NEW LISTINGS FOR AUGUST, 2007

CONDUCTORS

Mendelssohn" The First Walpurgis Night". w/ Orchestra, Soloists & Chorus of the Netherlands Philharmonic. [Ol’ Ackermann keeps this oddball piece moving right along, with crisp attacks and considerable panache. Seeing as how Mendelssohn is the LAST composer you’d expect to tackle a "Satanic" theme convincingly, don’t expect Mussorgsky. This is a Witches’ Sabbath as visualized by a bunch of Presbyterians. Yet…Mendelssohn couldn’t write BAD music if he tried, so there are plenty of ingratiating passages and good tunes – just no real sulfur and brimstone, never mind shrieking skulls of the Damned. Source is an incredibly rare 10-inch MMS disc, in really top-notch condition.]

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 2, K, 107. w/ Artur Balsam, piano; Winterthur Symphony Orch.

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24, C Minor, K. 491. Grant Johannsen, piano; Otto Ackermann; Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

Balakirev: Symphony No. 1 in C. w/ Royal Philharmonic [taped in 1957, this was one of Sir Thomas’s first stereo sessions – the sonics are still fabulously clean, spacious, and sparkling – as well as the first decent recording of the captivating symphony, from which (audibly!) so much subsequent Russian music is descended. In fact, when Beecham came to the States in February, 1956, critic Paul Hume interviewed him and right off the bat Sir Thomas pre-empted the questions-and-answers by asserting: "I am soon to record the symphony of Balakirev. What, you’ve never heard it? It is a tremendous work, and the forerunner of so many things the public knows well. It is never played, but I promise you it is a very exciting score!" And so it is, under his baton. The sheer "Russian-ness" of the Scherzo is irresistible!]

Sibelius: The Bard, Op. 64. w/ London Philharmonic Orchestra, rec. 11/15/1938.

" : "In Memoriam", Funeral March, Op. 59. w/ London Philharmonic, rec. 11/14/1938

" : Lemminkainen’s Return, Op. 22. w/ London Philharmonic; rec. 110/23/1937

" : Symphony No. 4, Op. 63. w/ London Philharmonic Orchestra, rec. 10/10/ 1937

Schumann: Symphony No. 2. w/ New York Philharmonic; live, 1978 [A broad, warm, gloriously expansive reading; both Lenny and the Philharmonic at their best.]

Schoenberg: Pelleas und Mellisande, Op. 5. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; live, 6/1/1969] [37:46] [Outstanding Salzburg Festival performance of this monster Late Romantic masterpiece – Bohm clarifies every tumescent strand and gives it all a hot, simmering glow – if Stokowski had ever programmed this work, he might have given a reading very much like this (the two conductors weren’t as far apart as you might think, which is one reason Stokie invited Bohm to guest conduct the American Symphony in 1968, the only time I saw Bohm live, and gained enormously more respect for him than I had previously had.]

Strauss: Tod und Verklarung, Op. 24. w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; live, 5/19/1963 [23:56]

Sibelius: The Oceanides, Op. 73. w/ BBC Symphony; live broadcast, 1/23/1936. [A rarity indeed, never officially available in the U.S. The sound is very good and Boult’s reading, while lacking the sheer salt-water sweep of Beecham’s, has plenty of monumentality and detail.]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, F Major, Op. 98. w/ Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra, live, 1950 [26:58]

Haydn: Symphony No. 101, "The Clock". w/ Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra, live, 1950 [27:52]

Strauss: Ein Heldenleben. w/ Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra [This is the fairly early mono "Living Presence" edition and as such is quite rare today. No question but that the MSO’s string section was kind of scrawny in those days – not much heft to the violins – but otherwise I’m very fond of this reading. It has plenty of snap and scruffy energy (I often wonder why Mitropoulos never recorded this piece…) and the timpanist plays like a lunatic. The "Battle Scene" goes like Gangbusters (although Dorati, like almost every later conductor, cannot summon quite the "human scream" timbre from his first-desk trumpet that Mengelberg got, in both his New York and Amsterdam recordings. Source copy has some noise near outer rim, but is otherwise clean, if a trifle dry, after the usual Mercury manner in the early Fifties.]

Beethoven: Symphony Ni, 5in D Minor, Op. 67. w/ Orchestra of St. Cecelia’s Academy [34:57]

Mozart: Motet: "Exsultate Jubilate", K. 165. w/ Maria Stader, soprano; RIAS Symphony Orchestra {See comments under "Composers"]

Rossini: Stabat Mater. w/ RIAS Symphony Orchestra; Choir of St. Hedwig’s Cathedral; Maria Stader, soprano; Ernst Haefliger, tenor; Marianna Radev, mezzo; Kim Borg, bass [A richly

Bach: Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 in G. w/ Berlin Philharmonic; rec. 1930 [10:26](*)

" : St. Matthew Passion (complete). w/ Elisabeth Grummer, sop.; Marga Hoffgen, contralto; Anton Dermota, tenor; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritonme; Otto Edelmann, bass; Vienna Philharmonic & Singverein Choir; Live, Easter, 1954 [To answer your questions, if you haven’t heard this legendary account: a) No, it ISN’T "heavy and Germanic" – it’s almost as dramatic, operatic, and varied in tempo as Mengelberg’s, and b) Yes, those final choruses are as cosmic, as Heaven storming, as unutterably moving as you could ever hope to hear; c) yes, the young Fischer-Dieskau is magnificent, almost worth the price of admission; d) yes, the sound is quite tolerable, thank you, as this recording derives from the Austrian radio’s own master tapes. NOW let me append my own personal "E") EXCEPT for those titanic final choruses, I find this work to be an almost intolerable, stupefying bore, and half-way through it, I think if I hear that damn stupid little ritty-ritty-riiing harpsichord cadence ONE MORE TIME, I am going to scream for Satan to come down and sign me up, just as long as I never have to sit through this swollen distended act of insufferable Protestant piety ever again! But…that’s just me. It IS a sublime performance, and Furtwangler died not long after conducting it, and as of this date (August, 2007), it’s been out of print for years and years, so if you’re interested, mine is one of the few web locations where you can get a copy. It’s on 3 CDs. I run screaming from the room half-way through CD One, but I’m funny that way.]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5. w/ Berlin Philharmonic; rec. 1926 [31:00] (*)

Berlioz: Damnation of Faust (complete). w/ Franz Vroons; Hans Hotter; Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Alois Pernerstorfer; Orchestra & Chorus of the Lucerne Festival, live, 1950. [Well, we don’t often – or ever – think of Furtwangler as a conductor of French music, but he has the full dramatic measure of this majestic work, and a performance of great inspiration peeks sporadically through the admittedly archival sonics. His soloists are superb and his tempi are NOT "Wagnerian". One of the rarest Furtwangler editions, and out of print for 25 years.]

Brahms: Symphony No. 1, Op. 68. RAI Orchestra Turin, March, 1952 [Most of the time, the orchestral playing in this live broadcast is so God-awful that during the relatively few episodes when the Italians manage to get together, in tune, with any degree of unanimous expressivity, for more than two minutes at a time, the results sound divine. Can it be that any full-time symphonic ensemble in the civilized world did NOT know how Brahms’ First should go, by 1952? Evidently, in Italy, bands like this one could sight-read an overture by Spontini just fine, but were hopelessly adrift when it came to Brahms – even when Furtwangler was on the podium. Nor is the crude, one-dimensional recorded sound anything to get excited about; this one may be a rarity, but that does not, ipso facto, make it a great recording. Or in this case, even a good recording. It barely qualifies, most of the time, as a lousy recording. But for Furtwangler completists (and I admit that I am one) here it is]

Von Weber: "Der Freischutz" Overture. w/ Berlin Philharmonic; rec. 1926 [9:40] (*)

(*) I’m adding this month the three oldest surviving Furtwangler recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. All are exceedingly rare and none, at the moment and at least as far back as the mid-Eighties, has been reissued, at least not in North America. If you know F’s later recording of the Brandenburg, you know what to expect (or maybe not): it’s Big Orchestra Bach, surely, but not quite as heavy as you might expect, especially in the second movement, which is suitably fleet and fine-spun. It Makes A Statement, although your guess is as good as mine as to what, exactly, is being stated. If you’re in the mood, it can seem rather grand and imposing; if not, not. The Weber is a sublime performance, in rather dingy sound; few copies of this rarity survived World War II (those bombings were really rough on 78s!), and the disc it was dubbed from was rather noisy and disembodied; not to mention this came from the dawn of electrical recording, so the engineers, even at Telefunken, didn’t quite have it down yet. As for the Beethoven, well it’s not much like his later, carved-from-marble epic treatments; it’s actually rather classical in its approach, but still of course very emphatic and packed with drama; the sonics vary some, but are mostly better than you might expect, given a date of 1926. Rabid Furtwangler fan that I am, I still cannot recommend these as "first choices" for anybody; only Furtwangler addicts need apply, but they’ll be mighty fascinated by what’s in the grooves.]

Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, "New World". w/ Philharmonia Orchestra

" : Carnival Overture, Op. 92. w/ Philharmonia Orchestra [Some of you may be wondering why I have so few listings by Giulini. It certainly isn’t that I don’t’ care for his work (in a blanket, antipathetic way, as I feel about Ozawa’s), it’s just that EMI keeps deleting and then restoring his recordings so fast and so constantly that I can’t keep track of what is or is not out of print; and my policy, of course, is to list nothing that’s been available in retail shops (even nominally) during the last 20 years. With EMI, that’s almost impossible; they re-package stuff, remaster stuff, elevate and then dismiss one album after another into their "Great Recordings of the Century", that keeping up with which Giulini albums are TRULY unobtainable now, is almost impossible. I’ll list some live material, yes, and a select number of LPs that haven’t reappeared since their Seraphim budget-label days. I’m reasonably certain these two fresh, wonderfully vital Dvorak performances have been deleted for good… Unless those greedy swine at Testament bring them back and charge you $20 a pop for them. Honest to God, those people ought to be horse-whipped!]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica, Op. 56. w/ Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. [What is one to think of a conductor named "Odd"? Very highly, to judge from the avidity with which collectors seek out his relatively few recordings (most of them either on "Camden" budget releases, or even-less-reputable "Readers Digest" collections! Grunne-Hegge studied in Austria and Germany (with Richard Strauss, among others); he had a wide range of repertoire; a fine technique, and the ability to change the Oslo orchestra’s weaknesses (too few strings, a generally rough timbre, a home-spun, blunt-but-eloquent manner of phrasing) into virtues, as this fine "Eroica" demonstrates; its very plainness-of-utterance casts the symphony into a fresh and compelling light, one that, I believe, would be consonant with the composer’s vision. I’ve always liked it, but it was nice to learn – as I have fairly recently – that other collectors admire G.H. too. I sure hope SOMEBODY out there does, as I have just spent about six hours carefully smoothing-over a dozen nasty Skippies on the surfaces of the Readers Digest LP, and good-bloody-luck finding another copy in such good shape!]

Erichen, Werner: "The Drum-War". w/ Berlin Philharmonic; live, 1978 [See comments under "Composers"]

Schoeck, Othmar: "Summernight", Pastoral Intermezzo for String Orchestra, Op. 25. w/ Radio Orchestra of Geneva [14:00] [See comments under "Composers"]

Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4, D Major ,K. 218. Pinchas Zuckerman, violin; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1984 [25:20]

Haydn: Symphony No. 94, G Major, "Oxford". w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra

Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra. [These two items were dubbed from one of the rarest, and most successful, of all Koussie’s commercial recordings, the ultra-scarce RCA LM-1102. After many years of searching, I finally located a copy good enough to dub – only one small defect on either side, right at the end of the Mozart. Otherwise, very clean. Both were recorded at Tanglewood, c. 1948; and both works are played with sparkling élan, showing off the orchestra’s wind and string sections, perhaps, even more gloriously than their recordings of heavier symphonic fare.]

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4, G Major, Op. 58. w/ Wilhelm Backhaus, piano; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1, C Major, Op. 21, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto [24:31]

" : Symphony No. 3, E-flat Major, Op. 55, "Eroica. Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto [50:27]

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 1. w/ Moura Lympany, piano; Philharmonia Orch.

Mussorgsky: "Boris Gudonov", Great Scenes from… w/ Gottlob Frick, Martti Talvela, & Rudolf Schock; Chorus & Orchestra of the Berlin State Opera. [For details, see under "Opera & Choral" listings" – A superb compilation of excerpts, never issued in the U.S., which should appeal strongly to fans of this outstanding Croatian conductor!]

Bach: Cantata "Weichel nur, betruebte Schatten", BWV. 202. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, 4/17/1939 [23:17]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. [Studio recording, c. 1940; issued here on Capitol Green Label b/w the Eighth Symphony, listed below. Both are splendidly vital readings, enlivened by the customary laser-beam trumpets and I-can’t-believe-I’m-hearing-this inflections in the violins, and the subsequent history of their availability over here is murky. They are NOT the same as the better-sounding live performances issued 23 years later by Philips, and so are eminently collectable if you’re a fellow Mengelberg freak. Honesty compels me to warn you: these LPs were second hand when I acquired them, c. 1965, and each side has 3-5 major Skippies, uncorrectable, that are an annoyance, less so in the Eighth than on this side. Still, what are your chances of ever finding another copy in remotely playable condition? Plus, I’m about to experiment with a new technique/technology for ameliorating, at least, these plague-some defects, and if it works, we shall all rejoice!]

Symphony No. 8 w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; studio recording, see remarks under First Symphony, above.

Bloch: Violin Concerto . w/ Szegeti, violin; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 11/9/1939 [37:10] [Mengelberg’s dedication to "contemporary" music was strong and unwavering; of course, when he began directing the Concertgebouw, BRAHMS was a "contemporary" composer! If memory serves, this is the world premiere, and it’s hard to imagine two contemporary musicians making a more passionate case for this sadly neglected piece than Szegeti and the Flying Dutchman do here. It’s a fiercely dramatic reading, captured in typically vivid Radio Nederland sound for the time, and Bloch is said to have been deeply moved by the interpretation. Curious footnote, here: the world premiere of a work by an outstanding Jewish composer, recorded one month after World War Two started, by a conductor supposedly in sympathy with the Nazis’ ideology! I refer you to the quote I cite from Felix de Nobel, who worked with Mengelberg a lot, describing the conductor as having "the political sophistication of the ten-year-old child" and decrying the knee-jerk expulsion of Mengelberg from Holland in 1945. Imagine – the man would have lived long enough to make LP records, had he not died of broken-hearted loneliness in Switzerland… A conductor who learned the Mahler scores FROM Mahler! A conductor who was practicing his art while Brahms was still active! What a bummer…]

Ravel: "Daphnis & Chloe", Suite No. 2. [16:20] [Mengelberg’s not remembered especially as a "sensuous" conductor, or a master of orchestral colors, but he was both – this is as suave and erotic a reading of this suite as Koussevitzsky’s, in better sound, recorded when the piece was still a novelty! A friend of mine once described the climax as "an orchid of purple napalm", and that really does sum it up – the first-desk trumpet shoots out a laser beam of pure silver atop a great swirling cloud of string and woodwind sound, all of it sounding wildly spontaneous, elemental, yet every damned note is being meticulously controlled from the podium. A revelatory performance, just breathtaking in its sweep and vividness…]

Berg: Violin Concerto. Szegeti; NBC Symphony Orchestra; live, q12/30/1945 [23:01]

Brahms: Violin Concerto, D Major, Op. 77. w/ Francescatti; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; live, Salzburg Festival, 8/24/1954 [39:39]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, Op. 62. w/ Leningrad Philharmonic. [Not as you’d expect! Old "Fire and Ice" Mravinsky turns in a warm, ripe, very romantic reading – in some ways reminiscent of Stokowski’s great 1927 version – complete with flexible tempos and touches of rubato. The orchestra plays magnificently (although the horn vibrato may be a turn-off for those not familiar with how Russian orchestras used to sound). The 1957 Melodiya sound, mono of course, is well-balanced and quite satisfactory. TBOMK ("to the best of my knowledge,", for those who’ve just joined us), this item hasn’t been available in the US since about 1965, and you had to dig for it then. A choice specimen of this great conductor’s art, from a period before he became as tight-lipped and Reiner-ish as he did in his last years.) In fut6re, let those in charge of such things take charge of them for real!]

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, in E minor, Op. 64. [Such a combination of icy self-control & feverish intensity! Never heard late-period Mravinsky conducting Tchaikovsky? Just give this riveting interpretation a spin!]

Beethoven: Consecration of the House Overture, Op. 124. w/ French National Orchestra; live, 1963 [11:09]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, B-flat Major, Op. 60. w/ French National Orchestra, live, 1963. [29:24] [Lively, animated & powerful; I heard Monteux conduct this symphony once, and it sounded very much like this.]

MYSTERY MAESTRO OF THE MONTH !

He was surely THE most mysterious, and prolific, of all these guys, and "Rondo" Records flung his name out in supermarkets, drug stores, and Woolworths throughout the land. Although it was obvious from the sonics that at least four different orchestras and venues were employed, all performances were attributed to the "Berlin Symphony" (which was of course a real outfit, just not the one heard on these records), and the recordings were in genuine stereo, albeit stereo of a most peculiar kind: blasty, raucous, with a scorching high end and rumbling, fuzzy bass, obviously the tone controls had been rolled-off to make these dirt-cheap LPs sound decent on the cheapest home systems of the day, those so-called "suitcase" stereos. Many researchers have tried to discover the real identity of Maestro "Van Weth", but until recently none had produced more than tantalizing speculation. Now, if you’re interested, you can order a complete archival restoration of these Rondo gems from www.Rediscovery.net, very reasonably priced, with a booklet that details the search for the REAL Von Weth and the fascinating discoveries that waited discographers as they tunneled into crumbling files and yellowed catalogues in Mafia-owned warehouses in Brooklyn! Meanwhile, if you’d like to "wet your beak", give this compilation a try. I won’t kid you: the orchestral playing here is rough as a cob; the sonics are a trial to all but the most hardened ears…BUT, whoever he was, ol’ Von Weth conducted these warhorses like a madman stoked on Peruvian flake. Deluded he may well have been, but dull – never!

Dvorak: "Largo" from Symphony No. 9. all with the "Berlin Symphony" Orchestra

Martinu: Symphony No. 2. w/ Czech Philharmonic Orchestra [Neumann didn’t get a fair shake from a lot of critics – I think because too many of them expected him to conduct Czech music like Tallich, and nobody could do that except Tallich, who died just before the age of stereo. Neumann’s always seemed a very dependable conductor to me, in Czech music or otherwise (am I the ONLY collector who likes his Mahler cycle?). At his best, his readings had a fine lyric flow, coherence, and the utmost integrity. If he sometimes just BARELY didn’t scale the ultimate heights, interpretively, he fell short only when measured against titans such as Tallich and Furtwangler – given the mediocrity of most of his competition, he often sounds terrific. Example: his Martinu cycle. While he didn’t evoke the bite and ferocity in, say, the 6^th as well as Munch or Ancerl, he certainly didn’t short-change that score and his tenderness in the lyrical moments is luminous. There isn’t much competition, even today, in the Second Symphony and Neumann makes it sound so appealing that its neglect seems inexplicable. Joyous, life-affirming music given a joyous interpretation, in splendid sound; what else could you ask for? This is music of very high quality, given depth and character by the effulgence of the Czech woodwinds and the rapturous sweep of the CPO’s strings. Bottom line: Martinu didn’t write junk, even when he was being light-hearted, and Neumann has the measure of his style, aided by gorgeous recorded sound.]

Harris: Symphony No. 3. w/ Philadelphia Orchestra; live, 1978 (?) [I may be off by a year in either direction on the date, as my tape isn’t annotated. The FM sound isn’t great, but it’s listenable. The reading however, is so much more vital than Ormandy’s commercial recording for RCA that I’m including it anyhow. Of course the string sound is plush; of course the brass is billowy and noble; of course Ormandy lets this great symphony unwind in a seamless arc; what’s special here is the "oomph" he puts into this reading, the tension, the electricity – not qualities he manifested very often during his last years. A very fine reading of a great American symphony!]

Persichetti: Piano Concerto. w/ James Dick, piano; Chicago Symphony; live, 1982. [Ormandy was often very energized in his guest-conducting gigs; there weren’t many of them, and a change of orchestral scene brought out the best of his style, even during his final years, when his powers of concentration were clearly waning. This concerto isn’t likely ever to be a crowd-pleaser, but in its forceful, neo-whatever way, it’s outstanding music, and I cannot imagine another soloist/conductor team making a better case for it.]

Holst: The Planets. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1983. [A fine, taut, confident reading by this vastly under-rated conductor. Dubbed from Radio Nederland transcription disc, unfortunately cut at a very low volume. I mean, it’s all THERE, and in decent stereo, but for some reason the engineers set the levels at a very cautiously low level (what, they’d never heard this piece before???), so if you want to hear Van Otterloo’s numerous felicities, you’ll need to goose the volume ‘way up. Nothing I could do about it. At least a very fine performance was preserved.]

Brahms: Symphony No. 1. w/ National Philharmonic Orchestra. [42:49] [Passionate, surging, a fine blend of Toscanini’s urgency and Klemperer’s monumentality – Paita had it all, friends. He could have been the last of the Titans, had he lived but a few years longer. He’s nowhere near as famous as Cantelli, but had every bit as much promise and his absence leave just as big a void.]

Wagner: "Die Walkure, Act II". San Francisco Opera, live, 1936; Flagstad, Melchior, Lehmann. [Yes, you read that correctly! See "Opera & Choral" for full details of this near-mythical item.]

Strauss: "Der Rosenkavalier" Waltzes. w/ Cleveland Orchestra

" : Salome’s Dance. w/ Cleveland Orchestra

" : Till Eulenspigel " " " [Peppy, dynamic readings, rather nicely recorded, except for the fact that this is an old "Navy Blue" Columbia, rimless, crude and heavy early LP, so it’s got some scratches – not nearly as obnoxious as I feared from the disc’s appearance, and the Groove-Sucker did an outstanding job of removing a lot of grunge. It’s actually a presentable CD now, and a good selection for Rodzinski fans, since most of these old blue dinosaurs – when you can find them at all – are usually unplayable. Recommended.]

Bach-Mahler: Orchestral Suite (Orchestrated Mahler). W/ Leningrad Philharmonic

Janacek: "Cunning Little Vixen" Suite. w/ Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

Stravinsky: Suite in D for Strings. [This is very special, being part of a live broadcast from Basle commemorating Sacher’s 75^th (!) birthday. Although not an international superstar, this fine musician commissioned dozens of significant works for his smallish ensemble, including this remarkably joyous example of Stravinsky’s neo-classical manner, wherein the composer wears an unaccustomed big grin. It’s a delightful, elegant score, unusually melodic (and the melodies are original, not lifted from folk music or obscure works by Pergolesi!), and Sacher caresses the music into such beguiling warmth that you’d never guess who composed it if you didn’t have the program notes in front of you. Excellent sound from my air-check tape, too. The featured work on the program was Honegger’s Dance of Death, which I mention now even though I haven’t listed it officially yet, because I already refer to Honegger several times in this new listing and this is one of his pieces that really does grab me – you, too, if you’ll give it a shot.]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, D Minor, Op. 67. w/ Orchestra della Radio Televisione della Svizzera Italiana; live, 2/26/1962. [33:37]

Reheasarl segment of same performance; length [44:23] See comments under "Beethoven" below. Fascinating stuff!]

Berwald: Symphony No. 1, G Minor, "Serieuse". w/ Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra [See comments under "Composers"]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, Op. 93. w/ Chicago Symphony Orchestra; live, 1966. [Stokie rarely conducted this epic work; never commercially recorded it; probably chose it for this guest-shot because he knew what kind of savagery the CSO’s brass section could unleash – and boy do they ever! From deep brooding gloom to ferocious, crushing power, this performance has it all. My air-check tape is pretty darned good, too, considering the mediocre equipment I was using at the time. Stunning.]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, "Pastorale". George Szell; New York Philharnonic Orchestra; late mono (c. 1957). [I didn’t expect to like this interpretation very much, but when I got around to dubbing it I quickly became a convert. Szell demanded excellence from the NYPO and the NYPO players both feared and respected him; when Szell was in town, the sometimes-unruly ensemble metaphorically snapped to attention and gave him their utmost, in every department. Yeah, to be sure, most of his tempos are very lively and there’s an air of brusque business-as-usual momentum that makes the entire piece sound quite earthy. Numerous very UN-Szell-like interpretive knife-flicks (unexpectedly sharp, cutting accents in the brass, very rich-sounding lower strings – some silver-and-brass filigree more typical of Mengelberg than of Szell!) The symphony abounds in vigor and foot-stomping high spirits. Despite being alone in my study when I heard it for the first time, I couldn’t help barking out "Bravo!:" at the conclusion. The mono sound is warm and mostly clean, caressed by the wonderful acoustics of Carnegie Hall. So here’s another one of those Road-to-Damascus revelations, that make record collecting such a life-long adventure: a conductor who usually leaves me cold, in a piece I expected him to perform with chilly objectivity, with an orchestra that was far from its best estate in 1957, ambushing me with one of the most invigorating and brilliant readings of the Pastorale I’ve ever heard.]

Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11. w/ Vienna Symphony Orchestra

Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3. w/ Franz Eibner, organ; Vienna Symphony; in genuine stereo. [A very handsomely sculpted, poetic, and when needed hotly dramatic reading, recorded in the Singverein and using that hall’s organ. Source is a late, barely-distributed Urania pressing in fine shape. Good honest stereo sonics, fascinating interpretation. A must for collectors of this elusive but prolific conductor, who apparently never allowed a picture of himself to appear on his record covers!]

Atterberg: Symphony No. 5, "Sinfonia Funebre" [33:18]

Kallstenius: Serenade to a Summer Night, Op. 10.

Lindberg, Oskar: Symphonic Poem: From the Great Forests. [15:10]

Liszt: Totentanz. w/ Janos Solyom, piano; Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

Stenhammer: Piano Concerto No. 2, D Minor, Op. 23. w/ Janos Solyom, piano; Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

Hartmann: Overture to "Yrsa", Op. 78. w/ Danish Radio Symphony [approx. 11 minutes]

COMPOSERS

MUSIC OF THE BAVARIAN PRINCIPALITIES [Well, that’s my translation anyhow, of this fine, multi-disc collection last seen, very briefly on these shores, on the BASF label in the early Seventies. Musical life in the South German states, during the late Eighteenth / Early Nineteenth Centuries, was exceedingly rich, with each noble family striving to out-do the other in its patronage of gifted composers. Some, indeed, are remembered and occasionally performed today – Reicha, Kalliwoda, and the estimable Franz Danzi being the best known. But there were numerous others, equally gifted and occasionally inspired. There’s not a dud anywhere in this first batch og listings; I’m especially fond of Johann Nisle’s jovial, extroverted Septet , a piece which would enhance any chamber music program. All of the performances are deft and stylish; the recorded sound is warm and sparkling. In most cases, these were the first, and so far remain the only, recordings of these delightful works.]

AMON, Johann Andreas (`1763-1825):

Quartet for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello. Frans Vester, flute; Rainer Kussmaul, violin; Jurgen Kussmaul, viola; Anner Bylsma, cello. [19:57]

Quartet in F for Horn, Violin, Viola & Cello. Hermann Baumann, horn; Jaap Schroder, violin; Wiel Peeters, viola; Anner Bylsma, cello [11:32]

Septet in A-flat Major for Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Violin, Viola, Cello & Double Bass. Members of the Concerto Amsterdam [24:36]

Cello Concerto in G Major. Anner Bylsma, cello; Jaap Schroeder; Concert Amsterdam [24:03]

Horn Concerto in F. Hermann Baumann, horn. Jaap Schroeder; Concerto Amsterdam [13:38]

"Village of Eight Gravestones" – Original Soundtrack. Composer conducting; unidentified orchestra. [Like the better-known Takemitsu, Akutagawa was a very industrious composer of film music, and quite a good one, to judge from this moody, neo-Gothic score (although the main theme is repeated so many times it loses much of its effect before the composer runs out of his need to use it). Excellent sound from the unnamed orchestra; rich recording with lots of presence.]

AMON, Johann Andreas (1763-1825) [See under "Anthologies]

"The Nightengale". Landowska, harpsichord

Symphony No. 5 ("Symphonie Funebre"). Stig Westerberg; Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 in G. Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic; rec. 1930 [10:26] [See comments under "Conductors"]

Cantata "Ein Feste Berg…". BWV. 80. w/ Wolfgang Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Choir & Consortium Musicum & South German Madrigal Choir. [See comments under "Composers".]

Cantata: Gott, der Herr, ist Schoen und Schild… BWV, 79. w/ Wolfgang Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Choir & Consortium Musicum. [17:06] [See comments under "Composers". Ms. Ameling is probably my favorite soprano in this kind of repertoire. I adore the way she "floats" her tone over and above the other musicians, with ne’er a false note or sloppy entrance!]

Fugue in C Sharp Minor (arr. Howarth). Elgar Howarth; London Festival Brass [4:18]

Orchestral Suite No. 3. George Malcolm; New Chamber Soloists

Orchestral Suite No. 4. " " " " " [Well, George Malcolm ought to need no introduction – if you’re a fan of harpsichord music, that is. This is a rare example of his work as a conductor, and it appeared on the totally obscure "Merlin" label, which, to judge from the album notes, had aspirations to be an audiophile label. I will say that this stereo pressing boasts excellent sound, and that GM’s conducting, as you might expect, is stylish and vital. The release dates from mid-Seventies, near as I can determine, and my Source copy appears and sounds to be near-mint. It’s GOT to be mighty rare, if nothing else. And while I have no idea who or what the "New Chamber Soloists" might be – other than the fact that they were London-based – I can tell you that the Concert Master was Allen Silleto, so if the other musicians were of comparable quality, it must have been a stellar ensemble, and it certainly sounds like one on this smooth, warm, very realistic recording.]

Prelude, Fugue & Allegro in E-flat. Landowska, harpsichord

Fantasia in C Minor.

Saint Matthew Passion (Complete). Furtwangler; Soloists; Vienna Philharmonic & Singverein Choir; live; Easter, 1954 [See comments under "Conductors"] " "

Suite for Orchestra (Arranged by Mahler). Rozhdestvensky; Leningrad Philharmonic. [Pretty straight-forward arrangements of the Overture from Suite No. 2, the Rondeau from No. 2, the Air and Gavotte from No. 3. It’s all very lovely and lush, but compared to, say, Elgar’s and Stokowski’s and Mitropoulos’s Bach orchestrations, it’s almost TOO respectful. The performance certainly is lush, too, although somewhat distantly recorded.]

March for 3 Trumpets & Timpani. Howarth; London Festival Brass

The Enchanted Island. Whitney; Louisville Orchestra. [An interesting suite inspired by The Tempest that many listeners will find appealing. A couple of the movements just don’t work for me; the composer seems grimly determined to write a Tempest Suite totally unlike any other, and while the music is tonal and accessible, his heavy-handed insertion of jazzy saxophone riffs just seems ‘way out of place. As Sibelius and Paul Chirara understood, the magic of this play lies in its out-of-time qualities, and throwing in jazz elements, instead of "updating" the subject matters, makes the suite sound already dated (it was recorded in the early Sixties). You might like it all; I only enjoyed portions of it; there’s no gainsaying Bacon’s cleverness and good intentions, however.]

Symphony No. 1 in C. Beecham; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, rec. 1957 (stereo) [See comments under "Conductors"]

Madrigal: "Il Festino della sera del Giovedi ‘Grasso Avanti Cena’". Franco Sarecei; Ensemble Luca Marenzio. [16:02]

String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7. Field String Quartet

Consecration of the House Overture, Op. Munch; French National Orchestra [11:09]

Coriolanus Overture. "Alfred Van Weth" [See "Mystery Maestro" !!]

Egmont Overture " " " " " "

Grosse Fugue, Op. 133. Arthur Winograd; The Winograd String Orchestra. [The conductor’s grimly determined Yo-Heave-Ho approach is not wholly inconsistent with the rugged singularity of this music, but the raw, phlegmy tone of this semi-pick-up ensemble isn’t flattered by the phony electronic "stereo", which attenuates it and smudges what little color it had in its original mono taping. If you can find Furtwangler’s, go for it – cruddy mono sound is still cruddy mono sound, but at least Wild Willy gives you Crud From the Gods. Oh yeah, and Klemperer’s ain’t bad, either. In a concert hall, Winograd’s decades of experience as a string player probably helped him achieve something special; on this tubby and poorly engineered disc, he barely makes it to the finish line.]

Piano Concerto No. 4, G Major, Op. 58. Wilhelm Backhaus, piano; Clemens Krauss; Vienna Philharmonic. [A classic version; elegance and drama in perfect balance; ravishing orchestral work by the VPO; robust well-focused late-mono sound. While copies of this are not rare – especially the budget re-issue on Richmond – copies in great condition ARE. My Source was still in the wrinkled original shrink-wrap when I opened it to dub the master CD, and the surfaces were spotless.]

Sonata No. 24, F sharp. Grant Johannesen, piano

Symphony No. 1, C Major, Op. 11. Peter Maag; Orchestre di Padova e del Veneto. [24:31]

" " " " " " " . Mengelberg; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; studio recording, c. 1940 (See comments under "Conductors")

Symphony No. 3, E-flat Major, Op. 55. "Eroica". Odd Grunne-Hegge; Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. [How seriously can we take a conductor named "Odd"? Very seriously indeed, as this distinguished musician was excellently-trained in Europe (he studied with Richard Strauss, among others) and his recordings (all released here on the budget "Camden" label or in "Readers Digest" collections), were seldom even reviewed. But sharp-eared collectors spotted the blunt, honest, compelling nature of his interpretations and have long sought-out those increasingly scarce recordings. Here’s an almost coarse, peasant-band "Eroica" with solid integrity, manly passion, more than a few brilliantly insightful details, and the best playing the Oslo orchestra was capable of giving in 1957. I find this a sterling rendition, even thrilling at times, and have spent several hours carefully fixing the Skippies on my best (of five) copy, just so those who might be curious can sample Grunne-Hegge’s work at its best. His Peer Gynt recordings are also top-notch, although never the Last Word in orchestral finesse.]

Symphony No. 3, E-Flat Major, Op. 55, "Eroica". Peter Maag; Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto [50:27] [For such a reputable conductor, Maag certaiu]nly got stuck in the boondocks for the last 30 years of his life… I mean, where the hell WERE orchestras like this???}

Symphony No. 4, B-flat Major, Op. 60. Munch; French National Orchestra; Live, 1963 [

Symphony No. 5. Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic; rec. 1926 [31:00] [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 5, D Minor, Op. 67, Massimo Freccia; Orchestra of St. Cecilia’s Academy [34:57]

Symphony No. 5, D Minor, Op. 67. Hermann Scherchen; Orchestra della Radio Televisione della Svizzera Italiana; live, 2/26/1962 [33:37] [Optional REHEARSAL SEGMENT (44:23), includes Scherchen working painstakingly with the orchestra on all four movements. In Italian, of course, but even if you don’t speak that language fluently, you can still get the gist of what’s going on, from context alone. As usual, the man is brilliantly analytical and all business.]

Symphony No. 6, "Pastorale". George Szell; New York Philharmonic, c. 1957. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 7, Op. 92. Mravinsky; Leningrad Philharmonic [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 8, Op. 93. Fritz Busch; Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra, live, 1950 [26:58] [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 8, Op. 93. Mengelberg; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; studio recording, c. 1940 (See comments under "Conductors")

Symphony No. 9, Op. 125. Celibidache; Munich Philharmonic; Soloists; Chorus; Live, March 19, 1989. [Caveat emptor! I have no doubt that this IS Celli, and this live Ninth is taking place when and where the label claims, but from the bizarre acoustical anomalies, I also have no doubt that it was recorded by means of disguised in-the-eyeglasses microphones, mounted on some bloke’s head, their signal either fed remotely to a recorder hidden a short distance away or covered under his overcoat or by some other amateurish tawdry trick. Every time the trickster coughs or turns his head more than ten degrees off-axis, it plays havoc with the sonics, skewing the balances and imposing catastrophic distortion. Mind you, when he sits perfectly still and everyone around him does too, you DO get to hear a typically expansive Celli "Ninth" in pretty fair, if minimalist, stereo. But for a few bucks more, you can get the commercial, professionally recorded one – maybe this SAME one, I’m too lazy to go check – on the EMI series. No, damn it, I have to go verify that. Wait for me.

Messa di Gloria. Bernard Burger; Orchestra and Chorus of Overijssel. [First performed in 1821, and almost never since, this large-scale work is, if not a flat-out masterpiece, a major discovery! Bellini’s gift for writing sublime melodies is evident in every measure; both solos and choruses just float up toward heaven! The performing forces are all Dutch, and I suppose the snobbish would call them "provincial", but they play with utter confidence and devotion. The Scource LP is flawless – maybe never played – and is of audiophile quality. It’s a Dutch import that someone, I don’t know who, apparently ordered 28 years ago from Records International. The terraced choral/orchestral dynamics in the "Kyrie eleison" are so spacious, warm, and vast they gave me goose bumps. Bellini only lived 34 years, of course, and if this was the direction he was going in, we missed some masterpieces for sure. A revelation to me, I suspect you’ll feel the same way, especially if all you know of this composer are his admirable but florid operas. Switching from one of those to this mass, is like jumping from Beethoven’s First straight into the Missa Solemnis!]

Damnation of Faust (complete). Furtwangler; Soloists, Orchestra & Chorus of the Lucerne Festival; live, 1950 [See comments under "Conductors" and "Singers, individual"]

Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14. Georges Pretre; Boston Symphony. [50:04] [Pretre didn’t make many American records, but evidently his BSO guest gig impressed RCA enough to make them want to issue this. It’s very fine, of course, but the competition is so fierce in this piece I can’t allow as how it’s any better than Munch, Monteux, Stokowski, Bernstein, or Joe Blow. The sonics are very good, however.]

Symphony No. 1, G Minor, "Serieuse". Schmidt-Isserstedt; Stockholm Philharmonic [29:48] [A fine, muscular reading of this most excellent work, by a greatly under-valued conductor who left us far too few recordings.]

"La Jolie fille de Perth" – A la voix, Serenade, Act II. Henry Legay, tenor; Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

"Les Pecheurs de perles" – Ces’toi, toi qu’enfin je revois… Act I. Henri Legay, tenor; Cluytens; Orchestre du Theater National de l’Opera

"Les Pecheurs de perle" – Je crois encore entendre…Act I. Henri Legay, tenor; Cluytens; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

"Checkmate" Ballet (Complete). [Dancers costumed as Knights, Bishops, Pawns, etc – you get the idea, but will probably be surprised at how colorful, varied, and engaging the score is. I can’t tell you who’s performing, since this first complete recording appeared on the notorious "Aries" pirate label, which issued some fabulous stuff (including the first-ever performance of Brian’s "Gothic" Symphony, the conductor identified as "Adrein BOLT"); every other Aries disc I’ve got uses blatant and often silly pseudonyms; in this case, we have the "Hamburg Symphony" conducted by the estimable Maestro "Horst Werner". Who are the real musicians? Since the tape derives from a BBC radio premiere, take your pick: Boult, Groves, Fistoulari, John Pritchard, Malcolm Sargent -- whoever he is, he gives a snappy, full-throated reading and the stereo sound is entirely satisfactory. A very tasty, entertaining, often dramatic score, still represented only by one or two other recordings.]

Hungarian Dance No. 5. "Alfred Van Weth" [See "Mystery Maestro"]

Symphony No. 1, C Minor, Op. 68.[42:49]. Carlos Paita; National Symphony of London. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 1, Op. 68. Furtwangler; RAI Orchestra of Turin; live, Marfch, 1952. [A scourge and an abomination. See comments under "Conductors"]

Violin Concerto, D Major, Op. 77. Francescatti; Mitropoulos; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; live, Salzburg Festival, 8/24/1958 [39:39]

Piano Concerto, Op. 13. Clive Lythgoe, piano; Kenneth Montgomery; Netherlands Radio Symphony; live, October, 1985 [The more I hear this piece, the more I like it; and the less I understand its continued neglect. It’s got everything: spicy rhythms, elegant tunes, cascading virtuoso passages (which Lythgoe tosses off with almost arrogant ease); Montgomery galvanizes the orchestra into playing with unusual piquancy and terrific elan. I can’t imagine any music-lover not revising his opinion of this piece upwards by several notches after encountering such a sparkling interpretation as this. I think Britten got a bad deal from the critics (when the concerto was first played, under Mitropoulos’s baton – I’m too lazy to look up the soloist! – the critics dismissed it as a triviality. One described it as "a shallow confection, which I could barely endure once without struggling to avoid falling asleep. But I’m not worried – I never expect to hear it again." Jeez, why don’t you tell us what you REALLY think? Anyway, there are still only a few recordings, and none that nails the concerto with such energy and zest. Excellent stereo sound, too.]

Suite for Brass (Arr. Howarth). Howarth; London Festival Brass [6:04]

"Corentyne Kwe-Kwe" – Toccata for Piano, Op. 76. Peter Jacobs, piano. [No, I can’t tell you what a "Kwe-Kwe" is or why Mr. Bush was inspired to compose such a lively, toe-tapping, thoroughly engaging piece about one; there aren’t any program notes on my Source. But I can tell you that, to my surprise, I found Bush’s solo piano music more enjoyable than most of his orchestral output! It’s sort of post-Impressionist neo-Romantic in style, relaxed and melodic in idiom; the work of a confident and assured composer. While I DO like many of his orchestral works, I sometimes get the impression that he’s…I dunno, TRYING too hard. But the piano works listed here seem to flow more easily, seem to find their melodic groove early and with certainty, and then develop the material with a sure sense of where the composer wants it to go. Yes, the shadow of Debussy hovers close at hand, but so what? Anyhow, if you’re in the mood for piano music that doesn’t make demands on your intellectual rigor, or keep jarring you into wakefulness with its hammering and clanging, you may find this music as agreeable and pleasant as I did.]

Letter Galliard, Op. 80. Peter Jacobs, piano

Nocturne, Op. 60., " " "

Ten Preludes for Piano (No’s 12-24). Peter Jacobs, piano [Wish I had all two dozen of them… Much variety here, but the music is always approachable and finely-crafted, and Mr. Jacobs differentiates nicely between them, so that each tells, as it was surely meant to, a distinct little story.]

Sarabande in D Minor. Psichord

Trio for Clarinet, Cello & Piano. The Montagnana Trio [13:51] [Here’s an excerpt from the program notes: ""The piece begins with intense and affirmative solos, using these as block levels and perspectives and gradually turns them into conventional ensemble relationships. The individual parts make considerable demands on the players and microtones are used inflectionally. From the conventional ensemble there follows a short section, as a grave, austere dance, in which all three players play together. The subsequent almost motionless cello solo and last half-realized clarinet gesture find music, no matter what sort, to be inadequate. The players begin to speak, but then realize more and more the isolation of human experience until even human speech breaks down and only silence is left." OK, everybody got that? It’s all about, um, alienation and stuff. It succeeded in alienating me, but not before I couldn’t help noticing the composer’s tendency toward genuine eloquence, which of course he suppresses as soon as he noticed it too. After the point where the players start verbalizing, it becomes an embarrassment. Say this for it, though: the performance is drop-dead brilliant.]

Symphony 1945. Zdenek Kosler; Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra [Curious. Here’s a composer who almost chokes to death trying to make a major Significant Statement, and JUST misses having the chops to pull it off. As the title would lead you to expect, it’s a "war symphony", or at least a "Boy-am-I-sad-the-Red-Army-got-here-before-Patton" symphony, steeped in gloom, angst and dark, rather thick orchestral colors. Of Cikker’s sincerity, there can be no doubt. Of his technique being equal to his ambitions, I have significant reservations, for much of this longish symphony just churns around in place, flinging desperate gouts of rhetoric in all directions, hoping to hit some emotional targets. Occasionally, it does – the bleak, terse, enigmatic conclusion is very affecting, and there are some themes in the "Largo" second movement that a composer equal to Prokofiev or Shostakovich could have elaborated into humongous climaxes. But Cikker isn’t quite in their league. He works up a motoric head of steam, then doesn’t know where the hell he wants to go with it, so instead of exciting development, leading to a stark and powerful climax, those sections usually just run out of gas and are clumsily morphed into yet another depressing, dark gray episode of gloom and angst. As I once wrote about the music of Allen Pettersson: "It’s sort of like Mahler, but without the laughs". But it’s SO close to being a major symphony, that it’s really kind of sad to hear how it fails to attain great stature. I freely admit that other listeners might react to it more positively. The fault it certainly not that of Kosler (a greatly under-rated conductor in my opinion) or his Slovak Philharmonic musicians, who give it all they’ve got (and are aided by a vivid 1975 analogue recording). I don’t want to slam the piece too hard, if only because I sense nothing meretricious in it whatever – the composer obviously wrote it from deep feelings and if he’d been just a little bit more accomplished technically, he might have expressed something universal and powerful, rather than dogged and morose. In short, it’s a Downer of a piece, unredeemed by the savagery or soul-searing intensity of Shostakovich. If Cikker’s been influenced by anybody, I’d say it was Honegger! Long portions of this work unfold in a manner that reminds me of Honegger’s gloomier works – not a Good Thing, in my estimation, as I’ve always felt that Honegger, too, might have said something uniquely potent if he hadn’t been so damned French and tight with his emotions. I mean, you know: sometimes "less" is just…less.

Concerto Grosso, G Minor, Op. 6/ No 8 ("Christmas"). Clemens Dahinden; Winterthur Symphony Orchestra [More than a curio! I have no earthly idea who Maestro Dahinden was or where he worked, but he turns in a ravishingly sensitive reading of this chestnut, obtaining silken sound from the Winterthur strings (best usually described as "utilitarian"); his pacing is perfect and his handling of this modest work’s exquisite climax seems just about perfect to me. Yet this is the only record by him I know of. This record, BTW, is a "bonus" album from the worthy but little studied MMS label (i.e., if you bought X number by subscription, you got this as a freebie. It’s pressed on thin vinyl but actually has better sound than the thicker, cruder "main selection" discs! Go figure.]

Les Barricades Mysterieuses. Landowska, harpsichord

L’Arlequine. Landowska, harpsichord

Delibes: "Lakme" – Prendre le dessin d’un bijou, Act I. Henri Legay, tenor; Cluytens; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Carnival Overture, Op. 92 Giulini; Philharmonia Orchestra

"Largo" from Symphony No. 9. "Alfred Van Weth" [See "Mystery Maestro]

Symphony No. 5, F Major, Op. 76. Walter Goehr; Netherlands Philharmonic Orch. [From a rare 10-inch MMS disc, back when this perky symphony was known as "Number 3". There’s a tiny but uncorrectable warp at the very rim of the disc, which causes 2-3 tiny skippies very early, then it fades for good. Otherwise, the disc is in good physical condition, although it sounds as though it was recorded at too high a volume – some rawness and congestion in the climaxes, as though from over-modulated grooves; very unusual for this minor but conscientious label. As for Goehr’s interpretation, it’s up to his usual standard – very focused and committed, if not a model of interpretive insight; hell, almost nobody outside of Prague had ever heard this work before the Sixties, so let’s give Geohr credit for adopting it and MMS for recording it.]

Symphony No. 9, Op. 95. " " " [41:36][See comment under "Conductors"]

"Simplicity" for Computer. [3:00] [Mr. Eniscu was one of the announcers for Radio Nederland’s English-language broadcasts, which were sometimes a bit TOO folksy and aw-shucks, before the music actually started, but the quality and varietry of the concert excerpts was always first-rate. Here, Robert filled in a brief dead-spot in one broadcast by popping a floppy into his laptop and broadcasting this half-compelling, half-irritating loop long enough to A) Make you want to hear it all the way through, more than once or B) Make you gnash your teeth and your dog foam at the mouth. It’s obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek, perhaps a parody of those ghastly-yet-hypnotic "Pulse Music" atrocities Philip Glass used to lever himself into celebrity (and, to his credit, into a steady ascent and a reasonable case for being judged a "great composer"). This is a dandy parody, though and the title is clearly ironic. Hmmm… Think I’ll add this to the Mundo Bizarro catalogue, too; it’sd certainly odd enough,]

Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11. Swarowsky; Vienna Symphony Orchestra

"The Drum-War". Von Karajan; Berlin Philharmonic; live, 1978 [Erichen was, and presumably still is, the leader of the Berlin Philharmonic’s percussion section, and a clever, talented composer. This goofy, tongue-in-cheek piece (about 30 minutes long) has an appropriately silly "program", something to do with a "war" between owls and frogs I think; doesn’t matter, except there’s a deranged choral part that sings the glories of either the amphibians or the rodents, I don’t remember which. The percussionists get a work-out, although they don’t just make noise, but intriguing special effects as well. The piece has a clean narrative arch, as whimsical as it may be, and even Von Karajan seems to be conducting with a grin on his Prussian-officer face. Musical hi-jinks abound (see if you can spot the skewed quotation from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, about six minutes into the piece!), yet the work is very well constructed and holds together AS music. A fascinating piece, and quite a departure from Karajan’s usual repertoire!]

Toccata Concertante. Ozawa; Boston Symphony Orchestra; live, Tanglewood, 1982

The Old Folks Quadrille. Eugene Lowell; American Recording Society Ensemble

Village Festival. " " " " " " [Want to hear where Charles Ives came from? Here you go, then: two delightful 10-13-minute works from Foster’s 1854 collection "The Social Orchestra", in their first-ever LP recording from 1952. While the engineering, as usual with ARS recordings, sounds a trifle boxy and dry by modern standards, the renditions are juiced and zestful at every turn! On the flip-side are six arrangements for small band and vocalists – alas, unidentified on the Source LP – of 19^th Century Minstrel Songs by Black composer Hershy Kay. The LP is in great shape, so a dubbing of both sides comprises a hugely enjoyable 47-minute concert of vintage Americana!

Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, Op.82. Sylvia Markovici, violin; David Zinman; Netherlands Radio Symphony; live, -4/ 28/ 1979 [36:00] [Without some help from conductor and soloist, this overly-lyrical concerto can easily turn into marshmallow soup. But Zinman and Marcovici seize it by the throat early on and grip it like Grim Death until the high-spirited finale arrives to revivify everyone concerned. Interesting paradox here; this may be Glazunov’s most popular and often performed concert work, but I find it one of his least interesting big-scale works as well. Maybe that’s just ME, ‘cause y’all know how much I dig Glazunov! Ordinarily, Zinman (whose work I generally had high regard for) strikes me clueless and synthetic in the Russians, but here he supports his soloist with unflagging energy.]

Symphony No. 5. Walter Weller; San Francisco Symphony; live, 1982 [Wow! Great reading by a conductor almost everybody likes, but who doesn’t make any records these days! Beats me. His Prokofiev cycle is memorable, perhaps the best any conductor’s ever done (yes, I can offers those to you, too, I just haven’t listed them all yet). I know Glazunov isn’t everybody’s favorite Russian composer, but his output was so vast that generalizations don’t really apply. The 5^th has noble tunes, grand orchestral perorations, excellent structural coherence, just about everything you could ask for, but it’s almost never played. Weller took a chance, programming it in this guest shot, but it worked – to my ears – sensationally well. The players’ enthusiasm is palpable; the brass playing in particular is flat-out gorgeous and VERY Russian-sounding. This isn’t the only live Weller performance I’ve got, so just keep checking back and sooner or later something else terrific will show up here. Hell, the way things are going sooner or later ANYTHING could show up…Anyway, if you’ve always figured Glazunov to be an old fuddy, wait till you hear the way Weller tears into the last movement – like a starving piranha. Many adjectives apply to Glazunov’s music, but "thrilling" usually isn’t one of them. In this performance, it is; the orchestra can barely hang on at Weller’s slashing tempo, but it manages, and the results are breath-stopping!]

Piano Concerto, B Flat Major, Op. 18. Paul Baumgartner, piano; Erich Schmid; Beromeunster Radio Orchestra [38:45] [Well, George Bernard Shaw thought Goetz was a great composer, which I guess only proves that even the most astute and literate critics can be full of it sometimes. Or was he? When was the last time you heard his work in concert? Right; me too. So what did Shaw hear that posterity has been deaf to? Let’s start with the biographical facts: Goetz was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia in those days, but grew up and earned most of his living in Switzerland. He wrote one very successful opera (The Taming of the Shrew, and yes, I’ve got that, too, if you’d like a dub), and two moderately popular ones (Francesca da Rimini and The Three Kings, neither recorded so far as I know), two symphonies (ditto), and a clutch of stand-alone programmatic overtures (already listed here). And this Piano Concerto, which has passages of such elegance and restrained but intense emotion, that Mozart comes to mind. It’s a damned good piece, and one that any virtuoso worth his press agent could easily "sell" to a modern audience. Personally, I’d rather listen to THIS than Chopin’s Second, which has always struck me as much ado about almost-nothing. At least Goetz wrote capably for the orchestra, while my dog orchestrates better than Chopin. But only the stalwart, if not-quite-stellar, Herr Baumgartner has bothered to record it. It’s a better-than-token reading, I think, although the Beromeunster Radio Orchestra leaves much to be desired. In the mood for a relaxed Romantic concerto? Goetz fills the bill, although despite my fondness for his music, I cannot imagine where Shaw got so elevated an opinion of him. What a pity he was slain by TB at such an early age…]

"Faust" – Salut! Demeure chaste et pure, Act III. Henri Legay, tenor; Cluytens; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Cantata: "Suete Venti", for Soprano & Orchestra. Halina Lukomska, soprano; Rolf Reinhardt; Collegium Aureum [28:19]

"The Harmonious Blacksmith" (from Suite in E). Landowska, harpsichord
Overture to "Joseph". Reinhardt; Collegium Aureum. [5:40]

Sonata, C Major, for Viola da Gamba & Continuo. Richard Taruskin, viola da gamba; Charles Sherman, harpsichord [9:59]

Trio Sonata No. 2, D Minor, for Oboe, Violin & Basso Continuo. Richard Taruskin; Marck Serhman, oboe; Charles Sherman, harpsichord. [9:59]

Symphony No. 3. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra; live, c. 1977. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Overture to "Yrsa", Op.78. Mogens Woldike; Danish Radio Symphony [

String Quartet, E Flat, Op. 33 / No. 2 ("The Joke"). The Field String Quartet

String Quartet, E flat Major, Op. 36 / No. 2. Pascal String Quartet

Symphony No. 94, G Major, "Oxford". Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony, c. 1948 (See comments under "Conductors"] " " "

Symphony No. 101, "The Clock". Fritz Busch; Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra; live, 1950 [27:50] [Warm, genial readings, rather in the grandfatherly style of late Bruno Walter. The orchestra plays with spirit and the off-air recording is nice and clean.]

The Four Temperaments. Pianist unknown; Mehta; New York Philharmonic; live, 1982 [Arranged from a not-very-successful ballet score, this quasi-concerto clings to the hem of the repertoire but is well worth knowing. It’s coolly elegant, no fireworks; but never dull. Time spent listening to it passes smoothly and always pleasantly. Mehta’s tenure with the NY Phil wasn’t always stellar – sometimes he let them play like pigs, and his readings of the Basic Repertoire tended to be glib rather than arresting, but in music like this, he was far more engaged and creative. He makes more of the substantial orchestral part than any conductor I’ve heard on records, and his soloist (whoever he or she is) plays with the utmost conviction. Very good air-check sound, too.]

"Short Ayres Both Grave and Light" (1599). Christopher Ball; Praetorius Consort [12:38]

The Planets, Op. . Willem Van Otterloo; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1983. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Three Dances from "The Perfect Fool" ballet. Kenneth Montgomery; Radio Netherlands Orchestra; live, 3/11/1978. [10:58]

A Christmas Cantata. Martinon; Orchestra & Chorus d l’ORTF [23:57] [As far as I know, this is the only recording of this unpretentious and beguiling score and for sensitivity and quiet effulgence, it could hardly be surpassed. My Source is a long O/P Connoisseur Society LP of audiophile quality, in mint condition. The short tone poems, on the flip side and listed below, likewise receive superbly idiomatic and persuasive readings. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not a big fan of Honegger’s symphonies, but I admire many of his other pieces, especially the lovely, gentle Pastorale d’ete, which Martinon wafts along like a summer breeze. Only Scherchen’s coarsely recorded early Westminster version equals it, and of course the sonics here are infinitely better.]

Pacific 231. Martinon; Orchestre de l’ORTF

Pastorale d’ete. " " " "

Rugby. " " " "

Mass in E Major, Op. 80. Gerhard Wilhelm; Stuttgart "Hymnus-Chorknaben" ("Choirboys"); Instrumental Ensemble Werner Keltsch [56:05] [Okay, I’ve never heard of any of these performers (except for Helen Watts, one of the two altos); but they have the late-Classical style down, they’re spaciously recorded, and they don’t try to make Hummel sound like Haydn. Actually, I’ve been on something of a Hummel kick, ever since I discovered the Chandos recordings of his piano concertos, which are dynamite works and far more Romantic sounding than most of his output. He WORKED FOR A LIVING, and he had a tough row to hoe after replacing Haydn at the Esterhazy palace; not everything he wrote was "inspired" (not everything Haydn and Mozart composed was, either), but at his best, which he is lots of times, Hummel could pull of tricks of orchestration and form that challenge Mozart’s best. He had imagination, a fine sense of orchestral and choral color, and tireless energy. After all, any composer who could be engaged to replace Haydn HAD to have a few things going for him besides bluff competence. If this E Major Mass doesn’t scale the heights as Haydn’s later masses do, it’s a sturdy, handsome, well-shaped piece of work that holds your attention and offers a lot of well-wrought music. Who knows? You may find yourself humming Hummel…]

Imperii procures, 4 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

In Diem conceptionis Beatissime Mariae Virginis, 4 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

Missa Ssuper "O praeclara", 4 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

Optimi pastor ovili, 6 Voices. Rener Clemencic; Chantecleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

Sancta spiritus assit nobis gratio, 6 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort [Rarified, unearthly beauty, from the cusp of the Gothic Age and the Renaissance.]

"The Cunnings Little Vixen", Suite from. Rozhdestvensky; Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

"The Markropulos Case" (complete opera). Mackerras; Vienna Philharmonic; Vienna State Opera Chorus; Elisabeth Soderstroem, sop.; Peter Dvorsky, Beno Blachut. [See comments under "Opera & Choral"]

Serenade to a Summer Night, Op. 10. Stig Westerberg; Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra [16:07]

Nineteenth Century Minstrel Songs. Vocalists & ensemble of the American Recording Society. [Does this suite, zestfully arranged by Kay, sound "racist" today? Maybe, if you’re the kind of rigid ideologue who simply can’t crack a smile at "Amos & Andy" (or at Moms Mabley, for that matter!), you’ll think so. But for God’s sake, these saucy pre-Civil War ditties were as valid a part of the American Negro heritage as anything else! I wish the performers were identified; whoever they are, they have gobs of spirit and enthusiasm and they do NOT try to sing these numbers in an exaggerated "sho-nuff, dat really am good waddy-melon, Boss!" accent. This album is unutterably rare (at least in near-pristine condition) today, and I was very lucky to acquire it only a month ago. The titles are]

Stop That Knockin’ at the Door;

"Le Roi d’Ys" – Vainement, ma bien aimee, Act III. Henri Legay, tenor; Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Dances from the School of G.L. (c. 1640). Christopher Ball; Praetorius Consort. [Moody, melodic; makes you wish we knew something – ANYTHING – about this composer.]

Songs of the Sirens. The Montagnana Trio [7:49] [Gimmicky ("…The phonemes are sung separately and are taken from the phonemes of other words scattered throughout the complete piece…" Who gives a shit?) but actually rather attractive music]

Symphonic Poem: From the Great Forests. Stig Westerberg; Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra [15:10]

Liszt: Totentanz. Janos Sokyom, piano; Stig Westerberg; Munich Philharmonic [One doesn’t think of the reserved Westerberg buckling swashes with Liszt, but he does a red-blooded job here of accompanying this obscure but very gifted Hungarian pianist, and the Munich orchestra plays passionately for them. An odd combination of repertoire and artists, yes, but as we know, those are often the best…or at least, the most illuminating. Excellent sounds from 1975 Danish EMI release.]

Suite for Brass (Arr. Civil). Alan Civil; London Festival Brass. [2:29]

Fantasie di Ogni Giorno (Everyday Fantasies). Whitney; Louisville Orchestra. [A slight – 12 minutes – but fairly attractive piece by this always interesting composer; this is its only recording.]

Symphony No. 2. Neumann; Czech Philharmonic [See comments under "Conductors"]

"Werther" –O Nature, Act I. Henri Legay, tenor; Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Concertino d’Hiver for Trombone & Strings ("Winter" Concertino. Victor Venglovsky, trombone; Lazar Gozman; Leningrad Chamber Orchestra [12:00]

Chant du Depart. Francois-Julien Brun; Band of La Garde Republican [See comments under "Folk Music, non-Celtic"]

The First Walpurgis Night. Ackerman; Soloists, Orchestra & Chorus of the Netherlands Philharmonic [See comments under "Conductors"]

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Incidental Music to. Arthur Rother; Orchestra of the Berlin Municipal Opera. [This has to be one of the last records made by this venerable maestro, and one of the few he made in stereo (of course, he made one of the very FIRST in stereo, too, that notorious/legendary "Emperor" Concerto taped live with Gieseking, in the middle of which an American air raid started pummeling a distant sector of Berlin and, during the quiet parts of the music, you can distinctly hear the crash of German 88s firing from their high concrete flak towers!)

Madrigal: "Vatteni pur Crudel". Franco Saracei; Ensemble Luca Marenzio

Madrigal: "S’andasse Amor a Caccia". " " " " "

Flute Concerto No. 2, D Major, K. 314. Dimitri Bida, flute; Lazar Gozman; Leningrad Chamber Orchestra [21:38]

"The Impressario", Overture. Alfred Van Weth [See "Mystery Maestro"]

"La Clemenza di Tito" Overture. Alfred Van Weth. [See "Mystery Maestro"]

Menuetto in D, K. 355. Landowska, harpsichord

Motet "Exsultate, Jubilate", K. 165. w/ Maria Stader. Soprano; Ferenc Fricsay; RIAS Symphony Orchestra [Frankly, ever since I watched in stupefaction when Dianne Durbin warbled this obnoxiously cheerful ditty for Stokowski in "100 Men and a Girl" (don’t you adore the smutty connotations of that title?), I have found this particular Mozart piece to be unlistenable; I’m serious – if it appears on a recital program, I will discretely leave the auditorium. For whatever complex of reasons – and little Ms. Durbin really doesn’t do such a ghastly job of it – the first two bars affect me like a dull dentist’s drill. Please don’t take offense if you happen to like it – most people DO; it’s…I dunno… like an allergic reaction or something…]

Serenade 13, G Major, k. 525 (Eine Kleine Nachmusik). Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony Orchestra. c. 1948 [See comments under "Conductors"]

Piano Concerto No. 2, G Major, K. 107. Artur Balsam, piano; Otto Ackerman; Winterthur Symphony Orchestra. [Here’s another bite from that MMS "bonus" disc (Mozart…Corelli…Beethoven and Mussorgsky…Ye Gods, what a mix!), and Balsam, as always, plays impeccably. Very good sound! Ackerman and his men have virtually nothing to do except noodle in the background – I guess Mozart was, what, nine when he composed this? It’s likely Poppa helped a great deal, and it’s honestly pretty vacuous, forgettable music, but what the hell, it IS Mozart and it’s beautifully performed here on this amazing grab-bag of selections!]

Piano Concerto No. 24, C Minor, K. 491. Grant Johannesen, piano; Otto Ackermann; Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

Quintet for Clarinet & Strings, A Major, K. 581. Harold Wright, clarinet; Marlboro Quartet [30:37]

Rondo in D, K. 485. Landowska, harpsichord

Trio No. 2 for Piano, Violin & Cello, K. 502. [25:18] Rudolf Serkin, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; Madeline Foley, cello.

"Turkish March" from Sonata in A, K. 331. Landowska, harpsichord

Violin Concerto No. 4, D Major, K. 218. Zuckerman, violin; Kondrashin; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1984.

"Boris Godunov", Great Scenes from. Von Matacic, et, al. [See under "Opera & Choral" below]

Night on Bald Mountain. Walter Goehr; Netherlands Philharmonic. [Flip over from the Mozart 2^nd concerto and THIS is what comes next! Pretty good reading, in decent sound, but then, every reading except Stokowski’s sounds like lukewarm tea-and-biscuits in this piece, so it’s for Goehr collectors mainly. (What Skippy? There AREN’T any? Of course there are! There must be, oh, six or seven of them; we just haven’t heard from them yet!)]

Septet in A-flat Major for Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Violin, Viola, Cello & Double Bass. Members of the Concerto Amsterdam [24:36]

In Memoriam. Isaac Karabtchevsky; Symphony Orchestra of Brazil [Recorded on tour in Washington, D.C., 1973]

Spells. The Montagnana Trio. [18:14 ["Spell is a series of patterns created when the harmonics of a given fundamental may appear a long time either before or after their fundamental, thus producing a gradually changing vertical and horizontal configuration. This pattern is not unlike the Baroque toccata-perpetuum-mobile , except that in Spell it is often played in several tempos at the same time…to me, Spell is the ultimate in chamber music, because we are constantly listening to the shifting tones in each other’s parts, moving only at the apex of a tone. The melodies that result from thie "spelling’ of pitches combine in a manner reminiscent of earlier romantic tyles, but are truly unique unto themselves and create their own mysteries." Those observations from pianist Delores Stevens. If you understood enough of that to know what she’s talking about, chances are you’ll respond positively to this piece. I keep trying to like Norgard’s music, really I do, and it isn’t that I find it ugly or harsh or meretricious or phony, for it really isn’t any of those negative things; it’s just that I haven’t found that one composition that will unlock the man’s style for me. But make no mistake, this music is the genuine article, and it does repay repeated hearings and diligent study. And this now-obscure ABC/Command recording, the only one I know of that the Montagnana Trio made when they were hot on the avant-garde/downtown art music scene, was one of the more significant "classical" releases of the Seventies. I’ll bet it didn’t sell 1200 copies, world-wide. At least on this web site, it has s slim second chance to attract the curious and the broad-minded, and it deserves the attention of both.]

Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 23. Andrejz Stefansky, piano.[Superbly assured and idiomatic readings by a Polish artist otherwise unknown to me. Good sound, too.]

Theme and Variations in The Old Polish Style. Stefansky, piano.

Rhapsody for Orchestra. American Orchestra, unidentified on tape; conductor unknown. [Laid-back and atmospheric, extremely pleasant music by a composer not known for being accessible! Whoever’s performing, they’re good; plenty of conviction; somewhat grainy sound and a rather under-staffed string section are the only compromises in this performance, which otherwise sounds quite dedicated. Length of piece is about ten minutes, and it would make a dandy "token" modern work on any concert program.]

Piano Concerto, Op. 90. James Dick, piano; Ormandy; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; live, 1982

Sonata Hora Decima No. 7 (Arr. Willbarham). Howarth; London Festival Brass [4:39]

Ice-Land. Composer at synthesizer [See comments under "Celtic" below]

String Quartet, Op. 8. Hollywood String Quartet. [A marvelous reading of a high-spirited American piece. (The slow movement is an ingenious riff on "Jesus Loves Me…") Alas, it’s a second-hand copy of a Green Label Capitol, which means it has NO protective rim and there are four uncorrectable (but very tiny) Skippies on Side A and considerable crackle near the LP’s rim. As I’ve said before, the Hollywood S.Q. was a fabulous outfit, and included 20^th Century works in many of their concerts; this is one of the few modern works they were allowed to record, so I don’t hesitate to offer it despite the imperfections (which really do fade out once you’re past the first half-inch of the grooves). If you’re a fan, and haven’t scored this LP yet – it is one of their rarest ones – I’d suggest the Turina and Debussy’s Sacred & Profane Dances as disc-mates; maybe also the sextet version of Transfigured Night… ‘S up to you, though.]

Dances from "Terpsichore". [18:53] Christopher Ball; Praetorius Consort. [Sparkling; beautifully recorded.]

Piano Concerto No. 1, D Flat Major, Op. 10. Moura Lympany, piano; Walter Susskind; Philharmonia Orchestra.

Symphony No. 7. Zdenek Kosler; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. [See under "Conductors"]

"Ground" in C Minor. Landowska, harpsichord

"A Purcell Cabaret". Raymond Leppard; New York Philharmonic; live, 1982 [What a treat! Leppard arranged twenty songs and instrumental bits from Purcell into one sweeping "entertainment", dedicated it to the NY Philharmonic, and premiered it on the night of this concert. It’s a delight, from start to finish, with Leppard conducting from the harpsichord and everybody seemingly pumped-up with enjoyment. The piece lasts about a half-hour, and there isn’t a dull moment in it.]

"Marouf" – La Caravane, Act II. Hneri Legay, tenor; Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Piano Concerto No. 1, F Sharp Minor, Op. 1. Moura Lympany, piano; Nicolai Malko; Philharmonia Orchestra.2

Symphony No. 2. ("City of Stockholm"). Arvo Volmer; Estonian State Symphony Orchestra. 37:09] [After a lifetime of displacement, hardship, and indomitable creativity, Kaljo Raid eventually settled in Toronto, Canada and became ordained as a Baptist minister, although he never ceased composing, During the last few years of his life – through a most unlikely set of circumstances – we became long-distance friends and correspondents, and I can bear witness to his gracious and gentle spirit, his courage, his quiet work-a-day wisdom, and his enormous zest for life. By North Carolina standards, he must have been a rather unusual sort of Baptist! I also happen to think that Kaljo was, like his colleague and friend Eduard Tubin, if not perhaps a "great" composer – and who the hell decides these things, anyway? – then at least a very fine one – some, at least, of his works deserve to live for as long as humanity cherishes beauty and majesty. This symphony may not be the ideal place to start your acquaintance with Raid’s music, but it has more than its share of eloquence and beautiful episodes, and I’m certain that most listeners will find something to cherish here. As for Tubin’s brief unfinished torso of a symphony, and his deeply moving string threnody, they are the works of a seasoned master and need no qualifying remarks from the likes of me – if they leave you cold, I suggest you visit the nearest walk-in clinic to find out whether or not you still have a pulse. Both performances and sound on this privately sponsored CD are first-rate, and you will not find it in any store outside of Canada or Estonia (and maybe, now, not even in those two countries, for it’s been at least 12 years since Maestro Raid send me a copy, requesting as he did so that I "spread the word". Sorry it took so long, Maestro.]

"La Dauphine". Landowska, hjarpsichord

Prelude for Orchestra, Op. 71. Performing forces unknown but good; mono air-check. [What an unfortunate name, at least in English: "Rat House"… Makes you wonder… About something or other. Nice, moody, surprisingly Copland-esque piece of about 11 minutes’ duration.]

Cello Concerto in G Major. Anner Bylsma, cello; Jaap Schroeder; Concert Amsterdam [24:03]

Introduction and Game of the Hours. Whitney; Louisville Orchestra. [It wasn’t until 2003 that I ever heard any of Rieti’s music and I liked what I heard. I like this piece, too, but it’s so slight – perhaps seven minutes’ duration – that it doesn’t have time to make more than a vaguely agreeable impression. In months to come, though, I’ll be listing some much more substantial pieces by this intriguing and little-known composer. Anyway, Whitney & Co. turn in one of their customary sturdy but slightly under-powered readings, in late Fifties sturdy but slightly grainy mono sound; at least the Source disc is in VG condition.]

Horn Concerto in F. Hermann Baumann, horn. Jaap Schroeder; Concerto Amsterdam [13:38]

Stabat Mater. Ferenc Fricsay; RIAS Symphony Orchestra; St. Hedwig’s Choir; Maria Stader, soprano; Marianna Radev. Mezzo; Ernst Haefliger, tenor; Kim Borg Bass [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 3. Swarowsky; Vienna Symphony; Prof. Franz Eibner, organ. [Genuine stereo from a late Urania pressing given very little distribution and my copy’s in great shape. See "Conductors" for additional comments, but this is a MUST for Swarowsky collectors.]

Sinfonia "Il Giorno Onomastico". Zoltan Pesko; London Symphony Orch. [19:15]

Sinfonia Veneziana. " " " " " [9:30]

Variations on "La Follia di Spagna". " " " " " [19:10] [OK, we all know Salieri didn’t murder Mozart (although he may have felt a twinge of envy for the younger man’s superior gifts and fecundity of imagination; who wouldn’t?), nor did he take dictation of the Requiem. Sussmeyer did that; Salieri was, well, somewhere decidedly else. Given all the other talent in the room (not only Mozart, but Haydn, Beethoven, and early Schubert), as well as Vienna’s musical sophistication, he had to have been solid, reliable, competent, and occasionally inspired, to have kept his eminence for almost half-a-century (he died in 1825, still fairly productive and hardly the raving lunatic we see in the movie), and yet as these fairly late orchestral works demonstrate, he seldom kissed the hem of the divine. I’d say they sound like second-rate Haydn, only there is no such thing, so I’ll have to say they sound like good, work-a-day Salieri. The Variationson La Follia di Spagna IS a notable work, however, as no major composer wrote another piece like this until Brahms composed his Haydn Variations many years later, and Salieri gives the famous melancholy theme a vigorous, clever work-out – I actually cracked a smile several times. And all the music is graceful and well-made, even if it lacks emotional range or the sheer inventiveness of Haydn. Both orchestra and conductor do their best here; the sound is modern and clean. If you want to hear what sort of a symphonist Salieri might have been if he’d chosen to write more purely orchestral music, here’s an excellent sampler. How many times you’ll play it, after you’ve satisfied your curiosity, is another question, and one that only you can answer.]

Asymptotic Interactions. Isaac Karabtchevsky; Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. [Not nearly as generic and awful as its name would lead you to expect, thank God. It’s kind of like Frank Zappa’s funny-mushroom music (complete with up-chuck-and-flush noises), to which most listeners are going to simply shrug. Been there; heard that; cleaned it up off my neighbors’ porch. You really don’t need to mimic Villa-Lobos at his worst to prove you’re a genuine Brazilian composer, you know!]

Sonata in D Major. Landowska, harpsichord

Sonata in D Minor. " "

Galliard Battalia a 5 Voci (Cantos XXI). Howarth; London Festival Brass. [2:32]

"Summernight", Intermezzo for String Orchestra, Op. 58. Paul Kletzki; Radio Geneva Symphony Orchestra [14:00] [A pure joy of a piece: quiet, flowing, serene of mood yet sophisticated of means. Note, for instances, Schoek’s ingenious deployment of a cadence in which the final tonic is preceded by a dominant seventh chord, based on the tonic’s lower second (c, e, g, b-flat) – the "foreign" dominant seventh remains clearly audible even after the final tonic (d, f-sharp, a) begins to sound. Subtle, yet very expressive. It’s hard to imagine that this work was composed in 1945! Schoek’s rather large catalogue is heavily weighted toward vocal music, but his orchestral works are clearly worth exploring, and I hope to bring you more of them. Meanwhile, this sort-of nocturne will provide a graceful introduction to his work. Kletzki’s performance is luminous.]

Transfigured Night. Hollywood String Quartet

Symphony No. 2. Bernstein; New York Philharmonic; live, 1978. {See comments under "Bernstein" in "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 9, Op. 70. Kondrashin; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 3/6/1980

Symphony no. 10, Op. 93. Stokowski; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; live, 1966 [See comments under "Conductors"]

SIBELIUS: [These are among the rarest of Beecham’s esteemed Sibelius recordings, including the first-ever waxings of the Funeral March and The Bard. The readings are, of course, sui generis; the recorded sound – though a trifle dry and with "cautious" dynamics -- is remarkably clear and coherent. Classics, all, though not the "best" in some cases; even Beecham would do a few of them better, latter. But these are cornerstones for any serious Sibelius collection. My dubs come from a pristine 1971 World Record Club LP, re-mastered by The Master, the legendary Anthony C. Griffith, from whom every living restorative engineer learned the basics of his arcane art.]

The Bard, Op. 64. Beecham; London Philharmonic; rec. 11/15/1938. [This brief, abstract mood piece, scored mainly for strings and harp, is archetypal "legend music", in the Master’s most evocative vein. It suggests…well, some sad bardic tale from a remote time in Finland’s little-known ancient history. Beecham’s reading is masterly, and for 20-odd years was the ONLY available recording.]

"In Memoriam", Funeral March, Op. 59. Beecham; London Philharmonic Orchestra; rec. 11/14/1938. [There’s no specific "program", but this is one of those stirring "public" pieces the composer turned out periodically. Like the slow movement of the Eroica, it merely honors a fallen hero, but its windswept, roaring power is suffused with dignity and a sense of homage. If memory serves, it was played on the occasion of Mannerheim’s funeral, in which context it must have been ineffably moving. Sir Thomas conducts it with great Elgarian surge and stateliness. Why it’s never been played on a real funeral occasion outside of Finland is a mystery, for there is nothing nationalistic about it other than its stoic virility. A great and little-known piece, here given a near-definitive interpretation in exceptionally vivid sound.]

Lemminkainen’s Homecoming, Op. 22. Beecham; London Philharmonic Orchestra; rec. 10/23/1937. [Boy, howdee! The Baronet charges into this rip-snorting "Kalevala" piece with flags flying and sword waving; obviously, he had a personal identification with the randy, irrepressible hero, and he invests the music with tremendous swagger.]

Luonnotar, Op. 70. George Schneevoigt; Finnish National Orchestra, Helmi Liukkainen, soprano; live concert aircheck, 6/4/1934. [Recorded for issue during the orchestra’s only pre-war visit to London, this sublime performance was held back due to some flaws in the master (which restoration guru A.C. Griffith managed to reduce to a few patches of not-very-intrusive crackles). Otherwise the sonics are amazingly "present" and the performance – the first outside of Finland – is brimming with urgency, color, and cumulative power.]

The Oceanides, Op. 73. Sir Adrian Boult; BBC Symphony; live broadcast from 1/23/1936. [A rare gem indeed, see comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 4, Op. 63. Beecham; London Philharmonic Orchestra; rec. 10/10/1937). [This was only the second recording of this bitter, recondite, harrowing symphony, and even Beecham doesn’t quite seem to "get it" yet, for he reigns in the dynamics and – for my taste anyway – too often conducts it as extended chamber music; not an invalid approach, but to give you one example: the opening bars, scored for basses, celli and bassoon, are marked "fortissimo" and should be attacked for maximum volume and with brutal vehemence, even savagery (something few conductors do even now). Not that Beecham is dainty or anything like that, but the impact is "mezzo-forte" at best, which lightens the darkness a little too much. This is a work composed by a man who thought he was dying, and its stoicism should never mask its underlying sense of existential despair, of confronting the Void. Still, there’s much to admire here: Beecham’s uncompromising gruffness and sensitivity to balances, for instance, his gift for extracting poetic feeling from minute details. For a most useful comparison, order the FIRST recording, by Stokowski and the Philadelphia (1936, I think), which is far more vividly recorded and probing into poetic sub-texts and harmonic eeriness (all those "devilish" tritones!), and even though most critics find it self-indulgent, I think it’s sheer brilliance the way Stokie broadens the tempo at the very end, and applies the subtlest rubato to measures usually played with dead-fish lack of inflection; this at least brings a HINT of "closure" to this almost unrelievedly grim work; the radiance of his strings, too, infuses the two inner movements with a hypnotic, "nocturnal fungus" glow that I find chilling.]

Piano Concerto No. 2, Stenhammer rarely sounds "Swedish", nor even "Scandinavian". Just as I’m tempted to say "Brahmsian", he veers off and sounds like…Stenhammer. Which is to say, his music produces a rich, rather ornamented texture, infused with generous melodies and complex but lyrical textures, by turns bucolic and then heraldic, even heroic. It’s an idiom both broadly generic and big-heartedly personal; hard to envision until you’re familiar with it, but hard to imagine doing without after you do. Both of his piano concertos offer rewards and challenges galore for the soloist; many glorious pages for the orchestra, and ample rewards for the listener. One irritating Skippy near the end of Side B. otherwise Source is in excellent shape.]

"Der Rosenkavalier," Waltzes. Rodzinski; Cleveland Orchestra

Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40. Dorati; Minneapolis Symphony. [Splendid! See comments under "Conductors"]

Salome’s Dance. Rodzinski; Cleveland Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

Till Eulenspiegel, Op. 28. Rodzinski; Cleveland Orchestra

Suite in D for Strings. Paul Sacher; Basle Chamber Orchestra; live, 1983 [See comments under "Conductors"]

Violin Concerto. Thomas Kristiansen, violin; David Atherton; Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; Live, 1982. [I MUST be getting senile; I actually LIKED this "Nothing Burger" piece when I dubbed this resplendent live performance. Used to think it was just a joke, and one in very bad taste. OK, the composer was "coasting" here and unashamedly trying to make some bucks; I’m vastly more tolerant of such motives now than I was when I first tried to appreciate it and thought: "If this boring piece-of-shit had been composed by anyone less famous, it would NEVER get performed." I still think that’s partly true, but at least now I’m more tolerant of the composer’s motives and I find the work sort of…pleasant, in a mostly tuneless neo-classical kind of way. And I think this live performance matches any I’ve ever heard – just the right "temperature", "medium rare" (warm and dark pink on the inside…)]

Grande Polonaise, Op. 12. Karsten Andersen; Bergen Symphony Orchestra [12:38]

Norwegian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 17. Karsten Andersen; Bergen Symphony Orchestra [10:22]

Norwegian Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 19. " " " " " [10:10]

Norwegian Rhapsody No. 3, Op. 21. " " " " " [9:52]

Norwegian Rhapsody No. 4, Op. 22. " " " " " [13:13]

Zoporahayda (Legend), Op. 11. Karsten Andersen; Bergen Symphony Orchestra [13:13] [A strikingly handsome fellow who cut as big a swath through the ladies as he did through the musical world, Svendsen may ultimately have done more to elevate Norwegian musical life than Grieg, although his talent was almost certainly less strikingly original as a composer. Paradoxically, though, Svendsen essayed – and successfully -- a wider array of musical forms than Grieg (two wholly respectable symphonies, a pair of good concertos, these four enjoyable rhapsodies, the internationally popular "Norwegian Artists’ Carnival", etc. He was a respected conductor, both in Oslo and in Copenhagen, and he had the good sense to know his own limitations – don’t expect Ma Vlast here! He wasn’t very good at High Drama and Thunder (less so than Grieg, for that matter!), but was quite fine at gentle lyricism and folk-inspired atmosphere, which abound in these perfectly-judged short works (which Karsten Andersen and his fine little orchestra play to perfection). I believe I have all of his important works in my archive – I fell in love with his music quite early – and will eventually list all of them; anything you want, specifically, just email me.)

Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32. Roberto Benzi; Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; live, 1982. [A very interesting, if not ultimately successful, interpretation. For example, there’s a secondary horn line at about 2:30 that usually registers as a low wash of color; this conductor pulls it out into the spotlight, which gives it an uncanny resemblance to one of the main themes in the "Little Russian" Symphony (No. 2), but otherwise seems to serve no purpose by being so emphasized. And so it goes, with normally submerged parts suddenly tap-dancing into prominent relief; sometimes it works, sometimes it just sounds prissy and mannered. NO conductor comes close to Stokowski and Bernstein in this tormented-sounding score, but at least Benzi holds your attention (as in "Why the hell did he DO that?" and "OK, what’s he going to do with THIS part?"], so aficionados of "Francesca" may want to add this curious reading to their collections, just for its many moments of High Strangeness.]

Manfred Symphony, Op. 58. Svetlanov; USSR Symphony Orchestra. [52:28] [Coarse strings, blatty wobbly horns (sounds like the whole section reeks of garlic and vodka), the trombones must be off-duty KGB assassins, and the all-important percussion (especially that glorious crack-of-doom tam-tam part) is inexplicable distantly recorded, but Svetlanov hacks his way through it in his early tractor-drivin’-man style. In other words, it’s authentically a Soviet performance, for better or worse. This conductor improved so much after this 1966 Melodiya taping that he became virtually another man, and ultimately, capable of giving a very persuasive impersonation of a great conductor…]

Violin Concerto D Major, Op. 35. Kurt Woes; Michelle Auclair, violin; "Austrian Symphony Orchestra". [Except for the orchestra’s name, these were real musicians, and damned good ones. Ms. Auclair had a smallish tone, but remarkable agility and very distinctive phrasing. This is a VERY romantic interpretation, with all manner of nifty portamento effects and subtle rubato. Woess, about whom I know nothing except the fact of his existence, gives excellent support, fully in synch with the violinist’s conception and never drowning her in volume, but never seeming to hold back, either, in the climaxes. This may not be a truly, truly "great" reading, but it’s fresh, creative, and boasts a certain élan that I find irresistible. Plus, the 1951 recorded sound is above average and the surfaces on my Source copy are as clean as any I’ve ever seen from one of these small, early labels. Another Thrift Shop Treasure.]

"Mignon" – Elle ne croyait pas, Act III. Henry Legay, tenor; Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera " " " " " "

Elegy for Strings. Arvo Volmer; Estonian State Symphony Orchestra. [2:33]

Unfinished Symphony, No. 11 (Orchestrated by Haljo Raid). Arvo Volmer; Estonia State Symphony Orchestra [8:51]

La Oracion del Torero. Hollywood String Quartet

"Il Trovatore" (Abridged). Walter Goehr; Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra [See comments under "Operas, complete", more or less]

Bachianas Brasilieras No. 4. Isaac Karabtchevsky; Brazil Symphony Orchestra. [A good, passionate rendition of this exquisite score.]

Dance of the Seven Notes for Bassoon & Small Orchestra. Lev Pechersky, bassoon; Lazar Gozman; Leningrad Chamber Orchestra. [No, this isn’t a parody of Salome’s seven-veiled dance, nor is it one of VL’s exotic, Brazilian-spiced pieces. It’s a mostly lyrical, exquisitely gratifying (for the bassoonist, who gets to play in classic concertante style, not act the clown), thoroughly charming little piece that would fit handily on almost any orchestral program – provided you have a good enough bassoonist, and Mr. Pechersky plays like an angel. This extremely hard-to-find Melodiya stereo disc is also distinguished by near-perfect engineering. One doesn’t normally think of the bassoon as a "warm" instrument, but here it just sings its ungainly heart out. At times, Villa-Lobos’s catalogue reminds me of the ocean depths – for all the hundreds of recordings, we still are only familiar with about one-tenth of his prodigious output.

Concerto in D (sic; that’s how it’s listed). Landowska, harpsichord

"Die Walkure", Act II. Fritz Reiner; Flagstad; Melchior; Lehmann; San Francisco Opera; live, 1936 [See detailed comments below under "Opera & Choral"]

"Der Freischutz" Overture. Furtwangler; Berlin Philharmonic; rec. 1926 [9:40] [See comment under "Conductors"]

"Der Corregidor" Suite. Horst Stein; Suisse-Romande Orchestra. [15:47]

Italian Serenade in G Major. Hollywood String Quartet

Penthesilea. Horst Stein; Suisse-Romande Orchestra. [Wolf’s only big-scale orchestral work, composed only 4-5 years before he went insane…Coincidence? We think not! Liszt egged him on, so it’s not surprising the piece sounds like Liszt; mediocre Liszt. And for those who are curious, as I was for many years, about the hard-to-pronounce title, a name that litters the cultural world of the late 19^th Century, it’s the name of an Amazon queen who did…something noble and then died for it, I guess. Had Wolf started earlier as a symphonic composer, lived much longer and not gone bonkers, he might have become a passable third-rate tone-poet. The music churns around, determined to go somewhere or say something, but Wolf never comes up with a really distinctive, interesting, or exciting theme. Give me Battle of the Huns any day! Say this for the elusive but ever-dependable Maestro Stein: he does all that any conductor could do to flog this mess into a semblance of life, but the composer doesn’t give him much help, except for some moderately exciting storm music near the end, the piece is just so much hot air.]

Three Fanfares from "Sechs Reiterfanfaren". Howarth; London Festival Brass [3:10]

Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi

Goetz: Piano Concerto B Flat Major, Op. 18. w/ Erich Schmid; Beromuenster Radio Symphony [38:45]

Mozart: Flute Concerto No. 2. w/ Gozman; Leningrad Chamber Orchestra [21:38]

Persichetti: Piano Concerto, Op. 90. w/ Ormandy; Chicago Symphony; live, 1982. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Brahms: Violin Concerto. w/ Mitropoulos; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; live, Salzburg Festival, 8/24. 1958 [38:39]

Bush: "Corentyne Kwe-Kwe", Op. 76. [See comments under "Bush" above}

" : Letter Galliard, Op. 80.

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24, C Minor, K. 491. w/ Otto Ackermann; Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. [A mighty rare record – from an MMS 10-incher – demonstrating yet again why Grant Johannesen remains a "pianists’ pianist", while artists of lesser quality became superstars. The man could play ANYTHING and cast upon the composition a quiet, almost serene spell. There’s nothing flashy in this reading; it’s not played in Yee Olde Authentick style; and its heart-on-sleeve Romanticism has grace, fluidity, and nuance. Ackermann supports the soloist with a restrained yet regal touch from the podium. It’s an interpretation both timeless and reassuringly old-fashioned; the engineering is decent. Alas, the Source LP had been "rode hard and put up wet" by the time I acquired it, so beware of a bad "Sticky-Hicky" on Side A and some patches of crackle elsewhere. I hope to find a copy in better shape some day, but until then this one will do, because both performers are on their best behavior and they convince you, WHILE YOU’RE HEARING THEM, that THIS is the way this sublime concerto ought to be caressed and energized. Yeah, Okay, so the LP’s a little grungy (how often can you find an MMS release that isn’t?), but it still makes my Short List of all-time favorites.]

Anonymous: "The Nightengale" (17^th Century?)

Handel: "The Harmonious Blacksmith" (from Suite in E).

Mozart: "Turkish March" from Sonata in A, K. 331.

Mozart: Piano Trio No. 2, K. 502. (w/ Serkin & Madeline Foley, cello)

Messiaen: Three Short Liturgies. w/ Marcel Couraud; Chamber Orchestra de l’ORTF [39:15] [ZSee detailed comments under "Choral works’ – Messiaen’s first faith-=basedf masterpiece? And the first poet since St. Francis to place birds right next to Jesus, in a personal pantheon at least. One cool, eccentric, dood!]

Prokofiev: Concerto No. 1, D Flat Major, Op. 10. w/ Susskind; Philharmonia Orchestra

Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 1, F Sharp Minor, Op. 1. w/ Malko; Philharmonia Orchestra

Glazunov: Violin Concerto, Op. 82. w/ Zinman; Rotterdam Philharmonic Orch. 3/11/1978

Mozart: Quintet, K. 581 [Talk about a stellar line-up! This string quartet from Heaven consisted of Alexander Schneider and Izzy Cohen, violins; Sam Rhodes, viola & Leslie Parnas, cello. It don’t git no better’n that, hoss.]

" : " " , D Minor, Op. 76 / No. 2. [Dubbed from a very early MMS 10-incher (catalogue number 47), in remarkably fine shape. MMS was the only label that had enough sense to sign up this fast-rising French ensemble, just after its first American tour in 1950, and its recordings were long and justly regarded as some of the finest things in the MMS catalogue. Finding copies in good condition these days isn’t easy or frequent – it’s taken me ten years to collect maybe 40 MMS 10-inchers that weren’t grossly scratched, warped, or played by someone who taped a half-dollar to the heavy end of his Gerrard tone-arm… I’ve grown to love the sound of this group – always tasteful (even their most inflected readings have an almost aristocratic lightness and grace) without ever sounding reticent, always rhythmically on-the-money, and generally as good in the German and Czech repertoire as they were in the French. It always pleases me to offer you a new acquisition by this splendid quartet, and these marvelous Haydn works are among the most recent additions. Pure enjoyment from first note to last.]

Holborne: Short Ayres Both Grave & Light [16:02]].

Lamranzi, Gregorio: Dances from the School of G.L. [10:02]

Praetorius: Suite from Terpsichore. [18:53] [Under the skilled direction of Christopher Ball, these charming airs and dances receive sprightly and soulful readings, complimented by simply gorgeous sound.

Copland: Piano Concerto. Composer conducting; Radio Orchestra of Rome. [A legendary recording; the first, and the first featuring Copland as conductor, dubbed from an excruciatingly rare MMS 10-inch, complete with a few light scratches, alas. You’re most unlikely ever to find a playable copy, and probably not inclined to pay the $20-30 it fetches on E-Bay. Send me $12.50 and you’ll get this plus another hour’s worth of music, your choice!]

Liszt: Totentanz. w/ Westerberg; Munich Philharmonic Orch. [See comments under "Liszt"]

Stenhammer: Piano Concerto No. 2, D Minor, Op. 23. w/ Westerberg; Munich Philharmonic

Berg: Violin Concerto. w/ Mitropoulos; NBC Symphony; live, 12/30/1945 [23:01]

Handel: Sonata in C Major for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord. w/ Charles Sherman, harpsichord [8:59]

Handel: Trio Sonata No. 2, D Minor, for Oboe. Violin, Basso Continuo. w/ Mark Sherman, Oboe; Charles Sherman, harpsichord [9:59]

Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, A Major, K.581. w/ Marloboro String Quartet

Mozart: Concerto No. 4, D Major. w/ Kondrashin; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; live, 1984.

SOLO VOCAL RECITALS

SODERSTROM, Elisabeth (Soprano): [The notes of this 1966 recital are in Swedish only, so that’s how I’m typing the song titles. But Mendelssohn’s "Springsong" looks pretty much the same in Swedish as in German, so chances are between those Nordic cousinshjips and the opus numbers, you can figure things out…]

Bellini: "Norma", Act I—Casta Diva, w/ Giulio Setti; Orchestra & Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, rec. 12/31/1928 & 1/30/1929

Bellini: "Norma", ACT III – Mira, O Norma! w/ Marion Telva, contralto; Giulio Setti; Orchestra & Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, rec. 12/31/1928

Dortzal, Jeanne: A L’Aime (To My Beloved). w/ Romano Romani, piano. Rec. 10/31/1939

Meyerbeer: "L’Africana", Act II –In Grembo A Me. Recorded 1/ 14/ 1925

Ponchelli: "La Gioconda", Act IV—Suicido!. Recorded 1/14/1925

Rimsky-Korsakov: The Nightingale & The Rose, Op. 2/ No. 2. W/ Clement Barone, flute solo. Recorded 6/2/1927

Spontini: "La Vestale", Act II – To Che Invoco. Recorded 5/ 18/ 1926

Spontini: "La Vestale", Act II – O Nume Tutelar. Recorded 5/18/ 1926

Verdi: "Aida", Act III – Pur ti Riveggo w/ Giovanni Martinelli, tenor; recorded 2/7/1924

" " " " La, Tra Foreste Vergina. " " " " " / " / "

Verdi: "Ernani", Act I – Ernani, Involami… Recorded 1/23/ 1924

Verdi: "La Forza del Destino", Act II – La Vergine Degli Angeli… w/ Ezio Pinza, bass; Giulio Setti; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus; recorded 1/23/1928

Verdi: "La Forza del Destino", Act IV – Pace, pace, mio dio… Recorded 1/23/1924

Verdi: "La Forza del Destino", Act IV – Finale. w/ Giovanni Martinelli & Ezio Pinza; recorded 1/8/1928

"The Markropulos Case". Sir Charles Mackerras; Vienna Philharmonic & Vienna State Opera Chorus; Elisabeth Soderstroem, soprano; Peter Dvorsky; Beno Blachet. [From a 1978 Prague production, when Sir Charles was just hitting his stride as a masterly interpreter of Janacek. It’s not an easy opera to warm up to, if only because the psychological details of its characters become attenuated in translation, but there are enough glorious passages – it IS Janacek, after all – to make it worth the challenge. I don’t expect there will ever be a better cast or orchestra assembled for this work, so if you’re a Janacek fan and you haven’t heard it, this is the place to start, and probably finish.]

"Boris Gudonov", Great Excerpts from. Lovro von Matacic. Conductor; Martti Talvela, as the Monk (Pimen); Gottlob Frick, as Boris; Rudolph Schock, as Gregory, the False Dimitri; the Chorus and Orchjestra of the Berlin State Opera. [With three such heroic male voices in the dominant lead rolls, whatever other weaknesses this production might have had, the male singers obviously weren’t among them. Nor could the conductor have been – few conductors since Stokowski loved this score more passionately than von Matacic. Since this album chose to concentrate entirely on the intimate sections, we can only guess at the grandeur he summoned in the Coronation Scene, but it must surely have been considerable, if it matched, at its commensurate end of the scale, the wrenching pity and manly tenderness heard in these scenes! . Frick and Talvela not only possessed suitably Black-Earth-toned voices, but were also uncommonly intelligent vocal artists, able to convey the nuances of their characters "Russian-ness" even when singing in German! The performers are well served by deep, velvet-black sonics, too, that give the impression of vast spaces – inward as well as without. Withall, a very fine collection of excerpts; one could only wish for the entire performance, and it may well surface one of these days on Opera d’Oro, probably at an absurdly low price (in contrast to those greedy schmucks at Testament who, while they may be doing valuable work on collectors’ behalf, seem to think we record fans have unlimited discretionary funds to throw away on esoteric historical material.]

"Rigoletto" (complete. Alfredo Kruas, teno (Dule of Mantua); Ettore Bastianini, baritone (Rigoletto); Renata Scotto. Soprano (Gilda); Ivo Vinco, bass (Sparafucile); Gianandrea Gavazzeni, conductor; Chorus & Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale, Milan. [Mercury Records wasn’t "an opera label"; bright vivid orchestral recordings were their thing. But I guess, when they had a chance to license this Italian set with this kind of fantastic cast, they made an exception. And the reason they got to do so was that Mercury’s engineers were invited to Italy to supervise the taping for the Ricordi Company. So they issued it, in a very handsome box and in good early (1960) stereo, and almost nobody reviewed or bought it. I’d never seen it before, until four months ago, when a near-mint set came into my claws for pocket change. This isn’t my favorite opera (and Verdi, as I’ve mentioned before, isn’t my favorite opera composer for that matter) but if you’re in the Rigoletto sort of mood, why not hear the bloody thing done in true Verdian style with a dream cast (admittedly under a third-rate pasta-boggler of a conductor, but who cares in this opera, right?) Takes 2.5 CDs, so pick out something for a 40-minute filler!]

"Il Trovatore". Walter Goehr; Netherlands Philharmonic & Chorus; Garfield Swift (Count di Luna); Sieman Jongsma (Ferrando); Margit Opawsky (Dutchess Leonora); Nini de Vries (Ines); Leo Larsen (Manrico); Anny Delorie (mezzo). [Very rare and surprisingly peppy, this "concert version" lasts about 58 minutes and was only available, by subscription, on a rare MMS record. Like I said, it’s very capably sung and conducted, although neither you nor I have probably ever heard of the singers. Sound is decent, too, and surfaces close to immaculate.]

"Die Walkure", Act II. Fritz Reiner, conducting; Kirsten Flagstad as Brunnhilde; Lotte Lehmann as Sieglinde; Lauritz Melchior as Wotan; San Francisco Opera; live broadcast, 1936. [It’s astounding that this thing even survived, never mind how good it sounds (all things considered)!! I’ve read that this was the only time Flagstad and Lehmann sang this music together (that’s ONE reason to acquire it); throw the great heldentenor Melchoir into the mix (that’s TWO reasons to grab it); top it off with Reiner’s incendiary conducting and the generally high quality of the orchestra (How many more reasons do you need??) – and you have an Act Two for the ages! Overall, the sound on these acetates is marvelously wide-range and undistorted! You might want to trim the "treble" a tad (occasional screechiness and surface noise, which I have no trouble tuning out very quickly)) and boost the bass (just to balance the orchestral sound, top to bottom), but otherwise, most everything comes through with amazing clarity and force. Well…ALMOST everything. Some imbecile in the control room, with her eye on the clock instead of the score, cut

Cantata "Ein Feste Berg…". BWV. 80. w/ Wolfgang Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Choir & Consortium Musicum & South German Madrigal Choir. [See comments under "Composers".]

Cantata: Gott, der Herr, ist Schoen und Schild… BWV, 79. w/ Wolfgang Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Choir & Consortium Musicum. [17:06] [See comments under "Composers". Ms. Ameling is probably my favorite soprano in this kind of repertoire. I adore the way she "floats" her tone over and above the other musicians, with ne’er a false note or sloppy entrance!]

Saint Matthew Passion (Complete). Furtwangler; Soloists; Vienna Philharmonic & Singverein Choir; live, Easter, 1954 [See details under "Conductors"]

Madrigal: "Il Festino della sera del Giovedi ‘Grasso Avanti Cena’". Franco Sarecei; Ensemble Luca Marenzio. [16:02]

Missa di Gloria. [See ecstatic comments under "Composers"]

Mass in E Major, Op. 80. [See comments under "Composers"]

Imperii procures, 4 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

In Diem conceptionis Beatissime Mariae Virginis, 4 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

Missa Ssuper "O praeclara", 4 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

Optimi pastor ovili, 6 Voices. Rener Clemencic; Chantecleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort

Sancta spiritus assit nobis gratio, 6 Voices. Rene Clemencic; Chanticleer Ensemble; Clemencic Consort [Rarified, unearthly beauty, from the cusp of the Gothic Age and the Renaissance.]

The First Walpurgis Night. Otto Ackermann; Catharina Hessels, alto; Cornelius Kalkman, tenor; David Hollestelle (baritone). [See comments under "Conductors"]

Madrigal: "Vatteni pur Crudel". Franco Saracei; Ensemble Luca Marenzio

Madrigal: "S’andasse Amor a Caccia". " " " " "

Motet "Exsultate, Jubilate", K. 165. Maria Stader, soprano; Fricsay; RIAS Symphony Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

Stabat Mater. Fricsay; RIAS Symphony; St. Hedwig’s Cathedral Choir; Maria Stader, soprano; Ernst Haefliger, tenor; Marianna Radev, mezzo; Kim Borg, bass [See comments under "Conductors"]

Bizet: "La Jolie fille de Perth" – A la voix, Serenade, Act II. w/ Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Bizet: "Les Pecheurs de perles" – Ces’toi, toi qu’enfin je revois… Act I. w/ Cluytens; Orchestre du Theater National de l’Opera

Bizet: "Les Pecheurs de perle" – Je crois encore entendre…Act I. w/ Cluytens; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Delibes: "Lakme" – Prendre le dessin d’un bijou, Act I. w/ Cluytens; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Gounod: "Faust" – Salut! Demeure chaste et pure, Act III. w/ Cluytens; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Lalo: "Le Roi d’Ys" – Vainement, ma bien aimee, Act III. w/ Dervaus; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Massenet: "Werther" –O Nature, Act I. w/ Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Rabaud: "Marouf" – La Caravane, Act II. w/ Dervaux; Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera

Thomas: "Mignon" – Elle ne croyait pas, Act III. " " " " " "

Bach: Cantata "Gott, der Herr. Is Schoen und Schild", BWV. 79. w/ Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Choir; Consortium Musicum.

Bach: Cantata "Ein Fest Berg…" BWV. 80. w/ Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Singers; Consortium Musicum

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4, G Major, Op. 58. w/ Clemens Krauss; Vienna Philharmonic [See comments under "Beethoven" above A classic interpretation.]

Cantata "Ein Feste Berg…". BWV. 80. [21:56] w/ Wolfgang Goennenwein; South German Madrigal Choir & Consortium Musicum & South German Madrigal Choir. [See comments under "Composers".]

Cantata: "Gott, der Herr, ist Schoen und Schild… BWV, 79. w/ Wolfgang Gonnenwein; South German Madrigal Choir & Consortium Musicum. [17:06] [See comments under "Composers". Ms. Ameling is probably my favorite soprano in this kind of repertoire. I adore the way she "floats" her tone over and above the other musicians, with ne’er a false note or sloppy entrance!]

Rossini: Stabat Mater. w/ Fricsay; RIAS Symphony [See comments under "Conductors"]

Verdi: "Il Trovatore" (Abridged. w/ Walter Geohr; Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of Netherlands Philharmonic

Wagner: "Die Walkure", Act II. w/ Reiner; Lehmann; Melchior; San Francisco Opera; live, 1936 [See comments above under "Wagner"]

Mussorgsky: "Boris Budonov", w/ Von Matacic; Orchestra & Chorus of the Berlin State Opera

Rossini: Stabat Mater. w/ Fricsay; RIAS Symphony [See comments under "Conductors"]

Mendelssohn: The First Walpurgis Night. w/ Ackermann; Soloists, Orchestra & Chorus of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Mendelssohn: The First Walpurgis Night. w/ Ackermann; Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Berlioz: Damnation of Faust (complete). Furtwangler; Lucerne, 1950

Mendelssohn: The First Walpurgis Night. w/ Ackermann; Soloists, Orchestra & Chorus of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Verdi: Rigoletto. [See above entry]

Verdi: "Il Trovatore" (Abridged). w/ Walter Goehr; Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Wagner: "Die Walkure", Act II. w/ Reiner; Flagstad; Melchior; live, 1935 [See comments above]

LEGAY, Henri (baritone): {See "Anthologies, Legay".above

Handel: Cantata "Suete Venti". w/ Rolf Reinhardt; Collegium Aureium [28:19]

Wagner: "Die Walkure", Act II. [See comments above]

Hummel: Mass in E Major [See comments under "Composers"]

Verdi: "Il Trovatore" (Abridged). w/ Walter Goehr; Soloists, Orchestra & Chorus of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Berlioz: Damnation of Faust (complete). Furtwangler; Lucerne Festival, live, 1950

Rossini: Stabat Mater. Fricsay; RIAS Symphony [See comments under "Conductors"]

Berlioz: Damnation of Faust (complete). w/ Furtwangler; Lucerne Festival, live, 1950

Janacek: "The Markropulos Case". Mackerras; Vienna Philharmopnic & Vienna State Opera Chorus. See details above, under "Complete Opera"]

Hummel: Mass in E Major, Op. 80. [See comments under "Composer"]

Mozart: Motet: "Exsultate, Jubilate", K. 165. w/ Fricsay; RIAS Symphony [See grumpy and sacrilegious comments under "Conductors"]

Rossini: Stabat Mater. Fricsay; RIAS Symphony & St. Hedwig’s Choir. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Verdi: "Il Trovatore" (abridged). w/ Walter Goehr; Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Mussorgsky; "Boris Gudonov" w/ Von Matacic; Orchestra & Chorus of the Berlin State Opera

Verdi: "Il Trovatore" (Abridged). w/ Walter Goehr; Soloists, Orchestra & Chorus of the Netherlands Philharmonic

Berlioz: Damnation of Faust (complete). Furtwangler; Lucerne Festival, live, 1950

BEHRMAN, S. N., & MAHIN, John Lee: "QUO VADIS". [No, this isn’t Miklos Rosza’s thrilling and slmost decadeny martial score – the Legions get better music than the Christians! – it’s a promotional MGM LP containing enormous wads of dialogue lifted directly from the movie (Rosza’s sublime music can occasionally be heard faintly in the background)), and divorced from the film’s ravishing Technicolor sets and special effects, the script barely limps along, alternately eloquent, gushing and Victorian ( "Free them?" cries the Roman general played by Robert Taylor, "why should I want to free them? I OWN them!", while Nero’s sister hisses in vexation: "I have learned it is foolish to kill those whom one hates – after all, the severed head feels no more pain!" The only consistently inspired lines bare, of course, those given to Peter Ustinov, who all but devours the scenery as he camps it up in the Emperor’s robes, amateurishly attempting to play an out-of-tune lyre while Rome goes up in a sea of flames below his palace! At its best, the dialogue is pungent and historically plausible, but at its worst…dear Lord, Peter’s static and ponderous recitation of the Easter Weekend events (by a British character actor who keeps wavering on the edge of a haggis-thick Scottish accent, as in "And then He r-r-r-rose from the dead!", manages to make even the Resurrection sound boring. In a grisly sort of way, this is a fabulous record, and it’s mostly in VG + condition; length is about 40 minutes – it only SEEMS longer.]

"The Gold Bug". Read by Vincent Price. [Who could do it better? Who could take this chatty, starchy, ultra-Victorian slog of a tale and turn it into a major listening experience better than Vincent Price? Nobody, my friends; nobody. Excellent sound, Sourced from a tape, so there’s no extraneous noise whatever. ]

"A Child’s Garden of Verses". Judith Anderson, speaker [Dame Judith applies an appropriately light touch to these innocent but still-charming poems (I was afraid she’d come on like the lead mournners in The Trojan Women…) and the results are delightful. Which begs the question, of course, as to whether or not a contemporary child will have enough rudimentary culture in his brain to hear the word-magic Stevenson offered to the children of his own time… Increasingly, that question isn’t even raised, because we all either know the answer would be depressing, or we’ve become too functionally illiterate to care what the answer IS. Don’t get me started…]

FOLK MUSIC, NON-CELTIC

"Best OF" [Well, "best of" might be an oxymoron; to my ears their voices didn’t blend well and they projected synthetic emotions even in the gutsiest ballads they sang. Preppies pretending to be working-class minstrels kind of thing. Nevertheless, they were at least unpretentious balladeers, unlike Bobby Dylan, who got rich by ripping off braver, better men like Woody Guthrie, and whose voice – I’m sorry, but I’ve felt this way for forty years – was just plain UGLY as a rusty nail; Adenoids from Hell. So here they are, the real-life models for the dysfunctional has-been couple in "A Mighty Wind" (the funniest movie ever made about the Sixties!) and truth to tell, some cuts do give me a little goose of nostalgia… This compilation fits, just barely, on a single CD, so if you’re in a masochistic mood, you can flagellate yourself on the cheap. Be ware of two-three small Skippies on Side A, which were beyond my powers to correct…]

Early Morning Rain [3:55] Catfish Blues [3:33]

When I Was A Cowboy [3:48] Come In, Stranger [1:52]

Tomorrow is a Long Time [3:15] The French Girl [2:40]

Little Beggarman [2:20] The Renegade [3:34]

The Mighty Quinn [2:46] Mary Anne [3:10]

Nancy Whiskey [2:35] You Were On My Mind [2:45]

Four Strong Winds [3:27] 90 o X 90 o [2:26]

Short Grass [2:15] Cutty Wren [2:55]

Southern Comfort [5:0] Un Canadien Errant [2:55]

Some Day Soon [2:18] Lonely Girls [2:43]

Ella Speed [2:24] Spanish is a Loving Tongue [3:25]

Circle Game [2:58] This Wheel’s On Fire 3:44]

"Marches Militaires Francaises". Francois-Jean Brun, conductor; Band of La Garde Republicaine, Paris. [This classic anthology of French military music has long been a choice collectors’ item. I wish my copy were pristine, but it isn’t seriously bunged-up. There’s one minor (uncorrectable) Skippy on Side One, and some brief spots of grunge scattered about. But no, repeat NO, major gouges or chewing gum wads. The music surveyed dates from 1789 to 1945, with the emphasis, obviously, going to Napoleon, that master of Militarism’s High Baroque style, starting with a substantial march by Mehul (I’ll eventually be listing his symphonies, too, BTW). The ensemble is a famous one, of course, and the performances are surely idiomatic as well as stirring. Recording venue was the Theatre des Champs Elysees. It’s mono only, of course (as everything was on Angel until about 1959). If you dig Napoleonic history, French culture, or just plain old march-tunes, you will find this collection very rich and satisfying. Individual cuts are listed below. Have fun and Vivre La France!]

19^th Century Minstrel Songs. [See comments under "Kay" in "Composers"]

Two Lips From Amsterdam

World of Flamenco. [79:10] ["Flamenco" actually covers a wider range of styles and forms than the casual listener may realize. Over the years, I’ve grown to love it and appreciate the subtle (and not-so-subtle) distinctions between different styles and schools of playing. For the generalist listener, this generous compilation is a splendid introduction to this moving and exciting form of art music (for it is that, as much as "folk" music). The Romeros, of course, are a family of fabulous virtuosos (Starting with the father. Celedonio, and the three equally talented sons, Pepe, Celin, and Angel). As a quartet, or as nuanced soloists, their playing is characterized by precision, electrifying energy, and dazzling technique. This anthology dates from the mid-Sixties and contains examples of all the main Flamenco styles, including accompanied recitations and full-throttle showpieces for the quartet. Sonics are dazzling, and it all fits on a single CD.]

"Greatest Hits" [See under "Film and Theater Music, "Your Cheatin’ Heart"]

CELTIC & RELATED GENRES

Ice-Land. Composer at the synthesizer. [38:15] [This goes on a wee bit too long for its content, but as a kind of abstract meditation on the Sagas, it’s a corker: long bleak washes of sound under which beats an insistent marching rhythm – the Elder Kings going forth to war, perhaps. Then, gradually increasing in volume, Pinhas inserts a kind of obbligato of chomping, slurping, gnawing sounds unmistakably suggestive of famished wolves devouring fallen heroes, or Odin’s ravens feasting on…eyeballs and stuff. It’s one of those pieces that sounds ever-so-much-better if you’re stoned to the gills when you play it (but then, you can say the same thing about "Three Blind Mice"…). As I said, it goes on just a smidge too long for its content, but nevertheless, it’s quite a haunting electronic piece, by a composer who seems to have fallen totally off the radar since this 1975 import came into my hands. If he’s still active, I’d appreciate information.]

Water Bearer. [When this album first came out, around 1976, I rather liked it. Sally Oldfield didn’t have the sporadic genius of Mike (where are you, O Man of the Tubular Balls, when we need you so much more?), but she could play, pretty decently, a whole folk-ensemble’s worth of instruments and she sometimes came up with nicely poetic lyrics; the production values were musical and clever; sonics were flattering, even when Ms. Oldfield fell back on that quavering vibrato that passes for passionate self-expression among singers whose true vocal range is painfully constrained (the worst offender was Buffy St. Marie, whose oscillating hoot-owl screech could melt the fillings in your teeth). Speaking of Princess Summerfall Winterspring, Sally also had a grave concern about sundry Third World exploited types, as expressed in the title song (which I thought at first was some sort of retro-Victorian ballad about Gunga Din, but which – aside from some generic passing references to desert sands and "hot rising winds of dawn" == doesn’t really seem focused on anything in particular; it just sounds nice.

["Weaving him wampum"??? She’s got to be kidding, right? Nope; serious as a heart attack. By the time the stylus began to grind through the almost inevitable dreamy-eyed invocation of J.R.R. Tolkein – "Three rings for the Elfven Kings" my ruddy arse! – I was congested with post-Sixties bile and ready to turn this once-treasured album into a Frisbee for my dog.

The Planxty Collection. And the songs are:

The Jolly Beggar’s Reel

"Reflections" [This was, I think, Stivell’s second album to reach North American shores, introducing us to his light but eloquent, pecan-colored, voice sounded smooth, proud, and reassuringly Gallic; it would acquire much more bites & virility as time crept along. There’s a general air of poignancy to these songs unequaled for sheer poetic power by any other Stivell LP. Essential, whether you want it for the ballads or for his incomparable artistry on the harp ]

WALES, MUSIC OF – 14 traditional songs in olden and modern styles. [An excellent introductory survey of Welsh folk music, some of the prettiest and most evocative in the U.K. All performances excellent; so is the sound (except for two DREADFUL Skippies, too pit-like for me to repair, one on each side, which appear to have been the result of some damn fool dropping a hot cigarette ash on to the surface. Otherwise, the sonics are fine, too. You don’t expect me to spend the next 90 minutes typing the song titles in Welsh, do you? Thank God. So here they are in (mostly) English…]

"Village of Eight Gravestones" – OST. [See comments under "Composers."]

"The Wicked Lady". [See comments below, under film’s title…]

"Shalako" – See comments below under "Title"

"The Gauntlet" {See comments below, under "Titles"]

"The Wild Eye". [Since I never saw this Fillini-wannabe movie, and apparently almost no one else did either, let me not even try to tell you anything about it. Except that the soundtrack album WAS published by RCA in 1968, and faded without a trace two years later. By happenstance I acquired a near-mint copy, and it’s very rare and fetches ridiculous prices among collectors. It has nothing to do with the intrinsic merit, or awfulness, of Mr. Marchetti’s music (I almost typed "Mr. Manicotti"…). It’s just…rare. I don’t hear anything but watery imitation Nino Rota, but evidently sheer rarity makes this a collectable; I’ve seen one copy fetch $60.00 on E-Bay, and that was only in "B" condition. Mine’s near-mint, no scratches or distortion, so if you’re a diehard soundtrack collector and you don’t HAVE to have the original album cover, here ya go – for a fraction of the E-Bay price and in better shape. The "title song" (which is so indistinguishable from the rest of the album that I didn’t even realize when it was playing) is splashed on the cover thus: "FEATURING RUFUS LUMLEY singing "TWO LOVERS". Who? What? Did Rufus Lumley ever do anything else? Do you care as little as I do?]

"Me and Juliet". [Original Cast Recording of this 1953 Broadway hit (Isabel Bigley, Bill Hayes, Joan McKracken, etc), in which Broadway itself is the metaphorical "hero". It was a refreshing approach at that time, and a most affectionate Valentine to The Theater, from to finest duo-composers to enrich it since Gilbert & Sullivan. Probably the only musical number here that anyone remembers is "No Other Love", a lilting, bittersweet tango that Rodgers later recycled into a devastatingly haunting lyrical leitmotif for "Victory at Sea", a sprawling, Wagnerian score that was, in my opinion, Richard Rodgers’ masterpiece. Meanwhile, here’s a mostly forgotten musical, with the Original Cast, on a Source LP that’s at least in "B" condition. And 1953 would have been…Good Lord, fifty-three years ago! Skippy, take that &%@#!! mirror out of here, right now! If you force me to look at that bald spot again, so help me God I will slice you into tiny cubes of bird food! No! No! Have pity! ARRRGH!!!

"Your Cheatin’ Heart". [22:46][Standard Fifties biopic, notable mainly for the now-bizarre appearance of George Hamilton, Jr. as Hank Williams, Sr. But, hey, the songs are as great as they ever were, and Hank, Jr. sings ‘em with all the gusto and nuance of his dad, but is blessed with much cleaner and punchier sonics. The isn’t really an "original sound track", but it’s sure as hell fun to listen to.]

Your Cheatin’ Heart

"Hit the Deck" [Roy Rowland directed this all-star Cinemascope "service comedy" about jolly sailors and their romantic escapades, released around 1959. The cast WAS stellar (Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Walter Pidgeon, Russ Tamblyn, and Ann Miller), but the only "hit" song was an annoying little ditty entitled "Chiribireebee. Chiribirebin" which, for sheer dim-witted silliness, was about on par with "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?" One of Youmans’ last gasps as a Broadway composer, but hardly anyone remembers it, and for good reason. As a "Love on Shore Leave" musical, it ain’t a patch on "On the Town", but my copy of the original MGM LP is at least a B plus, so if you collect this sort of thing, you might find it appealing. It’s certainly rare to find a copy in such excellent shape – even the cover looks almost new.]

"Dawn of the Dead". Performed by the band "Goblin". [Aside from the group’s name, I can’t hear any reason why the director might have chosen them to back up his shopping-mall-in-Hell second picture. Yes, there are some (painfully self-conscious) moments of creepiness, but the admixture of jazz elements just doesn’t work (sorry, but saxophones should NEVER be used in a horror score, unless you’re Bernie Herrmann!). Someone kindly dubbed this on tape for me, knowing I was a big fan of George Romero’s work, and I think, from the abruptness of the ending, that he may have chopped off a few seconds from the end-title music. If it’s as dreary as the rest of the score, you’re not missing much. But it’s rare and if you want it – or 98% of it, whatever – I got it for you.]

"The Gauntlet" [ Music by Jerry Fielding; generic action-flick soundtrack for Clint Eastwood’s fun but improbable saga of a rogue cop who ends up driving a bus between two rows of heavily armed officers firing non-stop, who somehow and quite impossibly never manage to miss the bus and HIT EACH OTHER, not even with a ricochet, even though they’re firing non-stop about thirty feet apart and blazing away with everything from pistols to street-sweeper shotguns to AK-47s! In real life, half of these fools would have been at least wounded by their comrades. Or slaughter half the TV cameramen filming the incident (no great loss either way!)]

"Hit the Deck" [See comments under "Vincent Youmans" above.]

"Me and Juliet" [See "Rodgers & Hammerstein", above]

"Nine and a Half Weeks" [This film was supposed to be Hot Stuff (the novel it’s based on sure as hell was!), being the first mainstream commercial film focused on the subject of erotic bondage. Of course, the director wimped out at the last minute, to avoid an "X" rating I guess – it’s all right to show people being eviscerated by shotgun blasts, but utterly forbidden to depict anyone, of either sex, being sexually aroused by being tied up! About two-thirds of the consenting adults I know have at least played around with that stuff, and I suspect the other third are lying. Anyway, this is not an Original Sound Track, just one of those compilation jobbies, and most of the disco/medium metal/ selections are the kind of music that makes me flee the room, but because of the controversy surrounding the film itself, I’ve listed it…]

John Taylor: "I Do What I Do"

"Shalako" – I may rent a DVD of this forgotten oater, just because the cast is so scrumptious: Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Honor Blackman & Woodie Strode! I’ve no idea what the plot is about – chances are, you don’t care, either, right? It’s from a Louis L’Amour novel; and a reliable veteran directed it – Edward Dmytryk. It came out in…well, it doesn’t say on the album, but my guess would be 1962-63. Robert Farnon was a solid and versatile soundtrack guy, even though he rarely reached the inspired level of Rosza, Korngold, or Bernie Herrmann. I was mostly out of the room while dubbing the master CD, so cannot comment much about the music itself; however, if you’re a soundtrack collector, please note that the Source LP was in its original shrinkwrap until I slit it open 90 minutes ago to make the dub, so it’s as close to brand new as a record this old can be.]

"Village of Eight Gravestones" [See under "Akutagawa" above}

"The Wicked Lady" [Music composed by Tony Banks. A so-so costume drama lazily derived from the plot of the Three Musketeers and fitfully brought to life by Fay Dunaway at her bitchiest, surrounded by character actors who’ve been in so many British movies they seem like permanent fixtures. Aside from its rarity (and I have seen copies in worse condition than this one being listed on E-Bay for a starting bid of $30.00), there’s some added interest by virtue of the performers: the National Philharmonic under the highly respectable baton of Stanley Black.]

"The Wild Eye" [See under "Marchetti" above]

JAZZ AND BLUES

"Inside". [An essential proto-New-Age/improve album. Horn, a legendary jazz flutist with considerable experience as an improviser, , conceived of this as an experiment, but it worked out so well that the resulting album became a freak best-seller. He chose as his venue the central chamber of the Taj Mahal, an acoustically magnificent space whose marble dome –80 feet high and 60 feet in diameter – not only lends splendor to solitary notes and scalar motifs, but echoes whole chords back and forth until the sounds merge into a haunting acoustic cloud, an almost living sound that seems without end or beginning – the decay time, when one finally finishes producing the tones, is almost a minute long and no one can detect the exact instant the music vanishes, so perfect is it diminuendo. The whole session was an impromptu idea, and even the skeptical Hindu guard was so moved by Horn’s music that he spontaneously began chanting in places, the flute and voice blending into one unearthly tone. It was the kind of brilliant notion that could not be planned, or repeated – Horn made a couple ofd sequels in other famous acoustic venues, but none enjoyed the success, or produced the kind of ethereal beauty, of Inside. OK, enough metaphysical rhetoric – the chief reason why this LP sold a zillion copies (but, strangely, is almost forgotten now!) is that it was flat-out fantastic to play when you were tripping. Or good and stoned. Or deep into meditation. Or making the two-backed beast with some especially tender and compatible lover. It was THE all-purpose trip-out album. For all that, it remains musically and acoustically fantastic – I’d forgotten how great it was until I dubbed the master CD. Is it "jazz"? Does anyone care? Paul Horn is/was primarily known as a jazz player, so I’ve listed it hear, but it really exists outside of all categories; proof of this web site’s motto (as quoted from the great Duke Ellington: "Hey, man, if it SOUNDS good, it IS good!"]

Music of Bill Holman: [Sourced from a rare 10-inch Capitol disc, in very good shape. Holman was Kenton’s tenor sax player for many years, wrote some fine pieces, avoiding dense masses of sound in favor of lightly-etched lines which always have a quasi-improvisational feel to them. Other personnel in the recording sessions were: Don Bagley, bass; Sam Noto, guitar; Buddy Childers, tumpet; Frank Rpsp;omp. Trombone; Charlie Mariano, alto sax; Lee Konitz, alto sax; Bill Perkins, tenor sax; Stu Williamson, trumpet; and Dave Schildkraut, alto sax. Cuts are: ]

POP AND ROCK

ANTHOLOGY: "Journey to Pharaoh’s Valley". [One of the coolest collections I’ve ever heard! "Pharoah" refers to a small regional label, based in McAllen, Texas, of all places, that started operations in about 1963, cutting 45s of popular local groups (of whom there seems to have been an amazing number). The studio had state-of-the-air gear and its records sounded at least as good as those of most major labels. And it signed some genuine talent, too. The first two selections honor the most legendary band of the day: The Headstones. They strike me as an almost perfect blend of the early Beatles and the Byrds – the second cut is almost a variation on "Gloria", with terrific fuzz guitar, a cheesy sounding but marvelously evocative electronic organ, head-crushing percussion, and raw but really tight vocals; these guys could rock! Also a major discovery (it belongs in the "Mundo Bizarro" section, too!) is a number by Christopher and the Souls that includes lyrics such as: "I’ll give you rats and five pieces of gum/

And then you’ll know I’m not a bum…" Of the one and only hit by The Cavaliers, entitled "Congregation for Anti-Flirts" – an entire song whose lyrics are quite literally unintelligible! There’s not a dull cut on either side, and my Source copy, a 1984 reissue, was still in the original shrink-wrap when I slit it open to make the master dub this afternoon (July 23, 2007). A great, great, compilation!]

We Can Fly. [I can barely remember their NAME much less what their hits were – if indeed they had more than one –- but for the holy sake of Sixties Nostalgia, I list the cuts on this LP and hereby inform you that it’s a very fine condition, with scarcely a dust-bit anywhere to be seen: Well, I just re-played this for the first time in maybe 32 years, and boy do these guys suck. Gimmicky arrangements, bubble-bum lyrics…this is what The Monkees might have sounded like if Mickey Dolen has been a castrati AND a drooling imbecile However, don’t let my snide disparagement stop you from ordering a dub!}

Walking in t2/ Shadow of the Big Man. [Contains popular remixes of their hits "Watusi Rodeo" and Trail of Tears". Source copy still in shrink wrap – order a dub, and you get to pop this record’s cherry!]

THE LEMON DROPS: [These Illinois-born kids may never have had that crucial break-through monster hit, but they were one terrific band: a clean, lean, musicianly sound; literate and charming lyrics; and a puckish John-Lennon-like sense of wit (I mean the real Lennon of course, not the pretentious, boring head-up-his-arse guy who replaced him after Yoko Upchuck took command of his life). Although the Lemon Drops were a regional success and got good press in Rolling Stone and other publications, they were too impatient for a national hit; and too immature to handle the inevitable personality clashes. In fact, the band’s total creative existence lasted just two years, from 1966-1968, and until a couple of specialty labels briefly issued compilations, their singles were almost impossible to find. My Source is one of those compilations, on the Texas-based "Cecadelik Records". Nice remasterings, very clean pressings – here’s your chance to acquire virtually the entire Lemondrops discography on one CD]

Sometime Ago

MUNDO BIZARRO ! !

BOZO SINGS HIS FAVORITE CLOWN SONGS! [I GUESS IT WASN’T UNTIL Stephen King’s The Thing was made into a (mostly excellent) TV mini-series that Americans realized the fantastic extent of national denialwe’d all shared for generations. Not only were thousands of children terrified of clowns, but almost no one, child or adult, had ever thought clowns were FUNNY! Yet no one ever wanted to come right out and say that, for fear of ostracism, I reckon. I remember my own parents taking me to the circus several times, and how they kept leaning over and trying to build my excitement by saying "Soon…the clowns…soon!" as though that event was roughly on par with the Second Coming of Christ. And every time the Clowns DID come out and begin their frantic honking, mugging, seltzer-water-squirting schitck, Mom and/or Dad qould lean over and elbow me, as though wanting confirmation about how side-splitting I found it. When all I could muster was a feeble grin and a tired nod of the head, they glared at me as though I’d been sent home from school for giving playground reading from Das Kapital! Looking all around me, I saw the same disturbing ritual being enacted on all sides, but puzzled, intimidated-looking kids, exasperated, almost insulted-looking parents, and the capering mob of gyrating clowns, whon kept getting louder, more demonstrative and…shudder…CLOSER, as if to show that if their routines hadn’t worked at long and medium range, they were sure to work at point-blank! Finally, one kid after another forced himself to start tittering and nervously gesticulating (as though making Sicilian hand-gesture4s against the Evil Eye, until the Clowns, finally satisfied with these responses, nodded, turned aside, and began being obnoxious in another arc of the compass. This LP brought it all back, folks: the bulbous red alcoholic noses, the thick Kabuki grease paint make-up, the pathetic and desperately UN-funny gags that you laugh at, hoping the clown will GO AWAY, the mass denial now entrenched in our culture…The songs are about what you’d expect, which is to say, absolutely God awful, and Bozo sings them just as Obnoxiously as you could wish!]

"Congregation of the Anti-Flirts". [See comments under "Rock and Pop Anthologies" – a truly classic 45 rpm single, by a very popular band that was hot, briefly, in small towns near the Mexico-Texas border; despite a beautifully clear and well-balanced recording, NOT ONE VERSE OF THIS SONG IS INTELLIGIBLE! In fact, in terms of elusive density, it makes the lyrics to "Louie, Louie…" sound like Shakespeare!]

"Diamonds, Rats, and Gum". [Another gem of a forgotten 45 single, from the same anthology as the Cavaliers’ tune cited above. Only even funnier, with a refrain that begins: I’ll give you diamonds, rats and a gun / That way you’ll know I’m not a bum! These guys were ‘way ahead of their time!]

"Exotica" (The Best of…). I make no apologies and don’t ask me why it was so (the consciousness of my own 14-year-old self is as big a mystery to me now as my own 14-year-olds were to me when THEY reached the Age of Confusion!) but I and my whole gang of high school buddies really, really grooved on this guy’s albums. The music was about as authentically "Hawaiian" as the décor on the walls of the average Trader Vic’s franchise, but to us, in those days, all those antiphonal bird-screeches, headhunter drum-music, and rachety-rackety bamboo thingie noises were the bee’s knees. Even now, as I was dubbing this accursed album, I was submerged in a tsunami of brine-scented nostalgia! I’ve met other middle-aged classical mavens who also admitted (under threat of prolonged torture) that they’d been infected with the same Martin-Denny/ Arthur Lyman virus! It STILL sounds cool, this sleazy, phony, lounge-lizard junk, and the primitive stereo effects on my Liberty LP are still kinda fun. I shan’t waste time listing the cut titles (they’re ALL "subtly" suggestive: Jungle Orchid, Stone Gods – or was that "stoned" gods? And so forth. If you’re a member of the same cult, here’s the album that started the nationwide craze, in close-to-mint condition; if you order a dub, I promise your identity will be kept a closely guarded secret!]

"Makin’ Bacon" b/w "Tight P*SSy" [A 10-inch PUCE-COLORED promotional maxi-single, from one of my favorite nihilist smut-peddler bands. My parental gut-level verdict? These guys were probably raised in a prosperous but dull upper-middle-class family, where "The Missionary Position" referred to a chapter in Dad’s MBA thesis. The boys went slightly bonkers in the throes of adolescence (until a sympathetic colleague told them about…well, you know…the "M" word. Then, in their repressed and confused fashion, they reduced at least themselves to helpless gales of laughter by writing smutty words on the bathroom walls – such smutty words as they knew, anyway ("Pee-pooh-belly-bum-drawers!!", so naturally, when they reached legal age, they all purchased spiked and spangled leather outfits, dyed thjeir spiky hair turquoise, over-amped axe-guitars, and the entire yearly output of every meth-amphetamine lab in Ashe County, North Carolina; rechristened themselves THE PORK DUKES, and recorded ever-so-naughty songs about contractile vaginas!!! Voila, a classic American success story!

"QUO VADIS" – Dialogue from the blockbuster film! [See comment under "Spoken Word, Drama, and Poetry"]

TEACH YOURSELF TO PLAY THE BAGPIPES! Yes, lads and lassies! All you need is a reasonably intact set of second-hand doodle-sacks, and Pipe Major Donald MacCleod – of whom you no doubt have heard, if you’re at all conversant with the recent tours of the Black Watch and the Royal Sporran-Sniffers, will make it all easy for you: fingerings, breath control, nasal hygiene, basic kilt maintenance, the lot. But seriously, since I’ve made it abundantly clear in many places that I adore Celtic music, and can actually listen to pipe-and-drum programs for longer than the minimum ten minutes that mark the limit of most domesticated animals’ tolerance, why is this LP listed under Mundo Bizarro?

New Listings for Aug 2007

New Listings for July 2007

New Listings for June 2007

New Listings for November 2006

New Listings for Mid-Summer 2006

New Listings for Mar 2006

New Listings for Jan 2006

New Listings for Sept 2005