ANCERL, Karol:

Vycpalek, Ladisslav: Oratorio: The Last Things of Man, Op. 16. w/ Czech Philharmonic Orch. & Chorus; Drahomira Tikalova, soprano; Ladislav Mraz, bass. [See comments under "Composers"]

ANSERMET:

Martin: In Terra Pax. w/ Suisse-Romande Orchestra; Union Chorale et Choeur des Dammes de Lausanne; Ursula Buckel, soprano; Marga Hoffgen, contralto; Ernst Haefliger, tenor; Pierre Mollet, baritone; Jakob Stempfli, bass. [See comments under "Composers]

Rossini-Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque. w/ London Symphony Orchestra. [It’s certainly possible to respect a conductor deeply without especially caring for his interpretations. For me, that’s the case with Weingartner (mostly), Szell (half the time), Toscanini (sometimes, and I like more of his work as I hear the more of the stuff recorded BEFORE that ghastly RCA/Beethoven box) and Ernest Ansermet (most of the time). When it came time to buy my first version of Le Sacre du Printemps, I shelled out $1.98 for his version on Richmond. After all I’d read about Ansermet’s close connection with Stravinsky, I figured it would be an authoritative reading; after all I’d read about the music, I expected blood and thunder. Instead, I heard a timid, reticent, indifferently played travesty that made me wonder: What’s the big deal? You may imagine the seismic impact when I heard Bernstein’s Columbia version a year later! No question: Ansermet was an important conductor and, by all accounts, a man of exemplary character. In music that called for power and drama, however, he was a limp-wrist. The Suisse-Romande orchestra was never very good, in my opinion, having thin scrappy strings, weak brass, and anemic percussion. Ansermet’s Beethoven cycle was utterly uncompetitive – he brought to that titanic body of work the virtues of moderation, probity, elegance, and impeccable taste. Beethoven certainly demands precision and taste, but a conductor also has to be something of an inner-roughneck, too, and Ansermet just didn’t have that in his make-up. (That said, I remain inordinately fond of his Sibelius Fourth, which does have depth, insight, and some fabulous playing…go figure). But Ansermet’s virtues "fit" a lot of repertoire, and his early mono recording of this tasty-pastry is unsurpassed for wit, point, refinement, and aristocratic verve. It helps that he’s conducting the London Symphony instead of his own band in Geneva; Decca/London’s early "FFRR" sound is also a plus – very high-calorie and smooth as butter. It also helps that my Source LP is virtually pristine. I don’t often get in the mood to play this tuneful trifle ("Respighi Takes a Holiday"), but when I do, this is my performance of choice.]

Van BEINUM:

Brahms: Symphony No. 3. w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, "Italian". w/ Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. [The Brahms is a little too lightweight and objectivist for my taste, although impeccably done within that framework; the Mendelssohn, however, is a spirited, energy-filled romp, proving that Van Beinum did too know how to smile. One of the better "Italians" ever wuz.]

Prokofiev: Summer Night. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or Suite. " " "

BERNSTEIN:

Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta. w/ Bavarian Radio Symphony; live in Budapest, 11/16/83. [30:43] [Absolutely sizzling!]

BOULT, Sir Adrian:

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique". w/ London Philharmonic Orchestra. [Here’s another of those early-stereo releases on the already faltering "Sommerset" label – minimal depth but huge lateral spread, generally a ping-ball emphasis on right-channel /left-channel separation, and how scarce those records have gotten to be in just the last ten years. Boult’s reading isn’t matched to his stereotype – it’s fully engaged, often quite broad, and passionate as well as dignified. I wish the Source disc were in better shape (two really obnoxious skips on Side A and lots of Rice Crispy patches scattered on A and B). It’s worthy of being listed, though, so I just did.]

Roussell: Petite Suite. Berlin Radio Symphony, live broadcast, c. 1949

Debussy: Petite Suite. " " " " " "

COLLINS. Sir Anthony:

Sibelius: Night Ride & Sunrse, Op. 55. w/ London Symphony Orchestra.

DORATI:

Haydn: Symphony No. 45, "Farewell". London Symphony Orchestra.

Mozart: Symphony No. 40, K . w/ London Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Ballet, Op. , complete. w/ Minneapolis Symphony. [For many years, even after stereo superceded it, this version was the critics’ choice. Dorati began his career as a ballet conductor and that wealth of experience gave many of his readings a rhythmic solidity and confidence that made the music, well, "dance". So it is here – the Minneapolis may not have had the world’s lushest strings, but they were sharp and alert, and they didn’t miss a thing when they made this captivating account of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. Alas, my Source copies of the two LPs is not in great shape: one Skippy in Act One and a plethora of tiny scratches; Side A is an obstacle course and may try your patience. The rest of the set plays much more cleanly. It’s such a landmark recording that I can’t NOT offer it, but its condit6ion puts it right on the edge of what I could reasonably be expected to charge money for. Therefore THIS IS A TWO-FER. The whole ballet, on two CDs, for the price of one! Send me $13.50 and in effect each disc will only cost you $7.25. Good deal? You bet it is! Delay no more, especially if your collection lacks a good Nutcracker…and besides, now that they’ve been transferred to digital format, at least you know the records will never sound any worse!]

FURTWANGLER:

Brahms: Symphony No. 1. w/ Vienna Philharmonic, recorded 1947. [One of the first, if not THE first, of his post-war recordings. It’s Furtwangler conducting Brahms, so what’s not to like? Well, for starters, the cruddy, sub-standard sonics, which would have been inferior in a recording made ten years earlier – and my dub is taken from a German Electrola pressing, which presumably has better sound than EMI or any subsequent iteration. Then there are traces of Furtwangler’s infamous dislike of studio sessions – he’s just not "on" for the whole reading, as he was in the Berlin Brahms’ First of 1952. Mind you, it’s still an excellent performance, but you have to crank the volume up almost to distortion level in order to hear everything in this dim, shy recording. For Furtwangler completists only.]

HARTY, Sir Hamilton:

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. , Op. 26. w/ Albert Sammons; London Symphony Orchestra. Recorded 9 April, 1929. [See comment under "Chamber & Solo Virtuosi"]

Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto, Op. 33. w/ W. H. Squire, cello; Halle Orchestra. Recorded 23 March, 1926. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

HERRMANN, Bernard:

Scott, Cyril: Piano Concerto No. 1, in C. Bernard Herrmann; London Philharmonic Orchestra. [How he found the time, Lord only knows, but in between writing Oscar-winning film scores and composing his own rather substantial body of works (much remains unrecorded, even unperformed), Bernie Herrmann was a vigorous champion of neglected, forgotten, or marginalized music. The passion of his advocacy was matched only by the all-inclusiveness of his taste. If he spotted a 16^th Century lute piece that spoke to him strongly, he wanted YOU to hear it, too; and if that meant orchestrating it, or commissioning someone else to arrange it, then so be it. In this case, you can hear the affinities between Hermann and this moody, rhapsodic concerto (composed 1913-1914; no wonder it’s "moody"…). In John Ogdon, the work has its perfect champion of the keyboard, and in the 1977 London Philharmonic, both men had their ideal orchestral support. The original Lyrita tape captured utterly fantastic sound, too, as was the practice of that small but well-heeled label. It’s been a third of a century since this record went out of print, but you won’t find anything on the market today that sounds significantly better. Nor will you find a competing version of Scott’s concerto. Nor much else by this almost-forgotten but fastidiously skilled composer. It’s unlikely this concerto will ever find a virtuoso to "sell" it to contemporary audiences – it’s too subtle and sophisticated a work to generate standing ovations, so not only is this the "best" recording of it, it was, and is, and probably will continue to be the "only" recording. And man, is it swe-e-e-t!]

HORENSTEIN:

Mahler: Kindertotenlieder. w/ Norman Foster, baritone; Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

Mahler: Symphony No. 1 . w/ "Vienna Pro Musica". [Wonderful early Vox recording.]

" : Symphony No. 9. w/ Vienna Symphony Orchestra. [Another great old Vox standard in a fine pressing; the sound shows its age, somewhat, but the performance never will!]

Nielsen: A Saga Dream. w/ New Philharmonia Orch. [8:31] [As close as Nielsen ever came to writing like Sibelius; brooding and richly atmospheric.]

Nielsen: Symphony No. 5, Op. 50. w/ New Philharmonia Orchestra. [35:34] [Nielsen isn’t the first composer one would associate with Horenstein, but in fact he first conducted this masterpiece in 1927, rehearsing it in the presence of the composer. And this is a close-to-ideal interpretation, blending vehemence and poetry; the New Philharmonia plays its ass off. It’s one of the three greatest recordings (Bernstein’s, of course, for it’s savage intensity; and Paavo Berglund’s scarce EMI version for its combination of elan and stunningly deep, tactile recorded sound – the snare-drum rim shots hit you like BBs). To hear Horenstein’s wise, seasoned, impassioned account is to realize anew what a staggering masterpiece this symphony is.]

KLEMPERER:

Auber: Overture to "Fra Diavalo". Kroll Opera Orchestra, rec. 1929

Beethoven: Coriolanus Overture. Kroll Opera Orchestra, recorded 1926

Debussy: "Nuages" & "Fetes" from Nocturnes. Kroll Opera Orchestra, recorded 1926

Offenbach: Overture to "La Belle Helene ". " " " , recorded 1929

Ravel: Alborado del Gracioso. " " " , recorded 1926

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll. " " " , recorded 1927

KNAPPERTSBUSCH:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 8. w/ NDR Symphony, Hamburg, c. 1962. {See comments under "Composers"]

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8. w/ Vienna Philharmonic Orch, live, 1961. [See comments under "Composers"]

KONDRASHIN:

KOUSSEVITZKY:

"Here is music of the bleak and barren expanses of western Kansas, of the brooding prairie night, of the vast darkness of the nation’s soul. Of its despair and courage, its defeat and its triumph, its struggling aspirations…In producing a composer such as [Harris], America has placed herself in the front rank of those nations who are concerned with building a music for the future."

Too bad we hear so little of Harris’s music these days; but at least we have this inspiring performance by the conductor who gave this composer his Big Break. The interpretation has never been surpassed, nor is it likely to be. The sonics, alas, are just barely adequate to convey the virility of Koussevitzky’s reading; the subtle colors of Harris’s orchestration are audible only by suggestion. Still…this recording is a cornerstone for any serious collection of American composers’ works!]

MARKEVITCH:

Symphony No. 1. w/ Lamoureux Orchestra

Symphony No. 9. w/ Lamoureux Orchestra; Karlsruhe Oratorio Chorus; soloists whom we shall not identify out of kindness. [Markevitch had a robust following in the U.S., although he seldom conducted here, but his European discography was about five times as large, and much broader, than the relative trickle of releases available elsewhere. This Ninth, for instance, was never officially available in North America, and it will be new to most collectors (as it was to me until I heard it for the first time three nights ago)…and I must say it was largely a disappointment. The febrile intensity typical of this conductor is present only sporadically; the chorus stinks; the four soloists are without distinction (the soprano tends to go flat every time she tries any high notes, including – of course – that infamously cruel one just before the coda of IV. There are some compelling moments – this IS Markevitch, after all – but not enough of them to make this performance more than "interesting". The First Symphony – should you be shopping for that – is a lot better. Eventually, I’ll be listing some marvelously intense Markevitch items (most especially his legendary Verdi Requiem with the Moscow Philharmonic, a reading so hot it would melt through a bank vault), but as for this Ninth…well, everybody has an "off" day.]

MENGELBERG:

MITROPOULOS:

Wagner: Die Walkure. w/ Metropolitan Opera forces, c. 1956. [See comments under "Opera and Vocal Soloists"]

MUNCH:

Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3, Op. 78. w/ New York Philharmonic Orch, c. 1949. [Only recording Munch ever made with the NYPSO; reason: he was auditioning for the job of Music Director! Of course, Boston made him an offer he could not refuse – and he was undoubtedly happier there than he would have been in Manhattan. Just look what happened to poor Mitropoulos, who was chosen instead of Munch. Well, few conductors before or since have had the measure of this Gallic blockbuster so well as Munch (whose name is spelled "Meunch" on the album cover!), and while the sonics are typical of Columbia’s early LP efforts – which is to say they were not much better and in some cases were much worse than the 78 rpm releases – this copy is in remarkably good condition. You can hear that the hard-bitten guys in the NYPSO were giving their charming Alsatian guest full cooperation. Just a historical footnote, then, but a mighty interesting one.]

ORMANDY:

Harris: Symphony No. 7. w/ Philadelphia Orchestra. [Good robust mono sound, c. 1954, with the Philly strings pouring glory over a classic of Prairie Romanticism.]

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3, "Polish", Op. 29. w/ Philadelphia Orchestra. [48:14] [One of the forgotten Ormandy discs – never advertised, critically ignored, it just came and went without leaving a dent. This is almost an impossible symphony to bring off, for any conductor, and Ormandy doesn’t try to turn it into "another" Tchaikovsky symphony. As was his wont, he mostly plays it straight, intervening just enough to help the music to make its own points; he also keeps the line fairly taut and the energy level reasonably high, so when you add good recorded sound and gorgeously suave playing into the picture, you get a thoroughbred interpretation of a symphony that can easily lapse into dullness in the hands of a less-musical conductor. I know of two more exciting versions, but one (Maazel/Vienna) is still under copyright and the other (Albert Coates and the Late Jurassic Philharmonic) is antediluvian and hasn’t been available on any label since the glaciers retreated. I’ll eventually list it, though, because Coates gooses this lukewarm balletic score into wild, twitching, Frankensteinian life as no other conductor ever has. Completely deranged, but breathtaking. If you want the piece in good modern sound, though, Ormandy will do nicely – he knows how to let its melodies sing-out and its textures warm the room on a chilly night.]

RODZINSKI:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, Op. 47. w/ London Philharmonic Orchestra. [Rodzinski was losing his marbles, pretty much, by the time he recorded this.. Who wouldn’t, after the way he’d been treated in America? (Too long a story to recount here, in the needful a grisly and sometimes macabre details; see the appropriate pages in Priest of Music.) His last, best, recording contract – with Westminster – documents the work of a conductor far gone into such extreme highs and lows that "erratic" barely hints at how uneven they were. But now and then, he pulled himself together and delivered a knock-out; this record is surely one of the most neurotic, high-tension versions of the 5^th ever recorded (in rather good early stereo, too)…sort of like the conductor was wielding a straight-razor instead of a baton. Tempi are sometimes recklessly fast, but also wildly gripping (like watching a Formula One driver suddenly hit an oil slick in the second turn at Le Mans…) as musical brinksmanship. The LPO can barely keep up, but they never really fall apart and by the final hammer-blows, you’ll probably be on the edge of your seat. This, at least, is one of the rare recordings that really captures Rodzinski at his best; it gives you an idea why no less a colleague than Leopold Stokowski consistently supported Rodzinski and publicly praised his work.]

de SABATA, Victor:

Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture. w/ Vienna Philharmonic, Salzburg, 1953

Strauss, R.: Tod und Verklarung, Op. 64. " " " "

Verdi: "La Forza del Destino" Overture. " " " " [These three performances were taped during the 1953 Salzburg Festival; they constitute a perfect demonstration of de Sabata’s strengths as a conductor: energy, charisma, driving impetuous force. The Death & Transfiguration is one of the most compelling ever recorded, a white-hot reading that sweeps you along, on a current of unremitting tension, to a soaring climax that is truly cathartic. The mono sound is a bit shrill, but it has lots of impact. An essential recording!]

SANDERLING:

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19. w. Emil Gilels; Leningrad Philharmonic

Sibelius: Night Ride & Sunrise, Op. 55. w/ Berlin Symphony Orchestra [16:08]

" : Symphony No. 6, Op. 104 " " " " [29:35]

" : Symphony No. 7, Op. 105. " " " " [23:49] [Sanderling’s Berlin Symphony Sibelius cycle got very spotty distribution over here in the Seventies, but fans of this marvelous conductor know they’re probably outstanding and keep seeking them out. I’ve managed to collect about half of them, and here’s a major chunk of my holdings, on peerless Eurodisc pressings, with deep, mellow sound. If you like Sanderling, you know what to expect: basically broad tempi, insightful voicing of details, and a rather deliberate but cumulatively powerful sense of sweep. The orchestra plays gorgeously for him. A "must" for Sanderling/Sibelius connoisseurs.]

SARGENT, Sir Malcolm:

SCHERCHEN:

Haydn: Symphony No. 101 (Military). w/ Vienna State Opera Orchestra [Granitic – a sonic juggernaut; almost Prussian rather than Viennese. You’ll either love it or find it downright lurid and overwrought. Haydn, I suspect, would have whooped with delight.]

SCHURICHT:

Brahms: Symphony No. 4, Op. 98. w/ Bavarian State Radio Symphony, September, 1961 [37:58] [The coupling appeared in Europe, on the "Festival Classique" label – very spotty U.S. distribution – in early 1962, and was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque from the Academie Charles Cros. It’s a worthy and distinguished Brahms Fourth, all right. Schuricht, as usual, doesn’t go for overwhelming drama (although there’s plenty of easy-going power underlying his interpretation), but rather a patrician, autumnal view that brings out the sheer beauty of orchestration (the Bavarian woodwinds, which Schuricht gives prominence to in many places, carry things along with a limpid, bubbling-brook sonority that tints the colors a lovely rustic brown-and-gold). Sound is neither as close nor as in-your-face analytical as it would be if recorded today, but there’s good hall ambience and realistic left-to-right imaging. Source LP is almost pristine. And if I do say so myself, my dubbing turned out to be very fine indeed. For Carl Schuricht fans, this one is a must-have. Brahmsians will want it too, for it’s one of the few examples of this great conductor’s Brahms in stereo.]

Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op. 81. w/ Bavarian Radio Symphony. [11:46]

SILVESTRI, Constantin:

Bartok: Divertimento for String Orchestra. w/ Philharmonia Orchestra. [Hot and "Romanian" sounding.]

Hindemith: Mathis der Maler. w/ Philharmonia Orchestra. [Also first-rate; excellently recorded, too.]

STOKOWSKI:

Corelli: Concerto Grosso, G minor, Op. 6 / No. 8 ("Christmas"). w/ Igor Kipnis, harpsichord; Symphony of the Air. [See comments under "Composers"]

Cowell: Concerto for Koto & Orchestra. w/ Simo Ito, koto; Philadelphia Orchestra, live, c. 1963. [It was quite a sight: Stokowski in tails leading the tall, rail-thin, blind koto master onto the stage of Carnegie Hall… The music: a bit wispy, but still delightful, in Cowell’s best sort-of-Oriental vein. Coolest thing about it, perhaps, is the way the composer balances the orchestral parts against the delicate filigree of the solo part. Splendid novelty, as only Stokie could bring ‘em to you!]

Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite. Budapest Symphony Orchestra, live broadcast, 1967. [A sparkling, droll, vividly colorful performance, given added interest by the fact that the composer was present at the concert and rehearsals – indeed, Kodaly died only a few months afterwards – and expressed great enthusiasm over Stokie’s interpretation of a work the old magician had never recorded and only performed two or three times before. Excellent sound; Source derived from a tape by Radio Magyar. One of the choicest Stokowski rarities in my collection.]

Stravinsky: Petrouchka Suite. w/ Hungarian Radio & TV Orchestra, 1967. [A product of the same visit to Hungary, although not quite as special. Yes, it’s a terrific Petrouchka , but at this period of Stokie’s life, that was a "calling card" piece he conducted all over the world, and as piquant as the Magyars’ reading is, it simply doesn’t measure up to the staggering live Petrouchka Stokie gave in Boston a year or so earlier (which I also intend to list, even though I only have a mono copy – albeit a good clean one). There’s just no comparison with the blinding virtuosity of the BSO in this music. NOTE: This early Stokowski Society LP also contains a 6-7 minute snippet of Stokie being interviewed by a radio announcer; very interesting, but all too brief. If you order, please specify whether you want the dub with or without the interview bits.]

Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso, D Minor, Op. 3 / No. 1. w/ Igor Kipnis, harpsichord; Symphony of the Air. [Perfectly "straight" stylistically, this demonstrates that Stokie both knew and reverred authentic Baroque practices, when he chose to! A very eloquent reading, superbly played and recorded. No timing given on Source.]

STRAUSS, Richard:

Strauss: Alpine Symphony. Composer; Bavarian State Symphony Orchestra; studio recording, waxed in mid-1941. [Richard Strauss tended to under-interpret his own works when leading them from the podium. He admitted it; although he could be as sweepingly passionate and subjective when conducting Beethoven as the next maestro, he thought it was best to leave the souped-up, hyper-dramatic readings of his own music to conductors who wallowed in that kind of thing. He documented a more chaste, more refined approach This is not to say there’s no drama or color in Strauss-leading-Strauss, of course there is – just that he was more concerned with extracting certain details he wanted you to hear, giving more coherent shape to the big sprawling orchestral tapestries, etc. Still, by every account, including many penned by his enemies, Strauss was a brilliant podium technician (elsewhere in this catalogue, I’ve listed a Beethoven Fifth that’ll show just how dramatic he could be!), and everyone who loves his music should hear how he conducted it! This wartime account of the Alpine is a great place to start, since the orchestra is good enough to give him whatever he asks for and the recorded sound is gratifyingly full and rich, if necessarily a bit constrained in the huge climaxes. Sorry, but there’s no timing on the Source – however, Strauss takes matters of tempo pretty much down-the-middle, neither dawdling nor speeding up for effect, so I suspect the overall timing doesn’t differ markedly from that of any more recent recording. This isn’t a sonic blockbuster, not from 1941 (try von Karajan for that!), but if the sound is slightly faded, it nevertheless exudes great charm and historical ambience. And it’s so damned genial, you’d never know World War Two was raging all around!]

TENNSTEDT, Klaus:

Mahler: Symphony No. 4. w/ Phyllis Brn-Jillson (sp???); Boston Symphony Orchestra, live, May 30, 1977. [Here ya go, Klauskateers! His live American debut, the concert that put him big on the U.S. radar – a marvelous "Haffner" and one of the finest Mahler 4’s you, I, or the audience in Symphony Hall ever heard. Prolonged standing ovation, cheers from the players as well as the critics! A rapt, passionate, darkly luminous reading, gloriously played – my God, what a change it must have been for them to play under Klaus after so many stultifying seasons under Ozawa, the Human Cypher…you can hear the players’ joy in every measure! Excellent off-the-air sound except for a small period in mid-piece where I had to switch the mono due to airplane distortion; nothing major, I assure you. A priceless souvenir of a historic moment in the history of conducting!]

Mozart: Symphony No. 35, "Haffner". w/ Boston Symphony. [First half of debut concert.]

Berlioz: Harold in Italy. w/ William Primrose; NBC Symphony Orch., live, 1939. Yowee, bravo, and whoop-tee-do! Such electricity you can smell the ozone scorching, even in the airless confines of Studio 8-H (where, today, NBC tapes weekly episodes of Saturday Night Live!). Toscanini and Primrose later made a studio recording, one that’s fine as far as the soloist goes, but it wound much too tight by the conductor. Back in ’39, however, the Maestro was still capable of broad, relaxed tempos, and so it is in this red-hot live performance. Movement II gains greatly in solemnity as a result, and when the conductor piles into overdrive ("The Brigands’

Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet. w/ Orchestra of La Scala, autumn 1948. [Crappy sound, quite potent, fresh-sounding performance. Maybe the best of the dozen or so R & J’s Toscanini left us; very broad and expansive, the love music very erotic – hell, you can almost smell the perfume on discarded silk. His commercial recordings of this work are, by contrast, unyieldingly brusque and tight-lipped (an old man’s sour recollection of passion?), not even hinting at the kind of earthy intensity of the reading he sculpts with his beloved Milanese band. One of those interpretations that makes the music sound fresh-minted and steaming with urgency

Verdi : Ballet Music from "Othello". w/ Orchestra of La Scala, live, 1948. [Sui Generis!]

[As Promised last month, from now until…I’ll be listing at least two new ODA titles every update Bear in mind two things: In many instances, there are the ONLY recordings of the music – Oliver often ran off a straight-line dub from the broadcast studio to his private office on the 45h floor or something, and just added the works to his already good-sized record collection!

THIS MONTH’S NEW RELEASES:

ODA—005:

Walter Mourant: Big Workout for Small Orchestra

Ulysses Kay: Round Dance & Polka

New Symphony Orchestra of London

Conducted by Camerata

Please allow one week – ten days for preparation and delivery. All CDs are guaranteed – if it’s defective, mail it back and we’ll replace it. I won’t replace a purchase just because you suddenly decide you "don’t like" the music – between your own innate good taste and my thumbnail descriptions, you ought to have a pretty good idea, before you buy, what you’re getting.

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

(NOTE: I’m in the process of converting all my Van Beinum & van Kempen to CDs. The latter may well have been a cold-hearted opportunist, but I’ve heard old orchestra men from four countries (France, the U.K., Germany and the U.S.), tell me that both von. B and van K. were, in fact musicians’ musicians, with whom it was a pleasure to work! Van Kempen was, supposedly, the Card Carrying Nazi – he and Mengelberg got along just fine -- as long as the repertoire was congenial to him, Van K. could, with easy mastery, get the Concertgebouw to play for him with the utmost attention to interpretive detail and a spirit of elan almost equal to Mengelberg’s own.]

ALFVEN:

"Midsummer Vigil", Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 19. Composer; Royal Swedish Orchestra. [Wow! Alfven turns out to be a rip-snortin’ conductor of this warhorse, giving it lift, intensity, and a marvelously raw, near-pagan tonal palette (just listen to the upward rip of the horns in the coda!). This incarnation is in bogus stereo, a very short-lived experiment on Westminster’s part, but it’s meekly done, just a smidgeon of separation and ambience reverb, nothing crude and unmusical. The orchestra plays with riveting commitment, and the sound per se is quite decent (the original tapes were licensed from Swedish "Discofil", which had a reputation for fine audio even in the Fifties). A landmark recording, of a piece that once was very popular, but seems to have vanished from the programming radar…why, I wonder?]

"The Mountain King", Suite from, Op. 32. Composer; Royal Swedish Orchestra.

AUBER:

Overture to "Fra Diavalo". Klemperer; Kroll Opera Orchestra, rec. 1929.

BARBER:

Medea Ballet Suite. Composer; New Symphony of London.

Symphony No. 2. Composer; New Symphony of London. [This ancient London recording’s been kicking around since the glaciers retreated, on several labelsd, finally ending up on Everest (during that once-great labels Pewter Age of cheap reprints and shoddy production values); while the work is not exactly inferior (compared to most other composer’s second symphonies), it sure can’t hold a candle to the First. One understands why Barber withdrew it, but I wish he’d revised it instead – there are enough decent themes buried in the general turgidness to make such a rescue effort worth his time; alas, he never chose to do that, so this is just about your only option if you’re curious. I say "just about" because there IS a slam-dunk Koussevitzsky live performance (not listed yet, but we have it) that almost sets Symphony Hall on fire and certainly argues the case for the Second as strongly as a brilliant and sympathetic conductor possibly could. The air-check sound isn’t half-bad, either. Beside the point, though, because the Boston Symphony suppressed this and all the other wonderful "AS Disc" Boston live broadcasts that were briefly available. The excuse, as always, was some mealy-mouthed rubbish about "inferior amateur recordings" being hurtful to the BSO’s reputation. Of course,. by 1978, after five hundred years under Seiji Ozawa, the Boston Symphony no longer HAD a reputation. Which still leaves unanswered: if those "amateur, inferior" air-checks were so damaging, where are the superior official versions? Locked away in Jack Benny’s money vault, I guess. Whether the BSO employed such bully-boy tactics out of sincere concern or out of shame/embarrassment over the inertia and dullness of Ozawa endless tenure is a question mere mortal music-lovers cannot answer. The sound on some of those AS Discs, actually, was quite good, but those were squelched along with the crappy-sounding ones. Lord knows when I’ll get around to listing the Koussevitzky version of Barber’s Second, but go ahead and order it if you like. The composer’s reading isn’t all that inferior, though, and the sound is fairly clean on it, so unless you’re enough of a Barber fan to want two-twos, you may as well stick with this studio recording.

BARTOK:

Divertimento for String Orchestra. Silvestri; Philharmonia Orchestra. [One of the more intense versions around – when Silvestri was "on", he was terrific.]

Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta. Bernstein; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orch., live, Budapest, 11/16/1983 [30:34] [Sensational!]

BEETHOVEN:

"Coriolanus" Overture. Klemperer; Kroll Opera Orchestra, 1926. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19. Gilels; Sanderling; Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra.

Piano Concerto No. 3. Haskill; Swoboda; Winterthur Symphony Orchestra

Sonata No. 9, Op. 47, "Kreutzer". Ignatz Friedmann & Bronislaw Hubermann, c. 1927. [Outrageous and glorious! See extended comment under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi!!]

Symphony No. 1. Igor Markevich; Lamoureux Orchestra.

Symphony No. 5. Scherchen; Vienna State Opera Orchestra. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 8. Knappertsbusch; NDR Symphony, Germany, c. 1962. [Not for "Kna" this panty-waste nonsense about rollicking humor! Like Furtwangler, he sees this symphony as a big-boned, potent work. Is it slow? Yep. Monumental? Ditto. Incredibly gripping and powerful or just…dogged and Teutonic? I dunno, man. One time it sounds one way, the next time it sounds the other. But it’s a strong alternative viewpoint, conducted with this old guy’s usual rugged integrity. Good mono sound.]

Symphony No. 9. Igor Markevitch; Lamoureux Orchestra; Oratorio Chorus of Karlsruhe; Fritz Uhl; Heinz Rehfuss; Hilde Gueden; Aafje Heynis. [See comments under "Conductors"]

BENNETT, Richard Rodney:

OST for "Far From the Madding Crowd". [See comments under "Film & Theater Music"]

BERLIOZ:

Harold in Italy. William Primrose, viola; Toscanini; NBC Symphony, live, 1939 [See comments under "Conductors"]

BORODIN:

Overture to "Prince Igor." Solti; London Symphony Orchestra. [10:40]

Polovtsian Dances from "Prince Igor". Solti; London Symphony Orchestra. [13,35]

BRAHMS:

Hungarian Dances, Complete. Victor Alissandro; Oklahoma City Symphony . [Yep, this is a REAL record, identities refer to a real orchestra and its real conductor. Hey, do you know of another record by the Oklahoma City Symphony?? Or of Victor Alissandro conducting another ensemble?? Didn’t think so! If you’re a record collector, though, you also know that "playable" records from the Royale and Allegro labels are almost impossible to find. Pressed in the form of flat, rim-less discs, these babies quickly attracted defects, especially from playing against additional LPs on an automatic changer. Furthermore, they were manufactured out of some kind of cheap, metallic compound that I like to call "Not Vinyl" – brittle, inflexible stuff that made a little chiming sound when you popped a fingernail against it. In other words, these records destroyed themselves as you played them! And their musical content, though nothing special in terms of repertoire, was often surprisingly good; giving rise to the logical supposition that the original Source for these US-manufactured discs may well have been captured German "Magnetophon" air-check tapes, smuggled back home by a bunch of larcenous but music-loving GIs. That would explain why the given names of performers and ensembles were often so transparently bogus! But not here, not in this case – this really is the orchestra from Oklahoma City, and Maestro Alissandro really was their conductor for more than 25 seasons. And from what you can hear beneath with plethora of tiny scratches and the distortion of chewed-up inner grooves, is a quite-respectable reading of these scores. This recording is unutterably rare! So I’ve no hesitation in charging my usual $13.50 for a dub, because you will almost certainly NEVER see another copy, on the Net or off it! Now – does anybody want to join me in founding a Victor Alissandro Fan Club??)

Symphony No. 1. Furtwangler; Vienna Philharmonic, 1947 studio recording. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 3. Van Beinum; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 4, Op. 98. Carl Schuricht; Bavarian Radio Symphony, 1961. [37:58] [See comments under "Conductors"]

Tragic Overture, Op. 81. Carl Schuricht; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1961. [11:46] [See comments under "Conductors"]

Violin Concerto. Oistrakh; USSR State Symphony; Kondrashin. [Date & venue unknown. Source is a Soviet disc issued on a quasi-legal import/pirate label ("Hall of Fame" – their catalogue was stuffed with early Richter, Gilels, Oistrakh, etc). It’s definitely Oistrakh, though, and in prime form. The sound is nothing special, but it isn’t a trial on your ears, and Kondrashin conducts with plenty of zip. An altogether fine rendition]

After Reading Antero de Quiental. Andras Koradi; Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra [12:43]

BRUCH, Max:

Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 26. Albert Sammons, violin; Sir Hamilton Harty; London Symphony Orchestra. recorded 9 April, 1925 [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

BRUCKNER:

Symphony No. 8. Knappertsbusch; Vienna Philharmonic, live, 1961. [Craggy, eccentric, and ultimately very powerful. Did I mention slow?]

BUSH, Alan (1903 - ):

Birthday Overture, Op. 32. Composer; USSR Symphony Orchestra, live, 1962

Symphony No. 2, Op. 33 ("Nottingham"). Composer; USSR Symphony Orchestra, live, 1962. [Okay, what’s going on here? And with the Alan Rawsthorne items listed down the page? Well, both Rawsthorne and Bush were well-known tea-party Socialists and prior to the Cold War both had leant their names and prestige to some Leftist causes in the U.K. Very mild stuff, actually, and nothing that would distinguish them from tens of thousands of other, younger, Brits who had proper academic affiliations. But in the transient cultural thaw that came about after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis, they (and I presume several other British composers of note), were invited to conduct their works in the Soviet Union. Which, not being fools, both men did – to heartening if hackneyed reviews and sold-out houses. Both these two works and the pair by Rawsthorne (by far the better composer, I think, although Bush’s music is certainly agreeable) were issued in a two-LP gatefold album by Melodiya, about ten years after the events documented. Good ol’ Records International managed to snag 350 copies for US distribution, and that’s how I got mine. None of these compositions has ever been recorded again, and as you might imagine, copies of the Melodiyas are virtually impossible to find. Alas, there’s no undiscovered masterpiece here, but the music is definitely mainstream British post-war romantic in style ("The Cow Pat School"), well-crafted, pleasing to the ear, and occasionally (as in the "Robin Hood" movement of the Nottingham Symphony), quite rousing. The in-concert recordings are genuine stereo, reasonably clean and colorful, and played with palpable commitment by the Russian orchestra. The pressings, alas, leave something to be desired and are afflicted with a couple of annoying scratches and some air-bubble bumps (you can see them with the unaided eye!) about which I can do nothing – this is how the discs arrived in this country and Records International even warned in their catalogue that the LPs were far from pristine. No matter; the whole import shipment was sold out in about ten days and there never was another. Good British romantic music; only recordings, under authoritative batons, and only 350 copies ever reached America. Have I got the goods, or what?]

CHARPENTIER, Marc-Antoine (1617-1709):

Midnight Mass. Louis Martini; Soloists; Youth Chorus of France: Jean-Palliard Chamber Orchestra; Maurice Durufle, organ. [32:45]

Psalm 150, for Chorus, Organ & Timpani. Manchester College Choirs & Manchester Symphony Orchestra.

CORELLI:

COWELL:

Concerto for Koto & Orchestra. Simo Ito, koto; Stokowski; Philadelphia Orchestra, live, circa 1963 [See comments under "Conductors.]

CRESTON, Paul:

Symphony No. 2, Op. 35. Howard Mitchell; National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C. [Originally issued on a 1952 or ‘53 Westminster LP, these two surging, dynamic, tuneful symphonies, taken together, comprised one of the early monuments of recorded American music. Any listener interested in the music of our time and our country had this LP in his library, and he got his money’s worth. Why has Creston’s music all-but vanished? Ask the gods of cultural fashion, for I have no answer! Truth to tell, this record remains indispensable – maybe the Schwartz/Delos recording sounds better (indeed, it sounds quite wonderful!), but despite Schwartz’s dedication, there’s a mystique, a palpable sense of discovery, to these Mitchell readings that keep them sounding fresh and compelling as interpretations, even though the sonics are clearly "historic" by now. It was Mitchell’s misfortune to be a first-rate conductor saddled with a second-rate orchestra (which the National Symphony, chronically under-funded by a succession of anti-intellectual Congressmen, was, and in the opinion of some critics – not this one – still is. He made very few commercial recordings (although there was a really blazing Shostakovich 5^th in early stereo that was, until Bernstein’s blockbuster on Columbia came along, probably the best you could buy.) Mitchell does get inside the "early Christian" mythos of the Third better than any other conductor who’s recorded it, making it both spooky and grandly ritualistic. Too bad he is so little remembered today, even as he was eclipsed in his own lifetime by flashy superstars with exotic foreign names. I mean, how plain and American can a name be, if it isn’t "Howard Mitchell" (who was born in rural Nebraska, in 1911)? He deserves more credit. Had he been under contract with a better orchestra, and a label with more marketing clout than Westminster, he might have achieved some of the Native-Son breakthroughs that Bernstein racked up instead. Well, here he is at his best, skillfully directing two stalwart and potent neo-romantic symphonies by a composer whose origins were just as humble (Creston was born to working-class immigrant parents in the Lower East Side in 1906). It’s a fitting partnership; I’ve always treasured this record, and with a bit of digital refurbishment to brighten the sound and give it a touch of reverb, it would still command respect today. I owned three copies over the years, and wore two of them plumb out; this dub is taken from the third, which has virtually no wear, and I did a bit of tone-control jiggering to beef up the sonics just a hair; not much, I swear! I usually leave that sort of "interventionist" stuff to the technicians who’re good at it, like the guys at Dutton Records or the legendary Ward Marston. I think the resulting master CD is quite listenable, and a slight but significant improvement on the LP. If you’re into American music and somehow have managed not to hear these two symphonies, I urge you not to deprive yourself any longer. They contributed materially to the acceptance of our music around the world; not quite as much as Copland’s big works, but then Creston’s symphonies also lack the well-hidden under-current of meretricious pandering-to-the-hoi-polloi that you can sometimes hear in, say, Copland’s Third (no brick-bats, please, I love it, too!). (Not to put Copland down, but he really would have been happy writing spiky 12-tone slop, too; he just saw how that style was box-office-poison and altered his priorities accordingly. Few composers have done a slicker or more successful job of it!) Is that enough of a sales-pitch for you? Go ahead and order one – if you really hate the music, I’ll send you something else at no charge. Fair enough?]

Symphony No. 3, Op. 48. Howard Mitchell; National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C.

DEBUSSY:

Nocturnes – "Nuages" & "Fetes". Klemperer; Kroll Opera Orchestra, recorded 1926. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Petite Suite (Orch. by Henri Busser). Celibidache; Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, c. 1949 [See comments under "Conductors"]

DVORAK:

Czech Suite, Op. 39. Vaclav Neumann; Czech Philharmonic Orch. [18:24]

Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 (all.) " " " "

Slavonic Dances, Op. 72 (all). " " " " [Both sets: 78:04]

Slavonic Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 45/1. " " " " [11:37]

Slavonic Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 45/ No. 2. " " " [13:30]

Slavonic Rhapsody No. 3, Op. 45/ No. 3 " " " [12:54]

The Wood Dove, Op. 110. " " " " [19:16] [I’ve never understood why so many critics poor-mouth Neumann. OK, so he wasn’t Vaclav Talich (nobody WAS, except Vaclav Talich!), but he was a natural-born conductor with broad tastes, excellent technique, and a superb ear (hell, I even like his Mahler recordings, which makes me a decided minority). Yes, to be sure, Talich brings a tad more thrust and rhythmic snap to his classic readings, but Neumann’s aren’t THAT inferior, not when you factor in the gorgeous recorded sound heard on these discs. It’s very close to an ideal box set, anyway you look at it.]

EGK, Werner:

French Suite After Rameau. Composer; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, c. 1952

FARKAS, Ferenc (Hungarian, b. 1905 -- ):

Concertino all’antico for Cello & Strings. Miklos Perenyi, cello; Gyorgy Lehel; Hungarian State Symphony [10:14] [Enjoyable, warm-hearted, obviously "modern" but nothing a reasonably intelligent audience couldn’t grasp and wouldn’t like. Hey. Cellists, need a short but pothy work to balance a concert? Check out this one.]

GLINKA:

Trio "Pathetique". David Oistrakh; Sviatoslav Knushevitzky; Lev Oborin. [15:36] [Not many recordings of this important work, and none surpasses this early Soviet LP. Talk about a Dream Team! Also check out the listing for the same three artists’ sublime realization of the seldom-played Taneyev Piano Trio!]

GRIEG:

Piano Concerto in A Minor. Ignatz Friedmann; unidentified French orchestra conducted by Philippe Gaubert. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles and Solo Virtuosi.]

HARRIS, Roy:

Symphony No. 1. Koussevitzky; Boston Symphony Orchestra, live, 1934. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 7. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra, c. 1954. [See comments under "Conductors"]

HAYDN:

Symphony No. 45, "Farewell". Dorati; London Symphony Orchestra. [Stylish & vital.]

Symphony No. 101 ("Military"). Scherchen; Vienna State Opera Orchestra. [See comments under "Conductors"]

HINDEMITH:

"Apparebit Repentina Dies" – Motet for Chorus & Chamber Ensemble. [Very odd but very lovely; the studied "antique" flavor works to create a fine atmosphere, just as it does for Respighi in his "Ancient Aires & Dances". The Source is the flip-side of the work listed below, but the playing surfaces aren’t quite as grungy and the original (c. 1949) recording quality is significantly better to begin with. I don’t know of another version of this curiosity currently in print, and the musicians generate palpable fervor under Hindemith’s skilled baton. Time: approximately 15 minutes.]

Mathis der Maler. Silvestri; Philharmonia Orchestra

"The Philharmonic" Symphony. Composer; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. [Hindemith’s "birthday present" to the Berlin Philharmonic is more a "concerto for orchestra" than a symphony per se, and it’s a fine, superbly crafted composition, one whose absence from the concert hall is inexplicable. Anyway, here he is, leading the piece with the Berlin Philharmonic, which responds with sparkling elan. Too bad this ancient Capitol Green Label LP is so grungy and crackly; there’s just enough archival value to outweigh the defects, though, so I’m listing it with fair warning – it’s a stylus obstacle-course, including a half-dozen annoying-as-hell skips, all very brief. Both music and performance are splendid, however, if you’re a tolerant listener; and neither this version nor any newer account is available at the moment, so it’s this one or forget-about-it.]

HODDINOT, Alun (Welsh; b. 1929 -- ):

Welsh Dances Set One, Op. 15. Sir Charles Groves; Royal Philharmonic Orch. [8:30] [Unabashedly modeled after the wonderful dance suites of Malcolm Arnold, these tunes have automatic, built-in appeal, and Hoddinut has orchestrated them with plenty of flash. Groves abandons here his usual stiff-upper-lip reticence and delivers a smashing performance.]

HOLST:

Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26/No. 3. Imogen Holst; Ossian Ellis, harp; The Purcell Singers

The Planets. Bernard Hermann; London Philharmonic. [Wildly eccentric and personal reading by this great composer/conductor. Stunning Phase-Four sound. Complete antithesis to Boult’s grand but ever-so-proper interpretations. The critics slammed it brutally, but it’s become a cult classic over the years and is now regarded as a valuable collectable.]

"Savitri", A Chamber Opera in One Act, Op. 25. Imogen Holst; Janet Baker, mezzo; Robert Tear, tenor; Thomas Hemsley, bass; The Purcell Singers; English Chamber Orchestra. [Holst, like many British intellectuals, became enamored, for a period, of the myths and philosophies of the Empire’s greatest treasure – and, next to Ireland, its heaviest burden – India. He wrote several luminously beautiful works for chorus and instrumental accompaniment, using Hindu texts as his inspiration. Both of these works, although rarely performed, represent Holst at his most beguiling, and are conducted with great sympathy and confidence by his daughter, Imogen. If all you know of Holst is The Planets (wonderful though it is!), you have a major discovery waiting in Holst’s other works. The Choral Hymns, in particular, are ravishing and radiant.]

HOVHANESS:

The Flowering Peach, Incidental Music. Composer; MGM Chamber Orchestra. [Composed for a serio-comic Clifford Odets play about Noah’s Ark (!!), this score is a glittering, exotic tapestry of Hovhaness’s early "Orientalist" style, before that style became somewhat cliched. The play opened in December, 1954…and closed a few weeks later. It hasn’t been seen very often since, nor has any other conductor resurrected this delightful suite, so this is its only recording. The pick-up ensemble plays with enormous gusto under the composer’s baton, and the recorded sound is much less dry and pinched than it is on many other MGM records. Wondrful stuff.]

Ballet suite, "Is There Survival"? Carlos Surinach; MGM Chamber Orchestra. [Incredibly rare LP of A.H.’s incidental-and-dance music to a 1955 ballet commissioned by famed Boston choreographer Jan Veen. It’s in seven quick-change movements and maintains throughout an air of ritual and mystery. Again, both sound and performance are outstanding (the freelance orchestra was a crack NY outfit, with Harry Glantz as first trumpet, William Masselos handling all the keyboard parts, and Sam Barodkin heading up the percussion.]

Orbit No. One. Composer; MGM Percussion Ensemble. [A brief but trenchant essay for percussion ensemble, largely modal and incorporating numerous Armenian and Georgian ethnic/ religious motifs; more abstract than was usually this composer’s intent, but fiercely concentrated and fascinating. The performance, once again, is nothing short of dazzling.]

JANACEK:

Suite from "Fate" " " " " " [19:53] [Dark, earthy readings in very good Supraphon sound; very limited US distribution, 30-odd years ago. Nowhere to be found these days…except, of course, here.]

JONES, Daniel:

The Country Beyond the Stars. Groves; Royal Philharmonic; Chorus of the Welsh National Opera. [23:10] [Welsh poetry again, this time the setting is verses by Henry Vaughan, a Breconshire poet who died in 1695. This cantata was commissioned in 1958 by the Welsh Arts Council, and Jones took full advantage of the choral forces at his disposal – the Welsh voices are stunning in their passion and clarity! It’s glorious stuff, very much in the same grand-public-utterance vein as Vaughan-Williams Hodie. Irresistible, and with a fugal climax that made my hair stand on end the first time I auditioned the rare Source disc, a Welsh LP from the obscure "Oriel" label, imported to the U.S. in one batch of about 300 records. It makes my day, folks, when I can list something as marvelous as this and just know there are people out there who would come to adore it as much as I do.]

KANCHELI, Giya:

KHRENNIKOV, Tikon:

KIRCHNER, Leon:

String Quartet No. 1. American Art Quartet. [18:50]. [Like all of Kirchner’s works, impeccably crafted and gleaming-clear; neo-classical in tone but full of disciplined emotion. He packs an amazing amount of expressivity into 18 minutes! Performance could hardly be better.]

KODALY:

Hary Janus Suite. Stokowski; Budapest Symphony Orchestra, live broadcast 1967.

DE KRUYF, Ton (20^th-Century Dutch):

Partita for String Quartet. The Gaudeamus String Quartet, live, Holland Festival, 1967 [10:18]

"Bjorne Enstable’s Christmas Music" casts attention anew on the fabled Icelander, who, earlier in the century, after completing his studies with Camille Saint-Saens and the Estonian dodecaphonist Freitag Mauning, moved his style into sonic spheres of penetration and daring expressivity. For many years past, he had been the curator of the Reykjavik Atonal Music Society House of Representational Notation (RAMSHORN) and little had been heard of him in his capacity as a composer. However, in 1969, on grants received from the Woolworth, Kresge, and McCrory Foundations, he organized a series of "Yuletide Psychodramas" throughout the USA. His composition has since been increasingly influenced by studies in the ironies of pragmatic cryptosemiotics – e.g., musical compositions written on huge snow banks with white ink, using a formula prepared from chemical residue extracted from the recycling of earlier works; or, as the composer expressed it, "The icing on the upside-down-cake that is my life." Increasingly fixated by the musical states of present-day Christmastide – a veritable carol-stream of Gnostic contradictions – his obsession, when visited on THE INELUCTABLE MODALITY, became downright cissoidal, particularly at the Infinite Point of Inflection. He entrusted to the group’s consciousness a formula for deciphering the "Enstable Higher Clefs", an arcane transpositional methodology allowing uniform full-banded atonal textures to form, which, when filtered through crystallized mesonic masses, gives rise to clear-cut quasi-iso-tonal appearances at the interval of the diminished fifth. In fact, the opening quodlibet in A flat, after a number of fifths have been diminished, leads inexorably through the hiccius-docius tenor descant to the Ultimate D Major, a congenial tri-tone removed. Mr. Edwin London, the arranger/orchestrator/editor/transcriber/collager of Enstable’s original scores, has written the following preface to the work:

"The schizoid quality of the contemporary Christmas Season has made it difficult to appreciate the beautiful sentiments expressed by many old songs. By means of a purgative probe of traditional materials, it is hoped that we might reinstate their sweetness."

Wow.

Bjorne Enstable’s Christmas Music. Edwin London; The Ineluctable Modality. [13:42]

LUTOSLAWSKI:

Cello Concerto. Miklos Perenyi, cello; Gyorgy Lehel; Hungarian State Symphony. [23:00] [Tough-fibered but eloquent score; requires immense virtuosity, which Perenyi supplies; not a crowd-pleaser, but not a seat-emptier, either. And the length insures it doesn’t wear out its welcome with conservative listeners. Let’s face it: Lutoslawski was a major composer; his work should be heard; and it isn’t THAT tough to absorb.]

MAHLER:

Kindertotenlieder. Horenstein; Norman Foster, Baritone; Bamberg Symphony Orch.

Symphony No. 1. Horenstein; Vienna Pro Musica Symphony. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 4. Mengelberg; Jo Vincent, soprano; Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, live, 1939. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 4. Tennstedt; Phyllis Brn-Jylson (sp?), sop. Boston Symphony [Tennstedt’s American debut! See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 6. Giuseppi Sinoppoli; Stuttgart Radio Symphony, live, 1986. [What a pity Sinoppoli died so – relatively – young! He’d become a dependably interesting, rather free-wheeling interpreter. This is one of the better 6ths of modern times; very dark, very flexible in tempo, very pointedly articulated – almost on par with Bernstein, Mitropoulos and Solti .The Stuttgart orchestra plays magnificently for him & the broadcast sound, aside from some steady and unobtrusive tape hiss, is resplendent. Note: I had a tape-turnover problem, and taped-over the first five minutes of I, in order to catch the shattering conclusion. It’s still worth having, but if those missing pages are critical to you, I’ll knock the price down 2-3 dollars. Just mention that when you order it, okay?]

Symphony No. 9. Horenstein; Vienna Symphony Orchestra. [See comments under "Conductors"]

MARTIN, Frank:

In Terra Pax. Ansermet; Suisse-Romande Orchestra & Chorus. [I hereby nominate this exquisite oratorio as Frank Martin’s masterpiece. Gently consoling, radiantly colorful yet sparingly scored, it seems almost airborne. In music of this sort, Ansermet’s virtues of grace, elegance, and proportion are perfectly wedded to the score at hand; the composer, who was present during the recording sessions, was reportedly amazed at the numinous beauties Ansermet uncovered, felicities of detail that Martin himself had forgotten about! Whether that’s apocryphal or not, that anecdote tells us a lot about how authoritative this reading is. If you haven’t heard this sublime score, do not live the rest of your life without doing so.]

La Vine Herbe. Victor Desarzens; First-desk personnel of the Winterthur Orchestra; and the Lausanne Choir. Composer at the piano. [This spare, rather aloof retelling of the Tristan/Isolde legend is about as far from Wagner as you can get. Maybe it would help to be fluent in French, but I find the whole thing rather chilly, antiseptic, and emotionally distant. Pretty, yes, in an ultra-refined way (as was Martin’s wont), but without even a smattering of good tunes, it just strikes me as academic, almost sterile. That said, I do know some people whose judgment I trust who think it’s a masterpiece. And it’s probably wrong to dismiss any significant work by this brilliant Swiss composer… Maybe one day I’ll suddenly "get it. If you already HAVE gotten it, this is the only recorded performance; the sound is fine, except for a touch of inner-groove distortion on two sides; and the composer was on hand, so it’s presumably just what he wanted.]

MASSENET:

"Espada" Ballet Suite. George Sebastien; Orchestre de l’Opera de Paris. [Utterly charming "picture postcard" music, given a fragrant, ripely atmospheric reading in surprisingly good mono sound. Even Toscanini used to program Massenet’s colorful orchestral works, but nobody today seems interested. What a pity, because it’s often inspired and always tasty stuff.]

MENDELSSOHN:

Symphony No. 4, "Italian". Van Beinum; Concertgebouw of Amsterdam

MILHAUD:

Symphony No. 3 ("Choral"). Composer; French National Conservatoire Orchestra & Mills College Chorus. [27:19]

MOZART:

Symphony No. 35, "Haffner". Tennstedt; Boston Symphony Orchestra, live, May, 1977

Symphony No. 40. Dorati; London Symphony Orchestra.

NEWELL, Robert (1940 - ):

"Ryo-nen". Edwin London; The Ineluctable Modality. [5:40]

NIELSEN:

Symphony No. 5, Op, 50. " " " " [35:34]

NOVAK:

"Signorina Gioventu", Ballet, Op. 58; Frantisek Jilik; Brno State Philharmonic. [More I hear of Novak’s mature music, the more I think he’s been woefully under-rated…]

NYSTROEM, Gosta:

Sea Symphony (Sinfonia del Mare). Elizabeth Soderstrom, soprano; Stig Westerberg; Swedish Radio Symphony. [One of the most vividly pictorial of all the neo-Romantic Scandinavian symphonies, this epic work opens in a mist of deepest mystery and closes with an elemental burst of power in which an instantly memorable melody curls up and up like a giant wave before crashing into the craggy shore. Ms. Soderstrom’s wordless obbligato part adds a plaintive human cry to the desolate vastness of Nature untamed. Yeah, it’s that lush! So help me, here’s another case of a work that would knock an audience on to the floor if it was ever performed live. Early stereo sound on Source recording is a trifle veiled (which actually works in the music’s favor during the hushed opening movement) and the SRO sounds over-taxed in the big climax, but still it’s a fine, solid reading and one that hasn’t been superceded yet by a more modern recording. If you dig Alfven, middle-to-late Sibelius, or even Grieg, this piece will bowl you over.]

OFFENBACH:

Overture to "La Belle Helene". Klemperer; Kroll Opera Orchestra, recorded 1929

OGDON, John:

ORFF:

Der Mond. Sawallisch; Philharmonia Orchestra; [Imagine if Carl Orff and Samuel Beckett had collaborated on a musical comedy… Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but this 95-minute piece is crammed with surreal humor – of a rather Germanic kind – and charming music. It’s about as distant from the Greek play adaptations and the "Carmina" trilogy as you could imagine; I find it thoroughly delightful. And this is one of those times when Wolfgang Sawallisch abandons his poker-faced bureaucratic style of conducting and actually gets down – there’s never been another recording, so it’s just as well this one is such a gas. Required two CDs. But any one of the three "Carminas" will fit, just barely, on the second CD. That gives you an orf-ful lot of music for the money. Ahem.]

OSTRCIL, Otakar:

Symphony in A Major. Belohlavek; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. [A warm, sunny, tuneful symphony, sort of like Suk in a jolly mood, by an undeservedly obscure Czech composer. Ebullient reading by a very able conductor and THE Czech orchestra. Well worth knowing.]

PECK, Russell:

Quotations from the Electric Chairman. Edwin London; The Ineluctable Modality. [5:06]

PETROVICS, Emil (1930 - ):

Oratorio – The Book of Jonah. Miklos Erdelyi; Hungarian State Orchestra; Budapest Chorus & Soloists. [43:38] [Another "interesting" East European composer. I’d like to hear more, but this particular work doesn’t make a memorable impression. Petrovics can’t decide whether he wants to be Carl Orff, Bartok, or Lutoslawski, and ends up sounding half-baked. However, this is music of integrity and serious purpose, ambitious in its proportions, and performed with the utmost care and skill (well recorded, too). You might well like it much more than I did; the best I can say is "interesting…"]

POWELL, Morgan (1938- ):

The Zalinsky Medley. Edwin London; the Ineluctable Modality. [5:32]

PROKOFIEV:

Ivan the Terrible. Gergiev; Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. & Radio Nederland Chorus, live, circa 1979-1980. {Massive, passionate, heart-wrenching. Just what you’d expect from this hyperthyroid Russian with the Eternal Five-O’clock-Shadow and the metabolism of a humming bird. Off-the-air sound is quite good, although there’s a station-break announcement mid-way through that’s very annoying.]

PURCELL, Henry:

"Bondeau" Overture. " " " " [3:35]

"Distressed Innocence" Overture. " " " [2:48]

"The Fairy Queen", Sonata from Act IV. " " " [6:40]

"The Indian Queen" Overture. " " " [2:45]

"King Arthur", Overture No. 1. " " " [1:25]

" " " No. 2. " " " " [2:40]

"The Married Beau" Overture. " " " " [3:22]

"The Old Bachelor" Overture. " " " " [2:46]

"The Rival Sisters" Overture. " " " " [4:30]

RAVEL:

Alborado del Gracioso. Klemperer; Kroll Opera Orchestra, recorded 1926. [A fantastic reading! See comments under "Conductors"]

RAWSTHORNE, Alan (1905 - ? ):

Concerto for String Orchestra. Composer; USSR State Symphony Orchestra, live, 1963

RESPIGHI:

Fountains of Rome. Sir Malcolm Sargent; London Symphony Orchestra

Pines of Rome. " " " " " "

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV:

Le Coq d’Or Suite. Berglund; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

ROCHBERG, George:

"Imago Mundi" for Large Orchestra. Solti; Chicago Symphony, live, 1979. [A sonic blockbuster, very "Indian" sounding (as in Asian Indians, not Red), some terrific tunes, and tons of percussion. Salty conducts it as though his life depended on the decibel level, and for me that works (I can imagine just as per4suasive a performance being done with more subtlety). Outstanding piece, exciting performance.]

ROSSINI-RESPIGHI:

La Boutique Fantasque. Ansermet; London Symphony Orchestra. [See comments under "Conductors"]

ROUSSELL:

RUBINSTEIN, Anton:

Symphony No.2, "Ocean", Op. 42. Richard Kapp; Westphalian Symphony Orchestra. [45:50] [I’ve spun this recording at least once every 18 months since acquiring it in 1972, and STILL can’t decide whether or not I like it. The whole bloody piece, I mean (as usual with Rubinstein’s bigger works, there are always SOME great passages). It’s in seven movements, very programmatic, and dates from 1854. Un-cut, it runs to more than an hour – a fact which no doubt contributed to its lukewarm reception when it was premiered in Leipzig. Liszt admired it; Clara Schumann had nice things to say about it; the general public, and the critics, agreed with just about everyone since: it’s just too long and ambitious for the material it’s constructed from. And don’t expect "La Mer", either! Although Rubinstein is important primarily because of his influence on later, more inspired Russian composers, his style, at this time especially, was doggedly Germanic. Imagine a cross between Schumann, Weber, and Berlioz-on-Xanax. A more positive impression might be had if the performance featured an orchestra of less-provincial quality, but Kapp really tries to galvanize his ensemble and the Westphalians are at least very, very earnest; the sonics are decent. There’s at least enough here to give you a pretty accurate idea of Rubinstein’s big, symphonic style. And as of this writing, there does not seem to be any later, better, recording available

SAINT-SAENS:

Cello Concerto, Op. 33. W. H. Squires, cello; Sir Hamilton Harty; Halle Orchestra. Recorded 25 March, 1926. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

SCHAT, Peter (Dutch, contemporary):

"Signals" for 6 Percussionists & 3 Double-Basses. Members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, live, Holland Festival, 1967. [18:52]

SCHOENBERG:

"Moses und Aaron". Boulez; BBC Symphony, etc. [See comments under "Opera & Choral"]

Transfigured Night, Op. 4. Mitropoulos; New York Philharmonic Strings. [Critics agreed for once: this was of the best studio recordings Dimitri made with the NYPSO. There’s still some trace of what Virgil Thomson called the ensemble’s "cast-iron" string tone, but so perfervid is the conducting that one scarcely notices. This reading really sucks you in to Schoenberg’s nocturnal world of tortured flesh and mutilated souls…right up Dimitri’s alley. A fantastically intense reading! Same goes for his recording of the Vaughan-Williams "Tommy Tallis" listed below: it’s the swiftest recording ever taped, almost seven minutes shorter than Boult or Barbirolli! But it doesn’t seem "fast", only spiritually over-wrought and supplicating. I prefer the piece played more slowly, but every time I put Dimitri’s on, it never fails to seize me by the throat and hurl me into a maelstrom. It’s the very antithesis of all those "Church of England" interpretations, but by God it works! And for once, Columbia gave Dimitri and the NYPSO players more than adequate engineering – the sound is still quite good, I think, and although you CAN order the stereo version from me, I’d advise you to go with the mono, which has more body and heft and just come-on a precious little bit stronger than the very early stereo. But it’s your call; I would be just as happy to sell you one as the other.]

Varations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. w/ NYPSO, same session as the Schoenberg]

SCOTT, Cyril (1870-1970)

Piano Concerto in C. John Ogdon, piano; Nermard Herrmann; London Philharmonic Orchestra. [See extended comments under "Conductors"]

SCRIABIN:

Etudes, Opp. 2, 8, 42, 56 & 65. Richter, piano. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

Sonata No. 6. Richter, piano. [See comments under "Chamber Ensembles & Solo Virtuosi"]

SHOSTAKOVICH:

Piano Concerto No. 2. John Ogdon; Lawrence Foster; Royal Philharmonic Orch. [20:12]

Quintet, Op. 57. The Melos Ensemble.

Symphony No. 5. Rodzinski; London Philharmonic Orch. [See comments under "Conductors"]

SIBELIUS:

Finlandia. Berglund; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra [See comments under "Conductors"]

King Christian II Suite, Op. 27. " " " "

" " " " " " . Stig Westerberg; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. [Everything I’ve ever heard directed by Westerberg has been first-rate, and this is no exception. For 15 years or so, it was the only recording available of this moody, captivating suite of theater music – the composer’s first major excursion into that genre – and as such I treasured it and nearly wore it out. Now, I’ve got a new copy, thanks to Eric’s generosity (see the blog part above), marred only by one annoying Skippy on side one. It sounds as sweet and atmospheric as I remembered; the sound is good rich slightly distant mono, typical of Swedish "Discofil" at this time (mid-Fifties), and the orchestra sounds first-rate. Same thing can be said, in spades, for Ol’ Stig’s riveting account of the Tempest music, which was Sibelius’s last major orchestral work before Tapiola. A truly lovable disc. Note: you can fit both Sibelius suites AND the two Alfven works on to a single CD. What an ideal choice! Why not dig out your checkbook right this minute, before you forget?]

Lemmenkainen’s Homecoming. Berglund; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Night Ride & Sunrise, Op. 55. Kurt Sanderling; Berlin Symphony Orch. [16:08]

" " " " " " . Sir Anthony Collins; London Symphony Orchestra. [17:09]

Symphony No. 6, Op 104. " " " " " [29:35]

Symphony No. 7, Op. 105. " " " " " [23:49] [See comments under "Conductors]

STRAUSS, Richard:

An Alpine Symphony. Composer; Bavarian State Symphony, rec. 1941 [See comments under "Conductors"]

Tod und Verklarung. De Sabata; Vienna Philharmonic, live @ Salzburg, 1953. [A titanic reading; see comments under "Conductors"]

STRAVINSKY:

Petrushka, complete. Composer conducting "The Symphony Orchestra", recorded in London in June, 1928; first-ever complete recording of any lengthy orchestral work featuring Stravinsky on the podium. Excellent sound for the time, and surprisingly sharp orchestral execution. A genuine collectors’ item if ever there was one!]

SUK:

Serenade for Strings, Op. 6. Arthur Winograd; MGM String Orchestra. [22:48]

Von SUPPE:

Light Cavalry Overture. Sir Georg Solti; Vienna Philharmonic Orch.

Morning, Noon, & Night in Vienna. " " " "

Pique Dame Overture. " " " " "

Poet & Peasant Overture. Solti; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. [One of Solti’s first stereo recordings and still one of his finest! His bold, brassy, hell-for-leather assault on these warhorses makes most other versions seem dispirited and tame. The early Decca/London stereo still packs a punch and the VPO really pumps iron. Von Suppe’s glorious confections have all-but-vanished from the contemporary concert scene, and that’s rather sad. But then, who could conduct them this bravely? A treasonable recording, in superlative sound, one that reminds us just how damned good Sir Georg could be when conducting music that fired him up!]

TCHAIKOVSKY:

The Nutcracker Ballet, complete. Dorati; Minneapolis Symphony. [See comments under "Conductors"]

VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS:

Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Mitropoulos; New York Philharmonic. [See comments above, under "Conductors"]

VIVALDI:

Concerto Grosso, D Minor, Op. 3 / No. 1. w/ Igor Kipnis, harpsichord; Stokowski; Symphony of the Air. [Very "straight" reading for Stokie; graceful & eloquent.]

TANEYEV:

Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 22. [38:00] [See comments under "Glinka" above. This is quite a wonderful and substantial piece; and this was its first recording and by any measure, its finest realization on disc. Can you imagine a greater trio than Oistrakh, Knushevitzky and Oberin?]

TCHAIKOVSKY:

Romeo & Juliet. Toscanini; Orchestra of La Scala, live, autumn of 1948. [See comments under "Conductors"]

The Seasons (Orchestral transcription by Vaclav Trojan). Vaclav Neumann; Czech Film Orchestra. [First and probably only recording. Very lovely, and Neumann conducts with the utmost sensitivity. My Supraphon original has one "sticky" near the end of "June", but is otherwise in good shape. Sound wasn’t so hot to begin with, at least in comparison to what this same label was routinely getting in Prague, but it’s decent enough to let you hear all the tenderness and felicity Tchaikovsky put into this work-for-hire piano suite. Think of it as a previously undiscovered ballet score; in fact, I seem to remember that it’s been used for that purpose. The line here between Tchaikovsky and Glazunov blurs to invisibility…]

Symphony No. 3, "Polish". Op. 29. Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra [48:14]. [See comments under "Conductors"]

Symphony No. 5. Victor Desarzens; "Vienna Festival Orchestra". [An oddity. It’s in genuine, if not particularly impressive, stereo, on the "Whitehall" label, a budget subsidiary of Westminster, which had the shelf-life of a fruit-fly during the Sixties. Here’s a middling-good conductor – working with God-know-what orchestra – trying earnestly to come to grips with a composer whose style seems largely impenetrable to him. Sometimes the reading ignites (in a slow, Teutonic sort of way), and other times V.D. just seems to be "swimming" – as my conductor friends like to say. It’s not without merit; very scarce; Source is in good condition…but it’s still more of a curio than a serious collectable. Unless, all this time and totally unbeknownst to me, there’s a passionate Desarzens Fan Club out there, in which case WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??]

VERDI:

"La Forza del Destino" Overture. De Sabata; Vienna Philharmonic, live, Salzburg, 1953.

Ballet Music from "Othello". Toscanini; Orchestra of La Scala, live, autumn 1948

Van VLIJMEN, Jan (Dutch contemporary):

Serenata for 12 Winds & Percussion. Members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, live, Holland Festival, 1967. [11:47]

VYCPALEK, LADISLAV (1882 -- ? ):

Oratorio – The Last things of Man, Op. 16. Karel Ancerl; Czech Philharmonic & Chorus; soloists; estimated timing 50 minutes. [Vycpalyek was a mystic, a passionate practitioner of advanced polyphony, and a deeply committed pantheist who observed the Catholic conventions mainly because people would leave him alone when he did so.. As the subtitle implies, this is not exactly gay, toe-tapping music, but an extended and very dark rumination, for large orchestra and chorus of manic depressives, on Matters Escatological. Its sections, even the relatively lyrical ones, tend to be stark blocks of sound, propelled and connected by earthy, primal rhythms almost-but-not-quite similar to those of Orff. Above this blunt, almost harsh orchestral sound, the chorus soars in exalted pleading, lamentations, dreamy evocations of memories, and, ultimately acceptance of just what the work’s title says. Some will find it garrulous, over-long, and, let’s face it, a colossal Downer. I find it deeply moving and existentially courageous. I doubt any later performance, assuming there ever is a modern version, could possibly capture the searing intensity of Ancerl and his forces here. Mono sound, but spacious, well balanced, and with just the right degree of resonant. A singular, monolithic, masterpiece!]

WAGNER:

Siegfried Idyll. Klemperer; Kroll Opera Orchestra, recorded 1927.

"Tannhauser", Prelude to Act One. Toscanini; NBC Symphony, live1/16/1948.

WEINBERG, Henry (1922 - ):

Vox in Rome. Edwin London; The Ineluctable Modality. [5:03]

WILLIAMS, Grace:

"Penillion" for Orchestra. Sir Charles Groves; Royal Philharmonic Orch. [15:44] ["Penillion" in Welsh means "stanzas", so this orchestral suite has built-in evocations of poetry. Indeed, in its sonorous colors and listener-friendly themes, it almost evokes Dylan Thomas reading his verses. Ms. Williams was the first female Welsh composer to win international acclaim and this superbly crafted suite shows why. Also try some of her chamber music (I believe we have two string quartets listed). Very enjoyable music from a composer with a distinctive voice.]

YANNAY, Yehuda (1937 - ):

CHAMBER ENSEMBLES & SOLO VIRTUOSI

AMERICAN ART QUARTET:

Kirchner: String Quartet No. 1. [See comments under "Composers"]

FRIEDMANN, Ignatz (piano):

Beethoven: Sonata No. 9, A Major, Op. 47. "Kreutzer". w/ Bronislaw Hubermann, piano. [31:56] Recorded c. 1928. [They don’t play ‘em like this anymore, folks. If any pianist tried, he’d be laughed off the stage. Friedmann was one of the last Romantic dinosaurs. No phrase of the Grieg is left unmanipulated; agogic distortions reign (or "expressive mannerisms", if you prefer). Climaxes are attacked as though by an axe-murderer, lyric passages are kneaded lasciviously, distended pauses are followed by reckless accelerandos; dynamic extremes are the norm. Let the music speak for itself? What nonsense! Grieg’s relying on me to make it sound better! The egotism is swollen, monstrous, as old-fashioned as a stove-pipe hat! In short, this interpretation is a cock-eyed marvel! You listen with alternating peals of laughter and jaw-dropping silence at Friedmann’s awesome prowess and heroic technique (not to mention the tangle-fingered scramble and volleys of wrong-notes he shoots out during the fast passagework! Who the hell cares? This is TITANIC pianism by an artist who knew how to make his audience scream at the end. The early electrical sound is amazingly clear and extended in its dynamic range. The small, scrappy, obviously French orchestra (those HORNS!), under its long-forgotten conductor, manage to keep up and even contribute some rotten-ripe mannerisms to match the soloist. And their ensemble AND solo work come through with startling immediacy (not always such a good thing; their intonation problems also come through loud and clear). I guarantee you’ve never heard a Grieg concerto reading remotely like this. You’ll either find it a revelation or a freak-show abomination, depending on your tolerance for extreme Romantic style. But I promise: not one bar is routine or perfunctory. Distortions or not, these people play as though the Grieg Concerto were a matter of life and death! The Kreutzer isn’t quite so over-the-top, but Hubermann was to violin playing what Friedmann was to the keyboard. Both artists hack and slash and fondle the music with such gigantic gusto that you can’t help but be astonished and moved by their virtuosity. It’s an interpretation that’s dashing to the point of arrogance, and if contemporary purists gnash their teeth at this kind of musical brinksmanship, listeners with more open minds will find it almost unbearably exciting, even the most swooning portamentos. Whenever anyone asks me for an example of what High Romantic playing was like, compared to the more objective play-as-written diffidence of today, I play a movement from one of these recordings and follow it by any contemporary recording the pilgrims cares to hear. To a man, they’re flabbergasted.]

Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor. w/ Unidentified orchestra conducted by Phillipe Gaubert, recorded c. 1926, most probably in Paris.[See comments above.]

GAUDEAMUS STRING QUARTET:

Ton de Kruyf: Partita for String Quartet.

GILELS (piano):

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19. w/ Sanderling; Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

HASKILL, Clara (piano):

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3. w/ Henry Swoboda; Winterthur Symphony Orchestra. [Poised, elegant.]

KIPNIS, Igor (harpsichord):

Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Op. 3 / No. 1. w/ Stokowski; Symphony of the Air

KOGAN, Leonid (violin):

MELOS ENSEMBLE:

Shostakovich: Quintet, Op. 57

OBERIN, Lev (piano):

Glinka: Trio Pathetique. w/ Oistrakh and Knushevitzky, cello. [15:36]

Taneyev: Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 22. w/ Oistrakh & Knushevitzky. [38:00]

OGDON, John (piano):

Ogdon: Piano Concerto No. 1. w/ Lawrence Foster; Royal Philharmonic. [26:40]

Scott: Piano Concerto No. 1, in C. w/ Bernard Herrmann; London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2. " " " " [20:12]

OISTRAKH:

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D. w/ Kondrashin; USSR State Symphony Orchestra.

[ Also see "Glinka" and "Taneyev" directly above!]

RICHTER, Sviatsoslav (piano):

Scriabin:

" : Etude, C-sharp minor, Op. 2/ No. 1

" : Etude, E major, Op. 8/ No. 5 and Etude in B-flat minor, Op. 8/ No. 11

" : Etudes in F-sharp major (2), in F-sharp minor, in C-sharp minor, & D-flat major, Op. 42, No’s 2 – 6.

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 22. w/ Sir Hamilton Harty; London Symphony Orchestra. Recorded on April 9, 1925, in Columbia Studios, London.

Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 33. w/ Sir Hamilton Harty; Halle Orchestra. Recorded 25 March, 1926, in the Trade Hall of Manchester.

LONDON, Edwin:

Bjorne Enstable’s Christmas Music. [See comments under "Composer"]

NEWELL, Robert:

"Ryo-nen". London; The Ineluctable Modality. [5:40]

PECK, Russell:

Quotations from the Electric Chairman. Edwin London; The Ineluctable Modality.

PERENYI, Miklos (cello):

Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto. " " " " "

Martin: Ballade for Cello & Small Orchestra. " " " " [See comments under composers’ names. Mr. Perenyi plays all three works with secure authority and rich expressiveness; considering the huge stylistic range, that’s no small feat!]

POWELL, Morgan:

The Zalinsky Medley. London; The Ineluctable Modality. [5:32]

ROREM, Ned:

"The Last Poems of Wallace Stevens". Rosalind Rees, soprano; Sharon Robinson, cello; Jerome Lewenthal, piano. [24:08] [Yet another confirmation of Rorem’s stature as a great composer of art songs.]

WEINBERG, Henry:

Vox in Rome. London; The Ineluctable Modality. [5:03]

YANNAY, Yehuda:

Dawn and Departure. London; The Ineluctable Modality. [6:01]

ZAIMONT, Judith: