect, being based as they are on very incomplete and fragmentary knowledge. Say this: the man knew how to write lovely melodies and, within a rather moderate expressive range, how to develop them effective in works of symphonic size. I never find his music vapid, and it always falls gracefully on the ear; but neither do I ever find it "gripping", or even terribly exciting, although his symphonies' climaxes ARE capably worked-out and effective in context. I guess what all this blather's leading up to is a simple assertion: you MIGHT find him a very likeable composer, and I would certainly understand that and applaud your taste. You might, on the other hand, think he writes symphonies like a momma's boy, the kid who always got chosen last for the ball team at recess. Like me (sniff). "Pay attention to my aesthetic musings, for I am so sensitive to nature and full of milk!" Give him a try; there's SOMETHING here, all right, and as I said earlier, we in America still haven't heard more than a fraction of his output, so he could surprise us yet.]

KELLNER, David (1670-1748):

KILAR: "Koscielec 1909". Wit; Polish Radio Symphony; live, 1982 [I'll say it again: Kilar writes some of the most powerful and accessible music of any living composer; if you haven't discovered his work, don't hesitate]

KODALY: Eternal Gospel, A Legend for Chorus & Orchestra. Jiri Pinkas; Czech Philharmonic Chorus & Prague Symphony Orchestra. Lord, Have Mercy, for Organ, Brass, and Male Chorus. Jiri Pinkas; Czech Philharmonic Chorus and Prague Symphony Orchestra. Our Father, for Organ, Harp & Mixed Chorus. Josef Veselka; Czech Philharmonic Chorur & Prague Symphony Orchestra There, Upon a Mountain, for Orchestra & Chorus. Jiri Pinkas; Czech Philharmonic Chorus & Prague Symphony Orchestra. {Kodaly's choral/ orchestral works have the same rugged integrity and earthy vitality as his big-scale masterpieces; their fervor, vitality, and striking individuality transcend language barriers and cultural differences -- heartfelt utterances of faith that should enrich the lives of all who hear them.]

KUBELIK: "Orphicon", Music for Orchestra. Kubelik; NY Philharmonic; live, 1981. [Kubelik's music is often strikingly colorful and full of energy, although seldom "melodic" in a conventional sense. I think it's good stuff, but, like most conductor/ composers, he was the only one who championed it. No matter; this is not only the world premier, it's a potent reading of a fine score.]

LENDVAY, Kamillo (Hungarian; 1928 - ? ): "Orthogenesis" Oratorio, on the Writings of Gyula Urban. Gyorgy Lehel; Hungarian Radio & TV Orchestra & Chorus; Eva Andor, soprano; Marta Szirmai, contralto; Joszef Reti, tenor; Sandor Palcso, tenor. [42:23] [This ain't half-bad music, in a post-Stalinist, neo-Bartokian sort of way, IF you can get past the enigmatic title and ignore the excerpts, both sung and spoken, from the seemingly impenetrable ideological screeds of Mr. Urban, which as near as I can tell make the average speech by Lenin sound like Shakespeare. As for the intriguing title, "Orogenesis"…believe me, you don't want to know; it'll spoil whatever enjoyment you might otherwise get from this well-wrought and obscure work. It has to do with some crack-brained theory of Social Darwinism. I can't tell you more than that because my eyes glaze over and my brain tunes out whenever I see phrases about "the Masses" and the "Workers" in the album notes of records from the former USSR. The Hungarian "masses" showed their true feelings about Communism by lynching about 250 secret policemen from the lampposts of Budapest when the revolt erupted in 1956 and I once saw some private snapshots taken on the scene. In high school, for several years, I had a fairly close friend who was a Hungarian refugee and worked for my grandfather's engineering firm, J.N. Pease & Associates in Charlotte. His name was Zoltan and he was only 25 or 26, but already reported to be a near-genius as an electrical architect. I always peppered him with questions about the street-fighting in Budapest (which was much bloodier and more savage than most books about the event will admit to; and the Soviet casualties, especially in terms of armor, were at least twice as large as the estimates given in most reference sources -- do you honestly think the Russians would give out accurate loss figures for their initial expulsion and subsequent massive counterattack?) Now, Zoltan was as mild-mannered and civilized a technocrat as you could ever meet -- but one afternoon, since I seemingly wanted to hear it all without filtering, he told me, in cool dispassionate detail, how he had helped pull the rope that strung up one of the loathed AVH security officers, after the rebels had stormed their HQ in Budapest, triggering a point-blank alley-fight that lasted almost an hour…and that had cost at least 100 civilian casualties (and would have cost many more had not dissident Hungarian Army troops delivered a truck full of PPSh submachine guns, grenades, and 50,000 rounds of ammo to the people trying to organize an assault; previously their only weapons had been shotguns, gasoline-filled bottles, hunting pieces and a few rusty old bolt-action Moisin-Nagant rifles hidden away since 1945) but resulted in the annihilation of the security forces' garrison, to the last man. Being naïve and blood-thirsty and all of sixteen when I heard Zoltan's story, I blurted out: "How did you feel later, knowing you had helped lynch a man without even giving him a chance to explain himself?" The young engineer's mild blue eyes suddenly went hard as flint and bored straight into mine and he said, in near-perfect English and without much inflection of any kind: "I would have done it a dozen times over, if I had been given the chance. My only regret is that it took him so long to strangle to death that we finally just shot the son of a bitch so he wouldn't waste any more of our time, just to get it over with for OUR sakes. Understand, Bill, these men used to interrogate political prisoners by shoving glass rods up their penises and then beating on their groins with clubs. Do you think we had a drop of pity to waste on such brutes?" On reflection, I supposed he had a valid point…]

LEWIS, David Hall: Symphony No. 2. Composer; London Symphony Orchestra [22:18]

LISZT: The "Christus" Oratorio, for Double Chorus, Soloists, Organ & Large Orchestra. . Milkos Forrai; Budapest Philharmonic; Soloists and Augmented forces of the Zoltan Kodaly Chorus. [157:16] [When Hungariton first decided to record this massive work, about 40 years ago, there had only been two complete performances of it in history. The premier in 1867, appears to have been a rough-and-ready affair during which the composer/conductor only sporadically held a firm grip on his enormous forces (the chorus numbered 300; the orchestra 112!), but a much better-prepared second performance, in 1876, won considerable popular and critical praise. Among those in attendance was Richard Wagner, who was so favorably impressed -- or at least wanted Liszt to think he was -- that he composed a florid, dithyrambic ode in honor of the oratorio. To judge from the excerpt in the Hungarian program notes, Liszt may have read this windy paean with ambiguous emotions, but fortunately YOU don't have to read it. The work is divided into three almost equally big-boned sections: I. Christmas Oratorio; II. After Epiphany; III. Passion and Resurrection. Arranging the logistics of this recording, and procuring a full set of consistent parts, required two years of dedicated work by musicians and Liszt scholars. The actual recording sessions occupied 26 days out of the month in which they were scheduled, but the results are superb, both in terms of the performers' dedication and idiomatic fervor, and the big, spacious, but warmly detailed sonics captured by the engineers; the recording site was the Mathias Church in Budapest -- juicy ambient reverb and atmosphere, but admirable transparency too, considering all the complex STUFF going on as well as Liszt's habitual reliance on orchestrating almost everything in the middle four octaves (as many pianist/ composers tend to do). At approximately 183 minutes, it's not a work you'll feel intimately acquainted with on first or second hearing, but its manifold beauties are so many, and Liszt's level of both skill and inspiration so high, that a lot of it WILL strike you as very lovely and/ or suitably grand. Whether deeper familiarity will strengthen your favorable response or simply make you more aware of the periodic intervals during which Liszt was sort of "padding out" things with generic craftsmanship, I leave to your taste and judgment. I've probably only listened to the whole thing five times, but as I dubbed it most recently, I found myself quite moved by much of it and at least fascinated by Liszt's grand ambition here, even if he could not always sustain his highest degree of passion (after all, it took him more than seven years to finish the thing!) Be that as it may, my Source copy is a direct Hungarian import in mostly pristine condition. N.B. Requires two very full CDs; if you'd like a copy of the fascinating program notes & "libretto", add another $2.50 to the list price please, because it won't be cheap either to duplicate or mail this coffee-table-book-sized volume. Given how much it would cost to re-make this digitally in 2009's economy, we're unlikely ever to have a more up-to-date replacement for this venerable set, but really, there's no need for one -- everything here from the smallest woodwind solo to the thrilling Bach-inspired big choral climaxes is rendered with utter conviction and enormous dedication, and the late-Sixties sonics could hardly been improved upon. If you're "into" big, exotic liturgical works, and/ or Liszt, you really must hear this. Whether it is one of his true masterpieces or just a drastic case of aesthetic over-reach, I don't feel qualified to state. Personally, I find it at least as rewarding as the Faust Symphony, even though it COULD be trimmed by 15-20 minutes and nobody would miss anything terrific. Of course, the same thing can be said about the St. Matthew Passion, which I adore on records but doubt I could sit through in person, without at least a good book to read during all those formulaic and ultimately annoying little harpsichord flourishes that always signal you to be prepared for another seemingly interminable expository aria by either J.C. or one of the bigger Disciples!] A Faust Symphony. Solti; Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor. [Outstanding example of Solti at his best; doesn't quite displace Lenny's studio recording for sheer manic intensity, but then…two-thirds of the piece ISN'T manic and intense, and Solti does it all with great sensitivity.] Liebestraum. Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

MARTINU: Memorial to Lidice. Martin Turnovsky; NY Philharmonic; live, 1981

MASCAGNI: "Cavaleria Rusticana" -- "Brindisi". Beniamino Gigli, tenor. Recorded 1/ 5/ 1928

MAXWELL-DAVIES: Second Fantasia on John Taverner's "In Nomine". Sir Charles Groves; New Philharmonia. Points & Dances from "Taverner". Composer; The Fires of London Ensemble.

MEALE, Richard (Australian, 20th Cent): Images. Patrick Thomas; Sidney Symphony (world premier; late Seventies) [I have some very impressive symphonic works by this self-taught Australian composer, not yet listed, and this short work basaed on Aboriginal mythology is also fascinating; but it's quite brief -- just gets going good when it ends. Maybe 6 minutes.]

MENDELSSOHN: Midsummer Night's Dream -- Scherzo. Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4. 1947 [4:35] Piano Concerto No. 1, G Minor, Op. 24. Lucas Foss, piano; Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4/ 1947 [19:00] [Wow! Lucas Foss as pianist in Mendelssohn! And a terrific job he does, too!] Quintet, B-Flat, Op. 87. The Guarneri Quartet w/ Pincas Zuckerman, viola [31:10] String Symphony No. 9. Pauk; Academy of St. Martins In The Fields; live concert in Lugano, date uncertain [Perhaps THE most elegant and tonally rich reading of this little masterpiece in my collection. Outstanding sound, too] Symphony No. 4, A Major, Op. 90, "Italian". Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4/ 1947 [24:35] [Koussie's studio recording was long considered the best of the mono era; this live rendition, predictably, has just that crucial extra bit of zip and intensity and the air-check sound is quite listenable.]

MOORE, Douglas (American, 1893 - ? ): Symphony in A. Dean Dixon; American Recording Society Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

MOSONYI, Mihaly: Piano Concerto. Jerome Rose, piano; Pierre Cao; Radio Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra [1915]

MOZART:

>>>>>>>>> SPECIAL LISTING >>>>>>>>>>>> Collected Works for Baroque Violin & Orchestra. [A very handsome set from the distinguished but VERY short-lived "Seon" trademark (Warner Records, to the best of my knowledge), featuring the esteemed virtuosi Jaap Schroeder as soloist and Franz Bruggen as conductor of the Amsterdam Mozart Ensemble. The complete contents (AS they appear on the LPs, not by alphabetical order) are as follows:] Adagio in G, from Cassation in D, K. 63 [8:22] Andante & Menuetto in F, and Allegro in B-flat, from Serenade, K. 203 [14:50] Andante & Allegro in F, from Serenade, K. 185 [10:35] Andante in A, Menuetto in D, & Allegro in A, from Serenade, K. 204. [15:28] Concerto, Violin & Orchestra, B Flat, K. 207. [20:08] Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, D Major, K. 211. [19:33]

***************************************************************************** MOZART (Regular listings): [The now-hard-to-find Mozart "Eurodisc" concerto cycle by Schmidt and Masur was one of the first examples of his work I acquired, and I thought the readings were warm, radiant, and perfectly lovely. They still seem so to me, but alas, I've never heard more than a few recordings by Masur since these that struck me as anything other than earthbound, and thoroughly unexceptional (when they weren't stupefyingly dull). No reflection on the man's character, which is by all accounts close-to-noble, but he seems incapable of conjuring any strong emotions in his interpretations; his range is narrow, although within it, he's fine. Anyhow, the Mozart concerti fit his sensibilities to a T and the Dresden orchestra's playing is warm and radiant, as is the work of the soloist (who seems to have disappeared from the record scene since these were issued)] Adagio for Glass Harmonica, in C, K. 356 Gieseking, piano [3:35] Andantino in E Flat, K. 236. Gieseking, piano [1:40] Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475. Giegseking, piano [11:55] "Larghetto" from Quintet in D Major. Pablo Casals, cello [4:20] "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Karl Boehm; Vienna Philharmonic; Vienna State Opera Chorus & many notable soloists, listed under "Opera, Vocal & Choral" Piano Concerto No. 19, F Major, K. 459. Annerose Schmidt, piano; Kurt Masur; Dresden Philharmonic [28:10] Piano Concerto No. 21, C Major, K. 467. Annerose Schmidt, piano; Kurt Masur; Dresden Philharmonic [27:20] Piano Concerto No. 27, C Major, K. 595. Annerose Schmidt, piano; Kurt Masur; Dresden Philharmonic. [23:55] Piano Sonata No. 4, E Flat, K. 282. Gieseking, piano [10:50] Piano Sonata No. 8, A Minor, K. 310. Gieseking, piano [13:54] Piano Sonata in C Minor, K. 457. Gieseking, piano [15:50] Suite in the Style of Handel, K. 399. Gieseking, piano [8:45] Symphony No. 6, F Major, K. 43. Leinsdorf; London Philharmonic [See comments under "Conductors"] Symphony No. 7, D Major, K. 45. Leinsdorf; London Philharmonic Symphony No. 8, D Major, K. 48. Leinsdorf; London Philharmonic Symphony No. 9, C Major, K. 73. Leinsdorf; London Philharmonic [See comments under "Conductors"] Symphony No. 29, A Major, K. 201. Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony; live, Tanglewood, 7/ 17/ 1948 [16:10] Symphony No. 29, A Major, K. 201. Van Beinum; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live,

MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition. Toscanini; La Scala Orchestra; live @ Lucerne Festival, 1948 [See detailed remarks under "Conductors"] Pictures at an Exhibition. Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony. [The first-ever recording, by the conductor who commissioned Ravel's orchestration! N.B. See important update comments under "Conductors"]

NANCARROW, CONLON (1918 - ? ): Studies for Player Piano: #2 [1:59]; #7 [6:25]; #8 [4:03]; #10 [4:07]; #12 [4:07] #15 CANON 3/4 [1:03]; #19 CANON 12/15 [1:11]; #21 CANON X [2:59]; #23 [3:45] #24 CANON 14/15 /16 [3:36]; #25 [6:11]; #34 CANON on the Square Root of 2/2 [6:12] [Where to start…? Basically, Nancarrow utilized a pair of rebuilt Ampico piano-roll players, only he cut the perforations by hand, in order to create wonderfully intricate etudes exploring complex rhythmic patterns and impossibly fast tempi -- impossible for human hands, but a breeze for these ingenious machines. If you've never heard, or heard OF these adventurous pieces, let me turn the mike over to <<ME! ME!>> <<No, Skippy, you abysmal little cretin! To our esteemed commentator and noted Uptown, or was it Downtown? avant-gardist of the 60s-70s, Maestro Gordon Mooma: "Three trends are prominent in the development of "Studies for Player piano". In Studies 2 - 1`2, Study 23, and Study 25, the composer's rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic vocabulary is essentially intuitive… The early Studies have a strong flavor of ragtime. Study 10 is a piano blues, and Study 12 has a decidedly Spanish flavor. Some of the Studies are quite spectacular in their use of sonority. Study 24, for instance, is nearly orchestral in texture, having the character of a concerto grosso, with alternating concertante and ripiendo sections. Study Mo. 25 is an almost Lisztian demonic fantasy, buiult from massive blocks of sound. I think it is clear, however, that issues of rhythm are uppermost in Nancarrow's music. It has always been this composer's desire to create a kind of music whose elaborate and precise rhythmic structures could not be played by human hands, however Horowitzian! The second prominent trend, in Studies 15, 19, 24 and 33, is that of strictly organized rhythmic canons, with fixed proportions. Each voice of a canon has its own tempo, and these tempos have fixed, complex relationships. Study 15, for example, is composed around the tempo relationships of three and four. Study 19 is composed with simultaneously voiced tempos of 12 to 15 to 20. Study 33 is the most complicated, one tempo being related to another by the proportion of two to the square root of two! Two separate voices move at this proportion and closely approach coincidence…b ut never exactly meet!" And so forth and so on, for another 1300 word; but I think that gives you an idea of how fantastically conceived and contrived these unique etude-like pieces are. Each is fun and fascinating, especially if you have the technical chops (which I mostly do NOT) to follow what's going on in the technical sense. And while a little bit of this stud DOES go a long way, it's damn sure unlike any other music you'll ever hear, and as I said, it's just fascinating, fun stuff! Give it try, O ye of adventurous ears!]

NOVAK, Jan: `"Dido" Dramatic Cantata. Martin Turnovsky; NY Philharmonic; , soprano; Werner Klemperer, narrator; Male voices of the NY Choral Artists; live, 1981 [Based, like Berlioz's treatment, on the IVth Book of the Virgil's Aeniad, this very strong work somehow manages to sound UN-like Carl Orff, leading me to suspect that Mr. Novak -- like Turnovsky, a Czech refugee, who died in 1965 -- might have some other bodacious pieces unrecorded and probably unperformed. Interesting to note that Werner Klemperer, the august-sounding narrator is (some of you are WAY ahead of me!), yes, the son of Otto!]

OLIVEROS, Pauline [1932 - ? ): Horse Sings from Cloud. Composer; vocals and accordion [22:11] Rattlesnake Mountain. Composer; accordion and vocals. [21:58] [With all due respect to Ms. Oliveros -- whom many otherwise intelligent people hold in high regard as a pioneer of…something or other…I find these "meditational improvisations" to be among the more pathetic and pretentious Minimalist noodlings ever inflicted on the public ear. Disregarding the obnoxious umbrella of Tibetan and American Indian regalia she surrounds her "recitals" with, it has less to do with her now-antique New Age posturing than with the fact that I cannot conceive of ANY musical combination LESS likely to help me meditate than an untrained female voice supporting itself with a f***ing ACCORDION! I doubt that many Indians or Tibetans could stand it much longer than I can. Nevertheless, here's a rare recording of her Doing Her Thing, and if this appeals to you, you have my blessing.]

PADEREWSKI: Minuet in G. Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

PERLE, George: Three Movements for Orchestra. David Epstein; Royal Philharmonic Orch. [18:00]

POLDINI (???): The Dancing Doll. Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

POOT, Marcel (1901 -- ? ): Concertino for Wind Quintet. Leningrad Philharmonic Wind Ensemble [12:49] [I can't even TYPE this guy's name without sniggering, because even if you give it the snootiest-possible French pronunciation, it's STILL funny, in the timeless manner of all fart jokes in all cultures since the Neanderthals discovered beans. However, the music is bubbly and delightful and the performance is brilliant.]

POPPER: Muzurka. Pablo Casals, cello [2:57]

POUND, Ezra: Le Testament de Villon. Robert Hughes; San Francisco Opera Touring Company, 1969; only recording. [Pound once wrote to a friend: "Visitors come here, I am writing verse. It seems a natural operation. They find me stumbling through a line of musical composition and they look at me as if I were committing an incomprehensible act. Yet I have put into poetry twenty years of work they do not in the least understand, and in music…I am a complete amateur." Well, OK, if you say so, Ezra; but "amateur" in the original Latin sense, i.e., "one who loves a thing" or "does something strictly for the love of it". This one-act, 50-minute "western Noh drama", using Pound's visionary reconstruction of Villon's interior monologue as he faces death, interspersed with troubadour ballads and songs in Provencal, is far from an incompetent work. It is full of vitality and charm, and unexpected musical grace-notes. The orchestration, for an ensemble of 17 players, is highly original and agreeably mated to the words. This is the only recording; it's been O/P and very hard to find for a quarter-century and my dub is from a near-mint copy. Come on, aren't you the least bit CURIOUS about this two-headed calf?]

PROKOFIEV: Cinderella, Complete Ballet. Rozhdestvensky; Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra [Only truly complete recording, with every note in the original score; no timings given; requires 2 CDs] Visions Fugitives, Op. 22 (Orchestrated by Barshai). Rudolf Barshai; Moscow Chamber Orchestra [Barshai's transcriptions turns this febrile, early solo piano work into a most appealing suite indeed.]

PUCCINNI: "Manon-Lescaut" -- "Donna Non Vidi Mai". w/ Beniamino Gigli, tenor. Recorded 10/ 27/ 1926 "Tosca" -- "Recondita Armonia". Recorded 10/ 27/ 1926

RACHMANINOFF: Prelude in C Sharp Minor. Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

RAMEAU: "Les Fetes D'hebe" Ballet. Leppard; New Philharmonia Orch. [13:50] "Les Paladins" Overture. Leppard; New Philharmonia Orch. [5:52] "Zais" Overture. Leppard; New Philharmonia Orch. [5:50] [The more of Rameau's works I acquire, the more my esteem for his genius grows! What zest, what a sophisticated mastery of orchestral color! Sourced from a French Philips set that was never commercially released over here! Splendid sonics and vibrant conducting by the ever-reliable Leppard.]

RAVEL: Daphnis & Chloe, Suite No. 2. Cantelli; RAI Symphony, Rome; live, 11. 20/ 1954 [13:52]

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: "Song of India" from "Sadko". Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

ROSSINI: "La Scala de Sieta" Overture. Toscanini; La Scala Orchestra; live @ Lucerne Festival, 1948 [See detailed remarks under "Conductors"]

RUGGLES, The Sun-Treader. Zoltan Rozsnyai; Columbia Symphony; {17:30] [Ol' Charlie wasn't exactly "prolific", or even, to outward appearances, very motivated. Once he got an idea for a piece, he'd research it, dissect it, probe all its possible depths and crevasses, in microscopic detail and for as long as he damn well pleased. Often quoted as saying stuff like "There's already too much music in the world today!", he seems to have dedicated scads of time and much of his adult life to asserting the principle of "quality" over "Quantity". Of course, Ruggles carried this creed to almost absurd lengths; "Sun Treader" is almost exactly SEVENTEEN MINUTES LONG, AND YET HE WORKED ON IT, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, FOR almost SEVEN years! On first hearing, you might think it'll take you seven years just to get a handle on the main pulse of the work. In a sense, Ruggles gives you some help, by inserting a grim, remorseless pattern of timpani-beats every time a new development is introduced or departed from, for development's sake (and as you begin to anticipate those cyclical refrains, that grim motif really DOES begin to symbolize the tread of some gigantic, implacable deity striding across the earth, intent on the business of the Gods and quite oblivious to the minute human-creations underfoot and in his path. I found it easier to accept Ruggles on his own knotty-pine standards because I attended four complete rehearsals of the work in, I'm almost positive, the winter of 1967 -- even Stokowski and the ASO kids (about as enthusiastic and hard-working an orchestra as you'll ever hear, anywhere; and even they were really struggling to achieve coherence. The music really does suggest some kind of Cyclopean entity; and Ruggles fussed with every complex bar until he got it just the way he wanted it to sound, performers' comfort be damned. His general attitude seems to have been: Hey, I'll never make a Real Living writing stuff like this, so I may as well go ahead and BE a bloomin' perfectionist just as a matter of idealism!]

SCHUBERT: Overture to "Der Teufel als Hydraulicus". Paul Angerer; Stuttgart Radio Symphony [3:50] Overture to "Der Spiegelritter". Paul Angerer; Stuttgart Radio Symphony. Overture to "Des Teufels Lustschloss". Paul Angerer; Stuttgart Radio Symphony [9:11] [Why Schubert frittered away so much of his too-short life composing dreadful operas, is a mystery. But the overtures are always nice, and should be heard more often. Maestro Angerer recorded an integral set, including the first-ever recordings of several of them, and the performances are uniformly adept and committed. I'll get around to listing them all eventually, fear not. By the way, I'm curious to know what the plot might be of an opera with such a screwball title!] Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished"). Furtwangler; Vienna Philharmonic [Along with Mengelberg's very scarce and wildly theatrical wartime aircheck reading with the Paris Radio Philharmonic, I rate this as one of the two most glorious interpretations of this thrice-familiar masterpiece. If you want a demonstration of exactly HOW Furtwangler's genius could transform a tired old warhorse into a profound and spellbinding example of Schubert's greatness as a composer, THIS is "Exhibit A" and I have used it, dozens of times, to turn young whipper-snapper skeptics into True Believer zealots literally in the span of twenty-five minutes. See extended comments under "Conductors"] Symphony No. 9. Toscanini; La Scala Orchestra; live @ Lucerne Festival, 1948 [See detailed remarks under "Conductors"]

SCHUMAN, William: "Undertow", Choreographic Poem. Joseph Levine; Ballet Theater Orchestra. [First & probably best recording of this important early work]

SCHUMANN: Abendlied. Pablo Casals, cello [3:14] Dichterliebe, Op. 48. Lotte Lehmann, soprano; Bruno Walter, piano. [I'm astonished that this magnificent recital was ever allowed to go out of print, but it's been unavailable, at least in the U.S., since about 1960. The combination of Ms. Lehmann's superb vocalism and Walter's nuanced but passionate accompaniment makes for something very special. My Source copy is near-mint and even a scratched LP will bring $20-35 on E-Bay, so if you dig Schumann lieder-singing at its most inspired, this one should go on your shopping list!] Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42. Lotte Lehmann, soprano; Bruno Walter, piano Kinderscenen, Op. 13. Badura-Skoda, piano [16:52] Novelettes, Op. 21, No's 1 & 2. Artur Rubinstein, piano [10:62] Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54. Rubinstein; Giulini; Chicago Symphony Orchestra [32:46] Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Badura-Skoda, piano [27:46]

SCHWANTNER, Joseph: Aftertones of Infinity. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony, live; mid-80s

SEGERSTAM, Leif: String Quartet No. 4. Segerstam String Quartet [20:25]

SCHMITT, Florent: La Tragedie de Salome, Op. 50. Antonio De Almeida; New Philharmonia Orchestra [30:22] [Gives Richard Strauss a run for his money: slinky, voluptuous, decadent, drenched in perfumed atmosphere (why the hell didn't Stokowski record this piece??) this is a late-romantic tour de force. It's a toss-up as to which conductor tears up the pea-patch more with it, Martinon or De Almeida -- the latter has the better orchestra, but the former evokes the "burning incense" quality somewhat more vividly. Both are excellent; both are available here, so why not order one CD with both dubbed upon it?]

SHOSTAKOVICH: Music from the Film "Zoya", Op. 64-A. Maxim Shostakovich; Bolshoi Theater Orchestra & Chorus [25:40] [Actually, I like THIS tossed-off soundtrack a lot more than the 12th Symphony, especially the shamelessly grandiose final apotheosis, based on…oh, hell, some Red Army folk tune you'll recognize instantly but who's name I just blanked-out on. Even the raw tone of the orchestra adds to the effect, and Maxim conducts the be-jeezuz out of his father's score.] String Quartet No. 4, Op. 83. [24:23] Saulesco String Quartet [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles and Solo Virtuosi] Symphony No. 10, E Minor, Op. 93. Maxim Shostakovich; Chicago Symphony; live, circa 1980 Symphony No. 10, E Minor, Op. 93. Mitropoulos; New York Philharmonic; world premiere recording…[and still one of the greatest Shostakovich recordings ever issued. See comments under "Conductors"] Symphony No. 12, Op. 112 (In Memory of V.I. Lenin). Mravinsky; Leningrad Philharmonic [See caustic and self-deprecating remarks under "Conductors"] Violin Concerto No. 1, A Minor, Op. 99. Dimitri Sitkovitsky, vioin; Maxim Shostakovich; Chicago Symphony; live, circa 1980 [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

SIBELIUS: The Bard, Op. 64. Berglund; Bournemouth Symphony Four Legends (Lemminkainen Suite, Op. 22). Hannikainen; USSR Radio Symphony Symphony No. 2. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, mid-80s. [I tell you, when Slatkin's "on", he can tear up the pea-patch, and this Sibelius Twoth, benefiting greatly from the CSO's heroic brass section, is one of the better ones. Alas, my dub is slightly compromised by FM background noise (mostly goes away by Movement II) and by the fact that the side-change for my tape caught me by surprise, so I missed getting the first four minutes of the whole symphony. It's STILL worth having.] Symphony No. 2. Basil Cameron; London Philharmonic Orchestra Valse Triste. Lily Pons; Andre Kostelanetz (his orchestration; "his" orchestra) [See more under "Vocal Soloists w/ Ensembles" below]

SLONIMSKY, Sergei: "Antiphones" for String Quartet. [11:15]

STRAUSS, Johann: The Emperor Waltz. NO conductor named; the "Europa Symphony Orchestra" Tritsch-Tratsch Polka. "Europa Symphony Orchestra" [See comments under "Mystery Maestri"!]

STRAUSS, Richard: Don Juan, Op. 20. Maazel;Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Tod & Verklarung, Op. 24. Maazel; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra [This was one of Maazel's first collaborative efforts with the Vienna Philharmonic and the chemistry seems to have been strong from the start. Orchestral playing and recorded sound are tremendous, and Maazel's conceptualization is ardent, virile, and executed with a manly stride -- one of my all-time favorite "Don Juan"s.]

STRAVINSKY: The Firebird Ballet, complete. Oiyama (sp?); Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, 1984 Petrouchka, complete. Temirkanov; Leningrad Philharmonic [A direct Soviet import, 1976, and almost certainly not issued over here since that time. Also a fabulous version in very good sound.]

SUK: Prague, Symphonic Poem. "Czech conductor"; St. Louis Symphony Orch; live, 1982 [If you dig "Ma Vlast" half as much as I do, you'll probably find this intense tone poem exciting and fascinating. Alas, when I taped this rousing performance, around 1981, the only notation I made on the tape label was "Czech guest conductor, which leaves at least a half-dozen possibilities. Whoever he was, he delivered the goods with a passionate, heart-felt reading that evokes surging nationalistic pride. Great piece, great reading, great sound, if I do say so myself. This is my only live account of the music, but it's fully equal to Ancerl's majestic recording I even taped over something else to snag this broadcast, and obviously was in a hurry, so just fill in the name of your favorite Czech conductor and you'll have to be close!]

SULLIVAN: "The Mikado", Orchestral Suite from. "Europa Symphony Orchestra" [See comments under "Mystery Maestri"]

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5, E Minor, Op. 64. Mitropoulos; New York Philharmonic, c. 1954 "Swan Lake", Music from Acts II & III. w/ NBC Symphony. [I trust by now you'll take my word for it that this super-sized "Symphonic synthesis" is glorious in both sound and interpretation. But for me, what makes it so treasureable is THE ALBUM ITSELF, and if it were possible, I would clones many copies and sell 'em as two-decker collectors' items. Firstly, it's a deluxe gatefold album, with gold-stamped lettering on the spine and the lavishly illustrated program notes printed on heavy, glossy paper stock. Now here's the clincher: three of those glossy pages are given over to wispy, unutterably fey sketches of ballet dancers, one beige-colored paper, and the tiny artist's signature in the bottom left corner tells us that these stylish but almost ectoplasmic sketches are the work of a young commercial artist who signed himself "Andrew Warhol". No joke, no lie, there right here in front of me and may very well constitute the first published examples of Warhol's youthful work! If anyone out there would like me to make good-quality digital copies, on suitably regal paper stock, of all three sketches, just contact me privately at the personal URL (Wiltrotter@aol.com), and I'm sure we can arrive at a mutually satisfactory deal. These performances have been reissued, numerous times, but this original RCA gatefold album is unspeakably rare because of, well, obviously because of the stuff I just told you. I have even found otherwise good copies in thrift shop bins, in fine condition, except that some schmuck had taken a matt knife or a razor blade and neatly excised the Warhol pages! How cruel is THAT!?!]

THOMAS: "Mignon" -- "Addio, Mignon! Fa core!" Beniamino Gigli, tenor. Recorded 11/ 30/ 1928

THOMPSON, Randall (American, 1899 - ? ): Symphony No. 2. Dean Dixon; American Recording Society Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

THOMSON, Virgil: Acadian Songs and Dances from "Louisiana Story". Thomas Scherman; the Little Orchestra Society. [It never ceases to baffle me that contemporary condsuctors are either so ignorant about "listenable" 20th Century scores, or just too damned intellectually lazy to seek out a healthy bunch of such score to add to their working repertoires. All three of Virgil Thomson's major film scores (this one plus "The Plow That Broke the Plains" and "The River") are joyous, and sometimes very moving; they work just as well played as stand-alone concert works as they do in their original filmic-montage contexts. Yet the last Big Name conductor who championed them forthrightly was, of all people, Sir Neville Marriner! Before him, there was Stokowski (on a sonically stunning Vanguard album that may still be in print (and therefore beyond the pale both legally and ethically when it comes to archival services such as "Records in the Attic". Sorry about that, folks, but I DO try to play by the rules here.) Actually, there are TWO suites drawn from "Louisiana Story", and this one is more lighthearted and gleefully crowd-pleasing than the longer, more serious suite Stokowski did for Vanguard -- but I suspect an audience not already familiar with Thomson's film music would find both concert suites hugely enjoyable. So why don't they ever get programmed? <<Hey, Boss?>> <<Yes, Skippy>> <<They probably DO, you ageing dingbat, but you don't hear about it because not even YOU can keep track of what gets played during a given season by a hundred or more American orchestras! Stop assuming the worst!>> <<Skipster, you haven't even TASTED my 'worst'! Any more sass out of you tonight and you'll get thrown into the isolation tank for 72 hours while nothing but the Top Ten Hip-Hop records gets piped in, over and over, at discothèque volume! I've seen strong men whimper like babies at the very thought of such an ordeal!>> <<AI-EEEE!!!>> Oh yes, one more thing: Scherman and his fine medium-sized orchestra give these Cajun-flavored miniatures a very zestful and appealing performance, captured in excellent mono sound.]

and "The Plow That Broke the Plains" are just delightful, and all are of perfect length for middle-of-the-concert insertion. Can it be that music schools no longer even mention their existence? Ol' Virgil knew he was writing Hired Gun music for big corporate sponsors, but such was his immense craftsmanship that he simply couldn't write insincere schlock if somebody held a gun to his head or proffered a sack full of hundred-dollar-bills

TIPPETT: Concerto for Double String Orchestra. Rudolf Barshai; Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra [One of Sir Michael's juiciest, most accessible orchestral scores, played with terrific gusto.] String Quartet No. 1, in A. The Edinburgh String Quartet [19:51] Symphony No. 4. Patrick Thomas; Sidney Symphony Orchestra; live, mid-Seventies [Tippett's semi-abstract symphonies are not the easiest works to assimilate, but they definitely grow on you. I find this live reading quite as insightful and well-played as the composer's own interpretations with the London Symphony. No timing given, but I estimate 35-38 minutes]

TISCHENKO, Boris: "Yaroslavna", Ballet in 3 Acts, Op. 55. Alexander Dmitriev; Leningrad Symphony & Chorus of the Maly Opera & Ballet. [A major work by one of Russia's better post-Shostakovich composers, based on "The Song of Igor's Campaign". Lots of dark, menacing percussion and low brass, stunning recorded sound. N.B. requires 2 CDs]

VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. Maurice Abravanel; Utah Symphony Orchestra [To the surprise of many of us, this on-again/off-again conductor -- who labored so long and so far from the big urban capitals of classical music to put Salt Lake City on the artistic map -- turned out to be one of the finest Vaughan-Williams interpreters in post-Korean War America; this may not be the lushest, most soaring interpretation in the catalogues, but it has a beguiling sweetness and a kind of "floating" luminosity I find very refreshing and very faithful to the heart of the composer. I doubt that RVW had the Sands-of-Mars landscape around the Great Salt Lake in mind when he composed this piece (although I have hiked around some indescribably beautiful mountain valleys on the other side of the city that are surely as verdant and timelessly grand as anything you might find in Wales or Scotland!), but Abravanel had his soul tuned to the right harmonics when it came to this most English of composer's styles! I actually think HIS version of the "Dona Nobis Pacem" is more majestic and more thrilling than Sir Adrian Boult's -- although only by a hair and to some extent only because EMI's engineers out-did Vanguard's in that particular recording!] "Job", a Masque for Dancing. Vernon Handley; London Philharmonic; late Seventies [First-rate, from one of Handley's very first recordings on EMI, disgracefully long unobtainable and splendidly engineered in very early digital sound.] Serenade to Music. Leppard; Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; live, 1982; soloists superb but unidentified. Sea Symphony (No. 1). Raymond Leppard; Chicago Symphony & Chorus; live, 1982. [Only reading I know that equals Sir Adrian Boult's landmark early recording, due both to the power and richness of the CSO's playing but mainly to the incredible passion, precision, and electrifying work of the great CSO Chorus, who project the soul of Walt Whitman's poetry as though they'd studied this complex score all their lives. A stunner!] Symphony No. 4. Composer; London Symphony, recorded in October, 1937 [RVW allegedly said of this bitter, angry work, "I don't know if I like it, but it's what I meant to say". This symphony stands out, sandwiched as it is between two of RVW's lushest, wet-green-hillside pastoral symphonies, for its tough-fibered ferocity, a quality that the composer's surging, propulsive rendition captures ever better than Mitropoulos, who otherwise set the standard for all subsequent interpreters.] Symphony No. 8. Sir John Barbirolli; Halle Orchestra. [World premiere recording, beautifully engineered, reveals how bloody excited Sir John was to sink his teeth into a new and almost explosively colorful V-W symphony! Both the supercharged playing of his Manchester musicians and the expert technique of Mercury's "Living Presence" engineers captured a reading of spectacular freshness and almost missionary zeal, one that sounds almost as sensational now as it did when the first pressings came rolling off the stampers 'way back in 1957! A cornerstone for any Vaughan-Williams collection!] "The Wasps", Overture. Composer; Aeolian Orchestra, 1925 [RVW made only three commercial recordings, of which I am hereby listing two. This one is from the very dawn of electrical recording and there's no denying the crunchy surface noise, but the basic underlying sound is startlingly good and RVW whips the piece up to a bubbling froth. I especially love the ripe swoony portamento in the strings! This is quite a rarity, which I taped off Roger Jones's, my greatly mourned colleague's, radio show in the late Seventies. Where the hell Roger found a copy, I've no idea -- he had tons of this stuff -- but I'm delighted to offer it to you, including his urbane commentary.]

VERDI: "La Traviata" -- "De' miei bollenti spiriti". Beniamino Gigli, tenor. Recorded 5/ 8/ 1928

VIEUXTEMPS, Henri: Violin Concerto No. 4, D Minor. Glenn Dichterow, violin; James Conlon; New York Philharmonic, live, late Seventies

VILLA-LOBOS: Choros No. 4, for 3 French Horns & Trombone. Leningrad Philharmonic Wind Ensemble. [8:10] "Caixinha de Boas Festas" (The Surprise Box"). J.J. Castro; Rome Symphony Orchestra. [V-L in his playful-est mood, rather like "The Baby's Diary", and quite a charming score. This obscure RCA LP is apparewntly the only recording, and, no, I don't have any idea who J.J. Castro is, except that is isn't Fidel's uncle…] The Little Train from Caipira. Sir Eugene Goosens; London Symphony Orch. [4:33] "Modinha" from Bachiana Brasileira No. 1. Stokowski; New York Philharmonic, c. 1949 [7:56] [My Lord, what a gorgeous slow movement this is, and how Stokie turns on the juice, getting the hard-boiled NYPO strings to play for him with the same lambent, golden "drenched" sonority so characteristic of the old Philadelphia!] Uirapuru. Stokowski; New York Philharmonic. [14:07] [A voluptuous, rotten-ripe gardenia of a tone poem, an overflowing Amazonian hothouse of orchestral sonorities; just the sort of thing Stokie could sink his, er, hands into like Dracula after a hunger strike]

VOORMOLEN, Alexander (1895- ? ): Sinfonia. Mengelberg; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 12/ 12/ 1940

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4. Kubelik; NY Philharmonic; live, 1981 [Fiery & bold; outstanding!]

WAGNER: Abendstern from "Tannhauser". Pablo Casals, cello [4:36] "Gotterdammerung" -- Dawn & Siegfried's Rhine Journey. Sir Adrian Bou; London Philharmonic "Gotterdammerung" -- "Siegfried's Death & Funeral Music. Sir Adrian Boult; London Philharmonic "Gotterdammerung" -- Siegfried's Death & Funeral March. Sir Reginald Gooddall; English National Opera Orchestra, live, mid-eighties [Slow but majestic live readings by "The English Furtwangler"] "Lohengrin" -- "Einsam in Truben Tagen" ("Elsa's Dream"), Act I. Regine Crespin, soprano; Georges Pretre' Orchestra National de la RTF "Lohengrin" -- "Ecuh Luften, die mein Klagen", Act II. Regine Crespin, soprano; Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de la RTF "Die Meistersinger" -- Prelude Act I. Sir Reginald Gooddall; English National Opera Orchestra, live, mid-Eighties "Parsifal" -- "Ich sah das Kind", Act II. Regine Crespin; Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de la RTF "Siegfried" -- "Forest Murmurs" Sir Adrian Boult; London Philharmonic; Siegfried Idyll. Bruno Walter; French National Radio Orchestra; live, 1955 [One of the loveliest performances I've ever heard -- time stands still, the way it does when Furtwangler really gets into a Bruckner adagio. Even the first-chair horn plays…well…like a horn. And a good one.] "Tannhauser" -- Prelude to Act III. Sir Adrian Boult; London Philharmonic "Tristan und Isolde", Prelude to Act III. Adrian Boult; London Philharmonic [See comments under "Conductors"] "Die Walkure" -- "Eine Waffe lass dir weisen", Act I. Regine Crespin, soprano; Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de la RTF "Die Walkure" -- "Ride of the Valks…" Sir Adrian Boult; London Philharmonic Wesendonck Lieder. Regine Crespin; Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de la RTF

WALTON: "Siesta". Hugo Rignold; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

WARD, Robert: Jubilation Overture. Zimmermann; N.C. Symphony Orchestra; live, mid-Eighties Saxophone Concerto. James Houlik, saxophone; Zimmermann; NC Symphony; live, mid-Eighties Symphony No. 4. Zimmermann; NC Symphony; live, mid-Eighties

WEISS, Sylvius Leopold (1686-1750): Sonata in A Minor ("L'Infidele"). Eugene Dombois, baroque lute

WELIN, Karl-Erik (Swedish; 1934 - ? ): String Quartet No. 2. Saulesco String Quartet [13:05]

WIREN: String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41. Saulesco String Quartet. [12:51] [Dag Wiren's String Serenade is one of the new neo-romantic Swedish works to achieve a toehold on the international repertoire, being a work so ebullient, so filled with instant lovable themes, and its appeal is universal. This piece continues to explore optimistic musical ideas, although it is more compact and a bit tougher-fibered than the string serenade, it should appeal to the same listeners. This reading positively gleams with elegance and panache, and the sonics are of demonstration quality]

YARDUMIAN, Richard (Armenian/ American, b. 1917 -- ): Chorale-Prelude. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [9:05] Symphony No. 1. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [22:45] Symphony of Psalms (No. 2), for Medium Voice & Orchestra. Lili Chookaqsian, contralto; Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [18:06] [Yardumian's music, luminous and heart-felt, although not fashionably complex or "post-modern" enough to attract new champions (whatever the hell "post-modern" MEANS these days), remains well worth investigating. His name and subtitles would lead you to expect music that sounds like Hovhaness's, and on occasion it does, but the two composers had a very different aesthnetic and approach. Ormandy's advocacy of Yardumian was not a matter of regional boosterism but a deeply held conviction; surely, few composers have been so fortunate as to have the Philadelphia Orchestra standing by to give the premieres of ALL their new works! These recordings, in fact, could stand as paradigms of Ormandy's best work on behalf of conservative contemporary composers -- just the sheer ravishing beauty of the sound is enough to half-way "sell" the pieces! Gorgeous stuff, passionately and expertly performed!]

ZEMLINSKY: A Lyric Symphony. Performers identified only as "BBC broadcast of perf taped by Austrian Rundfunks" -- yep, another one of those esoteric gems copied for me by The Rooster when he lived in Bochum, Germany! Knowing what an anal compulsive I was about archival data, he used to enjoy twitting me by sending tapes like this and intentionally NOT jotting down the dates, venue, or identities of the performing artists or ensemble! Used to drive me bonkers, which is of course why he did it! And in this case, his conflicting and cryptic references to both the BBC and the Austrian state radio service make identification almost impossible. But this was the first time I'd heard a large-scale work by Zemlinsky, and despite his obviously enormous case of Mahler Envy, I really dug it and started searching out more by that hard-to-classify composer! Whoever, wherever, whenever this was originally taped, I cannot possibly tell you -- but it's very committed and well-played and sung, so I can heartily, if incompletely, recommend it.]

CHAMBER ENSEMBLES & SOLO VIRTUOSI

BADURA-SKODA (piano): Schumann: Kinderscenen, Op. 15. [16:52]] Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. [27:46]

BEROFF & COLLARD (duo-pianists): Brahms: Hungarian Dances, 1 - 10. (Original version for 2 pianos) [24:10]

Di BONAVENTURA, Anthony (piano): Berio: Points on the Curve to Find. Composer; London Sinfonietta [13:18]

BREAM, Julian (lute & guitar): Dowland: Fantasia. Dowland: Farewell (A Fancy). Dowland: Lachrimae - Antique Pavan, Dowland: Mrs. White's Nothinge. Dowland: Mrs. Vaux's Gigge. Dowland: Orlando Sleepeth. Dowland: Queen Elizabeth's Galliard. [As far as I can determine, this Dowland collection was Bream's FIRST solo LP, on the fabled Westminster label; to judge from the cover photo -- which looks as though it could have been lifted from his high school yearbook -- Bream was a very young virtuoso. But his svelte, rippling interpretations of these wonderfully bizarrely-named pieces leave no doubt that he's a young artist to watch! Although the label touts "Reprocessed to simulate stereo" -- as if any sane music-lover would care about that where lute music is concerned), the gimmickry was minimal and the sound is fine, close-up, and warm.]

BUSCH QUARTET: Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1, F Major, Op. 18/ No. 1 (Recorded November, 1933). [Like almost all of the pre-war Busch Quartet recordings, this one's in a class by itself: big-boned Romantic gestures and phrasing that sweeps the horizon, and granitic power, perfectly balanced with the kind of easy-going elegance that defines, in its classiest sense, the term "aristocratic". Just wonderful music-making, and captured, by the great engineers of EMI, in astonishingly realistic, honest sound] Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9, C Major, , Op. 59/ No. 3 ("Rasumovsky"). Recorded 11/ 16/ 1933. [Another landmark performance! The first movement is launched with so much swagger that it almost sounds arrogant, and the Andante -- played with just a slight peppering of portamento -- is overflowing with emotion and a collective tone that's pure crushed velvet!] Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11, Op. 95. Recorded 10/ 19/ 1932. Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5, Op. 24, ("Spring"). Rudolf Serkin, piano; Adolf Busch, violin. Recorded 3/ 17/ 1933

CASALS: Bach: "Air" from Suite No. 3 in D Major. [3:28]z Boccherini: "Allegro" from Sonata in A Major. [4:06] Campagnoli: Romanza. [3:45] Chopin: Nocturne in E Flat. [3:45] Goltermann: "Cantilena" from Concerto in A Minor. [2:50] Mozart: "Larghetto" from Quintet in D Major. [4:20] Popper: Muzurka. [2:57] Schumann: Abendlied. [3:14] Wagner: Abendstern from "Tannhauser". [4:36]

DICHTEROW, Glenn (violin): Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto Nop. 4, D Minor. w/ Conlon; NY Philharmonic; live, late 70s

DOMBOIS, Eugen (baroque lute): Bach: Prelude, Fugue & Allegro. [14:27] Kellner: Fantasy in C ("Hamburg" Fantasy"). [3:35] Kellner: Fantasy in A Minor. [3:22] Weiss: Sonata in A Minor, "L'Infidele". [19:23]

EDINBURGH STRING QUARTET: Bloch: String Quartet No. 3 [27:40] [See comments under "Composers] Tippett: String Quartet No. 1, in A. [19:51]

FEUERMANN, Emmanuel (cello): D'Albert: Cello Concerto, C Major, Op. 20. Leon Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, Carnegie Hall, 4/ 22/ 1040 [21:28] [D'Albert was not a great composer and this is not a great undiscovered cello concerto; but like all his other music I've heard, it IS well-crafted, very agreeable to hear occasionally, and tightly constructed -- doesn't over-stay its welcome by a minute. What the hell, it could be "Variations on Three Blind Mice" and the way Feuermann plays it, it would sound ravishing.] Bloch: Schelomo. w/ Leon Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, Carnegie Hall, 11/ 10/ 1941 [19:53] Dvorak: Rondo in G Minor for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 94. w/ Leon Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, 11/ 10/ 1941 [7:01] Dvorak: Silent Woods, Op. 68. Barzin; National Orchestral Association; live, 11/ 10/ 1941 [6:05] [The most beautiful reading of this slight piece you're likely ever to hear.]

FIRKUSHNY: Dvorak: Piano Concerto. w/ Turnovsky; NY Philharmonic; live, 1981

FOSS, Lucas (piano): Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1, G Minor, Op. 24. Lucas Foss, piano; Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony; live, 11/ 4/ 1947 [19:00] [Wow! Lucas Foss as pianist in Mendelssohn! And a terrific job he does, too!]

GIESEKING: Mozart: Adagio for Glass Harmonica, in C, K. 356 [3:35] Mozart: Andantino in E Flat, K. 236. [1:40] Mozart: Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475. [11:55] Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 4, E Flat, K. 282. [10:50] Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8, A Minor, K. 310. [13:54] Mozart: Piano Sonata in C Minor, K. 457. [15:50] Mozart: Suite in the Style of Handel, K. 399. Mozart: Twelve Variations in E-Flat, K. 353. [6:45]

GRUMAUX (violin Bach, J. S., Violin Concerto in Bach: Violin Concerto in A Minor. Raymond Leppard; English Chamber Orchestra Bach: Violin Concerto in E. Raymond Leppard; English Chamber Orchestra

GUARNERI STRING QUARTET: Beethoven: Quintet in C, Op. 29. w/ Pincas Zuckerman, viola [31:10] Mendelssohn: Quintet in B-flat, Op. 87. w/ Pincas Zuckerman, viola [29:34]

HOLLIGER, Heinz (oboe): Berio: Chemins IV. Composer; London Sinfonietta [10:55]

HOULIK, James (saxophone): Ward: Concerto for Saxophone & Orchestra. w/ Zimmermann; NC Symphony; live, mid-Eighties

ITURBI, Jose Chopin: Etudes, Op. 7, No's 1-3 Chopin: Etudes, Op. 10, No. 3, in E. Chopin: Impromptu No. 1, A-flat, Op. 29. Chopin: Polonaise No. 3, in A, Op. 40/ No. 1 ("Military") Chopin: Waltzes, Op. 34, No's 2 & 3, A Flat & A Minor Chopin: Waltzes, Op. 64; No's 1, in D flat, & 7, in C Sharp Minor. Chopin: Waltz No. 9, A Flat, OP. 61/ No. 1 ("L'adieu") Chopin: Waltz No. 11, G Flat Major, Op. 70/ No. 1

JANIGRO, Antonio (cello): Dvorak: Cello Concerto, B Minor, Op. 104. w/ Dean Dixon; Vienna State Opera Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

KREBBERS, Herman (violin): See Baddings: Concerto for 2 Violins & Orchestra. w/ Haitink; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, mid-70s

LABEQUE SISTERS, Katia & Marielle (duo-pianists): Berio: Linea. Composer; London Sinfonietta [13:53]

MORAVEC (piano): Chopin: Nocturnes: B Flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1; E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 G Major, Op. 9, No. 3; F Major, Op. 15, No. 1; F Sharp Major, Op. 15, No. 2; G Minor, Op. 15, No. 3; C Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 1; D Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2; B Major, Op. 32, No. 1; A Flat Major, Op. 32, No. 2 [To me, Moravec is a god; that simple. In terms of poetry and color, his Chopin equals Cortot's, only it's far better recorded and minus the occasional fluffed notes and imprecisions that made Cortot's playing so, well, "ultra-Romantic", or just sloppy, depending on your point of view. I would not want to be without every possible note played/ recorded by either artist!] [Oh, yeah: total time here is 58:22]

OLAF, Theo (violin)) See: Baddings: Concerto for 2 Violins & Orchestra. w/ Haitink; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, late 70s.

OLIVIEROS, Elmar (violin): Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1. w/ Tennstedt; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1985

PARKIN, Eric (piano): Hurlstone (what a great name!): Piano Concerto in D -- Fantasy-Variations on a Swedish Air. Eric Parkin, piano; Nicolas Braithewait; London Philharmonic.

PRESSLER, Menahem (piano): Debussy: Arabesque No. 2. Menahem Pressler, piano Debussy: Estampes. Menahem Pressler, piano Debussy: La Fille aux chevaux de lin. Menahem Pressler, piano Debussy: La Plus que lente -- Valse. Menahem Pressler, piano Debussy: Suite Bergamasque. Menahem Pressler, piano. [From one of this distinguished artist's earliest releases, on a now-all-but-unfindable MGM LP.]

ROSE, Jerome (piano): Hiller: Konzertstuck for Piano & Orchestra. Op. 113. w/ Pierre Cao; Radio Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra [20:45] Mosonyi: Piano Concerto. w/ Pierre Cao; Radio Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra [19:15]

RUBINSTEIN: Schumann: Novelettes, Op. 21, No's 1 & 2. [10:62] Schumann: Piano Concerto, A Minor, Op. 54. w/ Giulini; Chicago Symphony [32:46]

ROSSINI: "The Barber of Seville", complete opera. Vittorio Gui; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Glyndebourne Chorus [See details under "Opera & Vocals"]

SAULESCO STRING QUARTET: Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 63. [24:23] Welin: String Quartet No.2 [13:05] Wiren: String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41 [12:51] [This excellent S.Q. received little exposure outside of Scandinavia, but from what I've heard and the few critical notices I've been able to see, their reputation at least regionally was (is?) high indeed. All four players were members of the excellent Swedish Radio Symphony and mastered an exceptionally wide repertoire. Both sound and performances in these three works could hardly be surpassed for tonal richness, agil precision, and a strong sense of idiomatic identification with the composers.]

SCHMIDT, Annerose (piano) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 19, F Major, K. 459. w/ Kurt Masur; Dresden Philharmonic [28:10] Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21, C Major, K. 467. w/ Kurt Masur; Dresden Philharmonic [27:20] Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27, C Major, K. 595. w/ Kurt Masur; Dresden Philharmonic. [23:55] [See extended comments under "Composers"]

SCHNABEL, Artur (piano): Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1, D Minor, Op. 15. w/ Szell; London Philharmonic, 1938. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, B Major, Op. 83. w/ Sir Adrian Boult; BBC Symphony Orchestra, rec. 1935.

SCHROEDER, Jaap (Baroque violin): See "Mozart: Special Listing": Collected Works for Baroque Violin & Orchestra. [A very handsome set from the distinguished but VERY short-lived "Seon" trademark (Warner Records, to the best of my knowledge), featuring the esteemed virtuosi Jaap Schroeder as soloist and Franz Bruggen as conductor of the Amsterdam Mozart Ensemble. The complete contents (AS they appear on the LPs, not by alphabetical order) are as follows:] Adagio in G, from Cassation in D, K. 63 [8:22] Andante & Menuetto in F, and Allegro in B-flat, from Serenade, K. 203 [14:50] Andante & Allegro in F, from Serenade, K. 185 [10:35] Andante in A, Menuetto in D, & Allegro in A, from Serenade, K. 204. [15:28] Concerto, Violin & Orchestra, B Flat, K. 207. [20:08] Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, D Major, K. 211. [19:33]

SEGERSTAM STRING QUARTET: Segerstam: String Quartet No. 4. [20:25]

SERKIN, Rudolf: Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 1, F Minor, Op. 2/ No. 1 ("Spring"). w/ Adolf Busch, violin; recorded 3/ 17/ 1933

SITKOVITSKY, Dimitri (violin): Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1. w/ Maxim Shostakovich; Chicago Symphony; live, circa 1980 [Sitkovitsky, amazingly enough, is now Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony, and after a sort of tentative first couple of seasons, has suddenly "gotten good" at podium work -- he drew from this once-provincial ensemble a perfectly spot-on reading of Stravinsky's Le Sacred u Printemps, last season, and ten years ago that orchestra simply could not have played that work competently, never mind so well and intensely. Long may he remain in town!]

SOLOMON: Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 1, F Minor, Op. 2. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 3, C Major, Op. 2. [I don't think I've ever heard finer readings of these early works, by ANY pianist. Solomon's "early Beethoven" sounds like PURE Beethoven, even within the relatively modest proportions the composer chose to set as he began to explore the realm of the piano sonata -- here is nobility writ small, as it were -- the pearlescent, butter-smooth tone, blended perfectly with surgically precise delineation of every note, ever shade of timbre. Solomon magically suggests the vastness of Beethoven's achievement-to-come, the cosmic distance between these gem-like works and the titanic solo-instrument universe Beethoven would eventually lay claim to in such colossal works as the "Hammerklavier". Solomon was the true aristocrat of recitalists, and every recorded example of his Beethoven manifests such unearthly poise that even the silence in-the-rests gleams like polished marble. Do I fly into realms of hyperbole, here? You bet I do; how else can one respond to such artistry?]

SZEGETI: Bloch: Violin Concerto. w/ Munch; Paris Conservatory Orchestra; rec. 1939 [See comments under "Conductors"]

ZUCKERMAN, Pincas (viola): Beethoven: Quintet in C, Op. 29. w/ Guarneri String Quartet [31:10] Mendelssohn: Quintet in B-flat, Op. 87. w/ Guarneri String Quartet [29:34]

OPERAS, COMPLETE OR LARGE CHUNKS THEREOF

MOZART: "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Karl Bohm; Vienna Philharmonic; Vienna State Opera Chorus, and…

Hilda GUEDEN, soprano……………………………………Pamina Wilma LIPP, soprano……………………………………… Queen of the Night Emmy LOOSE, soprano……………………………………….Papagena Leopold SIMONEAUX, tenor………………………………….Tamino Kurt BOEHME, bass…………………………………………..Sarastro Walter BERRY, baritone………………………………………Papageno Paul SCHOEFFLER, bass-baritone…………………………The Speaker August JARESCH, tenor…………………………………………Monostatos Judith HELLWIG, soprano……………………………………….First Lady Christa LUDWIG, soprano………………………………………Second Lady. Hilde ROESSEL-MAJDAN, mezzo…………………………….Third Lady Dorothea SIEBERT, soprano……………………………………First Boy Ruthilde BOESCH, mezzo………………………………………Second Boy Eva BOERNER, contralto………………………………………Third Boy Joseph GOSTIC, tenor………………………………………….First Armed Man Ljudomir PANTSCHIFF, bass………………………………….Second Armed Man Erich MAJKUT, tenor………………………………………….First Priest Harold PROGLHOF, bass………………………………………Second Priest + POUND, Ezra: "Le Testament de Villon". Robert Hughes; Touring Company of the San Francisco Opera, c. 1969 [See detailed notes under "Composers"]

ROSSINI: "The Barber of Seville", complete. Vittorio Gui; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. [From a now legendary Glyndebourne production given in 1962; source LPs in excellent shape. Requires 2.5 CDs. Vocalists and their roles as follows, as listed in credits:

Victoria DE LOS ANGELES, soprano………………………………….Rosina Luigi ALVA, tenor……………………………………………...Almaviva Carlo CAVA, bass……………………………………………….Basilio Ian WALLACE, baritone………………………………………..Bartolo Sesto BRUSCANTINI, baritone…………………………………………..Figaro

WAGNER: "Gotterdammerung", Act III. Flagstad; Melchior; Jansen; Thorburg; Orchestra of Covent Garden, London; live, June 1, 1937. [See babbling, raving comments under "Conductors"]

VOCALISTS IN SOLO COLLECTIONS / ANTHOLOGIES

CRESPIN, Regine (soprano) "The Voice of Wagner" w/ Georges Pretre; Orchestre National de l'ORTF

"Lohengrin" -- "Einsam in truben Tagen" ("Elsa's Dream"), Act I; "Lohengrin" -- "Ecuh Luften, die mein Klagen", Act II. "Parsifal" -- "Ich sah das Kind", Act II; "Die Walkure" -- "Eine Waffe lass mich dir weise", Act I Wesendonck Lieder.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** GIGLI, Beniamino (tenor):

"A Collector's Treasury" [Sourced from an RCA Camden budget LP put out in 1961]

Albeniz & Sandoval: "Eres Tu". Recorded 5/ 3/ 1932 Albeniz & Sandoval: "Quisiera Olvidar tus ojos". Recorded 5/ 3/ 1932; Bovio-De-Curtis: "Canta pe' Me". Recorded 12/ 27/ 1928; Denza-Pagliara: "Occhi Turchini". Recorded 12/ 31/ 1930; Donizetti: "Tombe degl'avi Miei" from "Lucia di Lammermoor". Recorded 12/ 12/ 1927; Donizetti: "Una Furtiva Lagrima" from "L'Elisir d'Amore" recorded 12/ 19/ 1929; Donaudy (???): "O bel nidi d'amore". Recorded 9/ 4/ 1927 Mascagni: "Cavalleria Rusticana" -- "Brindisi". Recorded 1/ 8/ 1928; Puccini: "Manon Lescaut" -- "Donna non vidi mai". Recorded 10/ 27/ 1926; Puccini: "Tosca" -- Recondita Armonia". Recorded 10/ 27/ 1926; Russo-a-Capua: "Maria Mari". Recorded 11/ 18/ 1925 Simons & Gilbert: "Marta". Rec. 5/ 3/ 1932; Thomas: "Mignon" --"Addio, Mignon! Fa Core!" Recorded 12/ 12/ 1927 Verdi: "La Traviata" -- "De' miei bollenti spiriti" Recorded 5/ 8/ 1928

PONS, Lili (soprano): "A Concert with Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra" * Alabiev: The Russian Nightengale; * Bishop: Home, Sweet Home; * Liszt: Liebestraum; * Paderewski: Minuet in G; * Poldini: The Dancing Doll; * Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C-Sharp Minor; * Rimsky-Korsakov: "Sadko" -- "Song of India"; * Sibelius: Valse Triste

[Okay, where to start? First, Ms. Pons and Maestro Kostelanetz were celebrity newlyweds when this Columbia collection was taped in between the late-78 and the early-LP eras, and they both still sound hot for each other. She warbles gloriously and he vividly conducts his own often surprising and always lush song-arrangements of such unexpected "ditties" as the Rachmaninoff and…VALSE TRISTE?? Somehow, it all works, including the seldom-encountered cuts by Poldini and Alabeiv (neither one of whom I can tell you one damn things about!). Like Stokowski's "His Symphony Orchestra", the "Kostelanetz Orchestra was an ad hoc outfit, comprising excellent freelancers and a lot of moon-lighting guys from the NY Philharmonic, so although its personnel varied, it was consistently a good, full-toned ensemble, and Andre was really, honestly, a much finer interpreter than he had a chance to show until late in his career, when Columbia finally gave him some serious stuff to conduct.]

VOCAL SOLOISTS IN ENSEMBLE

ALLEN, Thomas (baritone): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ

ALVA, Luigi (tenor): See: Rossini "The Barber of Seville"…

AMELING, Elly: See Cimarosa: Requiem. Vittorio Negri; Lausanne Chamber Orchestra & Chorus; Elly Ameling, soprano; Birgit Finnila, contralto; Richard van Vrooman, tenor; Kurt Widner, bass. [Here's another one of those agreeable surprises -- which keep me doing this week-in and week-out: Cimarosa's elegant, eloquent Requiem, which contains some surprisingly vivid, individualistic touches (for a composer generally regarded as "generic Late Baroque". Lest we forget, the man was Europe's most widely performed opera composer before and during Mozart's life, so he knew a trick or two when it came to pleasing your audience and he did not hesitate to employ them in a sacred work! Performance and sonics leave nothing to be desired (just look at the names of those soloists!), and the commercial catalogues aren't exactly over-flowing with competing versions of Cimarosa's…well, anything!]

ANDOR, Eva (soprano): See Lendvay: "Orthogenesis" Oratorio…

De LOS ANGELES: See Rossini: "The Barber of Seville"…

BAKER, Dame Janet (mezzo): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ

BASTIN, Jules (bass): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ…

BERRY, Walter (baritone): See Mozart: "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Bohm; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & Vienna State Opera Chorus

BOLCOM, William, (tenor): See: "Rogers and Hart Songbook" under "Theater & Film Music"

BRESSLER, Charles (tenor): See Bach: Magnificat w/ Bernstein; NY Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum

BRUSCANTINI, Sesto (baritone): See Rossini: "The Barber of Seville"…

BURROWES, Norma (soprano): Finzi: In Terra Pax. [17:07] Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Finzi: Introit. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Finzi: Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Finzi: Magnificat. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone

CAVA, Carlo (bass): See Rossini: "The Barber of Seville"…

CHOOKASIAN, Lili: Yardumian: Symphony of Psalms (No. 2), for Medium Voice & Orchestra. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

DENE, Joszef (baritone): See Lendvay: "Orthogenesis" Oratorio…

DOWD, Ronald (tenor): See Berlioz: Requiem…

FARROW, Norman (bass): See Bach: Magnificat w/ Bernstein; NY Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum

FINNILA, Birgit (contralto): See Cimarosa: Requiem. Vittorio Negri; Lausanne Chamber Orchestra & Chorus; Elly Ameling, soprano; Richard van Vrooman, tenor; Kurt Widner, bass.

FLAGSTAD: See: Wagner: "Gotterdammerung", Act III. w/ Furtwangler; Melchior; Jansen; Thorburg; Orchestra of Covent Garden, London; live, June 1, 1937. [See babbling, raving comments under "Conductors"]

GUEDEN, Hilda (soprano): See Mozart: "The Magic Flute", complete. Bohm; Vienna Philharmonic & Vienna State Opera Chorus

HERINCX, Raimond (bass): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ…

JERUSALEM, Sigfried (tenor): See Liszt: A Faust Symphony. Solti; Chicago Symphony & Chorus

LANGRIDGE, Philip (tenor): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ…

LEHMANN, Lotte (soprano): Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 48. w/ Bruno Walter, piano. Schumann: Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42. w/ Bruno Walter, piano [I'm astonished that this magnificent recital was ever allowed to go out of print, but it's been unavailable, at least in the U.S., since about 1962. The combination of Ms. Lehmann's superb vocalism and Walter's nuanced but passionate accompaniment makes for something very special. My Source copy is near-mint and even a scratched LP will bring $20-35 on E-Bay, so if you dig Schumann lieder-singing at its most inspired, this one should go on your shopping list!]

LIPP, Wilma (soprano): See Mozart: "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Bohm; Vienna Philharmonic & Vienna State Opera Chorus

LOOSE, Emmy (soprano): See Mozart: "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Bohm; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & Vienna State Opera Chorus.

LUDWIG, Christa (soprano): See Mozart: "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Boh,; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & Vienna State Opera Chorus

MELCHIOR, Lauritz (tenor): See: Wagner: "Gotterdammerung", Act III. w/ Furtwangler; Flagstad; Jansen; Thorburg; Orchestra of Covent Garden, London; live, June 1, 1937. [See babbling, raving comments under "Conductors"]

MORRIS, Joan (soprano): See "Rodgers and Hart Songbook" under "Film & Theater Music" below…

OBERLIN, Russell (countertenor): Bach: Magnificat w/ Bernstein; NY Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum

PALCSO, Sandor (tenor): See Lendvay: "Orthogenesis" Oratorio…

RETI, Joszef (tenor): See Lendvay: "Orthogenesis" Oratorio…

ROULEAU, Joseph (bass): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ…

SHIRLEY-QUIRK, John (baritone): Finzi: In Terra Pax. [17:07] Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Finzi: Introit. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Finzi: Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Finzi: Magnificat. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone

SIMONEAUX, Leopold (tenor): See Mozart: "The Magic Flute", complete. w/ Bohm; Vienna Philharmopnic Orchestra & Vienna State Opera Chorus

SZIRMAI, Marta (contralto): See Lendvay: "Orthogenesis" Oratorio…

TAGLIAVINI, Franco (tenor): See Berlioz: Te Deum

TAPPY, Eric (tenor): See Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ…

TOUREL, Jennie (soprano): See Bach: Magnificat w/ Bernstein; NY Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum

VERONA, Lee (soprano): See Bach: Magnificat w/ Bernstein; NY Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum

VROOMAN, Richard van (tenor): See Chimarosa: Requiem

WIDMER, Kurt (bass): See Chimarosa: Requiem…

WORKS FOR CHORUS ALONE OR CHORUS & ORCHESTRA

ADAMS: Harmonium. Slatkin; St. Louis Symphony & Chorus; live, 1982

BACH, J.S.: Magnificat. Bernstein; Lee Verona & Jennie Tourel, sopranos; Russell Oberlin, countertenor; Charles Bressler, tenor; Norman Farrow, bass; New York Philharmonic; Schola Cantorum [31:36]

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9. Gerhardt Zimmerman; N.C. Symphony & Raleigh-Durham Chorus; live, October 1982. [See comments under "Beethoven"]

BERLIOZ: L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25. w/ London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Dame Janet Baker, mezzo; Thomas Allen, baritone; Eric Tappy, tenor; Jules Bastin, bass; Joseph Rouleau, bass; Philip Langridge, tenor, Raimond Herincx, bass; The John Aldis Choir Requiem, Op. 5. Sir Colin Davis; London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Ronald Dowd, tenor Te Deum, Op. 22. Sir Colin Davis; London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Franco Tagliavini, tenor; Wandsworth School Boys Choir

CIMAROSA: Requiem. Vittorio Negri; Lausanne Chamber Orchestra & Chorus; Elly Ameling, soprano; Birgit Finnila, contralto; Richard van Vrooman, tenor; Kurt Widner, bass. [Here's another one of those agreeable surprises -- which keep me doing this week-in and week-out: Cimarosa's elegant, eloquent Requiem, which contains some surprisingly vivid, individualistic touches (for a composer generally regarded as "generic Late Baroque". Lest we forget, the man was Europe's most widely performed opera composer before and during Mozart's life, so he knew a trick or two when it came to pleasing your audience and he did not hesitate to employ them in a sacred work! Performance and sonics leave nothing to be desired (just look at the names of those soloists!), and the commercial catalogues aren't exactly over-flowing with competing versions of Cimarosa's…well, anything!]

FINZI: In Terra Pax. [17:07] Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Introit. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Magnificat. Hickox; City of London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox Singers; Norma Burrowes, soprano; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone

KODALY: Eternal Gospel, A Legend for Chorus & Orchestra. Jiri Pinkas; Czech Philharmonic Chorus & Prague Symphony Orchestra. Lord, Have Mercy, for Organ, Brass, and Male Chorus. Jiri Pinkas; Czech Philharmonic Chorus and Prague Symphony Orchestra. Our Father, for Organ, Harp & Mixed Chorus. Josef Veselka; Czech Philharmonic Chorur & Prague Symphony Orchestra There, Upon a Mountain, for Orchestra & Chorus. Jiri Pinkas; Czech Philharmonic Chorus & Prague Symphony Orchestra. {Kodaly's choral/ orchestral works have the same rugged integrity and earthy vitality as his big-scale masterpieces; their fervor, vitality, and striking individuality transcend language barriers and cultural differences -- heartfelt utterances of faith that should enrich the lives of all who hear them.]

LENDVAY: "Orthogenesis", Oratorio Based on the Writings of Gyula Urban. Gyorgy Lehel; Hungarian Radio & TV Orchestra & Chorus; Eva Andor, soprano; Marta Szirmai, contralto; Jozsef Reti, tenor; Sandor Palsco, 'other tenor. [42:23] [See somewhat gruesome comments under "Composers"]

LISZT: The "Christus Oratorio", complete & only recording. Miklos Forrai; Budapest Philharmonic & augmented Zoltan Kodaly Choir. [157:16] [See extensive commentary under "Composers"]

NOVAK, Jan: "Dido" Dramatic Cantata. Martin Turnovsky; NY Philharmonic; , soprano; Werner Klemperer, narrator; Male voices of the NY Choral Artists; live, 1981 [Based, like Berlioz's treatment, on the IVth Book of the Virgil's Aeniad, this very strong work somehow manages to sound UN-like Carl Orff, leading me to suspect that Mr. Novak -- like Turnovsky, a Czech refugee, who died in 1965 -- might have some other bodacious pieces unrecorded and probably unperformed. Interesting to note that Werner Klemperer, the august-sounding narrator is (some of you are WAY ahead of me!), yes, the son of Otto!]

VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS: Serenade to Music. Leppard; Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; live, 1982; soloists superb but unidentified. Sea Symphony (No. 1). Raymond Leppard; Chicago Symphony & Chorus; live, 1982. [Only reading I know that equals Sir Adrian Boult's landmark early recording, due both to the power and richness of the CSO's playing but mainly to the incredible passion, precision, and electrifying work of the great CSO Chorus, who project the soul of Walt Whitman's poetry as though they'd studied this complex score all their lives. A stunner!]

CELTIC & RELATED GENRES

BOYS OF THE LOUGH: "Untitled" (orange background with an earth-tone Celtic doo-dad pattern): * The Kingora Jig; * The Day Dawn; * General Guinness; * The Boys of Twenty-Five; * The Flower of Magherally; * The Hound and the Hare; * The Cameron Highlanders; * The New Set; * The Shores of Lough Bran; * The Darling Baby; * The Nine Points of Roguery

W. H. DARROW: Away, Haul away. [A shortish, apparently self-published casette, originating from a studio in Greenville, N.C., by a very appealing folk singer, accompanying himself on guitar, who has a rather tender lyric voice that puts me in mind of James Taylor in his most romantic vein. Good stuff, if you're in the mood.] * Leave Her, Johnny; * The Love of My Life; * David's Song; * My Heart's in the Highlands; * Down by the Glenside; * I Know Where I'm Going; * Haul Away, Joe; * My Father's Words; * If I Were a Blackbird * The Titanic * Keeper of the Eddystone Light * Will Ye Go, Lassie

Ashley HUTCHINSON & John KIRKPATRICK: The Compleat Dancing Master. [A marvelous compilation of folk and Elizabethan dances and ditties, intersperced with stylish quotations from Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, et. al. A foundation-album for any Celtic collection and a totql joy. My copy has some pesky scratches, but IS listenable and has no Skippies.]

FOLK / ETHNIC MUSIC, NON-CELTIC

ANTHOLOGY

THE BEST OF COUNTRY INSTRUMENTALS, VOL. 1 [OK, I don't HAVE a "Country" section because I don't have that many "Country" albums, so I'm stretching a point; "country music" was, after all, originally a big branch of "folk music" *(until Nashville pasted rhinestones on it and crapped it up), and some of these cuts are pretty good listening; listed as they appear on the Source LP.]

Boots Randolph: "Yakety Sax"; Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass: "I Saw the Light"; Nashville String Band: "Carribean"; Chet Atkins & Hank Snow: "Difficult"; Bud Isaacs & His Cryin' Steel Guitar: "Hot Mockin' Bird"; Chet Atkins: "Country Gentleman"; Floyd Cramer: "Last Date"; Jerry Reed: "The Claw"; Del Wood: "Down Yonder"; Homer & Jethro: "I'm Lookin' Over a Four-Leaf Clover"

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

THE COACHMEN: "Subways of Boston. [They sure LOOKED like the Kingston Trio, and I'd guess they sang like 'em, too, but this "HIFIRECORD" album ("Incomparable stereo!") is still in a sealed album liner, so I haven't played it…and don't intend to. Maybe that's a mistake -- maybe they were BETTER and this LP would be a potent nostalgia trip! Naaah…what are the odds?]

Subways of Boston; Little Land; Don't You Lie, Daddy-O; [ DADDY-O??? Jeez, Louis, give me a break!] Roger Young; Delia; Rock Island; Zulika; Shoe; Bayeza; I Never Will Marry; This Little Light; Almost Done (On a Monday) [Done with WHAT?]

FLAMENCO: "Classic Flamenco". Mario Escudero & Alberto Velez, guitars; Anita Ramos, castanets.

Mosaico Gaditano; Brisas del Genil; Danza Mora; Fandangos por Solea; Clavel Gaditano; Granada; Sevillianos; Recuerdo a Sevilla; Seguidillas Gitanos; Algeria del Alosno; De Triana

TURKEY: Turkish Folk Music. [A respectable but surprisingly dull Lyrichord album, mostly vocals, and to my ears downright ugly ones at that, by singers who all somehow sound like 500-year-old crones and half-witted goatherds. I expected militant, pounding drums and high-leaping folk dances instead of this dreary parade of peasant mumblings. Still, it IS "authentic" and the disc is near-mint and now I've done my duty by listing it. If you're interested, it's yours. Although I'll be shipped in dit if I'm going to type out 17 cut-titles in Turkish!]

POP & ROCK

ANTHOLOGY THE ULTIMATE FIFITES' HITS COLLECTION! [This wasn't one of those (now very collectible) K-Tel boxes, but the format is the same (in point of fact, and somewhat oddly, it was issued by the "Longines Symphonette" label!). The contents are extremely well-chosen and after I ran the discs through the Groove-Sucker, they cleaned up very nicely. There ARE a few scratches, but really, they're no worse than what you'd find on any stack of old 45s and you'd really have to strain to hear them under the music. This is a HUGE anthology, comprising 72 of the best hits from the Fifties, and arranged in no particular order. I HAVE grouped singles together by the same artists, just to make it easier for you to search out your favorites, but otherwise I'm listing the contents as they came out-of-the-box. Bear with me; this will take a while! If you want the whole set, and I can't imagine why anyone would want to cherry-pick from among 72 four-minute tracks, it's yours on two very full CDs for $18.00 plus postage. So for all of you who regret losing, ruining, or giving away the 45s you cherished in high school, here's a great opportunity to acquire a basic Fifties Rock collection on-the-cheap!]

The ANGELS: My Boy Friend's Back; The CAPRIS: Oh, My Darling; The CAPRIS: There's a Moon Out Tonight; The CAROLONNS: My Heart; The CHIFFONS: He's So Fine; The CRESTS: Sweetest One; The CREWCUTS: Angels In The Sky; The CUFF-LINKS: Guided Missiles The DELACARDOS: Letter to a School Girl; The DENTONES: One Summer Night; The DIAMONDS: Ka-Ding-Dong; THE DIAMONDS: Little Darlin'; The DIAMONDS: The Stroll; DION: The Wanderer; DION & THE BELMONTS: I Wonder Why; The DOEVELLS: I Lost My Baby; The DUBS: Come Back to Your Heart (I'm Downtown); The DUBS: You're Welcome to My Love; The EDSELS: Be True to Me; The EDSELS: Raindrops; The FASCINATIONS: Forever Loving You (Doom-Ba-Doom): The FIVE DISCS: Rock and Roll Revival; The FIVE SATINS: She's Gone; The FIVE SATINS: Somewhere; The FORMATIONS: I Love You; The FOUR COUNTS: Standing on the Corner; The HALF-NOTES: Record Hop Blues; The HEARTBEATS: Tormented (With Every Sunrise); The HEARTS: It's Impossible to Try; The IVY-TONES: Oo-Wee, Baby, Oo-Wee; The JARMELS: A Little Bit of Soap; KING CURTIS: Memory Serenade; LONNIE & THE CAROLONNS: Trudy; The GRADUATES: Ballad of a Boy and a Girl; The GUITAR KINGS: Sleepwalkin' In My Dreams; The HARPTONES: Sunday Kind of Love; Jerry LEE LEWIS: Great Balls of Fire; The MAJESTICS: Angel of Love; The MAJESTICS: Searching For a New Love; Clyde McPHATTER: A Lover's Question; Clyde MCPHATTER: Lover, Please; The MEADOWLARKS: Heaven and Paradise; The MELLOWKINGS: Till The End of Time; The MOONGLOWS: Prayer of Love; The MYSTICS: Hush-a-bye; Tony ORLANDO: Ding Dong; The PARKTOWNES: That Day Will Never Come; The PASSIONS: Just to be With You; The PASSIONS: I Only Want You; The PENGUINS: Earth Angel; The PENGUINS: Hey, Seniorita: The PENTAGONS: At The Candy Store; Phil PHILIPS & THE TWILIGHTERS: Sea of Love;\ The PLATTERS: Just a Dancing Partner; The PLATTERS: On My Word of Honor; The PLATTERS: The Great Pretender; The QUINN-TONES: Down the Aisle of Love; The QUOTATIONS: Imagination; The SHELLS: Baby, Oh Baby; The SHELLS: Baby, Come On In; The SHELLS: Happy Holiday; The SHELLS: If You Were Gone From me; The SHELLS: Oh, What A Night; The SHIELDS: You Cheated, You Lied; The STUDENTS: Mommy and Daddy; The TOKENS: Come Dance With Me; The VIRTUES: Rebel Rousin'; The VIRTUES: Some Kinda Rumble; The WAILERS: More Tequila The WHEELS: My Heart's Desire; The YOUNGSTERS: Told Another Lie; The ZIRCONS: Here's My Heart (A Story Untold)

THE BROTHERS FOUR: Sing of Our Times. [They're second album, I think, issued on the cusp of that great cultural-perception divide that separated the "Kingston Trio" audience from the hipper and vastly more-often stoned audience that followed the Bob Dylan/ Arlo Guthrie stream. Slick, well-groomed, but increasing irrelevant, they were good at what they did, but by the time this LP came out, half their audience had already deserted them to follow the other lemming down the dark road that ultimately led to Charles Manson and murder at the Altamont Rock Festival. It was sad to watch and it always pissed me off that friends and acquaintances kept insisting that I dealt with the schism by pretending not to care much -- which is true. I never HAVE been able to balance-out THAT equation…}

* Long Ago, Far Away; * Seven Daffodils; * The Monkey & the Engineer; * Tomorrow is a Long Time; * Spring Hill Mine Disaster; * Dance Me a Jig; * Take this Hanner (and stick it where the sun don't shine!); * Four Strong Winds; * Beans Taste Fine; * Ballad of Moreton Bay; * Plane Wreck at Los Gatos

Aretha FRANKLIN: "This Girl's in Love With You". [Yeah, baby, and we were all in love with YOU, too! Just listening to her voice, and her phrasing -- equal in its artistry to Frank Sinatra's -- gave many a white boy his first inkling of what "Soul" was all about.] * Son of a Preacher Man; * Share Your Love With Me; * Dark End of the Street; * Let it Be" * Eleanor Rigby; * This Girl's in Love With You; * It Ain't Fair * The Weight * Call Me; * Sit Down and Cry

GRATEFUL DEAD: "American Beauty" [Hey, I liked 'em, too -- on their good nights…] * Box of Rain; * Friend of the Cevil; * Sugar Magnolia; * Operator; * Candyman; * Ripple; * Brokedown Palace; * Till the Morning Comes; * Attics of My Life; * Truckin'

Phil HARRIS: "Southern Comfort" [I fretted an inordinate amount of time over where to list this damn thing and finally decided to mention it here AND under "Comedy" AND discuss it a bit more fully under "Mondo Bizarro", because younger collectors aren't like to have more than a hazy recollection of his name, much less an image of his nightclub schtick; but the guy was an original and some, at least, of my younger clients, might get a hoot out of such subversively off-the-reservation songs as "That's What I Like About the South" So scan down or over to "Mundo Bizarro" and read on!]

IRON BUTTERFLY: "Ball" [Some minor scratches on this one, but once the band cranks up, you'll never hear them. Or if you do, you may even LIKE it that way! Back when these guys were hot, most people who were into psychedelic rock didn't have either the interest or the physical coordination to take immaculate care of their LPs. Live for today, right?]

*It's the Time of Our Lives; * Soul Experience; * Lonely Boy; * Filled With Fear; * Belda-Beast; * It Must be Love; * Her Favorite Style; * Real Fright; * In the Crowds

IRON BUTTERFLY: "Sun and Steel"

* Sun and Steel [4:01]; * Lightnin' [3:02]; * Beyond the Milky Way [3:38]; * Free [2:39]; * Scion [5:02]; * Get It Out [2:53] * I'm Right, I'm Wrong [5:27]; * Watch the World Goin' By [2:58]; * Scorching Beauty [6:46]

PROCOL HARUM: "Home" [You either loved this group or, if you were a hardcore hippie ideologue, disdained them as buffoons. They were never high on my list, but some of their songs WERE clever and had a satirical edge, so over time, if I found an old LP in decent condition, I picked it up. Here's one. Surely I'm not the only middle-aged, mostly-classical, ex-hippie who has a soft spot still for this or that Sixties band. Someone Out There WILL want a dub of this!]

* Whiskey Train; * Dead Man's Dream; * Still There'll be More; * Nothing that I Don't Know; * About to Die; * Barnyard Story; * Piggy Pig Pig; * Whaling Stories; * Your Own Choice

[And, no, I never could figure out what their name was supposed to mean or stand for, either. What did "The Chocolate Watch Band" stand for (other than stultifyingly banal and generic music?) Who cares at this point?]

TRAFFIC: "Last Exit"

* Just for You; * Shanghai Noodle Factory; * Something's Got a Hold of my Toe; * Withering Tree; * Medicated Goo; * Feelin' Good (A medley from "The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd"); * Blind Man

Warren ZEVON: "Excitable Boy". [Zevon's debut album simply blew away the whole staff at Peaches No. 36, where most of us had given up hope for pop music after the tsunami of Disco came flushing in and transformed the whole record biz into a circus of rogues, whores, and cheap hustlers. And then along came this diminutive, nerdy-looking little guy who played a killer piano and wrote some of the most caustic, hilarious, literate songs in pop music history. There's not a dud cut on this entire record! I mean, Zevon gave us, on ONE 12-inch album, classics as compelling and startling as "Werewolves of London", "Rolland, the Headless Thompson Gunner" (surely the only you-can-dance-to-it pop song ever written about South African mercenaries!), and the downright frighteningly brilliant "Watching the Detectives" (which John Butts and I promptly composed a fairly clever parody of, aimed strictly at people who clerked in big record stores, entitled "Washing the Defectives"). Anyway, this is just a great album; even if you don't normally have much truck with Seventies pop music, you should hear this! It transcends not only the dismal times in which is was issued, but everything that came after them.]

JAZZ, BLUES & BIG BAND

David DARLING: "Journal October" [I honestly couldn't recall, when I came to dub this tape on to a CD, who this man was -- from the name, I assumed a Glam Rocker from the mid-Seventies! Noooo, Bill, he's a CELLIST and this is one of those subdued, wistful, icily beautiful early ECM chamber-music-jazz albums that used to put you in a trance. This one still does, by God; it's quietly vast and drifting, very evanescent and a touch sad -- both sound and playing are exquisite, but I really wouldn't list it here except that ECM was commonly, if weirdly, regarded as "a jazz label". Don't expect Miles Davis, kats; this is maybe 90% chamber music and 10% jazz. Do I HAVE to label things like this?? It's just incredibly lovely and mysterious and atmospheric music, like so many of those classic ECM albums of the period!]

Don ELLIS BAND: "Electric Bath". [Interesting concept: mixes electronics with a 21-piece Big Band gestalt, including some exotic Asian folk instruments (would you believe a bass sitar?). To me, though, it doesn't quite add up to what it promises -- I mean, it STILL basically sounds like a gussied-up Big Band; Herbie Hancock on crystal meth, maybe. I don't dislike it, but I shant listen to it again any time soon.] * Indian Lady [8:06]; * Alone [5:33]; * Turkish Lady [10:18]; * Open Beauty [8:29] * New Horizons [12:22]

LEWIS, Ramsey: "Golden Hits"

* Hang on Sloopy; * Blues for the Night Owl; * Hi-Heel Sneakers; * Carmen; * Song of Delilah; * Wade in the Waqter; * Slipping Into Darkness; * Somethin' You Got; * The "In" Crowd

Keith JARRET: Hymns of Gurdjieff.

Glenn MILLER: "Favorite Hits" Anthology:

* Moonlight Serenade; * American Patrol; * PEnnsylvania Six-Five-Thousand; * In the Mood; * I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo; * Boulder Bluff; * Tuxedo Junction; * St. Louis Blues; * String of Pearls; * Little Brown Jug; * Farewell Blues; * King Porter Stomp

Bobby SHORT: "Mad About Noel Coward"

* The Younger Generation; * Medley: You Were There/ Then; * Matelot; * A Room With a View; * Nina; * Any Little Fish; * World Weary; * We Were Dancing; * Never Again; * Josephine * If Love Were All' * Let's Fly Away; * Something to do With Spring; * Someday I'll Find You; * Imagine the Duchess's Feelings * Poor Little Rich Girl; * Medley: Where Are the Songs We Sung? / Dear Little Café / Hearts & Flowers * Wait a Bit, Joe; * I Travel Alone; * I'll See You Again [What's not to like? The songs are as wonderful as ever, Short's arrangements are classy; the playing and sound are first rate. A "Cowardly" feast! N.B. Requires 2 CDs]

SPHERE: "Four in One" -- Music of Thelonius Monk

* Four in One; * Light Blue; * Monk's Dream; * Evidence; * Reflections; * Eronel

COMEDY, POETRY, SPOKEN WORD

Phil HARRIS: "Southern Comfort" and other half-drunk classics… [See under "Mundo Bizarro"]

James JOYCE: Soliloquies from "Ulysses". Read by Siobhan McKenna and E. G. Marshall [I've always considered this behemoth vastly over-rated. And, yes, I think "Finnegan's Wake" is mostly unreadable (in my iconoclastic days, I used to pisss-off my literati friends by referring to it as "Winnegan's Fake", but let that pass. If you DO regard "Ulysses" as a seminal masterpiece, you'll never hear these passages recited with greater eloquence and word-music!]

POUND, Ezra: "Le Testamnent de Villon". [See detailed comments under "Composers"]

Eleven PRESIDENTS SPEAK: [In it's original package, this promotional anthology had full notes, dates, venue location and some brief but informed commentary by a historian. The copy I found no longer is so equipped, alas. Not a commercial release, it was licensed, compiled and given away as a promotional product by the Hotpoint Appliance company! Nice gesture; I'd like to know what the results were adjudged to be! Anyway, here these gentlemen are, in order of appearance, and I'll let you sort out the historical details:]

* Grover Cleveland; * William McKinley; * William Howard Taft; * Theodore Roosevelt; * Woodrow Wilson; * Warren G Harding; * Calvin Coolidge;; * Herbert Hoover; * Franklin D. Roosevelt; * Harry S. Truman; * Dwight D. Eisenhower

THEATER & FILM MUSIC

ANTHOLOGY "The Rogers and Hart Songbook". William Bolcom, tenor; Joan Morris, soprano

"Isn't It Romantic?" from "Love Me Tonight" (1932); "Thou Swell" from "A Connecticut Yankee" (1927); "Ev'rybody Loves You" from "I'd Rather Be Right" (1937); "Manhattan" from "The Garrick Gaieties" (1925); "Dancing on the Ceiling" from "Ever Green" {1930}; "Glad to be Unhappy" from "On Your Toes" (1936); "I've Got Five Dollars" from "America's Sweetheart" 1931); "My Funny Valentine" from "Babes in Arms" (1937); "To Keep My Love Alive" from "A Connecticut Yankee" (1943 revival); "You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea" from "The Boys From Syracuse" (1938); "He and She" from "The Boys From Syracuse"; "Nobody's Heart" from "By Jupiter" (1942); "With A Song in My Heart" from Spring is Here" (1929)

********************************************************************************

(BY TITLE)

BABY. Book by Sybille Pearson; Music by David Shire; Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., who also directed. CAST: Liz Callaway; James Congdon; Catherine Cox; Beth Fowler; Todd Graff; Martin Vidnovic. [I'm not going to list the songs, because none emerged as a memorable hit and the whole notion of building a musican comedy around a pregnancy about which both parents have ambiguous feelings it, well, not very appealing. If raising three sons has taught me anything (and so far the evidence is that I did it moderately well) it is that the so-called "Joys of Parenthood" are:

A) Vastly over-rated; B) Very few, relative to the numbers of utterly miserable and life-shortening occasions spent dealing with parental stress and crises; B) Extremely fleeting and short-lived; C) A massive instance of self-delusion in which millions have managed to convince themselves that A rewarding and noble purpose IS BEING SERVED, and a higher level if spiritual fulfillment IS within reach, when TWO PREVIOUSLY ENERGETIC AND MUTUALLY LUSTFUL ADULTs sacrifice their privacy, all hope of financial security, anything remotely resembling adult-flavored "fun", and eventually virtually all trace of sexual attraction to one another, never mind that until the first kid came bawling into life, they used to schtupp like jack-rabbits.

This does NOT mean that I secretly loathe and resent my children! In fact, I make no secret about it at all -- I just told you with flat-out disgusting honesty! Yes, of course there are intense episodes of love and pride and sharing…but during the entire period between the feeble beginnings of adolescence until you realize you'd better butter-up the little rodents because it's almost time for THEM to change YOUR diapers, those Hallmark Minutes can be tallied on the fingers of one maimed hand. and even if your once svelte and insatiable spouse hasn't turned into a sagging harpie with no more libido than a toadstool, it's by then too late for you to do anything about it, O one-time stud-muffin. You're old and out of juice; she's utterly indifferent to the very idea of the Olympic-scale multiple orgasms you both used to wallow in, and you're too chicken-shit to look for something young and strange on the side, even if you had the energy AND the money, which you don't BECAUSE YOU GAVE IT ALL away so your kids could stay healthy and go to college, and then hold you in contempt until they needed a place to crash, and because even if SHE doesn't want to screw YOU anymore, she'd go nuclear on your ass if she caught you doing it with someone else, even a poxy old tart!!

I HOPE THE CAST AND CREW OF THIS SHOW FOUND LUCRATIVE And SATisfying careers when the show closed; if you're curious, the LP is in good condition

LIVE FOR LIFE. Music by Francis LAI; Directed by Claude LeLouche; with Candace Bergen; Yves Montand; Annie Giradot. [I probably wouldn't even walk into the theater today, but for some reason, in the mid-Sixties, I really grooved on this and LeLouches previous ultra-slick romantic hit, A MAN AND A WOMAN. <<How come, Boss? I thought you hated pretentious Frog cinema!..>> <<Not all of it, Skippy; mostly just Godard, that bloated, pretentious, gas-bag of a hollow ego! Most BORING f*****g movies I ever saw! But since you asked, well, let's see: Candace Bergamo was just starting to blossom, flat chested to the point of near-androgyny and you just knew she'd never have an ass to rival Bardot's, but she had the mouth and the near-adolescent grace of a gazelle and…well, never mind. And I always thought Montand was damn near as sexy as Bogart or Mastroiani: that slightly pouchy, dissipated face ("You are young, my sweet; you cannot imagine some of the things I have seen…and done!) …a war correspondent who'd been sloshing through the blood for too long but still had a romantic heart, he looked as though he could smoke five packs of Galloises a day and never get so much as a morning cough… And they all lived crisis-filled lives, melodramatic and highly intense without ever being, you know, realistically DANGEROUS (those Viet Minh mortar shells always landed a picturesque but safe distance away!), in exotic tropical places (with occasional R & R weekends to check out things at Le Mans or St. Tropez) , always seemed to have enough money (without, apparently, doing much real work to earn it); they made anti-ideological world-weariness seem enormously sexy and all of them were hopping in and out of bed with equally gorgeous and degenerate people at the drop of a centime! Okay, now, I guess some of the reasons why I enjoyed these films ARE coming pack. Still, I resisted the urge to play this soundtrack album when I found it (and it's pretty rare now), because I was afraid it would be too slick and formulaic. I still haven't played it, but given how much in vogue LeLouche's films were for a while, I figure there are other suckers like me out there who might like to taste that same now-sour wine once again….] [Unless you've seen this flick 124 times, the titles of the record cuts won't mean squat to you, so I'm not going to type them out. If you're really desirous of getting this one dubbed, you won't care what they are anyhow.]

"LOUISIANA STORY" -- Acadian Songs and Dances from. [See comments under "Thomson" in "Composers" section.]

"THE RED PONY" [See remarks under "Virgil Thgomson" in "Composers" section]

"THE ROAD WARRIOR". [There was a time, I swear, when it seemed like every other movie I saw that had been made in Australia seemed at least partly written/ acted, or at least conceived by people who were half-insane. I used to think it derived from walking around up-side-down all the time, too much blood on the brain, etc. I mean, who but an Aussie director would have been inspired to cast Mick Jagger as the notorious "iron-clad" outlaws, Ned Kelly, and then somehow coaxed Jagger into giving a riveting performance? OK, Mel Gibson isn't Mick Jagger, and Mad Max, the first film, now looks curiously innocent and tasteful compared to the blood-drenched sequels. But I loved it; YOU loved it; and composer Brian May wrote a thoroughly appropriate, if not terribly memorable, score for the picture. You won't remember the music very well, but the music will make you remember the movie, so I guess it's still doing its job, wouldn't you say?]

BY COMPOSER'S NAME (S):

LAI, Francis: See "Live for Life" above

MAY, David: "The Road Warrior"

SHIRE, David: See "Baby" above

THOMSON, Virgil: See "The Red Pony" and "Louisiana Story" above.

MUNDO BIZARRO

Phil HARRIS: "Southern Comfort". [Like his pal Dean Martin, Phil Harris was a legendary boozer. But whereas Dino made it a policy never to appear on stage when he was sloshed (that supposed glass full of bourbon he carried was a stage prop), I'm not so sure about Phil -- this guy had bags-on-bags under his eyes, an unhealthily florid complexion, and spider-veins making webs on his spider-veins. Sometimes Harris looked so slagged-out under the Klieg lights of a TV studio, that you could almost HEAR his liver grinding down. He went over better, and always did longer shows, in Vegas, where half the audience, no matter what club he was booked in, could dependably be judged much drunker than Phil was (assuming HIS glass too didn't contain soda water with food coloring). But the popular legend of Phil-the-Boozer also served a cunning professional purpose: it enabled Harris to write and sing titles that bordered on either the gross or the nasty, and often gleefully sloshed over into the tacky, and somehow he got away with it!. (After all, look at the poor man! It's a wonder he can still walk around the stage without falling into the orchestra pit)

* That's What I Like About the South; * Woodman, Spare that Tree; * Nobody Here But Us Chickens; * The Darktown Poker Club; * Row, Row, Row; * Lazy River; * Basin Street Blues; * The Preacher & the Bear; * Washboard Blues; * Some Little Bug; * Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)

NEW LISTINGS, APRIL-MAY 2009

CONDUCTORS

ANCERL: Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 3. Eva Bernathove, piano; Czech Philharmonic Bartok: Viola Concerto. Jaroslav Karnovsky, viola; Czech Philharmonic

BEECHAM: Brahms: Violin Concerto, D Major, Op. 77. Isaac Stern, violin; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [Very elegant, very refined, very lyrical, and very much lacking in fire and drama for my taste. Beecham is clearly running the show here and since he had his own rather peculiar ideas about how Brahms ought to sound -- rather French, actually -- Stern is holding back the fireworks and you can almost feel the effort it takes; he was probably wishing Columbia had paired him with Rodzinski or Furtwangler or, well, Koussevitzky was out, since he was contractually bound to RCA Victor, but while there's no denying how pretty they make the concerto sound, I think Brhams put a lot more than just "pretty" into this score. It's just too small-scaled, too restrained, too close to Mozartean -- I don't mean it should be torn to shreds with angst and Teutonic striving, but it really needs some hair on its chest.]

BERNSTEIN: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica". New York Philharmonic [Lenny's first recording of this work, and much more direct and unfussy than each subsequent performance was.] Mozart: Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter". Vienna Philharmonic; live, 1984 [Typically grand Late Bernstein in scale, tempi, and generally heroic cast; the VPO coats your room with glowing marble; Lenny's groaning and foot-stomping barely interrupts the surge of the music; all is well, in this alternate universe, where Mozart not only didn't die young, but lives on forever, constantly re-inventing facets of the Art of Music Because even God cannot stand the thought of him dying…]

BOULT, Sir Adrian: Holst: Japanese Suite. London Symphony Orchestra [10:58] Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast. London Philharmonic & Chorus; Dennis Noble, baritone. [From a 1953 Nixa recording, which is almost certainly the first LP of this wonderful work. As you must expect from a Source of this vintage, there are a few scratches, but NOTHING MAJOR, and the sonics are surprisingly vivid, as is Boult’s conducting. The baritone is outstanding. A VERY scarce and desirable recording!]

DAVIS, Sir Colin: Dvorak: Romance for Violin & Orchestra. w/ Johann Beckhammer, violin; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live; mid-80s Haydn: Symphony No. 100, "Military". Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, mid-Eighties

FURTWANGLER: Brahms: Symphony No. 3, F Major, Op. 90. Berlin Philharmonic, live broadcast from Turing, May 14, 1954. [His last performance of this elusive score. True, if a great conductor -- one who scores triumphantly in the first two, is ever going to come-a cropper in Brahms, it's in THIS one. Toscanini NEVER got it right; Mitropoulos didn't have a clue; Weingartner got it "right" by taking no chances and playing it "as written", and Koussevitzsky -- I hate to say it -- was even more at sea than Toscanini. Only Stokowski and Mengelberg, I think, pulled it off, both by imperiously bending Brahms to THEIR will rather than trying to comprehend the composer's desires via the printed score. Furt. comes closest here than in his other recordings, and there are massive, fervent moments that give chills, but a structurally coherent reading it aint. Every Furtwangler devotee should hear it, however.] Bruckner: Symphony No. 5. Berlin Philharmonic; rec. October, 1942. [Aside from a bit of congestion in the titanic fugal finale, the ancient “Magnetophon” sonics here are very powerful and clean. One wonders how differently Furtwangler would have conducted this blockbuster before or after the war, but given the date, you know what to expect – an almost violent sense of propulsive urgency that may rob the score of the granitic monumentality Klemperer evoked so movingly, but that hurls it in your face with tremendous force (and also, no small thing, makes it seem a good 10-15 minutes shorter than it usually does!)] Grieg: Piano Concerto, A Minor, , Op. 16. Gieseking, piano; ostensibly with Berlin Philharmonic, date unknown. [26:05] [In his authoritative and very trustworthy discography, John Ardoin dismisses this performance – which admittedly is “iffy” as to authenticity, by merely stating “There is no evidence Furtwangler ever conducted this work.” OK, granted; there were probably many works he conducted once or twice for which no record of the performances survive. I don’t much care, frankly. If it ISN’T Furtwangler, it’s somebody who can get a plausible simulation of F’s style at its most ripely romantic out of whatever-the-orchestra is. I love it; and I remained half-way willing to believe maybe it IS Furtwangler. It’s certainly one of the most jucily romantic readings you’ll ever hear, and the sonics are not bad at all!] Schumann: Piano Concerto A Minor, Op. 45. Gieseking; Berlin Philharmonic; live; 3/ 3/ 1942. [30:50] [This one IS authentic, but Furtwangler – evidently winging it on spontaneous inspiration -- taffy-pulls the transition between Movements II and III to such an extreme extent that poor Gieseking loses his cool and starts battering into the finale with two tires off the road. At that point, the whole third movement comes perilously close to chaos, but both musicians Get A Grip and hold things together (approximately) with such fierce determination that the edge-of-the-cliff quality actually makes things feverishly exciting. Now, in a studio “take”, all this craziness would have been edited out – THIS is why “live” performances, for all their unpredictability and sometime-faults can be so much more gripping than smooth, note-perfect commercial readings. They remind us that the performers are, after all, complicated and imperfect and fallable human beings!]

GALLIERA: Bach: Concert, C Major, for Two Pianos & Strings. w/ Clara Haskil & Geza Anda, pianos; Philharmonia Orchestra Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra, No. 10, E-flat major, K. 365. Clara Haskil & Geza Anda, pianos; Philharmonia Orchestra

GIULINI: Haydn: "Lord Nelson" Mass. Los Angeles Philharmonic & Chorus; live, 1980 Laddermann: Symphony No. 3, for Brass & Orchestra. Los Angeles Philharmonic; world premiere, 1980 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2. Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1991 [Smashing!] Von Weber: Concerto for Bassoon & Orchestra. Soloist's name missing from tape; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, 1980

HAITINK: Rossini: Overture to “The Barber of Seville”. Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1983

HERRMAN, Bernard: Bennett: Violin Concerto. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

KOSLER, Zdenek: Martinu: Cello Concerto No. 2. Sara Vectomov, cello; Prague Symphony Orchestra

MAAZEL: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5. Cleveland Orchestra; live, 1980 Von Weber: “Der Freischutz” Overture. Cleveland Orchestra; livc, 1980

MARKEVITCH: Beethoven: Brahms: Symphony No. 4, E minor, Op. 98. w/ Lamoureux Orchestra [39:50]

MENGELBERG: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; rec. May, 1930. [I realize the 3rd and this overture have been re-issued numerous times, but I make a policy of listing EVERY iteration of Great Conductor items I have because the differences between re-issues can be significant. I happen to think these meticulous and vivid issues on the great on "In Synch" tape label are the cleanest, best-balanced, and most dramatically "present" iterations I've ever heard, and if you're new to these classic, swaggering interpretations, THESE are the dubs I would go for. One CD will comfortably hold all three selections, and you'll not likely encounter the isolated First Symphony rarity anywhere else.] Brahms: Symphony No. 1, C Minor, Op. 90 (Movement III only!). w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; rec. May, 1930 [N.B. This movement is all that survives of a cancelled commercial recording --reasons unknown -- and this is the ONLY time it's ever been available, so Mengelberg completists take note!] Brahms: Symphony No. 3, Op. 90. Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; rec. May, 1932

MITROPOULOS: Mahler: Symphony No. 3. New York Philharmonic; live, April, 1956. [If you want to hear an appalling example of the kind of unprofessional, Mickey-Mouse crap Dimitri had to put up with after he began losing his authority over this orchestra, look no further. He was only allowed to conduct the piece IF IT COULD BE FITTED INTO A ONE-HOUR-PLUS-A-FEW-MINUTES radio broadcast. So not only is he forced to conduct the first movement at a dementedly fast tempo, but the music itself is disfigured by brutal, lurching cuts. Later on, prima donna oboist Harold Gomberg shows his disdain for either the music or the conductor (probably both) by playing some of his most crucial solo passages in a manner so palpably beneath his normal level of skill that it seems like deliberate artistic sabotage! Incredible! Still…there are moments when the potential flair of a great reading burns through in spite of all the tension, truculence, and insubordination of the players. To hear what Dimitri COULD do with this score, check out the live broadcast with the Cologne Radio Symphony from a year later! Manifestly, the German band doesn’t have the size, the lung power, or the sheer brutal heft of the Philharmonic, and by the end of the performance they’re a bit ragged and strained-sounding (who wouldn’t be?), but because they’ve given DM 110% of their artistry, the symphony emerges as glorious, transcendent, not just…weird and spasmodic the way it sounds here!] [And, yes, I have the Cologne document already listed] Mahler: Symphony No. 10 (First movement only). New York Philharmonic, c. 1955

MONTEUX: Brahms: Symphony No. 2, D Major, Op. 73. Vienna Philharmonic; rec. 1962

MRAVINSKY: Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, B-flat Major, Op. 60. Leningrad Philharmonic; live, 4/ 23/ 1973 [31:15] Vadim Salmanov: Symphony No. 4, B minor. Leningrad Philharmonic, live, 1/ 28/ 1977 [31:36]

MUNCH: Piston: Symphony No. 3. Boston Symphony; live, late Fifties (?) Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe, Suite No. 2. Boston Symphony; live, 1959

MUNCHINGER, Karl: Gluck: “Alceste” Overture. L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. [Give him credit – he got this dry, second-rate Frenchified ensemble to play with the warmth and easeful flow of the Vienna Philharmonic; not even Ansermet could do that (but then, Ansermet apparently LIKED that dry, pinched, uninflected tonal quality…God knows why] Schumann: “Manfred” Overture, Op. 115. L’Orchestre de la Suisse-Romande. [This LP – which has the Boyd Neel items on the flip side – is one of the rarest early London “ffrr” classics, especially in the kind of almost scratchless condition this copy enjoys]

MUTI: Copland: Symphony No. 3. Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1984 [The regional NPR outlet that carried Philadelphia Orchestra broadcasts dropped 'em about two years into Muti's regime, so I didn't get a really fixed idea of what things were like during the transition, but for what it's worth, I think this is a splendid reading of the Copland Third] Hindemith: Cello Concerto. Janigro, cello; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1983 Legeti: "Lentano" ("Distances"). Philadelphia Orchestra; live, c. 1985 Liszt: Battle of the Huns. Philadelphia Orchestra; live, mid-80s [See shameless confession of low-brow taste under "Composers"] Wuorinen: "Crossfire". Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1983. [Short, noisy, colorful in a stone-serialist manner, and utterly vacuous ]

NEEL, Boyd: Handel: “Alcina” Overture. w/ Boyd Neel String Orchestra Handel: “Berenice” Overture. w/ Boyd Neel String Orchestra. [Neel fashioned a style that was free of romantic excess in this repertoire, yet never sounded dry or pedantic, like so many of the “Olde Authenticke Instrument” twits seem to favor. I think these readings are very beautiful, and the overtures themselves are pretty rare to records anyhow!]

ORMANDY: Bartok: Divertimento for Strings; Philadelphia Orchestra Ginastera: Concerto for Strings. Philadelphia Orchestra

PERLEA, Jonel: Puccini: “Manon Lescaust” (slightly abridged, but with a cast like this, who cares?). Jonel Perlea; Rome Opera House Orchestra & Chorus. Cast as follows: Licia Albanese, soprano; Jussi Bjoerling, tenor; Franco Calabrise, bass; Enrico Campi, bass; Mario Carlin, tenor; Robert Merrill, baritone [See details under “Opera, Choral, and Individual Singers”]

ROSTROPOVICH: Chadwick: Symphony No. 2. National Symphony Orchestra; l;ive, early 80s. Dvorak: Symphony No. 7. London Philharmonic Orchestra [See comments under "Composers"] Griffes: Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan. National Symphony Orchestra; live; early 80s Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4. w/ National Philharmonic; live; 1986. [Crushing; pulverizing; left me flat as a squashed waterbug. It’s a perfect discmate for his charming and illuminating speech at the National Press Club!] Sowerby: Comes Autumn Time, Overture. w/ National Symphony Orchestra; live; early 80s Speech by, at National Press Club – see further-on entries for “Rostropovich”

SCHEMMERHORN, Kenneth: Mahler: Symphony No. 7. Milwaukee Symphony. [His farewell concert, and does he go for broke. Even Lenny never conducted this shaggy-dog work with such wild abandon. Aside from Scherchen's man-what-was-IN-those-mushrooms screwball interpretation (spoiled by muddy early Westminster mono sound), this one catches all the splintered, kaleidoscopic facets better than any live recording I know!]

SCHURICHT: Bruckner: Symphony No. 5. Vienna Philharmonic Orch., live, 2/ 24/ 1963 [77:55]

SKROWACZEWSKI: Ravel: Bolero. Skrowackewski; Minnesota Orchestra [12:24] Ravel: Pavane…Defunct Infant.. Skrowackewski; Minnesota Orchestra [6:15] Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole. Skrowaczewki; Minnesota Orchestra [16:15] Ravel: La Valse. Skrowaczewski; Minnestoa Orchestra [12:24] [Sumptuous sonics and ravishing performances, from a superchrome, real-time "In Synch" cassette, probably the best-sound these works have ever had.]

SLATKIN: Bax: The Garden of Fand. Chicago Symphony Orchestra; live; c. mid-80s Beethoven: Coriolanus Overture. Op. 62. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, live, 1981 Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 43. Cho-Liang-Lin, violin; Chicago Symphony; live, 1956 Fine: Notturno for Harp & Strings. Chicago Symphony; live, 1986 Haydn: Symphony No. 60 (“Il Distrato”). Chicago Symphony Orchestra; live; circa mid-Eighties. [Slatkin deftly captures the nutty, roughneck, pigtails-in-the-inkwell side of Haydn as well as any conductor since Beecham (and don’t you wish HE has recorded this screwball masterpiece?). What a concert this one was, climaxing with one of the most imaginative, personal, and majestic readings of the Sibelius 4th I’ve ever heard!] Nielsen: Symphony No. 5. Chicago Symphony; live, 1986 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, live 1981 Sibelius: Symphony No. 1, Op. 39. Chicago Symphony; live, early Seventies. [This MUST be early in his career, because the announcer makes reference to his being conductor in New Orleans! Very much an ardent, young maestro's interpretation, and very hot!] Sibelius: Symphony No. 4. w/ Chicago Symphony; live, mid-80s. [When I tell you how great an interpretation this is, what I’m really saying – I think – is that Slatkin on this night, with this fabulous orchestra, decided to conduct many passages of this enigmatic masterpiece EXACTLY the way I’ve conducted them inside my head a zillion times (including broadening the tempo at the very end, even though the composer tells you NOT to do that; he is, of course, simply wrong! Anyway, it’s a tremendous performance.]

SCHMITT-ISSERSTEDT: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5. Hamburg Radio Symphony [NB: This is NOT the same Schmitt-Isserstedt Tchaik 5th I listed earlier (a much later Capitol release with better sound but not quite as much character as this one. He’s still a bit too emotionally retrained for my taste, but there’s admirable dignity and eloquence in this ancient early London “FFRR” LP]

STOKOWSKI: Herrman: 3 Excerpts from "The Devil and Dan'l Webster". New York Philharmonic; live; Feb 1949. [10:40] [An absolute gas! Exceptionally clean air-check sound, too.]

<<<<<<< A VERY SPECIAL LISTING !! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GEORGE SZELL'S LAST CONCERT, in its entirety, from May 7, 1970

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, E-flat major, Op. 60, "Eroica". Cleveland Orchestra, May 7, 1970 Mozart: Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter". Cleveland Orchestra; live, May 7, 1970 Von Weber: Overture to "Oberon". Cleveland Orchestra; live; May 7, 1970 *************************************************************************

SVETLANOV: Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead, Op. 54. USSR Symphony Orchestra; no timing; who cares? Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy, Op. 29. w/ USSR Symphony Orchestra [This was one of the first “Melodiya/Angel” imports to reach Western record shops and it confirmed our worst fears about Soviet recording technology – raw, blasty, saw-toothed sonics that were truly a trial – this LP sounded, BRAND NEW, as though some clod had already played it fifty times with one of those knobkerry-shaped Gerrard tone arms that were , A) impossible to pick up without also scratching the record, and, B) often did such a crappy job of tracking heavily modulated grooves that you frequently saw them, in college dorms especially, with a quarter taped over the cartridge! How that brand ever got a reputation for quality audio equipment, I’ll never know. Those p.o.s. tone arms guaranteed inner groove wear after a half-dozen playings. Well, there are spots on this LP that sound like that, and sounded like that when you played it for the FIRST time. Sweat-Ran-Off was at his most callow and ham-fisted in those days, more or less battering each piece of music into submission with a Cossack knout. Mind you, that actually WORKS in both of these pieces, to a certain extent, but there’s no sensuality or suave-toned mood-painting to balance against that hard-charging energy. And the USSR Symphony, I’ve got to speak the truth! just wasn’t a first-class orchestra in those days. In general…they always produced a tutti sound that seemed badly in need of a shave! Maybe that’s where Oh, Christ, I’m having a Senior Moment! YOU KNOW who I’m referring to! It’s…it’s… old what’s-his-name!! The Russian who conducts three orchestras simultaneously and apparently has the metabolism of a humming bird! acquired his silly affectation of ALWAYS having a five o’clock shadow. I mean, look, if you want to be clean-shaven, be my guest! Shave! Or, if you want to grow a beard, that’s great too! (I had one for eight years), but what’s the point in always looking scruffy? Do you WANT girls to cringe at the approach of your chin? OK, OK, back to the music. On balance, these are exciting performances, but rough as a cob. If I’m in the mood for a Scriabin interpretation that’s more redolent of a gymnasium than it is of the sandalwood wafting through a courtesan’s bedroom, they’ll certainly do the trick. As he aged, Svetlanov became a much deeper and more interesting conductor; here’s he just tries to bully everything in sight, including your ears. Chill OUT, dude!!]

SWOBODA: Milhaud: "Maximillian", suite from the opera. Vienna Symphony Orchestra Milhaud: Serenade for Orchestra. Vienna Symphony Orchestra

TEMIRKANOV: Copland: Quiet City. Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2. w/ [?] , cello; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978 Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978

TENNSTEDT: Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op.30. Tennstedt; Minnesota Orchestra; live, 1982 Strauss: Le bourgeoise Gentilhomme Suite, Op. 60. Tennstedt; Minnesota Orchestra; live, 1982

WALTER: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica". New York Philharmonic, rec. 1941 Mozart: Requiem. Vienna Philharmonic; soloists; Vienna State Opera Chorus; live, 1955 Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". New York Philharmonic; rec. 1941 Strauss: Don Juan. French National Radio Orchestra; live, 1954

COMPOSERS

ANTHOLOGY

"Philharmonic Solo!" [Zubin Mehta's best work, by and large, was with the Los Angeles Phil. He was not, and never has been a "profound" conductor, but he galvanized that sometimes-torpid orchestra like a high-tension wire and the concerts often blazed with excitement. In this anthology, he gave the excellent first-desk players a chance to shine in a nicely varied program]

Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, E flat Major. Thomas Stevens, trumpet; Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [13:03] Vivaldi: Piccolo Concerto in A Minor. Miles Zentner, piccolo; Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic; [10:31] Von Weber: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 26. Michele Zukovsky, clarinet; Mehta; L.A. Philharmonic [9:25] Wieniawski: Polonaise de Concert, Op. 4. Glenn Dichterow, violin; Mehta; L.A/ Philharmonic [4:28] Wieniawski: Scherzo Tarantelle, Op. 16. Glenn Dichterow, violin; Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [5:26]

***************************************************************************** ANTHOLOGY

“AMERICAN CONCERT BAND CLASSICS” Frederick Fennell; Eastman Symphonie Wind Ensemble. [One of the rarest and most desirable of Fennell’s early Mercury Living Presence albums. Great repertoire; great performances. Source is library discard, some light scratches, no Skippies; quite listenable, actually!] Barber: Commando March; Bennett: Suite of Old American Dances; Gould: Ballad for Band; Persichetti: Divertimento for Band; Piston: Tunbridge Fair, Divertimento for Band; Schuman: George Washington Bridge

ALBERT, Stephen: "Into Eclipse", Two Arias from. Antoniu. American Composers IOrchestra; live, 1981

ALKAN: Barcarolle, Op. 65/ No. 6 Raymond Lewenthal, piano [8:36] Le Festin d’Escope. Op. 39/ No. 12. [2:51] Quasi-Faust (Second Movement from Grande Sonate, Op. 33). Raymond Lewenthal, piano [11:00] Symphonie (No.s 4-7, Op. 39). Raymond Lewenthal, piano. [18:28]

ANTONIU, Theodore: Double Concerto for Percussion & Orchestra. Composer; American Composer's Orchestra; live, 1981

BACH: Canonic Variations. Jiri Reinberger, organ. Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass. Concerto for two Pianos & Strings, C Major. Clara Haskil & Geza Anda, pianos; Philharmonia Orchestra

Partita No. 3. Jiri Reinberger, organ Recorder Concerto D Major. Frans Bruggen, recorder and conductor; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; live, 1983. [Actually, Bach never WROTE a “recorder concerto”; this is a tasty little conflation assembled by Maestro Bruggen from BWVs 49, 169, and 1053. What the hell, it works for me.] Toccata & Fugure in D Minor. Jiri Reinberger, organ [All selections played by Reinberger were recorded in St. Michael's Church, Zwolle, Holland, 1961]

BARBER: Commando March. Fennell; Eastman Symphonic Winds [See under “Anthologies”] Essay for Orchestra No. 1. Russell-Davies; American Composers' Orchestra; live, c. 1984 Symphony No. 1. Peter Perret; Winston Salem Symphony Orchestra; live, 1988 [As good as any I've ever heard.]

BARTOK: Divertimento for Strings. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [One of the most luminous and intense readings of this great piece] Six Duos for Two Violins. Menuhin & Nell Gotkovsky, violins, [8:43] Violin Concerto No. 2, Menuhin; Dorati; New Philharmonia [38:57]

BAX: The Garden of Fand. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live; mid-Eighties.

BEETHOVEN: Coriolanus Overture, Op. 62. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony, live, 1981 March in D. Edo de Waart; Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra [5:00] “Zur Namensfeier” Overture, Op. 115. Markevitch; Lamoureux Orchestra. [6:48] Piano Concerto No. 1, C Major, Op. 15. Malcolm Frager, piano; Antoni Ros-Marba; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; live; 11/ 19/ 1983 Symphony No. 3, B-flat major, Op. 60, "Eroica". Bernstein; N.Y. Philharmonic [Earliest LP he made of this work] Symphony No. 3, B-flat Major, "Eroica". Gerhardt Zimmermann; N.C. Symphony Orchestra; live, May, 1987 [Zimmermann elevated this statewide ensemble into the first rank, although when this was recorded there were still some rough patches in its playing. Still, a very strong "Eroica" from a then-exotic source!] Symphony No. 3, B-flat Major, Op. 60, "Eroica". Szell; Cleveland Orchestra; live, November 1970 [The main work on Szell's last concert; an almost miraculous fabric woven of steel and silk, testament to his greatest qualities as an interpreter. Put simply, this is one of the half-dozen greatest readings of the Eroica I've ever heard, and in terms of both discipline and razor's-edge intensity -- along with some startling and deeply moving episodes of broadened tempi and almost luxuriant warmth -- it is as astonishing demonstration of just what one means by "a great interpretation". Numerous times I've heard Szell conduct this very work in such a maniacal state of icy tight-lipped over-control that he seemed to be strangling the music rather than serving it, not not this time; not this one last valedictory time. Szell felt human, and mortal, and quite possibly aware of how little time he had left. It sounds to me as if he truly wanted this to be an "Eroica" for the ages, a close-to-perfect synthesis of every good thing he had ever revealed in this score. Parts of this performance gave me gooseflesh; ALL of it gave me an even deeper understanding of how miraculous Beethoven's score truly was -- and what more can you ask of a conductor? If you love this symphony, you simply MUST hear this] To cite but one detail: during the work-up to the great fugue in the funeral march, Szell in this reading surprised everyone by taking a leaf from the Book of Mengelberg -- he demanded the trombones play their staccato interjections with an exaggerated prominence to the foremost point of their tone, so that (like the Concertgebouw's trumpets, circa 1940) those brass colors become almost like stab wounds; the hard red-bronze color pierces through the combined tutti textures of the entire ensemble just like bursts of laser-beam fire. It's simply magnificent!] Symphony No. 3, B-flat Major, Op. 60, "Eroica". Bruno Walter; New York Philharmonic, rec. 1941 Symphony No. 4, B-flat major, Op. 60. Mravinsky; Leningrad Philharmonic; live, 4/29/ 1973. [If I'm not badly mistaken, this is Mravinsky's only recording of the 4th; or at least the only one to have surfaced in the West. His trademark blend of fire-and-ice may not work so well in this symphony as it does in both the 3rd and 7th, but each time I play it, I'm more persuaded by its oddness and curiously circular integrity. Did that make ANY sense? Perhaps it will after you've listened. I'll stand by it for now…] Beethoven: Symphony No. 7. Sheldon Morgenstern; Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra; live, 1989

BENNETT, Richard Rodney: Violin Concerto. Louis Kaufman, violin; Bernard Herrmann; Royal Philharmonic [A wonderfully playful, energetic piece -- reminds me of Ravel's Piano Cto, actually --given a drop-dead reading. Guaranteed: any good fiddler who took this into his/ her concert repertoire would get the freshest-sounding Bravos heard in a month of Sundays!] Sonata for Violin & Piano. Louis and Annette Kauffman, violin & piano

BENNETT, Robert Russell: Suite of Old American Dances. Fennell; Eastman Symphonic Winds [See under “Anthologies”]

BERKELEY (w/ BRITTEN): “Mont Juic”, Suite of Catalan Dances. Lennox Berkeley; London Philharmonic. [11:38] [Totally unknown work, but utterly delightful – fascinating collaboration by these two!]

BOCCHERINI: Cello Concerto in D Major, Op. 34. Jean De Cross, cello; Newell Jenkins; Orchestra Accademia dell’Orso Symphony in C Major. Newell Jenkins; Orchestra Accademia dell’orso

BOLCOM: Humoresque for Organ & Orchestra. Anthony Newman, organ; Davies; American Composer's Orchestra; live (world premiere), mid-Seventies. [A terrific, fun, overture, starting with a cheesy barrel-organ solo and swirling into a real parade-of-clowns. Should become a very popular curtain-raiser!]

BORTZ, Daniel: In Memoria Di. Varujan Kojan; Louisville Orchestra [10:58]

BLISS: Melee Fantasque. Composer; London Symphony [13:04]

BRAHMS: Piano Quintet, G Minor, Op. 25. Rudolph Serkin, piano; Members of the Busch Quartet [38:01] Symphony No. 3, F Major, Op. 90. Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic, live broadcast from Turing, May 14, 1954. {His last performance of this elusive score. True, if a great conductor -- one who scores triumphantly in the first two, is ever going to come-a-cropper in Brahms, it's in THIS one. Toscanini NEVER got it right; Mitropoulos didn't have a clue; Weingartner got it "right" by taking no chances and playing it "as written", and Koussevitzsky -- I hate to say it -- was even more at sea than Toscanini. Only Stokowski and Mengelberg, I think, pulled it off, both by imperiously bending Brahms to THEIR will rather than trying to comprehend the composer's desires via the printed score. Furt. Comes closest here than in his other recordings, and there are massive, frvent moments that give chills, but an structurally coherent reading it aint. Every Furtwangler devotee should hear it.] Symphony No. 2, D Major, Op. 73. Pierre Monteux; Vienna Philharmonic, rec. 1962 Symphony No. 4, E Minor, Op. 98. Von Karajan; Berlin Philharmonic; live, 1984. [Super-slick, super virtuosic, and a crucial bit more spontaneous-sounding than his over-glossed final studio recording. I think it's magnificent, in a rather impersonal, robotic manner.] Symphony No. 4, E Minor, Op. 98. Markevitch; Lamoureux Orchestra [39:50] Violin Concerto, D Major, Op. 77. Isaac Stern; Beecham; Royal Philharmonic

BRIAN, Havergal: Symphony No. 4. Bogus performers' names, so it's anybody's guess. It's a choral symphony, about as long as the "Eroica" and much more conventional sounding, almost like an offshoot of the great British choral tradition. Faint echoes of "The Gothic" make it sound…comfortable, and does have moments of eloquence and power, but it's a bit diffuse, clearly the work of a composer shifting from youthful style to maturity.

BRITTEN: “Mont Juic”, Suite of Catalan Dances. Lennox Berkeley; London Philharmonic [11:38] [Written collaboratively by Berekely and Britten, this rhapsodic, high-spirited suite is marvelous “postcard music” by two sensitive and keen-minded tourists. Again, this is a work that audiences would LOVE if they ever got a chance to hear it!] Prince of the Pagodas, Complete Ballet, Op. Composer; Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden. [Plenty of solid craftsmanship and skillful use of color in this rather uncharacteristic score, but it’s never caught on and this was its only complete recording. It may lack the sheer inventive brilliance and quirkiness of Britten’s best works, and it DOES go on about 20 minutes longer than your interest in its material, but Britten enthusiasts will enjoy it, as I mostly have. NB: Requires 2 CDs]

BRUCH: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46. Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, 1986

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 3 (1877 version). Weltser-Most; St. Louis Symphony; live, c. 1985 [This conductor's American debut; see comments under "Lalo"] Symphony No. 5. Schuricht; Vienna Philharmonic; live, 2/24/ 1963 Symphony No. 5. Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic; rec. October, 1942. [Aside from a bit of congestion in the titanic fugal finale, the ancient “Magnetophon” sonics here are very powerful and clean. One wonders how differently Furtwangler would have conducted this blockbuster before or after the war, but given the date, you know what to expect – an almost violent sense of propulsive urgency that may rob the score of the granitic monumentality Klemperer evoked so movingly, but that hurls it in your face with tremendous force (and also, no small thing, makes it seem a good 10-15 minutes shorter than it usually does!)]

CAMBINI, Giovanni Giuseppe (1746-1825): Sinfonia Concertante No. 1, C Major, for Oboe, Bassoon & Orchestra. Newell Jenkins; Orchestra Accademia dell’Orso.

CARPENTER, John Aldin: "The Lake" (tone poem). Henry Maser; Chicago Symphony; live, mid-Eighties. [A splendidly atmospheric little tone poem, slightly Gothic in mood, to which Maser clearly responds very urgently. I don't think this one has ever been recorded commercially, which is kind of surprising given Carpenter's prominence among U.S. composers of his era. If the epoch and the general Weltschmertz of Late, late Romanticism speak to you, let Maser be your intermediary -- you're not likely to hear a finer reading in the next several reincarnations.]

CHADWICK: Symphony No. 2. Rostropovich; National Symphony; live; early 80s [Maybe the closest thing to a great early American Symphony – easily as good a symphony as MacDowell’s damn piano concerto is a concerto (it’s NOT a bad piece, so why do I hate it so?) Anyway, “Slava” conducts the hell out of it, on a sparkling all-American program]

CHOPIN: Sonata No. 2, B-Flat Major, Op. 35. Witold Malcuzynski, piano The Complete Waltzes. Rubinstein, piano. [The middle of his three recorded cycles from the LP era, and in the opinion of many, his finest achievement in this specialized repertoire. See under "Chamber ensembles & solo virtuosi" for detailed break-down of individual cuts…]

COPLAND: Quiet City. Temirkanov; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978 Symphony No. 3. Muti; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1984 [The regional NPR outlet that carried Philadelphia Orchestra broadcasts dropped 'em about two years into Muti's regime, so I didn't get a really fixed idea of what things were like during the transition, but for what it's worth, I think this is a splendid reading of the Copland Third

CRUMB, George: 4 Nocturnes for Piano & Violin. Members of "Dream Tiger", live, Amsterdam, c. '86 5 Piano Pieces. Pianist's name not taken down; same Amsterdam concert as these others Sonata for Cello. Rohan Desaran, cello; live, mid-80s Voice of the Whale. Dream Tiger Ensemble; live, Amsterdam, mid-80s [Crumb is still, to my thinking, one of the most compelling and individual of contemporary American composers; this well-chosen, expertly played recital is further proof.]

DEBUSSY: "Clair de Lune". Virgil Fox, organ Estampes, complete. Jean-Phillippe Collard, piano L’Isle joyeuse. Jean-Phillippe Collard, piano Images, Books 1 & 2, complete. Jean-Phillippe Collard, piano Masques. Jean-Phillipe Collard, piano

DRUCKMANN, Jacob: Aureoles. Antoniu; American Composers Orchestra; live, 1981

DUKAS: Symphony in C Major. Henry Maser; Chicago Symphony; live, c. 1985 [Why is it, I wonder, that so many terrific French composers only wrote ONE symphony? Who cares, right? As long it's a good 'un, and the ones by Chausson & Dukas really WERE, at least in terms of melodic appeal and orchestral color. Maser was Assistant Conductor in Chicago since Al Capone ran the town, and 2-3 concerts a season were turned over to him as a sweetener for always being second banana. He rarely failed to make the most of them, however, and this reading of the Dukas is a strong, urgent presentation of a score that CAN seem pedantic if the conductor's not wholly in-synch with the gestalt that produced it. I suppose Ansermet and Martinon are more "idiomatic", but both of them made their recordings with palpably second-rate orchestras; Maser at least gets to summon that incomparable Chicago brass section and he really wallows in the opportunity.]

DVORAK: Romance for Violin & Orchestra. Johann Beckhammer, violin (sp?); Sir Colin Davis; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, mid-80s [Even if I misspelled this young Dutch artist’s name, he gives a fabulously poised and beautiful reading] Symphony No. 7. Rostropovich; London Philharmonic Orchestra [Big. Bold, Slavic block-buster treatment. As usual with Rostropovich-the-conductor, the results are neither subtle nor "idiomatic", but they surely are vital and exciting!]

ENESCU: Orchestral Transcription of the "Octet". Bernard Paumgartner; Lucerne Festival Strings; live, 1984 [The transcription is the conductor's own work, and his instinct was correct: this rich, folk-lore-saturated work DOES cry out for more tonal weight than a mere octet, however gifted, can provide it. Fiery performance, too -- a joy!] Overture in the Popular Romanian Style. Ion Baciu; Moravian Philharmonic Symphony No. 2. Constantin Bugenau; Romanian Broadcast Philharmonic.

FIBICH: "Poem". Virgil Fox, organ

FINE, Irving: Notturno, for Harp & Strings. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, 1986

FRANCK: Prelude, Chorale & Fugue. Witold Malcuzynski, piano

FRUMERIE: Symphonic Variations. Varujan Kojian; Louisville Orchestra [17:55] [See enthusiastic description under “Larsson”]

GADE: Symphony No. 6. John Frandsen; Danish Radio Symphony. [Fine symphony; gutsy reading -- this is an excellent place to start exploring Gade's music if you haven't already done so.]

GINASTERA: Concerto for Strings. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra Variaciones Concertante. Levy; Cleveland Orchestra; live, 1980

GLUCK: “Alceste” Overture. Karl Munchinger; L’Orchestre de la Suisse-Romande [See comments under “Conductors”]

GOULD: Gould: Ballad for Band. Fennell; Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble [See under “Anthologies”] Festive Music. Slatkin; New York Philharmonic; live, 1984

GRANADOS, Enrique: Songs by… See "anthology" by Cabbale, listed under "Opera, Vocal & Choral"]

GRIEG: "A Dream". Virgil Fox, organ [See more under Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"] Peer Gynt (absolutely complete). Per Drier; London Symphony Orchestra & Oslo Philharmonic Chorus; Toril Carlsen, soprano; Asbjorn Hansli, baritone; Vessa Hanssen, mezzo; Kare Bjorkoy, tenor [From the late, lamented Unicorn label, a resplendent completely complete rendition of Grieg's masterpiece, with every song and bridge passage and troll-grunt. Wonderful! N.B. Requires 1.5 CDs, so select a filler!]

GRIFFES: Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan. Rostropovich; National Symphony Orchestra; live, mid-80s.

GULDA, Frederich: Concerto for Cello & Jazz Orchestra. Heinrich Schiff, cello; composer conducting

HALFTER, Ernesto: Rapasodia Portugesa. Odon Alonso; National Orchestra of Spain. [An unusually sunny and tuneful work by this interesting composer, given a reading of sparkling idiomatic rightness; excellent sound, too)*

HANDEL: “Alcina” Overture. Boyd Neel and his String Orchestra “Berenice” Overture. “ “ “ “ “ “ Cantata: "Ah, che troppo inegali". w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Auream [9:58] Cantata: "Pensieri notturni di Filli - Nwl dolce dell' oblio". [8:32] w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Aureum Cantata "Silete Venti". w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Aureum Cantata “Silete Venti”. Rolf Reinhardt; Halina Lukomska, soprano The Dettingen Te Deum. Wolfgang Gonnenwein; Southwest German Chamber Orchestra & Madrigal Choir; Ruth-Margret Putz, soprano; Emmy Lisken, contralto; Theo Altmeyer, tenor; Franz Crass, bass Recitative & Aria, for Tenor, Strings & Basso Continuo - "Praise of Harmony; Look Down, Harmonious Saint." Theo Altmeyer, tenor; Collegium Aureum [14:00] Overture to the Oratorio "Joseph". Collegium Aureum [5:35] w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Aureum Overture to the Oratorio “Joseph”. Reinhardt; Collegium Aureum

HARRIS: Symphony No. 7. Antoniu; American Composers Orchestra; live, 1981 I'm sorry I can't tell you more about maestro Antoniu, who does superlative work in all the American Composers Orchestra items listed this month. I CAN, however, tell you that this is hands-down the most coherent, sympathetic, and moving performance of Roy Harris's last symphony as you could ever expect to hear, one which gives the lie to that old canard about his being "washed-up" after the fourth or fifth symphonies. Antoniu gets inside the skin of this final work, keeps it structurally tight but tonally rich, and LEEE-AAA-NNs into those Harris melodies just enough to bring out their full poignancy and usefulness AS structural building blocks for a work that isn't nearly as sprawling and thin-blooded as some earlier versions would lead to you suspect. Bravo!]

HAYDN: "Lord Nelson" Mass. Giulini; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus; live, 1980 Symphony No. 60, (“Il Distrato”). Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live’ mid-Eighties Symphony No. 89. F Major. Franz Bruggen; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; live, 12/ 26/ 1983 Symphony No. 100, "Military". Sir Colin Davis; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, mid-Eighties Trumpet Concerto E Flat Major. Thomas Stevens, trumpet; Mehta; Los Angeles Philharmonic [13:03]

HENZE: "The Bassarids". Von Dohnanyi; Cleveland Orchestra, & Chorus; Ana Silja, soprano; American premiere, late 1980s.

HERRMANN, Bernard: "Cape Fear", Concert Suite. Elmer Bernstein; Unidentified Orchestra "Jane Ayre", Concert Suite. Composer; London Philharmonic "Torn Curtain", Excerpts. Composer; Royal Philharmonic "Vertigo", Excerpts. Muir Matheson; Sinfonia of London; rec. 1959

HIBBARD, William: Processionals for Orchestra. Antoniu; American Composers Orchestra; live, 1981

HINDEMITH: Cello Concerto. Antonio Janigro, cello; Muti; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1983 [More I hear of this oddly unknown work, the more I like it. It's not up there with Dvorak, but it's sure as hell a LOT more interesting than and just as melodic as the Schumann concerto, which I have trouble staying away for, no matter who's playing it. Maybe Hindemith didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, but he DID have one, and the warm, rather diffident little melodies expertly developed here are evidence of that. It’s quite a challenge for the soloist, too, and Janigro tosses it off with relish and aplomb.] Concert-piece for "Trautonium" and String Orchestra". Performers not known. [OK, yjr "Trautonium" was an early electronic instrument named for the father of George Trautwein, long-time conductor of the N.C. School of the Arts Orchestra, and in whose honor Hindemith actually wrote this spirited but decidedly bizarre trifle. This MUST be the only serious composition for this oddity, and surely this is its ONLY recording, which I grabbed off a broadcast of curiosities taped at an NCSPA concert circa 1986. All I can tell you, by way of describing this instrument's tone, is that it does NOT sound like a theramin! And thank God for it…] Sonata for Organ No. 1. Simon Preston, organ Sonata for Organ No. 2. Simon Preston, organ Sonata for Organ No. 3. Simon Preston, organ. [I'm not particularly enamored of solo organ programs (nor do I particularly avoid them; like 75 % of Vivaldi's music, they just don't show up on my radar very often), but I find these three works oddly compelling, even inspired (here and there). Certainly it would be hard to find warmer, more characterful readings than the ones Mr. Simon provides on this long, long unobtainable Argo LP. Sorry, but there are no timings given]

HOLBROOKE, Josef (1978 - 1958): The Birds of Rhiannon, Op. 87. Handley; London Philharmonic [More "Celtic Twilight atmosphere…or is it Welsh?) It's a lovely tone poem, whatever the inspiration]

HOLST: Japanese Suite. Sir Adrian Boult; London Symphony [10:58] [A gorgeous little tid-bit!]

HONEGGER: Les Danse des Morts. Henri Vachey; Youth Orchestra & Chorus of Douai; live, c. mid-Seventies [One of Honegger's most dramatic, yet least-known works. I am not aware that it has ever been commercially recorded, certainly not in a version available in the U.S. I'm not a big Honegger fan, but I think this is a knock-out. Excellent performance and sound.]

HOVHANESS: "Lousidzak", Rhapsody for Piano & Orchestra. Keith Jarrett, piano; Russell-Davies; American Composers' Orchestra; live, 1985 [This short but very intense mini-concerto has a decided Persian flavor to it, and must be an utter beast to play, from the soloist's p.o.v. Jarrett gives a slash-and-burn account, throwing off so many vari-colored sparks that all previous recordings sound absurdly tepid in comparison. Is this "major" Hovhaness, or just the Big Formula getting a work-out? Who knows? Who cares? It's wildly diverting and sometimes hauntingly lyrical, and Jarrett absolutely runs amok with it!]

HUSA, Karel: The Trojan Women, Ballet. Akira Endo; Louisville Orchestra [43:45]

JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova", complete Opera. Jaroslav Krombholc; Orchestra and Chorus of the Prague National Theater. [I suppose Mackerras, who's been so identified with Czech music that he might as well BE a native Bohemian, offers a flashier cast and lusher sonics, but Krombohlc and his colleagues breathe a luster and blood-deep lilt into every line of this essentially somber Realist opera, and while the recorded sonics may be a touch "wetter" than ideal, they're better than just serviceable. Take heed, fellow lovers of Good Czechs, too, of the fact that my Source copy is a direct-from-Prague 1977 import in near flawless condition. NB: Requires two CDs]

KENNAN, Kent: Night Soliloquy. Robert Ward; N.C. S. P. A. Orchestra; live, 1984

KORNGOLD: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26. New World String Quartet

KREISLER, Fritz: "The Old Refrain". Virgil Fox, organ

LADDERMAN, Ezra: Symphony No. 3, for Brass & Orchestra. Giulini; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, 1980; world premiere. [Very strong and sonorous work; tape has a trace of flutter at first, then gets better]

LALO: Symphonie Espagnole. Weltzer-Most; Schlomo Mintz, violin; St. Louis Symphony; live, c. 1986 [Interesting on two counts: this was the still-controversial Weltzer-Most's American debut (hostile orchestra members still refer to him as "Worse-than-most"), and the formidable Mr. Mintz plays the Lalo in its rarely heard complete five-movement form. I'm undecided about this conductor's Bruckner III, listed above, but he makes the orchestral part of this concerto much more interesting than usual, so that's a plus in my book. I really haven't heard much of his work, and so must reserve my judgments (which are always in flux anyhow; I now like James Divine's work in Boston, whereas I used to call him "Chicago Fats" and guffaw at his hair-do; the only conductorial opinion I have that's frozen in stone is my detestation for almost ANYTHING ever conducted or recorded or even thought-of by Ozawa!] [[Or by the Borg-designed automaton that took the REAL Ozawa's place thirty-five years ago and proceeded to do the impossible: make the Boston Symphony totally irrelevant to America's cultural life.]]

LARSSON, Lars-Erik: Divertimento for Orchestra. Varujan Kojian; Louisville Orchestra [11:21] [Don’t let the “Divertimento” designation fool you – this is one helluvva powerful, richly atmospheric orchestra suite, filled with long, yearning melodies and bold, almost ceremonial climaxes. It also has some of the best sound per se you’ll ever heard off a Louisville Society LP; I think this is a major work of Scandinavian neo-Romanticism, and an audience would almost certainly be excited and thrilled and moved.]

LEGETI: "Lentano" ("Distances"). Muti; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, c. 1985 [Same ol' same ol' from Legeti, whose bag-o-tricks is colorful but mighty shallow. This ten-minute tone poem glimmers and shimmers and gleams like colored mica bits, and you feel as though you've heard the same lovely but stone-cold material before. And guess what? You HAVE, because Legeti's been recycling his crap even more shamelessly than Alan Hovhaness used to do (and I really LIKE both composers). I suppose Muti does as much with/ to this piece of fluff as any conductor could, but it's still an "air canapé" to me]

LISZT: Ballade No. 2, B Minor. Frederick Meinders, piano. [13:14] Battle of the Huns. Muti; Philadelphia Orch; live; c. mid-80s. [OK. So Skippy and I share a lot of Guilty Pleasures (one of the things that prevents me from hurling his obnoxious ass into a wood-chipper), and this rabble-rouser is one of them. Muti goes for red meat, here, and the orchestra seems to have fun tearing into it.] Hungarian Rhapsodies, No.s 9-15. Gyeorgy Cziffra, piano. [See comments and a detailed listing under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi] "Liebestraum". Virgil Fox, organ

MACHONCHY, Elizabeth: Serenata Concertante, for Violin & Orchestra. Vernon Handley; London Symphony Symphony No. 2, for Double String Orchestra. Vernon Handley; London Symphony. [Exceedingly well-crafted and sophisticated scores, both, which I ought to like, but which for some reason continue to leave me rather cold. You might well react otherwise, and certainly Handley and the LSO do their utmost to "sell" the pieces, so my lack of enthusiasm isn't their fault. Just me, I guess.]

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3. Mitropoulos; New York Philharmonic; live; April, 1956 [See disgusted comments under “Conductors”] Symphony No. 7. Schemmerhorn; Milwaukee Symphony. [Maestro Schemmerhorn's final concert as Music Director of the Milwaukee orchestra, which he led with great distinction for 12 years, and one of the hottest, most vivid readings of this great shaggy dog symphony I've ever heard. A terrific performance!] Symphony No. 10 (Adagio only). Mitropoulos; New York Philharmonic, c. 1955

MARTINU: Cello Concerto No. 2. Cello Concerto No. 2. Sara Vectomov, cello; Zdenek Kosler; Prague Symphony Orchestra

MULDOWNEY, Dominic: Piano Concerto. Peter Donohough, piano; Mark Elder; Chicago Symphony; live; 1985 (North American premiere)

NICHIFOR, ? (20TH Century Czech): Symphony No. 1, "Shadows". Mircea Basaras; "Georges Ensecu" Philharmonic. [I can tell you he's Rumanian (duh…) and he writes music that may at first seem insane; sort of like Hartmann without the latter's sense of humor (joke, there, people!). But it grows on you, it really does. The scoring includes something that sounds like a wind machine, but might be the tape-recorded moans of an emergency room victim about to face a double amputation; there are also bird songs (like Mahler's, only these are…evil birds), and in the first movement, a small male chorus relentless out-of-synch with the music intones something sinister but unintelligible in Romanian; God only knows what, maybe the "prison poems" of ex-dictator Chouchescu! If Edvard Munch had been Rumanian and composed music…I think he would have turned out stuff that sounds like this. Definitely for the adventurous listener, but as I said, the damned thing really does grow on you -- it almost drove me bonkers the first time I played it, but now I'd love to hear more by Nichifor; he was obviously a wild-card talent and about as diametrically different from Enescu as Charles Ives was from Leroy Anderson.]

MARX, Joseph: "Romantic" Piano Concerto. Jorge Bolet, piano; Mehta; NY Philharmonic; live, 1984 [This almost-but-not-quite showcase concerto was defiantly written just after WW One, by an Austrian pedagogue (much respected in his day, by the way) who, even in the mid-Twenties, was just not willing to roll over in front of the atonal juggernaut without making this last, grandly Quixotic gesture of a concerto. By the way, Joseph was NOT related to, you know, that other branch of the Marx clanotherwise totally obscure tune-smith who was NOT related to that other branch of the Marx clan; you know, the ones who favored creepy little goatees and thought that schwitzing with a mouthful of vodka every morning was a sure-cure for halitosis? NO relation, got that! The concerto expends its romantic ammo at a prodigious rate, with keyboard fireworks that are at least part of the time are successfully able to disguise the fact that there's not ONE really swooning lovers' melody anywhere in the forty-minute-long work…which rather undercuts Marx's fundamental point, doesn't it? One admires Marx for his idealism and stamina (he often doubted the concerto would EVER be performed, and so it was not, during its creator's life.) The technical side of the concerto reveals a thoroughly schooled, basically sound and conservative musical mind -- Joe had enough items in his toolbox to decorate, distract, and delude a sympathetic audience into thinking they're listening to, I dunno, Rachmaninoff maybe. But the truth is that his melodic invention was nothing special, and in an ostensibly "romantic" concerto, that's pretty much a deal-breaker. What we DO have here, though, is a sophisticated complex of Romantic gestures and decorations, twined around an essentially threadbare spine, although now and then Marx gets it together and belts one out of the ballpark, especially in the earnestly surging waves of tone he deploys in the final movement. I doubt that you could find two more ideally suited musicians to interpret this slobbering dog of a concerto than Bolet and Mehta, who go after its red meat like Churchill's Lancers charging the Dervishes at Omdurman, and in the face of such overwhelming "romantic" energy, what can one do but surrender to the music's charms, which -- though modest in the extreme -- are deployed with such big-hearted gusto that you'll probably feel guilty for not giving Marx a higher grade. Given some scholarship money and any good piano teacher NOT David Helfgott, and who knows where he might have gone? Meanwhile, we have this excellent air-check, and it'll take SOME pair of performers to unseat Mehta and Bolet.]

MASSENET: Meditation from "Thais". Virgil Fox, organ. [Ah, yes, Skip my boy, many a nocturnal hour did I spend, when I was your age, meditating on the subject of thighs…"]

MATHIAS, William: "This World's Joie", Cantata. David Willcox; Philharmonia Orchestra; Soloists & Chorus [The Olde Englishe spelling of "joy" clues you in to expect a slightly Elizabethan flavor to this fresh, captivating Christmas oratorio. Mathias was, and remains, almost certainly the finest composer Wales has given us in a century or more. In no sense does this work sound old-fashioned, yet its techniques and its composer's world-view are traditional in all the right and proper meanings of that world. Solidly crafted, noble in sentiment and thought, this is a splendid and richly ceremonial-sounding work.]

McAMIS, Hugh: "Dreams". Virgil Fox, organ

MILHAUD: Five Studies for Piano. Paul Badura-Skoda, piano "Maximillian" Suite (from the opera). Henry Swoboda; Vienna Symphony Orchestra "Protee" -- Symphonic Suite No. 2. Abravanel; Utah Symphony Serenade for Orchestra No. 2. Sowboda; Vienna Symphony Orchestra Les Songes. Abravanel; Utah Symphony. [Abravanel was an odd duck -- chose to stay in Salt Lake City for almost all of his career, made a zillion records for Vanguard, including utterly superfluous and undistinguished traversals of the Brahms and Tchaikovsky symphonies, about which he had absolutely nothing interesting to say. But then, he sometimes got to record off-beat, big-scale pieces that more famous colleagues weren't interested in, and those are where he got to show how good HE was and how superbly his "second-tier" orchestra COULD play. I'm thinking about his super-potent version of the Vaughan-Williams Dona Nobis Pacem, some of his Mahler recordings, and things like this album of never-before-recorded Milhaud works, which he conducted with great flair and insight. Go figure. Both of these Milhaud selections are joyous and quirky and there is no competition, then or now. This one's also been out-of-print for 20-odd years, otherwise I wouldn't list it; Vanguard would have recycled it long ago if they thought they could get any more mileage out of it.]

MOZART: Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra, No. 10, E-flat Major, K. 365. Clara Haskil & Geza Anda, pianos; Alceo Galliera; Philharmonia Orchestra Requiem. Bruno Walter; Vienna Philharmonic; soloists; Vienna State Opera Chorus; live, 1955 Symphony No. 40, G minor, K. Szell; Cleveland Orchestra; Nov. 1970 [From Maestro Szell's last concert and a magnificent 40th by any standard you care to apply]\ Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter". Bernstein; Vienna Philharmonic; live, 1984 [See comments under "Conductors"]

MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel). Dimitri Kitaenko; Moscow Philharmonic; live, 1984. [Just what you're looking for, if you want a reading SO echt-Russian, so dark, so thunderous in the drum department, that it almost sounds custom-edited by In-Tourist. Never mind -- it may be self-consciously Slavic, but it's still got the mo-jo!]

NIELSEN: Symphony No. 5. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, 1986 [Outstanding rendition]

NEWMAN, Anthony: Orchestral Cycles No. One. Davies; American Composers' Orchestra; live, mid-Seventies. [One expects more from this eccentric virtuoso. Not a-tonal, but a-melodic noodling, kitchen-sink complexities; an irritating, you've-heard-it-before pastiche that goes on far longer than it should and ends up saying not much of anything. I surely do hope I never have to sit through "Cycles No. 2", if there is one.]

OLIVIEROS, Pauline: "In Memory of Valerie Solanos & Marilyn Monroe, in Recognition of Their Desperation." Davies; American Composers' Orchestra; live, mid-Seventies [Feminist whining raised to the most pretentious, self-righteous level imaginable. Utter rubbish, but kinda fun in a train-wreck way; I mean, if you thought SOVIET composers wrote crap for political reasons, wait until you hear this militant-dyke manifesto! You were born unattractive and no guys wanted to date you in high school; we understand, already; it happens; get over it, woman!]

ORTHEL, Leon (Dutch; 20th Cent): Six Epigrams for Piano. Frederick Meinders, piano [6:19]

OVERTON, Hal: Sonorities. Davies; American Composers' Orchestra; live, mid-Seventies

PANUFNIK: Symphony No. 10. Composer; Chicago Symphony; American premiere; live Violin Concerto. Composer; Chicago Symphony; live

PERSICHETTI: Divertimento for Band. Fennell; Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble [See under “Anthologies”]

PIERNE, Gabriel: Les Cathedrales, No. 1. Dervaux; Orchestre Philharmonique de Loire "Images", Suite from the Ballet. Dervaux; Orchestre Philharmonique de Loire Paysages Franciscain, Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 43 Dervaux; Orchestre Philharmonique de Loire [Like every other work by Pierne I've heard, these are lush, "drenched", gorgeously romantic tone poems. I'd love to hear a first-class orchestra do Pierne's works, but until then, Dervaux and his doughty Frenchmen carry the ball with sincerity and rather good tonal vividness.]

PISTON: Tunbridge Fair. Fennell; Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble. [See under “Anthologies”] Symphony No. 2. Robert Ward; N.C. School of the Arts Orchestra; live, 1984 [Ward proves himself a most inspiring conductor of this modern classic; the NCSPA kids play their collective asses off for him] Symphony No. 3. Munch; Boston Symphony; live, late Fifties. [Typically brilliant, febrile reading, although if my ears don't deceive me, I missed a few bars in Movement One, probably was out refilling my bourbon when it came on, but still, 9/10ths of a great performance is well worth having]

PROKOFIEV: “Chout” Ballet, complete. Gabrielle Faro (sp?); Cleveland Orchestra. [I dunno who he or she is, and this is the only sample of their work I have, but this makes as good a case for this tasty if relatively minor {Prokofiev ballet as any reading I’ve ever heard] Symphony No. 4. Jarvi; Chicago Symphony; live, 1988 [The best I've heard since Ormandy's premiere recording, 40-odd years ago.]

PUCCINI: "La Boheme", Highlights. Gabrielle Santini; Radio Romes Opera Orchestra & Chorus; Rosanna Carteri, soprano; (?) Ramella, soprano; Ferruccio Tagliavini, tenor; Giuseppe Taddei, baritone; Casare Siepi, bass. [40:53] "Madama Butterfly", Highlights. Anna Moffo, soprano; Cesare Valletti, tenor; Rosalind Elias, mezzo; Leinsdorf; Orchestra & Chorus of the Rome Opera. [The soloists are terrific; the sound is first-rate; Leinsdorf conducts with all the passion of a clockwork zombie]\ “Manon Lescaust” (slightly abridged, but with a cast like this, who cares?). Jonel Perlea; Rome Opera House Orchestra & Chorus. Cast as follows: Licia Albanese, soprano; Jussi Bjoerling, tenor; Franco Calabrise, bass; Enrico Campi, bass; Mario Carlin, tenor; Robert Merrill, baritone [See details under “Opera, Choral, and Individual Singers”] "Tosca", complete. Arego Quadri; Vienna State Opera & Chorus. [See details under "Opera, Vocal & Choral"]

RACHMANINOFF: Isle of the Dead, Op. 29. Sweat-Ran-Off; USSR Symphony Orchestra. [See irascible, cranky, and virtually pointless commentary under “Conductors”] Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32/ No. 12. Frederick Meinders, piano. [2:27] Symphonic Dances. Temirkanov; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978

RAVEL: Bolero. Skrowackewski; Minnesota Orchestra [12:24] Daphnis & Chloe, Suite No. 2. Munch; Boston Symphony; live, 1959 Pavane…Defunct Infant.. Skrowackewski; Minnesota Orchestra [6:15] Rapsodie Espagnole. Skrowaczewki; Minnesota Orchestra [16:15] La Valse. Skrowaczewski; Minnestoa Orchestra [12:24]

RODRIGUEZ, Robert: Fable of Boccachio. Eduardo Mata; Pittsburgh Symphony; live; 1985 [A rollicksome, colorful piece that does indeed bring some of the livelier tales of the Decameron to mind! Highly entertaining; would an excellent curtain-raiser for any concert.]

ROOTHAM, Cyril (1876 - 1938): Symphony No. 1, C Minor. Handley; London Philharmonic [My word, how many beautiful neo-romantic English Symphonies ARE there? Well, here's another, one that reminds me very favorably of the magnificent Moeran symphony (Celtic twilights and wet green hillsides…) Some hauntingly beautiful passages here, even if the style isn't especially unique. I think Butterworth would have written symphonies like this, if he hadn't been killed on the first day of the Somme offensive.]

ROSSINI: Overture to “The Barber of Seville”. Haitink; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1983

ROSZA: The Royal Philharmonic Anthology. [See under film and theater music] String Quartet, Op. 25. New World String Quartet

RUBBRA: Soliloquy for Cello & Orchestra. [Performers not identified -- well, only by obviously bogus names -- since the Source for this and the 7th was one of those "Aries" LPs, mostly derived from BBC air-checks, then given absurd fake names like "The Versailles Symphony Orchestra". Whoever the performers are, they're very good, and Rubbra requires an unforced eloquence for his music to make its case. And this music IS eloquent; it just doesn't smack you across the chops with how eloquent it is; the deeper you listen, the more beautiful Rubbra's music becomes.] Symphony No. 7, Op. 88. [The comments above apply equally to this ravishing symphony.]

RUBINSTEIN: "Kamennoi Ostrow". Virgil Fox; organ of the Riverside Church, NYC. See comments below under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

SAINT-Saens: “The Swan” (transcribed, and very sexily too, by E. Hoskier). [2:15]

SALMANOV, Vadim: Symphony No. 4, B Minor. Mravinsky; Leningrad Philharmonic; live, 1/ 28/ 1977. Mravinsky chose few contemporary works written after the death of Shostakovich (as though that mortality had closed the books on an entire musical epoch; and perhaps it DID), and after three hearings I'm still not sure why Mravinsky chose this to be one of them. It's a decent-enough, workmanlike symphony, much energized by this performance, but I don't hear the quirkiness or emotional cart-wheeling you get in Boris Tischenko's work (when he's really trying hard not to imitate Shostakovich!), but except for isolated episodes I have yet to have the necessary "Ah-HAH!" moment when an entire composition suddenly snaps into focus. But it's good enough to warrant a few more listens, and maybe next time I'll get lightning-struck.]

SCHMITT, Florent: Symphony for Strings. Jean-Francoise Palliard’ His String Orchestra [What a little beauty of a work; like an orchid, like, well, um, like prime Debussy in its better pages, and if you adore Debussy, well here’s more only different in accent if not effect.]

SCHUMAN, WILLIAM: George Washington Bridge, Intermezzo for Band. Fennell; Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble. [See under “Anthologies”] "On Freedom's Ground", A Bi-Centennial Oratorio. Mehta; New York Philharmonic; Sherril Milnes, baritone; New York Choral Artists; live, 1976 Symphony No. 6. Russell-Davies; American Composers' Orcheatra [Outstandingly vital performance of a too-neglected work -- there are some fiendishly hard splashes of orchestral color, which under Russell-Davies's incandescent leadership, this intermittent ensemble plays with the utmost brilliance AND emotional expressivity! It must have been one helluvva concert!] Symphony No. 10. Edo de Waart; Chicago Symphony; live, c. mid-80s. [I think this is the best, meatiest, most exciting symphony Bill Schuman's written in a long-ass time. It's a bit long for its content, but it has some really gripping dark, long-breathed melodic lines and one of the most dynamic, bang-up endings since his Third. Even the normally torpid de Waart comes alive for this one, delivering a sleek, powerful performance. Maybe he should stick to fringe repertoire, since the basic stuff clearly bore the poop out of him. In any case, a great modern symphony given a terrific reading.]

SCHUMANN: “Manfred” Overture, O[. 115. Karl Muncinger; L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande [See comments under “Conductors”] Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Bruno Walter; New York Philharmonic; rec. 1941

SCRIABIN: Poem of Ecstasy, Op. 54. Svetlanov; USSR Symphony Orchestra. [See irascible, cranky, and virtually pointless commentary under “Conductors”]

SHAPEY, Ralph: Rituals, for Large Orchestra. Davies; American Composers' Orchestra; live, 1985 [Well, wjem ,my esteemed colleague Oliver Daniel, was President of ASCAP, he routinely dealt with the personal and professional problems of ordinary freelancers' lives and careers. It was no accident when Oliver once blurted out his belief that Ralph Shapey was "The Most Disagreeable Man in American Music", he had a more-than-adequate data vase on which to base his opinion! I, too, find his music intentionally baffling, with far too much of any composition being "decorated" by extended passages written in the most egregious manner for the highest/ lowest registers.

Now, for what it's worth, I find this unspeakably complicated piece to be rather a lot of fun -- as though Shapey were indulging in some pretty extreme forms of self-parody; one's interest is held, and happenstance events (such as this or that player simply running out of air before he's sustained the piercing or glaring sounds Shapey commanded them to make, and many of which sound like show-off extravagances thrown into the mix just to make it THAT much harder for mere mortals to cope with. Here's how Oliver recalled one strange and revealing vignette about Shaoey and his music:

(February, 1956) Originally slated for a February performance was a new work by American composer Ralph Shapey -- a work that Mitropolous either commissioned outright or at least supported financially during during some stages of its development. Shapey's piece was listed, and promoted, right up to the date of that concert, but when patrons opened their program booklets, they found a hastily mimeographed notice-of-substitution. Instead of Shapey's new work "Challenge: The Family of Man", the orchestra would be playing Bizet's Jeux d'enfantes suite. This may have been the only time in Dimitri's career when he actually canceled a contemporary work on the very eve of its first performance, and NYPO veteran player John Schaeffer rembered the incident vividly:

"Now Mitropoulos DID conduct some extremely difficult modern music, but this piece by Shapey was just plain CRAZY! It started out on a low D in the basses and then, the very next note, in a huge glissando, it zoomed up like some strange, sinister machine being switched-on, all the way from the extreme high end of the fingerboard. And EVERY measure had an extra 16th note or a 32th note, or a 3/16ths note or something else equally as egregious. The guys in the orchestra thought it was an awful, pointless mess. Not only that, but it was very badly orchestrated to boot, just an abomination clear-through. Not only could the musicians not find a way to PLAY this damn thing, but for once, Mitropoulos was completely at a loss as to how to conduct the thing. He became increasingly agitated until finally he spun around on his rehearsal stool, gestured imploringly at Shapey -- who was just sitting there with a smug, complacent little grin on his kisser, and suddenly shouted: "Why? Why must you write so difficult? It's so unnecessary!'

Well, Shapey made this asinine wise-guy gesture, in effect shrugging-off the conductor's lament, and kind of sneered in reply: 'This? Oh, this is nothing!' Then he came on-stage and sort of pushed Dimitri off the conductor's stool and started trying to conduct the piece on-his-own. It degenerated from being a fiasco to being an absolute farce! Now whatever else he was, Shapey was very well-connected in the Byzantine mechanisms of cultural bureaucracies, which meant that if he WANTED to, he could poison many-an-ear against Mitropoulos, snd make the conductor's life just THAT much more trouble-plagued. The defection of a high-profile contemporary American composer would just be another club for the mob to employ in their now-routine alleyway muggings of Mitropoulos. ***********************************************************************

SHAPEY, Ralph: [Dear Lord, what's happening to me? (Choke!) -- twice in one update. I've discovered some stuff by Shapey that I actually dig!] This outlandish sort-of requem thingie is hugely impractical -- some 26-28 percussion instruments arrayed across the balcony while somber, ominous -- but actually rather marvelously creepy) stuff gets played around it, much too often and much to many times over what the dumb-as-a-rock tunes can support, but the guy's at least making the right gestures. Full absolution will not be granted until I hear the presumably grandiose ending, but the damn piece lasts 58 minutes and I didn't care so much that I wasted another blank cassette to record it. If you're intrigued, the 45 minutes I DID manage to dub should certainly give you the gist of the piece. ] Concerto Fantastique for Percussion & Orchestra (world premiere). Composer; Chicago Symphony, 1991.

SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concerto No. 2. Kareen Georgienne (sp?) cello; Temirkanov; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978 "October", Symphonic Poem. Andrew Davis; NY Philharmonic; live, 1988 {It really wigs us out, in America, to understand, as we now do, that D.S. was both a victim of the Soviet system, and deep in his heart still a True Believer in its capacity to relieve suffering and poverty, if only the right leaders emerged…which of course they never did until Gorbachov, poor sod, and we all know how HE got crushed under the Apparatus!. How, we ask, could Shostakovich, a sensitive and brilliant intellectual, reconcile these oil/water dichotomies? How could be support such mutually hostile believes? Well, it wasn't easy, that's for sure, and the mental gymnastic required to square-the-circle almost made him schizoid, but the primary reason that twisted way of thinking was natural for him (as natural as, to us, it seems perverse, even deluded), is really very simple: he was a RUSSIAN, people! Stout Russian patriots have been mixing contradictions with their borscht for centuries; the smarter, more creative ones sometimes manage to harness the dynamic tension into artistic fuel; everybody else just drinks like fish to keep their brain-meat from turning into bags of pus. ANYWAY, this is one of his last really fervent tub-thumping patriotic splurges and it really is terrific (if your taste runs toward Red Army documentaries). Surprisingly zippy reading, too, by the normally torpid Andrew Davis. Who'd've thunk it?] Symphony No. 4. Rostropovich; National Philharmonic Orchestra; live; 1986 Symphony No. 8. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony, live, 1981 [As I've said before, when Slatkin's "on", he's splendid, and he was definitely on when this concert went down. Hair-raising Shostakovich Eighth!] Symphony No. 10 -- Finale-groteske only. Osopov Folk Music Orchestra, [See details under "Mundo Bizarro"]

SIBELIUS: En Saga, Op. 9. Fedosiev; Moscow Radio Symphony, live, mid-Eighties. [Very fine] Symphony No. 1, E Minor, Op. 39. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, early Seventies [See comments under "Conductors"] Symphony No. 4. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, mid-Eighties [See rave comments under “Conductors”]

SOLER, Padre Antonio (1729-1783): Concerto for Two Organs, No. 1. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [5:25] Concerto for Two Organs, No. 2. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [11:20] Concerto for Two Organs, No. 3. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [8:15] Concerto for Two Organs, No. 4. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [5:10] Concerto for Two organs No. 5. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [7:55] Concerto for Two Organs, No. 6. E. Power Biggs & Damiel Pinham, organs [8:55] [Soler must have been one jolly cleric, because these jaunty, high-spirited little works are about as antithetical to the usual Gothic gloom of organ music at this time as a half-dozen ragtime arrangements. One wonders what his Superior thought of the worldly, almost frivolous mood of these happy-go-lucky exercises… Perhaps that’s why Soler only wrote six of them! Impeccable and juicy readings by Biggs & Pinkham]

SOWERBY, Leo: Comes Autumn Time, Overture. Rostropovich; National Symphony; live; early 80s

STRAUSS, Richard: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op.30. Tennstedt; Minnesota Orchestra; live, 1982 Le bourgeoise Gentilhomme Suite, Op. 60. Tennstedt; Minnesota Orchestra; live, 1982 Don Juan. Bruno Walter; French National Radio Symphony; live, 1956

SZYMANOWSKI: Berceuse d'Aitacho Enia, Op. 52. w/ Wanda Wilkomerska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano Dance from "Harnasie", Op. 51. w/ Wanda Wilkomirska, violin & w/ Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano " Notturno e Tarantella, Op. 28. w/ Wanda Wilkomerska, violin & w/ Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano Romance, Op. 23. Wanda Vilkomirska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewsli, piano [The most ravishing recordings of these mystico-romantic-nationalistic works ever; superb sound] Sonata in D Minor, for Violin & Piano, Op. 29. Wanda Wilkomirska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 2. Giulini; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1991 [Terrific; even better than his classic 1958 recording on Angel!] Symphony No. 5. Schmidtt-Isserstedt; Hamburg Radio Symphony [NB: This is NOT the same Schmitt-Isserstedt Tchaik 5th I listed earlier (a much later Capitol release with better sound but not quite as much character as this one. He’s still a bit too emotionally retrained for my taste, but there’s admirable dignity and eloquence in this ancient early London “FFRR” LP] Symphony No. 5. Maazel; Cleveland Orchestra; live, 1985

TOWER, Joan: "Sequoias" for Orchestra. Russell-Davies; American Composers' Orchestra (world premiere performance)

TVIETT, Ger: Concerto for Hardranger Fiddle & Orchestra. Soloist unknown; Karsten Anderson; Bergen Symphony Orchestra [All of these concertos are wonderful and so is everything else I've heard by Tviett -- the Norwegian answer to Havergal Brian, only more accessible]

VALEN, Fartein: Four Piano Pieces, Op. 22. Robert Riefling, piano Legende, Op. 1. Robert Riefling, piano Preludium & Fugue, Op. 28. Robert Riefling, piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 2. Robert Riefling, piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 38. Robert Riefling, piano Two Preludes, Op. 29. Robert Riefling, piano [Valen invented his own "12-tone system" quite independently of Schoenberg, and while I don't pretend to understand the technical aspects of Valen's argument, the SOUND is generally warmer, more "humane" sounding that that of the Viennese 12-toners. Many pages in these piano works (played with pioneering zeal but with an occasionally too heavy foot on the bass pedal) contain stuff that neither Chopin nor Schumann would find hard to swallow; in fact, these ARE romantic pieces, just colored kind of funny. Valen's four symphonies have been sporadically available for decades, but this is the only collection of his solo keyboard works ever wuz and it's been o/p since the mid-Seventies. If you've ever been curious about this reclusive Norwegian composer, here's an ideal introduction to his style]

VERDI: "La Traviata", complete. Patene Cara, conductor; Orchestra & Chorus of the Teatro Municipal, Moderna; live, 2/ 7/ 1965; cast -

MIRELLA FRENI…………………………………..VIOLETTA LUCIANO PAVAROTTI……………………………ALFREDO ATTILIO D'ORAZI………………………………….GIORGIO GERMONT LUCIANA REZZADORE……………………………FLORA AUGUSTO PEDRONI………………………………..GASTONE WALTER DE AMBROSIS……………………………BARON DUOPHOL

ANTHOLOGY

TEBALDI SINGS VERDI

From “FORZA DEL DESTINO” : “Me pellegrina ed orfana…” w/ Molinar-iPradelli; Orchestra & Chors of Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome “Son giunta! Grazie, o Dio…Madre, pietosa Vergine”… w/ Molinari-Pradelli; Orchestre & Chorus of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome

From “OTELLO” : “Salce, Salce…Ave Maria…” w/ Luisa Ribacchi, mezzo; Alberto Erede; Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome

From “IL TROVATORE”: “Che piu t’arresti…Tacea la notte’… w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence “Di talr amor”… w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence “D’Amor sull ‘ali rosee Miserere…” w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence “Tu vedrai che amore in Terra”… w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence

**************************************************************************

VIVALDI: Piccolo Concerto in A Minor. Miles Zentner, piccolo; Mehta; L.A. Philharmonic [

WALTON: Belshazzar’s Feast. London Philharmonic & Chorus; Dennis Noble, baritone. [From a 1953 Nixa recording, which is almost certainly the first LP of this wonderful work. As you must expect from a Source of this vintage, there are a few scratches, but NOTHING MAJOR, and the sonics are surprisingly vivid, as is Boult’s conducting. The baritone is outstanding. A VERY scarce and desirable recording!] Music for Children. Composer; London Philharmonic [13:12] [Not to mention grownups who love a good jolly tune!]

WARD, Robert: Invocation & Toccata. Composer; N.C. School of the Arts Orchestra; live, 1984 Piano Concerto. Composer; Hyung Sook Kim, piano; NCSPA Orchestra; live, 1984

Von WEBER: Concertino for Clarinet & Orchestra, Op. 26. Michele Zukovsky, clarinet; Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [9:25] Concerto for Bassoon & Orchestra. Unidentified soloist; Giulini; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, 1980 Overture to “Der Freischutz”. Maazel; Cleveland Orchestra; live, 1980 Overture to "Oberon". Szell; Cleveland Orchestra; live; Nov. 1970 [From a very special tape documenting Szell’s final concert; see details under "Conductors"]

WIENIAWSKI: Polonaise de Concert, Op. 4. Glenn Dichterow, violin; Mehta; L.A/ Philharmonic [4:28] Scherzo Tarantelle, Op. 16. Glenn Dichterow, violin; Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [5:26]

WUORINEN: Crossfire. Muti; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1983 [It's short, it's noisy, it has no audible connection with its title, and I cannot imagine why Muti wasted time programming it.. BUT…if you should be interested, it'll make a nice pendant to the 3rd Piano Concerto, which really IS a rather cool piece.] Piano Concerto No. 3. Garrick Ohlsson, piano; Michael Tilson-Thomas; Pittsburgh Symphony; live, c. 1985 [Either ol' Chaz is mellowing-out, or I'm becoming more broad-minded, but after all the abuse and scorn I've heaped on his more unrepentant serial music, damned if I didn't actually like this ever-so-busy but highly entertaining piece (thanks in no small part to Ohlsson's staggering agility and skill at clarifying themes that could easily get buried alive in the welter of harmonic games-being-played). Hey, I'm not a reactionary, folks -- I think Elliot Carter's piano concerto is a great piece, too, even though I don't get "in the mood" for it more than once every 2-3 years. If, like me, you used to gag on Wuorinen's dogmatism and snot-nosed arrogance, he seems to have realized, finally, that it's no bad thing to throw in some audience-appeal! Way to go, Charlie!]

ZEMLINSKY: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15. LaSalle String Quartet

CHAMBER ENSEMBLES & SOLO VIRTUOSI

ANDA, Geza (piano): Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra, No. 10, E-flat Major, K. 365. w/ Clara Haskil; Alceo Galliera; Philharmonia Orchestra

BADURA-SKODA (piano): Milhaud: Five studies for Piano.

BECKHAMMER, Johann (violin): Dvorak: Romance for Violin & Orchestra. Sir Colin Davis; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, mid-80s

BERNATOVA, Eva (piano): Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 3. Ancerl; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

BIGGS, E. Powers, organist: Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 1. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [5:25] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 2. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [11:20] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 3. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [8:15] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 4. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [5:10] Soler: Concerto for Two organs No. 5. E. Power Biggs & Daniel Pinkham, organs [7:55] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 6. E. Power Biggs & Damiel Pinham, organs [8:55] [Soler must have been one jolly cleric, because these jaunty, high-spirited little works are about as antithetical to the usual Gothic gloom of organ music at this time as a half-dozen ragtime arrangements. One wonders what his Superior thought of the worldly, almost frivolous mood of these happy-go-lucky exercises… Perhaps that’s why Soler only wrote six of them! Impeccable and juicy readings by Biggs & Pinkham

BOLET, Jorge (piano): Marx: "Romantic" Concerto. w/ Mehta; NY Philharmonic, live 1984

BRUGGEN, Frans (recorder & lots of related instruments): Bach: Recorder Concerto D Major. Frans Bruggen, recorder and conductor; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; live, 1983. [Actually, Bach never WROTE a “recorder concerto”; this is a tasty little conflation assembled by Maestro Bruggen from BWVs 49, 169, and 1053. What the hell, it works for me.]

BUSCH STRING QUARTET: Brahms: Piano Quintet No. 1, G Minor, Op. 25. w/ Rudolph Serkin, piano [38:01]

CHMIELEWSKI, Tadeus (piano): Szymanowski: Berceuse d'Aitacho Enia, Op. 52. w/ Wanda Wilkomerska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano Szymanowski: Dance from "Harnasie", Op. 51. w/ Wanda Wilkomirska, violin & w/ Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano " Szymanowski: Notturno e Tarantella, Op. 28. w/ Wanda Wilkomerska, violin & w/ Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano Szymanowski: Romance, Op. 23. Wanda Vilkomirska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewsli, piano [The most ravishing recordings of these mystico-romantic-nationalistc works ever; superb sound] Sonata in D Minor, for Violin & Piano, Op. 29. Wanda Wilkomirska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano

COLLARD, Jean-Phillippe (piano): Debussy: Estampes, complete Debussy: Images, Books 1 & 2, complete Debussy: L’Isle Joyeuse Debussy: Masques

CZIFFRA, Gyorgy (piano): Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies, 9-15. [52:00] [Brilliant, coruscating readings; my favorites. VERY "Hungarian" sounding!] * Sonata No. 9, E Flat Major ("Carnival in Pesth"); * Sonata No. 10, E Major; * Sonata No. 11, A Minor; * Sonata No. 12, C Sharp Minor; * Sonata No. 13, A Minor; * Sonata No. 14, F Minor; * Sonata No. 15, A Minor ("Rakoczy March")

DECROSS, Jean (cello): Boccherini: Cello Concerto D Major, Op. 34. Newell Jenkins; Orchestra Accademia dell’Orso

DICHTEROW, Glenn (violin): Wieniawski: Polonaise de Concert, Op. 4. Glenn Dichterow, violin; Mehta; L.A/ Philharmonic [4:28] Wieniawski: Scherzo Tarantelle, Op. 16. Glenn Dichterow, violin; Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [5:26]

DONAHOUGH, Peter (piano): Muldowney: Piano Concerto. w/ Mark Elder; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; live, 1985

FOX, Virgil: Cadman, Charles Wakefield: "At Dawning". Debussy: Claire de Lune. Fibich: Poem; Grieg: "A Dream"; Kreisler: "The Old Refrain" Liszt: "Liebestraum"; McAmis: "Dreams"; Massenet: "Meditation" from "Thais"; Meditation from "Thais"; Rubinstein: "Kamenno Ostrow" [Admittedly, my interest in the solo organ repertoire is a sometime-thing, so my expertise is scattergun and all-over-the-place, but I always kinda dug Virgil Fox, if only because he was the younger brother who slid Whoopie Cushions under the chair-pads at Uncle Rodney's 95th birthday party, compared to all that sanctimonious bear-grease Columbia smeared all over it's compilation of Nobel Prize winning humanitarian, Dr. Albert Schwewizer, who played Bach (rather indifferently, I always thought) on a wheezy old machine in a smelly-looking hut, surrounded -- "Mom, look!" -- wide-eyed NEGROES, obviously spell-bound by* Bach's use of inverse-ratio tri-tone octaquavers (and who were actually whispering to each other: "Dere dat ol' fool go again, serenadin' the baboons! Man, I don't know much about white-ass composers named Bach, but Ah kin sho' nuff tell when a keyboard instrument NEEDS a goddamn tune-up! All dis humidity? Rust out them pipes in a week, come monsoon season. 'Course, not big deal 'cause Skinny Albert can just call Notre Dam and dat French Air Force, man, dey have a whole new set o' pipes here by lunch!" Yes, Skippy, I AM being as politically incorrect as possible. Back when those Schweitzer albums were ubiquitous, I thought (1) the marketing people really over-did the sanctimony -- Dr. Schweitzer SEEMED like a truly humble and dedicated man, but his chosen instrument had a uniformly sour and musty quality throughout all the registers and I found his Bach playing to be stiff and totally without grandeur. So that's why I always had a sneaky fondness for Virgil Fox: he always appeared to be HAVING FUN playing the baroque organ OR the big vulgar atomic-powered "King Kong" Wurlitzer monster he played for those notorious light-show-concerts he and Lorin Hollander gave at the Filmore East. And I had fun listening to this paradigm of middle-brow taste (or how to muss up your living room so guests will think you're actually cultured, even if you never could figure out any music more complicated than a Mantovani Album! Seemed like all my parents' friends were into that. I despised their hypocrisy, but looking back on it…at least they were tacitly acknowledging that "culture" wasn't necessarily a bad thing to acquaint yourself with! Y'know, when I started this screed, 17 minutes ago, it actually WAS going to loop sround somewhere and re-connect with Virgil Fox, but I'm damned now if I can remember which exit I meant to take, so…so. Thank you all for coming! Skippy will show you the way to your cars through the Bottomless Peat Bog, just be sure to step exactly where he does so you won't accidentally set off one of those war surplus Teller mines!]

FRAGER, Malcolm (piano): Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1, C Major, Op. 15. Antoni Ros-Marba; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; live; 11/ 19/ 1983

GEORGIENNE, Kareen (sp?), cello: Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2. w/ Temirkanov; Los Angeles Philharmonic; live, c. 1978

GIESEKING: Grieg: Piano Concerto A Minor, Op. 15. w/ (?) Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic (maybe); date unknown. [Bogus or just a recording that slipped between the cracks? See comments about this notorious maybe/ maybe no performance under “Conductor”] Schumann: Piano Concerto A Minor, Op. 54. Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic; live; 1943. [13:50] [This one is wild – see comments under “Conductors”]

HASKIL, Clara (piano): Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra, No. 10, E-flat Major, K. 365. w/ Geza Anda; Alceo Galliera; Philharmonia Orchestra

KARLOVSKY, Jaroslav (viola): Bartok: Viola Concerto. Ancerl; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

KAUFFMAN, Louis (violin): Bennett: Violin Concerto. Bernard Herrmann; London Symphony Orchestra Bennett: Sonata for Violin & Piano. (w/ Annette Kauffman, piano)

JANIGRO, Antonio (cello): Hindemith: Cello Concerto. w/ Muti; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1983

JARRETT, Keith (piano): Hovhaness: "Loudizhak" Fantasy for Piano & Orchestra. w/ Russell-Davies; live concert by American Composers' Orchestra

KIM, Hyun Sook (piano): Ward: Piano Concerto. Composer; NCSPA Orchestra; live, 1984. [This crisp, clean, mostly neo-classical work is also an apt vehicle for Ward's slightly squishy neo-romanticism; Ms. Kim proves herself fully equal to the technical demands AND the stylistic ambiguities, and during his after-concert remarks (which I attended but which weren't broadcast), Ward voiced high praise for her work.]

LA SALLE STRING QUARTET: Zenlinsky: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15.

LEWENTHAL, Raymond (piano): Alkan: Barcarolle, Op. 65/ No. 6 Raymond Lewenthal, piano [8:36] Alkan: Le Festin dEscope. Op. 39/ No. 12. [2:51] Alkan: Quasi-Faust (Second Movement from Grande Sonate, Op. 33). Raymond Lewenthal, piano [11:00] Alkan: Symphonie (No.s 4-7, Op. 39). Raymond Lewenthal, piano. [18:28]

LIN, Cho-Liang, violin: Bruch: Scottish Fantasy. Slatkin; Chicago Symphony; live, 1986

MALCUZYNSKI, Witold (piano): Chopin: Sonata No. 2, B-flat Major, Op. 35. Franck: Prelude, Chorale & Fugue.

MEINERS, Frederick (piano) Liszt: Ballade No. 2, B Minor. [13:14] Orthel, Leon: Five Epigrams. [6:19] Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32/ No. 12 2:27] Saint-Saens: “The Swan” (transcribed for piano by E. Hoskier). [2:15]

MENUHIN: Bartok: Six Duos for Two Violins. w/ Nell Gotkovsky [8:33] Violin Concerto No. 2. Dorati; New Philharmonia Orchestra [38:57] [This is my favorite version of this lyrical masterpiece; both conductor and soloist were completely at one on how it should go, and it WENT like gangbusters]

NEW WORLD STRING QUARTET: Korngold: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26. Rosza: String Quartet , Op. 22.

OHLSSON, Garrick (piano): Wuorinen: Piano Concerto No. 3. Tilson-Thomas; Pittsburgh Symphony; live, c. 1986

PINKHAM, Daniel (organ) Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 1. w/ E. Power Biggs. [5:25] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 2. w/ E. Power Biggs [11:20] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 3. E. Power Biggs. [8:15] Soler: Concerto for Two Organs, No. 4. w/ E. Power Biggs : Soler: Concerto for Two organs No. 5. w/ E. Power Biggs. Daniel Pinkham organs [7:55] Concerto for Two Organs Concerto for two Organs, No. 6. E. Power Biggs & Damiel Pinham, organs [8:55] [Soler must have been one jolly cleric, because these jaunty, high-spirited little works are about as antithetical to the usual Gothic gloom of organ music at this time as a half-dozen ragtime arrangements. One wonders what his Superior thought of the worldly, almost frivolous mood of these happy-go-lucky exercises… Perhaps that’s why Soler only wrote six of them! Impeccable and juicy readings by Biggs & Pinkham

PRESTON, Simon (organ): Hindemith: Sonata for Organ No. 1. Hindemith: Sonata for Organ No. 2 Hindemith: Sonata for Organ No. 3

REINBERGER, Jiri (organ):

RIEFLING, Robert (piano): Valen: Four Piano Pieces, Op. 22 Valen: Legende, Op. 1 Valen: Preludium & Fugue, Op. 28 Valen: Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 Valen: Sonata No. 2, Op. 38 Valen: Two Preludes, Op. 29 [See comments under "Composers"]

ROSTROPOVICH: Transcription tape of an address he gave at the National Press Club, on . Despite the occasional opacity of his still-heavy Russian accent, the great cellist/conductor proves to be a man of erudition, wit, and broad knowledge of the world and how IT works, as well as the arts and how THEY work…or should work. Fascinating stuff. I will happily dub it on to any other 45-minute’s worth of Rostropovich – as soloist or conductor – you’d care to include. As it happened, I coupled my dub of the speech with a shattering Shostakovich Four he conducted with the National Symphony in 1986 – it works for me, but if you’d prefer some rag-time, that works too!

RUBINSTEIN, Artur: "A Program of Chopin Waltzes": No. 1, E-flat, Op. 18 ("Grande Valse brillante"); No. 2, A flat, Op. 34/ No. 1 ("Ordinary Valse Brillante" I guess…); No. 3, A Minor, Op. 34/ No. 2 (Yet another "Valse brillante"); No. 4, in F, Op. 34/ No. 3 (Guess what this one is too"); No. 5, A flat, Op. 42 ("The two/four Waltz") No. 6, D flat, Op. 62 ("The Minute Waltz"); No. 7, C-sharp minor, Op. 64/ No. 2; No. 8, A flat, Op. 64/ No. 3; No. 9, A flat, Op. 69/ No. 1 ("Les Adieux") No. 10, B Minor, Op. 69/ No. 2; No. 11, G flat, Op. 70/ No. 1; No. 12, F Minor, Op. 70/ No. 2; No. 13, D flat, Op. 70/ No, 3; No. 14, E Minor (Post.)

SCHIFF, Heinrich (cello): Gulda: Concerto for Cello & Jazz Orchestra. Composer conducting unidentified ensemble

SERKIN, Rudolph (piano): Brahms: Piano Quintet No. 1, G Minor, Op. 25. w/ Members of the Busch String Quartet [38:01]

STERN, Isaac: Brahms: Violin Concerto, D Major, Op. 77. w/ Beecham; Royal Philharmonic

STEVENS, Thomas (trumpet): Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, E Flat Major. Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [13:10]

WILKOMIRSKA, Wanda (violin): Szymanowski: Berceuse d'Aitacho Enia, Op. 52. w/ Wanda Wilkomerska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano Szymanowski: Dance from "Harnasie", Op. 51. w/ Wanda Wilkomirska, violin & w/ Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano " Szymanowski: Notturno e Tarantella, Op. 28. w/ Wanda Wilkomerska, violin & w/ Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano Szymanowski: Romance, Op. 23. Wanda Vilkomirska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewsli, piano [The most ravishing recordings of these mystico-romantic-nationalistc works ever; superb sound] Sonata in D Minor, for Violin & Piano, Op. 29. Wanda Wilkomirska, violin & Tadeusz Chmielewski, piano

ZENTNER, Miles (piccolo): Vivaldi: Piccolo Concerto A Minor. Mehta; L.A. Philharmonic [10:37]

ZUKOVSKY, Michele (clarinet} Von Weber: Clarinet Concertino, Op. 26. Mehta; L. A. Philharmonic [9:25]

Opera, Choral & Solo Vocalists

Complete Works; Large Hunks Thereof

HENZE: "The Bassarids", complete opera. Von Dohnanyi; Cleveland Orchestra & Chorus; Anja Silja, mezzo; Celina Lindsley, soprano; [How strange is this: at the Salzburg premiere, in 1966, this 70-minute opera was roundly hissed and sneered-at by the darlings of the avant garde! Imagine! A Henze work!! And what a savagely powerful work it is, too; every bit as "neo-archaic" as Orff and just as accessible. Dohnanyi conducted that 1966 performance; obviously believes in the work; and on this occasion at least, abandoned his "stuffy German pedant" guise and turned in a blistering account. If you think you don't like Henze, or that he got too glibly political for his britches for a while (he did; he did; it was the Seventies, folks, and it was going around like a bad flu virus), be aware of how refined, even elegant much of his work has been since, and be amazed at how riveting this opera is!]

JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova", complete. Jaroslav Krombholc (don't you just love that name?); Orchestra & Chorus of the Prague National Theater. Cast as follows: --

ZDENEK KROUPA…………………………………Savel P. Dikoi BENO BLACHUT……………………………………Boris Blackhut LUDMILLA KOMANCOVA………………………..Marpha Kabanova BOHUMIR VICH…………………………………….Tikon Kabanov DRAHOMIRA TIKALOVA…………………………Katya VIKTOR COCI………………………………………..Vania Krudiash INVANA MIXOVA…………………………………….Varvara Kabanova's Ward RUDOLF JEDLICKA………………………………….Kuligin, friend of Kudriash EVA HLOBIOVA………………………………………Maidservant ************************************************************ PUCCINI: "La Boheme", Highlights. Gabrielle Santini; Radio Romes Opera Orchestra & Chorus; Rosanna Carteri, soprano; (?) Ramella, soprano; Ferruccio Tagliavini, tenor; Giuseppe Taddei, baritone; Casare Siepi, bass. [40:53]

"Madama Butterfly", Highlights. Anna Moffo, soprano; Cesare Valletti, tenor; Rosalind Elias, mezzo; Leinsdorf; Orchestra & Chorus of the Rome Opera. [The soloists are terrific; the sound is first-rate; Leinsdorf conducts with all the passion of a clockwork zombie]

LICIA ALBANESE, soprano……………………….Manon Lescaut ROBET MERRILL, baritone………………………Lescaut JUSSI BJOERLING, tenor…………………………..Chevalier des Grieux FRANCO CALABRESE, bass……………………….Geronte MARIO CARLIN, Tenor……………………………..Edmundo ENRICO CAMPI, bass…………………………………Innkeeper

"Tosca", complete. Argeo Quadri; Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Kammerchor… [Westminster didn't issue many complete operas, but this one is considered especially desirable and copies in VG condition aren't easy to find. One funny aside: a typo in the notes informs us that the recording was made in "June, 1800", which, if true, would make it a truly remarkable example of early technology (never mind Puccini's dates!) Cast is:

SIMONA DALL'ARGINE, soprano………. Florio Tosca NINO SCATTOLINI, tenor………………….Mario Cavaradossi SCIPIO COLOMBO, baritone………………Scarpia ALFRED POELL, bass……………………….Cesare Angelotti KARL DOENCH, baritone…………………...Sacristan WALTER BERRY, bass………………………Jailer

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VERDI: "La Traviata", complete. Patene Cara, conductor; Orchestra & Chorus of the Teatro Municipal, Moderna; live, 2/ 7/ 1965; cast -

MIRELLA FRENI…………………………………..VIOLETTA LUCIANO PAVAROTTI……………………………ALFREDO ATTILIO D'ORAZI………………………………….GIORGIO GERMONT LUCIANA REZZADORE……………………………FLORA AUGUSTO PEDRONI………………………………..GASTONE WALTER DE AMBROSIS……………………………BARON DUOPHOL

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SOLO RECITALS, ANTHOLOGIES & COLLECTIONS

CABALLE, Montserrat:

"Songs of Enrique Granados"

(Unidentified Orchestra conducted by Raefel Ferrer) (Songs are listed in order as they appear on the LP)

* "Descubrase el Pensamiento de Mi Secreto Cuidado"; * "Manaica Era"; * "Llorad, Corazon, Que Tenis Razon"; * "Mira Que Soy Nina - Amor, Dejame!"; * "No Lloreis, Ojuelos"; * "Iban al Pinar"; * "Gracia Mia"; * "La Maja Dolorossa No. 1"; * "La Maja Dolorossa No. 2"; * "La Maja Dolorossa No. 3"; * "El Tra la la y el Punteado"; * "El Mirar de la Maja"; * "Callejo"; * "Amor y Odio"; * "El Majo Discreto"; * "El Majo Timido"; * "La Maja de Goya"

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TEBALDI, Renata:

“Tebaldi sings Verdi” –

From “FORZA DEL DESTINO” : “Me pellegrina ed orfana…” w/ Molinar-iPradelli; Orchestra & Chors of Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome “Son giunta! Grazie, o Dio…Madre, pietosa Vergine”… w/ Molinari-Pradelli; Orchestre & Chorus of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome

From “OTELLO” : “Salce, Salce…Ave Maria…” w/ Luisa Ribacchi, mezzo; Alberto Erede; Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome

From “IL TROVATORE”: “Che piu t’arresti…Tacea la notte’… w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence “Di talr amor”… w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence “D’Amor sull ‘ali rosee Miserere…” w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence “Tu vedrai che amore in Terra”… w/ Luisa Maragliano, soprano; Athos Cesarini, tenor; Mario del Monaco, tenor; Alberto Erede; Orchestra & Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence

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Individual vocalists in ensemble roles

ALBANESE, Licia (soprano): See Puccini: “Manon Lescaut”…

ALTMEYER, Theo (tenor): Handel: Cantata: "Ah, che troppo inegali". w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Auream [9:58] Handel: Cantata: "Pensieri notturni di Filli - Nwl dolce dell' oblio". [8:32] w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Aureum Handel: Cantata "Silete Venti". w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Aureum Handel: The Dettingen Te Deum. Wolfgang Gonnenwein; Southwest German Chamber Orchestra & Madrigal Choir; Ruth-Margret Putz, soprano; Emmy Lisken, contralto; Franz Crass, bass Handel: Recitative & Aria, for Tenor, Strings & Basso Continuo - "Praise of Harmony; Look Down, Harmonious Saint." Handel: Overture to the Oratorio "Joseph". Collegium Aureum [5:35] w/ Elly Ameling & Halina Lukomska, sopranos; Collegium Aureum

AMELING, Elly (soprano): See same batch of Handel works as listed under "Altmeyer"]

BERRY, Walter (bass): See under Puccini: "Tosca"…

BJOERLING, Jussi (tenor): See Puccini: “Manon Lescaut”…

BLACHUT, Beno: See under JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova"

CABALLE, Montserrat (soprano): See collection of songs by Granados, above, under "Anthologies"]

CALABRESE, Franco (bass): See Puccini: “Manon Lescaut”…

CAMPI, Enrico (bass): See Puccini: “Manon Lescaut”…

CARLIN, Mario (tenor): See Puccini: “Manon Lescaut”…

CARTERI, Rosanna (soprano): See Puccini: "La Boheme", Highlights.

COLOMBO, Scipio (baritone): See Puccini: "Tosca", complete

CRASS, Franz (bass): See Handel: The Dettingen Te Deum. Wolfgang Gonnenwein; Southwest German Chamber Orchestra & Madrigal Choir; Ruth-Margret Putz, soprano; Emmy Lisken, contralto; Theo Altmeyer, tenor

DOENCH, Karl (baritone): See Puccini: "Tosca", complete…

FRENI, Mirella: See Verdi: "La Traviata", complete.

EVA HLOBIOVA, Eva: See JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova"

HUDEMANN, Hans-Olaf (bass) See Bach: Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. See Bach: Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass.

JEDLICKA, Rudolf: See: JANACEK: "Latya Kabanova"

KMENTT, Waldemar (tenor): See Puccini: "Tosca", complete…

KOCI, Viktor: See JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova"

KOMANKOVA, Ludmila: See JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova"

LINDSLEY, Celina (soprano): See Henze: "The Bassarids"…

LISKEN, Emmy (contralto): See Handel: The Dettingen Te Deum. Wolfgang Gonnenwein; Southwest German Chamber Orchestra & Madrigal Choir; Ruth-Margret Putz, soprano; Theo Altmeyer, tenor; Franz Crass, bass

LUKOMSKA, Halina (soprano): [See same batch of Handel works as listed under "Altmeyer"] Handel: “Cantata “Silente Venti”. w/ Rolf Reinhardt; Collegeum Aureium

MERRILL, Robert (baritone): See Puccini: “Manon Lescaut”…

MIXOVA, Ivana: See JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova"

MULLER, Carl-Heinz, bass: See: Bach: Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. See Bach: Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass.

NOBLE, Dennis (baritone): Belshazzar’s Feast. London Philharmonic & Chorus; Dennis Noble, baritone. [From a 1953 Nixa recording, which is almost certainly the first LP of this wonderful work. As you must expect from a Source of this vintage, there are a few scratches, but NOTHING MAJOR, and the sonics are surprisingly vivid, as is Boult’s conducting. The baritone is outstanding. A VERY scarce and desirable recording!]

D'ORAZI, Attilio: See Verdi: "La Traviata", complete

PAVAROTTI: See Verdi: "La Traviata". Complete

POELL, Alfired (bass): See Puccini: "Tosca", complete

PUTZ, Ruth-Margret (soprano): See: Handel: The Dettingen Te Deum. Wolfgang Gonnenwein; Southwest German Chamber Orchestra & Madrigal Choir; w/ Emmy Lisken, contralto; Theo Altmeyer, tenor; Franz Crass, bass

RAMELLA (No first name listed!), (soprano): See Puccini: "La Boheme" highlights

REZZADORI, Luciano: See Verdi: "La Traviata", complete

ROTZSCH, Hans Joachim,(tenor): See: Bach: Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. See Bach: Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass.

SCATTOLINI, Nino (tenor): See Puccini: "Tosca", complete…

SCHWARZENWELLER, Lisa (soprano): See: Bach: Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. See: Bach: Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass.

SIEPI, Casare (bass): See Puccini: "La Boheme" highlights

SILJA, Anja (mezzo): See Henze: "The Bassarids"…

TADDEI, Giuseppe (baritone): See Puccini: "La Boheme" highlights

TAGLIAVINI, Ferruccio (tenor): See Puccini: "La Boheme" highlights

TIKALOVA, Drahomira: See Janacek: :Katya Labanova"

VICH, Bohumir: See JANACEK: "Katya Kabanova"

WOLF-MATTHAUS, Lotte (alto): See: Bach: Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. See Bach: Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass.

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CHORAL WORKS, W/ or W/OUT ORCHESTRA

BACH: Cantata No. 100, “What God Does, That is Rightly Done”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St. Jacobi Catherdral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Carl-Heinz Muller, bass. Cantata No. 175, “He Calleth His Sheep By Name”. Heinz Wunderlich; Hamburg Chamber Orchestra & Choir of St, Jacobi Cathedral; Lisa Schwarzweller, soprano; Lotte Wolf-Matthaus, alto; Hans-Olof Hudemann, bass.

Handel: The Dettingen Te Deum. Wolfgang Gonnenwein; Southwest German Chamber Orchestra & Madrigal Choir; Ruth-Margret Putz, soprano; Emmy Lisken, contralto; Theo Altmeyer, tenor; Franz Crass, bass

HAYDN: "Lord Nelson" Mass. Giulini; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus; live, 1980

HONEGGER: Les Danse des Morts. Henri Vachey; Youth Orchestra & Chorus of Douai; live, c. mid-Seventies [One of Honegger's most dramatic, yet least-known works. I am not aware that it has ever been commercially recorded, certainly not in a version available in the U.S. I'm not a big Honegger fan, but I think this is a knock-out. Excellent performance and sound.]

MATHIAS, William: "This World's Joie", Cantata. David Willcox; Philharmonia Orchestra; Soloists & Chorus [The Olde Englishe spelling of "joy" clues you in to expect a slightly Elizabethan flavor to this fresh, captivating Christmas oratorio. Mathias was, and remains, almost certainly the finest composer Wales has given us in a century or more. In no sense does this work sound old-fashioned, yet its techniques and its composer's world-view are traditional in all the right and proper meanings of that world. Solidly crafted, noble in sentiment and thought, this is a splendid and richly ceremonial-sounding work.]

SCHUMAN, William: "On Freedom's Ground", A Bi-Centennial Oratorio. Mehta; New York Philharmonic; Sherril Milnes, baritone; New York Choral Artists; live, 1976

WALTON: Belshazzar’s Feast. London Philharmonic & Chorus; Dennis Noble, baritone. [From a 1953 Nixa recording, which is almost certainly the first LP of this wonderful work. As you must expect from a Source of this vintage, there are a few scratches, but NOTHING MAJOR, and the sonics are surprisingly vivid, as is Boult’s conducting. The baritone is outstanding. A VERY scarce and desirable recording!]

CELTIC & RELATED GENRES

ANTHOLOGY

"THE LILTING BANSHEE" [A good basic collection of Celtic favorites, played by a solid small ensemble, using the Celtic harp, the bodhran, the Uilleann pipes & penny whistle, and a dulcimer. Total time - 47:43] * Limerick's Lamentation / Give Me Your Hand; * The Drunken Sailor; * Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife; * Kerry Polkas; * Fingal's Cave; * Morris Tunes Medley; * Hide & Seek; * King of the Faeries; * The Lilting Banshee; * Polly Ha'penny; * Plains of Boyle; * South Wind / Great High Wind; * The Wild Geese; * Bonny Portmore; * The Morning Dew / The Ivy Leaf

BOYS OF THE LOUGH: “In the Tradition” • “Out on the Ocean” / “Padeen O’Rafferty” / “Isabelle Blackley” (jigs); • “Kiss Her Under the Coverlet” / “The Lads of Alwick” (slip jig & march); • “The Road to Cashel / “Paddy Kelly’s” (reels); • “Lord Gregory” (ballad); • “Dark Woman of the Glen” (slow air); • “J.O. Forbes, Esq. of Course” / “The Hawk” / “Charles Sutherland” (pastoral air, hornpipe, reel); • “Eddie Kelly” / “The Green Fields of Glentown” (reels); • “The Eclipse” / “The Tailor’s Twist” (hornpipes”; • “Biddy from Sligo” / “The Sunset Peoples’” (jig, reel); • “Padraig O’Keefe’s Son” / “Con Cassidy’s” (jigs); • “The Sea Apprentice” (nallad); • “Miss McDonald” (reel); • “For Ireland I’d Not Tell Her Name” (slow air)

McNALLY, Rob: "Spotted Cow". [One of those short, locally produced tapes featuring a locally well-regarded folk/ Celtic musician. It came without notes and a defective B side, but McNally is very good and the 20-24-odd minutes of music I could salvage is most appealing] * "Parcel of Rogues"; * "Intemperance Reel"; * "Ponchartraine"; * "Greenland"; * "Interlude No. 1"; * "Possibility"; * "Heather's Jig"; * "Interlude No. 2"

THE POGUES: "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash". {Lord, I loved this group -- Irish pub-crawling, sort-of punk, sort-of Clannad-on-Heavy-Drugs, they were also by God unabashedly romantics! I don't have the album, so cannot list the cuts, or the name of their lead singer, whose splintery, three-packs-of-Woodbines-a-day voice sounds like Dylan Thomas with throat cancer, but drives the intense, literate lyrics home like railroad spikes. I wish they'd made more than 2-3 albums, but I suspect they were too rough-edged and punk-ish for the hey-nonny-nonny crowd, and too romantic for the people in blue spiked hair. I'll bet they gave one hell of a live show, though!] "Poguetry in Motion" [Second LP just as marvelous as the debut one above; tough, literate, heart-rending lyrics and melodic hooks like barbed wire]

THOMPSON, Richard: "Henry the Human Fly" [Probably his finest solo album, with lacerating lyrics and spare instrumentation and a voice that gave Richard Burton's a run for its money!]

FOLK & ETHNIC, NON-CELTIC

Woody GUTHRIE: "Favorite Songs of…"

* "This Land is Your Land"; * "Do-Re-Mi"; * "So Long, it's Been Good to Know You"; * "Pastures of Plenty"; * "Roll on, Columbia"; * "Hard, Ain't it Hard"; * "Deportee"; * "Medley of Children's Songs"; * "Take Me Riding in My Car"; * "Why, oh Why?"; * "Ship in the Sky"; * "Grassey Grass Grass"; * "Old Lone Wolf"; * "Woody's Rag"; * "900 Miles"; * "Jackhammer John"; * "Tom Joad"

Tex RITTER: "The Essential Singles" {I loved this man's songs as a kid -- I wore out the 78 of Froggie Went A-Courtin' -- that my parents bought me; I think he still sounds like the Real Thing, with that marvelous dry-gulch Texas twang. For most of you, this will seem a trivial and superfluous listing, but I'll bet a few of you might be interested…] * "I'm Wastin' my Tears Over You"; * "There's a New Moon Over my Shoulder"; * "Jealous Heart"; * "You Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often"; * "You Will Have to Pay"; * "When You Leave Don't Slam the Door"; * "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You"; * "Rye Whiskey"; * "Deck of Cards"; * "High Noon"; * "I Dreamed of a Hill-Billy Heaven"; * "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle"

SPOKEN WORD, POETRY & COMEDY

BORGE, Victor: "Tells His Versions of Hans Christian Andersen's Stories" [Not only is this every bit as charming and delightful as you might imagine -- for children of all ages, as the saying used to go! -- but it's a very scarce collectors' item (in B + condition), since it was a custom pressing, premium give-away sponsored by Eastern Air Lines, c. 1965, and only given away to special categories of flying customers. << Hey, Boss!">> <<Yes, Skippy? What is it THIS time?" <<What other kind of customers would an airline cater to? 'Swimming'? 'Pole vaulting?'>> <<Eat my shorts, tadpole; I'm too tired for this stuff tonight.>> <<"Are ye, now? Well, the wee garden gnome be full of piss and vinegar, so he be!>> <<If there's one thing I cannot abide when I have a headache, it's some obnoxious little fungi like you trying to make witty banter in a fake Irish accent!! Where's my knobkerrie?>>] * "The Tinder Box"; * "The Ugly Duckling"; * "The Emperor's New Clothes"; * "The Princess and the Pea"; * "Papa's Always Right"; * "The Little Match Girl"; * "It's Perfectly True"

DAHL, Roald: "The B. F. G." ("Big, Friendly Giant") Cast: Kate Fairclough' Bernard Cribbens; Carole Boyd; John Baddeley [A truly lovable young person's tale by a great American writer who has yet to receive the recognition he's owed…and in multiple genres.]

DOSTOEVSKY: "The Brothers Karamazov" --[a beefy condensation read by the admirable Sir Anthony Quayle. N.B. Requires 3 CDs]

Ayn RAND: Recorded lecture given at Rutgers University, March 18, 1966. entitled "ETHICS IN EDUCATION" [For any Objectivists out there in my fan base, here's a chunk of red meat for you to chow-down on.]

POP & ROCK

BO DIDDLEY: "Surfin' w/ Bo Diddley" * What Did I Say? * White Silver Sands; * Surfboard Cha-Cha; * Surf, Sink, or Swim; * Piggy-back Surfers; * Twisting Waves; * Wishy-Washy * Hucklebuck; * Old Man River; * Oops, He Slipped; Low Tide [The music doesn't have that stompin' good-time energy of his Chicago-rooted songs, and it's a bit too brashy in some cuts, but the juice is still there, and you can shag your ass of to it!]

THE BYRDS:

"20 Essential Hits"

* "Mr. Tambourine Man"; * "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better"; * "All I Really Wanna Do"; * "Turn, Turn, Turn"; * "Fifth Dimension"; * "Eight Miles High"; * "Mr. Spaceman"; * "So You Wanna Be a Rock-n-Roll Star?"; * "Have You Seen Her Face?"; * "Lady Friend"; * " My Back Pages"; * "Goin' Back"; *"The Ballad of Easy Rider"; * "Jesus is Just All Right"; * "Chestnut Mare"; * “I Wanna Grow Up to be a Politician"; * "He Was A Friend of Mine"; * "Paths of Victory"; * "From A Distance"; * "Love That Never Dies"

MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS – Live, at the “20 Grand” Club in Detroit (1967). [All their great songs, done with that special “live show” edge!] • “I’m Ready for Love”; • “Love Bug, Leave my Heart Alone”; • “For Once in My Life”; • “Love is Like a Heat Wave”; • “Nowhere to Run”; • “My Baby Lovez Me”; • “I Found A Love”; • “Jimmy Mack”; • “You’ve Been in Love Too Long”; • “Love Makes me do Foolish Things”; • “Do Right Woman”; • “Respect”; • Medley of Hits: “Dancin’ in the Streets” * “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch * “Sweet Soul Music” * Uptight (Everything is All Right)”

THE PLASTIC PEOPLE: "Passion Play". [Context is everything, here. The Plastic People was/were a kind of amoeboid assortment of pop and folk musicians, fringed by "performance artists", dancers, mimes, jugglers, colorful urchins, a staggering drunk or two, and Lord knows what/ who else. They gave elaborate if rather anarchistic productions in various secluded locations in Prague, during the brief "Prague Spring" period before the Russian crack-down, at which time they very sensibly dispersed to avoid being crushed by T-54s or shot in a secret police cellar. Copies of tapes of their happenings were, of course, smuggled to the West, and this LP was compiled from them. These people were brave and free-spirits, and became -- briefly, alas -- both a symbol and a legend. I have no other information to give you, but I'm sure Google would puke-up a hundred pages with a few clicks.

Alas, being brave resistance-artists defying the totalitarians might make you interesting, praiseworthy, even noble. It does not, alas, automatically make you a memorable artist. Without a libretto (hard to arrange for something that depended heavily on improvisation!) and/or a quick-eared and extensive knowledge of Czech, the precise nature of what's going on from moment to moment is…murky. The recorded sound is both variable (to be expected) and generally an ungodly mess. I would love to recommend this for some reason other than politics, or as a heroic footnote to the tortured history of the Czech nation, but it's hard to recommend something most people won't understand and anyone younger than sixty won't remember. It's a fascinating document of something-or-other and it's probably worth a shit-pot full of money as a collectors' item (I'll let YOU decide what genre it goes under!), but as music…or theater…or street-literature, it's grown faded and it never made much sense even when it was new and topical. Still  try finding a listenable copy anywhere else!]

THE RESIDENTS:

"Fingerprintz" [Dubbed this from a 36-year-old cassette; no song titles on it; sorry. But it's prime Residents, so you know what THAT means. If you DON'T, you're in for a treat!]

JAZZ & BLUES

<<<<<<<<<<<<VERY SPECIAL OFFERING ! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“THE SWING ERA, VOL. I – 1936-1937” [Quite simply, the best-sounding and most well-chosen anthology of its kind. Two CDs for the price of one! ($13.50)] • Bugle Call Rag (Benny Goodman); • Gin Mill Blues (Bob Crosby); • Marie (Tommy Dorsey); • Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley! (Chick Webb); • Down South Camp Meetin’; • One O’clock Jump (Count Basie); • It’s Been So Long (Benny Goodman); • Toy Trumpet (Raymond Scott); • Oorgan Grinder’s Swing (Jimmie Launcefor); • Moten Swing (Andy Kirk); • I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (Tommy Dorsey); • Stompin’ at the Savoy (Benny Goodman); • Topsy (Count Basie); • Moon Glow (Benny Goodman); • Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps (Jimmy Dorsey) • Royal Canadian Blues (Bob Crosby); • You Turned the Tables on Me (Benny Goodman); • Song of India (Tommy Dorsey); • Remember (Red Norvo); • Swingtime in the Rockies; • Caravan (Duke Ellington); • Walkin’ and Swingin’ (Andy Kirk); • My Blue Heaven (Jimmie Launceford); • Stop, Look and Listen, Part One (Tommy Dorsey0; • Stop, Look and Listen, Part Two (Tommy Dorsey); • Christopher Columbus (Fletcher Henderson); • Goodbye (Benny Goodman); • In a Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington); • Goody Goody (Benny Goodman); • Prisoner’s Song (Bunny Berigan)

SHARKEY & HIS KINGS OF DIXIELAND: "Midnight on Bourbon Street" * North Rampart Street March; * Way Down Yonder in New Orleans; * If I Had You! * Banana Peel Rag; * Dinah; * You Are My Sunshine; * Ballin' the Jack; * San Sue Strut; * I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of This Jelly Roll; * Kiddin' with Chopin; * My Old Kentucky Home * Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue

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BY COMPOSERS' LAST NAMES:

BELLON, Roger: "Highlander, the Series" II

HERRMANN: "Torn Curtain", Suite. Composer; London Philharmonic "Vertigo" Excerpts. Muir Matheson; Sinfonia of London; rec. 1959 "Cape Fear" Concert Suite. Elmer Bernstein; Unidentified Orchestra "Jane Ayre" Concert Suite. Composer; London Philharmonic

STEINER: “Beyond the Forest”. Composer; Unidentified Studio Orchestra

TANGERINE DREAM: “Thief” [Why these guys got interested in this rather ordinary James Caan caper-movie, lord only knows. I suspect the fact that the studio offered them a whole shit-pot full of money had something to do with it…]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< VERY SPECIAL LISTING ! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MIKLOS ROSZA; THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ANTHOLOGY

[Issued over here only briefly and as a very pricey import, this sumptuously recorded two-LP set contains overtures, mini-suites, and main themes from a number of Rosza’s soundtracks that have escape much phonographic attention otherwise. If you’re interested – and as a person of good taste I assume you are – you won’t much care whether you get the Main Title, or a mini-suite of connected main themes, so I’m just going to list the titles of the films represented. IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR ON THE DISCS!. N.B. Requires two CDs]

• “Julius Caesar”; • “Lady Hamilton’s” Love Theme; • “The Killers” (prelude); • “Knight Without Armor”; • “Lydia”; • “Tribuite to a Badman”; • “The Asphalt Jungle”; • “Moonfleet”; • “Double Indemnity”; • “Lust for Life” • “Men of the Fighting Lady”; • “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”; • “Five Graves to Cairo”; • “The Red Danube”

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BY TITLE

“Beyond the Forest” by Max Steiner [43:00]

"Highlander II, the Series" by Roger Bellon

“Thief” by Tangerine Dream

THE F*ART ENSEMBLE [Where to start? Back in the late Seventies-early Eighties, in and around UNC-G, there was a coterie of freelance musicians & junior faculty who gave four-five concerts a year under this intentionally provocative name. It was fur-lined teacup anarchism at its most classic. There was a core of real instruments; the majority of the others were home-made (such as tuned lengths of flexible plastic garden pipe that made different moaning pitches when whirled around the head, like didgeridoos). Some of their numbers were satirical, some improvisatory, some just pretentious -- you never knew whether the next selection on their programs would be hysterically funny or just noisy and irritating. That was part of the fun. I think they lasted maybe four years, which is a long run for a free-floating no-rules/ no profit chamber orchestra. The wildest thing they ever did, instigated, or participated in (and I wish to God I had a tape of it), was an outdoor performance of the "William Tell Overture" performed in the biggest parking lot of the NC School of the Arts on CAR HORNS. The selections listed here are from a tape I bought at one of their concerts. The personnel fluctuated, but among the ring-leaders were composers Frank McCarty and Seth Howard Dworkin, both friends of mine (Frank still is; I dunno what happened to Seth, who was a uniquely weird character even by the standards of that time… Enjoy.]

HINDEMITH: Concert-piece for "Trautonium" and String Orchestra". Performers not known. [OK, the "Trautonium" was an early electronic instrument named for the father of George Trautwein, long-time conductor of the N.C. School of the Arts Orchestra, and in whose honor Hindemith actually wrote this spirited but decidedly bizarre trifle. This MUST be the only serious composition for this oddity, and surely this is its ONLY recording, which I grabbed off a broadcast of curiosities taped at an NCSPA concert circa 1986. All I can tell you, by way of describing this instrument's tone, is that it does NOT sound like a theramin! And thank God for it…]

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 10 -- Finale; grotesque only. Osopov Folk Music Ensemble. [Truly insane arrangement of this movement for a dombra soloist and the usually phalanxes of accordions, balalaikas, accordions and so forth. I'll bet the composer at this stuff up!]

TROTTER'S DEBUT AS A ROCK STAR!

[Yes, that's right! On a muggy evening, in a sleazy but popular music-venue/ café named "Friday's", backed-up by a terrific local outfit called "The Alibis", I "sang" a cover version of the Troggs' immortal hit, "Wild Thing". Of course, I was so nervous before going on that I'd consumed two pitchers of beer in the space of ninety minutes, and was so sloshed by the time I took the mike, that I managed to forget the second verse of the song. Now, I submit to you that anyone who blanks out on the lyrics to "Wild Thing" has to be pretty far gone. However, with the stage-whispered prompting of the band, I managed to stumble through the song more or less in synch with the guitars, at least, and was resoundingly applauded for my chutzpah if not my stage charisma. As Bill Nash, the superb bass player croaked in my ear when it was all over, "I didn't think you had the balls to actually go through with it! Way to go, Trotsky!"

Well, here it is, captured for all time in 6 minutes of mediocre portable cassette sound, so how could I NOT list it? Anyone whose got a ghoulish enough sense of curiosity can have it free, as a bonus track, with any regular order for any regularly-priced CD! Don't all yell at once!]