Classical Guy

Eugene Ormandy conducts Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagñol

Thomas Fasano — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:09:15 +0000

Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov “Capriccio espagñol.” This is from a 1953 Columbia disc I found at a thrift store for $1, in near mint condition, a real beauty.

Aram Khachaturian conducts his Gayane & Masquerade Suites

Thomas Fasano — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:40:46 +0000

Angel Records LP: Khatchaturian Conducst "Gayane" and "Masquerade" Suites

This Angel Records LP is a genuine rarity: Aram Khachaturian conducting his own work with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Khachaturian’s fame rests primarily with his two Romantic ballets, Gayane and Spartacus. To me his music always sounds a bit like Rimsky-Korsakov with an Armenian folk flavor thrown in — always cheerful, even in the tragic moments — a quality which makes his ballets picturesque rather than moving.

The first of his balletic masterpieces, Gayane, contains the famous “Sabre Dance,” one of the great orchestral warhorses, even more famous than “Gayane’s Adagio,” used by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The composer extracted three orchestral suites from the full score, but this LP contains selections from the ballet itself. Khachaturian’s scores for the suites exist in different versions, and it’s almost impossible to pin down the exact structure of the suites.

Khachaturian – Gayane Suite
1. Dance of the Young Maidens
2. Ayesha’s Awakening and Dance
3. Lullaby
4. Gayane’s Adagio
5. Lezghinka
6. Lyrical Duet
7. Dance of the Old Men and Women
8. Sabre Dance

Included on the LP is Masquerade (suite from the incidental music). Khachaturian followed in the footsteps of Alexander Glazunov in writing incidental music for the drama Masquerade by the obscure Russian playwright and poet Mikhail Lermontov. I’ve always loved Khachaturian’s orchestration of this piece, big and splashy, not a hint of darkness.

Khachaturian – Masquerade Suite
1. Waltz
2. Nocturne
3. Mazurka

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Ivry Gitlis plays Mendelssohn and Bruch

Thomas Fasano — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:55:11 +0000

VOX LP: Mendelssohn and Bruch Violin Concertos

Ivry Gitlis is one of the great Israeli violinists. His career as a virtuoso and teacher has spanned over eighty years and he is still going strong. He will celebrate his 90th birthday this August. Renowned for his tours, he has played with his “Sancy” Stradivarius of 1713 with the best orchestras of the world under the direction of such famous conductors as Szell, Ormandy, Mehta, Kertesz, and Dorati. He has also been a great musical and cultural ambassador, serving as a musical ambassador to the Soviet Union for Israel, and in 1990 as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

This VOX LP features Gitlis playiing with the Pro Musica Symphony, Vienna, under the direction of Hans Swarowsky, who studied conducting under Richard Strauss. Gitlis’ playing of the opening bars of Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E Minor establishes immediately an impassioned romantic mood. His performance of these immortal phrases is deft and masterful. Gitlis finds the delightfully dreamy mood of the second movement, and the third demonstrates his renowned talents to the utmost. This disc was my first exposure to Gitlis, whose sound is natural and strikes a perfect balance with the orchestra.

Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto in E-
1. Allegro molto apposionato
2. Andante
3. Allegretto non troppo: Allegro molto vivace

In the first movement of the Bruch concerto, there is something songful about Gitlis’ playing of the second subject following upon the intense double-stops of the first theme. The Adagio is a nostalgic aria, a real heart-on-sleeve performance; the final Allegro, a joyful Hungarian dance. Despite some fairly gloomy passages in this work, Gitlis ultimately finds the real joy at its core.

Bruch – Violin Concerto No.1 in G-, Op.26
1. Prelude: Allegro moderato.mp3
2. Adagio
3. Finale: Allegro energico

Southwest German Chamber Orchestra plays The Four Seasons

Thomas Fasano — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:37:35 +0000

Nonesuch LP: The Four Seasons

These four concertos for violin and orchestra are the first of a set of twelve published in Amsterdam in 1725 titled Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione, or The Trial of Harmony and Invention. Each concerto takes its structure from a sonnet, possibly written by Vivaldi, printed in the principal violin’s partbook, each on the theme of the respective season. The concertos remained popular long after Vivaldi’s death, particularly in France (where “Spring” was a favorite of the French court). Yet despite not being republished until 1950, Le quattro stagioni is now the most recorded piece of classical music — a legacy of its popularity on classical music radio stations from the 1950s to the 70s.

With their descriptive tonal painting of the seasons, these composition were considered daring and highly inventive — still are even today. After listening to many different recordings, both on period and modern instruments, one can’t help but be impressed with the vivid effects Vivaldi packs into his score. On this Nonesuch recording featuring violinist Reinhold Barchet, Southwest German Chamber Orchestra delivers a fairly standard interpretation under the baton of Paul Hindemith’s former student Friedrich Tilegant.

Concerto No. 1, “Spring” — The sonnet accompanying this concerto tells us that in the Largo “the goatherd sleeps with his trusty dog beside him”; the languorous musical setting is interrupted by the “barking” of a dog on the solo viola.

1. Allegro
2. Largo
3. Allegro

Concerto No. 2, “Summer” — After the scorching sun beats down on the farm laborers, a storm looms in the distance, breaking in the third movement into a thunderous hailstorm matched by a “hail” of rapid passagework in the orchestra and solo.

1. Allegro non molto
2. Adagio
3. Presto

Concerto No. 3, “Autumn” — “Autumn” opens with a peasant dance celebrating the harvest and concludes with a hunt — complete with horns, guns, and dogs — that eventually brings down a wild stag.

1. Allegro
2. Adagio molto
3. Allegro

Concerto No. 4, “Winter” —“Winter” depicts first the shivering of peasants and the chattering of teeth, then relaxing moments by the fire, and finally the abundant joy of sliding on the ice and the sound of the whistling winter winds.

1. Allegro non molto
2. Largo
3. Allegro

Philharmonia Hungarica performs Two Mozart Symphonies

Thomas Fasano — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:15:47 +0000

Turnabout LP: Mozart Symphonies Nos. 38 and 39

On this LP from Turnabout (a subsidiary label of Vox Records) Peter Maag conducts the Philharmonia Hungarica (a defunct symphony orchestra that was based in Germany) in two symphonies by Mozart: No. 38 in D, K.504 (“Prague”), and No. 39 in E^b, K.543. Oddly, this recording is not mentioned in the Discography section of the Peter Maag website. Maag is a somewhat elusive figure in the world of conductors, not much to be discovered about him online. What I do know about him is that Wilhelm Furtwängler encouraged him to try conduting after Maag’s performance at the piano of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Also of interest about Maag is that his early Decca LPs with the London Symphony Orchestra are now collector’s items. In 1962, Maag left his musical career behind, believing he was losing touch with both music and his spirituality, and sought guidance from the Greek Orthodox Church. Before returning to music, he spent two years in a Buddhist monastery near Hong Kong.

K. 504 takes its rise from the opening Allegro’s introduction, a monitory Adagio with the character of a herald to some mysterious ceremony. The spirit coloring the work derives from Figaro. The Andante is a bel canto aria of joy and tragedy. The closing Presto echoes the motifs of the opera. At the time of the symphony’s composition, the city of Prague thrummed with enthusiasm for the work that would become known as the “Prague” Symphony. Mozart’s happy relationship with the citizens of Prague wrote a joyful chapter in the sad story of his last few years. It was a time when Vienna was growing indifferent to both the man and his music, but Prague couldn’t get enough of either.

Mozart – Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504 “Prague”
1. Adagio: Allegro
2. Andante
3. Finale Presto

Symphony No. 39 is the least well known and seldom performed of Mozart’s final six symphonies. Despite its truly inspired themes and workmanship, we can only speculate about the reasons for its neglect. Perhaps its lack of a nickname to characterize it in the minds of concertgoers has been a hindrance. Perhaps the lean instrumentation doesn’t hold its own played on modern instruments. perhaps the flat key has a more muted sound in modern music halls. Be that as it may, it’s a warm and elegant piece of music-making. The opening Allegro is prefaced by a powerful slow Adagio introduction. The following Andante has a well developed stormy secondary theme, while the succeeding Minuet has an rustic gait suitable for dancing. The final Allegro is a dazzling display of contrapuntal magic.

Mozart – Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 534
1. Adagio: Allegro
2. Adante con moto
3. Menuetto: Allegretto
4. Finale: Allegro