Kansas City Symphony records Saint-Saëns

In addition to being uniformly excellent, the Kansas City Symphony can also be called “gutsy”. New releases from former recording giants New York, Berlin, London, Philadelphia and Chicago are often newsworthy events due to their relative rarity. Yet here is our local band releasing its 6^th professional recording with a 7^th in the future. How things have changed.

The Kansas City Symphony is also gutsy in its choice of works to record. Often, regional orchestras record works that perhaps they have premiered, have a local connection or are not exactly standard repertoire. The Kansas City recordings have featured works by Britten, Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Prokofiev and Bartok, to name a few, that are standard repertoire or have “definitive” recordings. This disc from Reference Recordings is a blend of the familiar and rare: an all Saint-Saëns disc featuring the less known “La Muse et le Poete”, op 132 for Violin, Cello and Orchestra combined with the popular and very frequently recorded Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for Violin and Orchestra op. 28 and the Symphony # 3 “Organ” op 78. Concertmaster Noah Geller handles the violin solos, Principal Mark Gibbs cello on “La Muse” with with local organist and Organ Conservator Jan Kraybill in the Symphony. Music Director Michael Stern was on the podium.

The Organ Symphony may be the top billing on the cover, but the warmest, most vivid sonics and top rank, stellar performances belong to the other two works.

The rare gem on the disc is "La Muse et le Poète", for solo violin, solo cello and orchestra. A late work from 1910, “La Muse...” reflects the influence of Debussy, Ravel and their contemporaries with its denser harmonies, lush orchestration and rhapsodic form. Despite the programmatic title, the work is more of a spirited conversation than a dramatic encounter, though the violin seems to be the “Muse” inspiring the more reflective cello “Poète”. Both soloists are treated to many virtuoso passages, which Geller and Gibbs negotiated with poise and flair. The violin and cello are closely miked, with every nuance of phrase and tone exposed, but they are also well integrated into the orchestral fabric. Since Gibbs and Geller work together frequently as section Principals, they instinctively converse and play off each other, essential (but not always heard in performances I sampled) in keeping the work focused. This charming and passionate performance stands up nicely to the competition, notably a Joshua Bell/Steven Isserlis recording and an all French affair on Erato coupled with the Third Violin Concerto and First Cello concerto.

The “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” is a much earlier (1863) and more popular work, written in a Spanish influenced style for the virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. There is plenty of competition for this always entertaining chestnut, but on first hearing this performance stands well with the rest. Geller's tone was always precise and clear. The dramatic introduction was pleading and romantic, a perfect foil for the more animated rondo to follow. His rubato in the familiar rondo theme was just right, the many double stops perfectly executed (and clearly captured), and one has to hear the violin's spine-tingling downward run from the cold, clear stratosphere to the sensuously warm and expressive rondo theme. Stern and the orchestra are not to be forgotten, albeit Saint-Saëns' writing favors the soloists, always providing sympathetic and enthusiastic orchestra accompaniment.

The well known Symphony # 3 “Organ” completes the disc's program. The orchestra chose this work to inaugurate The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts' 102 rank Casavant organ in June 2012, with Paul Jacobs on the organ, and this performance was quite similar. The Kauffman Center's Casavant is well tuned for symphonic performances, thus it was integrated into the whole orchestral fabric, not drowning out everything within hearing distance. Stern lead a stately performance, with a quite slow second movement that might not find favor with all but certainly accentuated the lushness of the movement. The organ's grand entrance in the final movement was powerful but not earth shattering; again it was more integrated to the texture. Rarely in a recording have the duo pianists' contributions been so perfectly embedded in the sonic texture, yet clear and bell like. Another “must listen” spot. Stern kept the symphony's final moments under control as well, not letting the tympani muddy everything with a frenzy of uncoordinated sound and fury. A cool-ish performance that never really took off and frankly would have benefited from a more white hot approach. Far from a poor performance, it just pales in comparison to a lot of the competition, mostly the never duplicated Munch/Boston Symphony on RCA.

Of course the renowned sonics of Reference Recordings, created by Recording Engineer Keith O. Johnson and produced by David Frost are of demonstration quality and surely the organ in the Symphony can cause some leases to be broken or at least a few knocks on the ceiling when the volume is unleashed. (thankfully none here yet at least). Best not to think of this recording as a “sonic extravaganza” (anyone remember the LP of the Virgil Fox/Ormandy/Philadelphia “Organ Symphony” recording with a cover like an 1890's circus poster?) but an example of how state-of-the-art recording technology can realistically capture the sound, texture and deft coordination of expansive orchestral forces combined with solo instruments of vastly varying sound quality and volume.

What I am Listening to Today

Havergal Brian (1876-1972) is one of those composers more notorious and talked about than actually heard.  Every so often, he is "rediscovered" and a new batch of recordings and performances pop up here and there. Then his star fades again for a while... waiting for a new champion.

I have managed to be a fan of this fascinating and quirky composer since my college days. A former University of Illinois music student Paul Rapoport (who went on to be a popular record reviewer with Fanfare Magazine and a noted professor of music in his native Canada) had left behind research and scores in the Music Library which I managed to find while ignoring my more immediate studies. Curious I located some pirate recordings of live performances and at the time the only commercial recording of his music, the 10th and 21st Symphonies.

Devotees of the "Guinness Book of World Records" know Brian as the composer of the longest Symphony, his massive Symphony # 1 "Gothic" written in the 1920's. Instead of quietly retiring, Brian spent his 80s and 90's composing, 32 symphonies in all, 20 of them written after his 80th birthday.

The disc capturing my attention is part of a series of Brian works on Dutton Epoch with Martyn Brabbins and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. With a Proms concert of the Gothic under his belt, Brabbins is the latest Brian champion. A second disc with the Violin Concerto, Symphony # 13, Third English Suite and the "Tinker's Wedding" Overture is also available.

The 10th Symphony in one movement from 1954 has the frequent dotted rhythms (making the music a bit "Clunky" to some), large orchestra and percussion effects characteristic of many of his symphonies. The sound and performance are miles ahead of the 1972 recording which used a school orchestra, albeit a fine one. Brabbins' performance also seems a bit livelier and concentrated than the 1972 Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra performance under James Loughran, likely due to the more accomplished orchestra.

Receiving its recorded premiere, the Symphony # 30 is a product of  Brian's incredible later years. In 1967, 91 year old Brian had written his 27th, 28th and 29th Symphonies and then completed the 30th. Although it is almost the same length as the 10th, the 30th seems more compact. Chromatic, a bit wild, dramatic and "fantastic", the 30th is a prime example of his late works.  The final coda is worth the price of the disc itself, if nothing else, Brian new how to end a symphony in spectacular and often unexpected fashion; a new recording of the Symphony # 21 would be most welcome as it contains his most interesting and surprising ending.

The 1964 Concerto for Orchestra is a compact 15 minute orchestral tour-de-force in the vein of Bartok and Hindemith's examples of the genre. All the Brian characteristics, the colorful percussion and brass especially, are there in this first recording of this almost unknown work.

The English Suite # 3 dates from 1921 yet is every bit a product of the composer. Colorful, more pastoral than the later symphonies and more Strauss and Wagner influenced than the later works, this is another welcome first recording.

Admittedly, Brian's music, like anchovies and scotch, is an acquired taste. What does it say about me that I like all three?

Havergal Brian
Symphony # 10 in c 1954
English Suite # 3 1919-1921
Concerto for Orchestra 1964
Symphony # 30 1967

Martyn Brabbins
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Dutton Epoch CDLX 7267

What I am Listening to Today: Hollywood String Quartet

Chamber music does not get much better than this; one of the most remarkable recordings of some of the most incredible chamber works ever written.



The Hollywood String quartet, founded by Felix Slatkin (1st violin) and his wife Eleanor Aller (cello) (parents of conductor Leonard Slatkin) was active from 1939 to 1961, winning awards and achieving celebrity status akin to some of Hollywood's other denizens. Frank Sinatra was a fan and had them collaborate on his Close to You album.

But their forte was the classical quartet, especially Beethoven and Schubert. The Schubert String Quintet D.956 (1828) is an undisputed masterpiece and was one of Schubert's last works. The work, oddly scored with "extra" cello instead of viola, is bold, lyrical and almost symphonic in scope The Hollywoods' performance is sensitive yet powerful. Relish the perfection in ensemble, intonation, and attention to detail. The gutsy, folksy and animated opening of the bouncy scherzo is sheer perfection, not harsh as the other performance in my collection by the Cleveland Quartet. The long, sweet adagio receives a most sublime performance here, never cloying or sentimental.

I could go on, but this wonderful work and performance has to be heard to be appreciated.

On the surface, it seems strange to pair Schubert with the "modern" Arnold Schoenberg. But Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) is not one his acerbic 12 tone pieces, but a lush, almost hyper-romantic tone poem for string sextet. Again the Hollywood Quartet negotiates this tricky and thickly scored piece with such aplomb that I felt I truly heard it for the first time. Schoenberg himself was so taken by the performance that he wrote the liner notes for the recording's first appearance on Angel records in the 1950's.

Testament Records are easily available in the US but frightfully expensive. I got mine from the wonderful folks at MDT in Darby, UK for less than $14 with shipping. Archiv has it on sale for $17 and Amazon wants an outrageous $26. Shop around.. but hear this disc if you love chamber music at all.

Coupl'a Things XXXII

1) I have been listening to the wonderful, jazzy, neo-classical, Stravinskian Symphonies and Sinfoniettas of the French-Polish-American composer Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986). I and most others hear lots of influences of Roussel, the neo-classic Stravinsky (think Symphony in C and Symphony in Three Movements)and jazz (Milhaud is an influence too). Some find the works too derivative, and second rate, but I find them fun, colorful, energetic and far from just Stravinsky-Lite. But there is no denying the connection to Stravinsky yet Tansman's own voice shines through, more lyrical and less angularly dry than some of Stravinsky's oeuvre. Chandos has all the Symphonies and orchestral works in a fine set. Well worth exploring for the adventurous 20th century fans. Available from my mail order friends listed in the links section.

2) Just when I took a few minutes last evening to enjoy a warmish sunset, greeted our lawn care man supervising the first application of fertilizer and weed control and spent most of the day outside cleaning out some old junk in our junk pile, we awake to a winter storm watch with 6-8 inches of snow predicted for the weekend. Now these predictions have a way of being a bit inaccurate and the weather people around here tend to catastrophize but it looks as if we are going to get something starting this evening. So, while it is a balmy 50 before sunrise, we will watch the temps and precipitation drop. Now... where did I put the snow shovel??

3) Another harbinger of spring is the annual silliness of Daylight Savings time. I always forget if this is standard time or DST, but regardless, it annoys me. Although I do enjoy the fact that we get a few more hours of light in the evening. My usual 5AM wake up was shifted to past 6AM and even as late as 7 as I struggled to adjust. I do not have a clock in my bedroom (just one less thing to shove the # 13 in my face) so I rely on my usually good internal clock. Finally, today things seem to be back to normal, but only to be screwed up again when they futz with it in the fall.

4) Holy Amnesia, I like that term. Fascinating report showing the Bible is more violent and pro-genocide than the Quran:

HOLY AMNESIA

This will send Glenn Beck's and Pat Robertson's heads spinning!

What I am Listening to Today: Avner Dorman Concerti

I would surmise that the number of mandolin and piccolo concerti written in the last century or two can be counted on one hand. Both instruments have limits in sound quality, dynamics and range that present a challenge to a composer creating a concert work. The mandolin has all but disappeared from modern compositions but the piccolo of course hangs on in orchestras and especially marching bands.

Avner Dorman seemed to relish the challenge of making dramatic and coherent showpieces for these two diverse instruments and has produced a Mandolin Concerto (2006) and a Piccolo Concerto (2001). Both these fascinating pieces were recently recorded and released on the Naxos label along with "Concerto Grosso" for 2 violins, viola, cello and harpsichord from 2003 and an early Piano Concerto in A from 1995 when the composer was barely out of his teens.

Of all the works on the disc, I have turned most frequently to the colorful, almost exotic, baroque/jazzy Mandolin Concerto. Dorman lists baroque music, jazz and contemporary rock music as influences and all can be heard in this compact 17 minute concerto. There is a baroque linearity to the piece, forward motion and line are more important than harmony, even in slower movements. Dorman finds many ways to milk the unique sound and technique of this ancient instrument, tone clusters, sharp pizzicati, frequent use of the tremolo to sustain pitches over time, which the composer states leads to a central conflict over motion and stasis. (Note here, Dorman's notes to the disc are delightfully informative and shed some real insight on his creative mind.) Like a baroque composition, the piece is breezy, full of notes but mixed with the freer use of rhythm that comes from exposure to ethnic and pop music.

Frankly the piece is fun, never a dull moment here.

The Piccolo concerto is all about rock and jazz to my ear. Driving beats, forward motion, free flowing melodic figures, repetition, with a laid back "coolness" that is truly jazz inspired. This is not a swipe at the work, but it frequently took me back to the wonderful Claude Bolling Jazz Suites that were so popular in the 70's, especially the one for flute that made Jean-Pierre Rampal into a jazz sensation. One of Dorman's strengths is that he can take all these influences, cascades of notes and sounds and put them in recognizable musical forms. His recent showy Piano Concerto "Lost Souls" despite all the theatrics and conjuring of sounds and styles of past composers, had a recognizable sonata form first movement. The Piccolo concerto also wraps all the rock and jazz elements into a tight baroque concerto form. Thus instead of a muddle of sounds and styles, the concerti make complete musical sense.

The Concerto Grosso is a bit of a different animal; more weighty, a bit darker and less jazzy than the concerti. Modeled after Handel's series of Concerti Grossi, the work is still tuneful, highly approachable, frequently dramatic and a welcome addition to tradition of 20th and 21st century composers updating, as it were, older forms.

The recording ends with a breezy Bachian Piano Concerto from the composer's 20th year. Even then Dorman showed his prowess in combining baroque forms with contemporary influences, even, according to his notes, the Police and Stravinsky.

The disc Naxos 8.559620 is released January 26th, but I got to sneak a peek through the invaluable Naxos Music Library program. Worth its weight in gold, in my opinion.

As is this fine and entertaining disc.

Coupl'a Things XXIX

1) Rachel Maddow sets the record straight about the nut-case Republican "teabaggers".

Teabagging: Trouble Entendre!


Wouldn't it be hilarious to see Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh at a Tea Bag Party. Well...maybe not.

2) Last time I did a Puggingham Palace review of a Heartland Men's Chorus concert and didn't say that everything was fabulous-perfect, I got a slew of hate mail. So I am simply saying: I saw the HMC Christmas Concert "Fruitcake" this weekend. Leave it at that.

3) Christmas music is on full time at the Palace. HM enjoys the nice tunes and snores peacefully along. "White Christmas" accompanied by pug snores is a sound to behold, for sure.

One disc that is on frequently is:



Symphonic reworkings of familiar and some not so common carols. Cleverly and actually brilliantly arranged, well performed and several steps above the average symphonic carol arrangements that are more muzak than serious compositions. Naxos 8557099 and it is cheap too!

4) It seems the Episcopals have elected another gay bishop, this time a lesbian in Los Angeles. The conservatives are already screaming doom and the boob of an Archbishop of Canterbury is doing his usual hand wringing and sighing.

I love it.

Kansas City Symphony: Britten's Orchestra

OK I admit I was worried over nothing.

The Kansas City Symphony and Music Director Michael Stern have been involved in 3 recordings since Stern's arrival here in 2005. The first ones were for Naxos and compositions by the heretofore unknown (at least in the USA) Taiwanese composer Gordon Chin. The second was a recording of some lesser known Arthur Sullivan and Jan Sibelius music based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" done for Reference Recordings. Both garnered excellent reviews, but of course had little major competition.

But with the latest recording, Stern, the Orchestra and Reference Recordings plunged head first into the mainstream repertoire with some of the most popular and frequently recorded works by Benjamin Britten. The competition was formidable, including the composer's indispensable recordings, excellent readings by Britten specialist Steuart Bedford and on to Bernstein, Bolt and Handley to name a few. Frankly, I was concerned that maybe, just maybe, the orchestra was not ready for the cutthroat competition of prime time.

Shame on me.

With fabulous sonics (we used to call recordings like this "lease breakers") and impressive and quite competitive performances, this recording is a winner.

The usually excellent winds of the orchestra are captured in all their fleet glory. The strings are full and with fine intonation, the brass snarl and snap, the percussion rock the house (I think my speakers are shot from all the pounding, and this at a low volume!) and thus the ensemble comes together as a satisfying whole. Some of this is due to the incredible Reference Recording engineers who manage to tame the cavernous space of the Community of Christ Auditorium (aka the LDS Auditorium). But much is due to the excellent orchestra Stern has assembled and to his vision and leadership.

The "Variations on a Theme of Purcell" or more famous as "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" featured uniformly outstanding work from the various orchestral groups, the woodwinds of special note. This was not a light, kid friendly reading but a powerful and well formed performance of this marvelous work.

One of my favorite Britten pieces, Sinfonia da Requiem, receives a lyrical, somewhat cool performance that fits the music well. The opening movement's "Lacrymosa" explosive beginning is stunningly captured as are the steady, powerful base drum beats. The crystal clear sonics and Stern's attention to detail allow you to actually hear the subtle sforzandi in each phrase near the end of the movement immediately after the big drum climax.... spectacular! The slowly fading ending of the "Requiem Aeternam" benefits from the sharp, spotlit sonics. The "Dies Irae" movement may not be a pants wetting experience (a reference from my chorus days when a choral director told us we were singing the Day of Wrath, NOT the "Dies Meh" and that he hoped that we would make the audience pee their pants in fear), but is certainly powerful and dramatic.

The 4 Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes are top notch as well. From a misty, nautical tinged "Dawn", a bustling but somewhat unsettling "Sunday Morning", a dark and forbidding "Moonlight", concluding with a powerful "Storm" these "Interludes" give little away to the competition.

Stern, somewhat unusually, interpolates the "Passacaglia" from Peter Grimes between "Moonlight" and "Storm", which in my opinion works quite well.

In this case, I loved being proved wrong. This is an excellent recording and stands proudly along those mentioned above.

Reference Recordings RR120 released November 10th and available from most all the online and local retailers and direct from Reference Recordings.

What I am Listening to Today: Kansas City Symphony New Recording

The new recording of Britten Orchestral works is about to be released NOVEMBER 10th watch for it.

Reference Recordings RR120



I got an advance copy and upon first hearing it is quite impressive, especially the demo quality sound. Even on my crappy system, it sounds marvelous.

I'll post a more complete review closer to release time. Meanwhile check out your favorite retailer or Reference Recordings and get your copy reserved!

What I am Listening to Today: Part I

Music from 2 divergent threads, one from an artist long passed from the scene and one from the live, local and current world.

On the CD player now is a wonderful recording, one of the few available, sadly, of Liszt and Alkan piano works by the renowned but sadly almost forgotten American pianist Raymond Lewenthal. Lewenthal, born in Texas of Russian parents, burst on the scene in the late 40s, winning major competitions and having the enviable honor of making his orchestral debut as a soloist with Mitropoulos conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in the Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto. Lewenthal was on to the road to a remarkable career when he was brutally attacked in New York's Central Park in 1953. The attack left his arms broken and he retreated to Europe to recover phyiscally and mentally.

Lewenthal returned to prominence in 1963 when in a radio broadcast he played and discussed the remarkable works of Charles Valentin Alkan (1813-1889) a great, but reclusive French pianist, composer and teacher. Lewenthal devoted the rest of his career and few recordings to Alkan, Liszt and some of the lesser known Romantic composers such as Moscheles, Scharwenka, Rubinstein, Field and Dussek. Lewenthal died in New York in 1988 while working on a definitive biography and study of his hero Alkan.

The recording I am listening to, Elan 82276 (available from CD Universe, HB Direct, Amazon or Archiv Records to name a few) is a re-release of the acclaimed 1965-1966 RCA recording, which some say in its rare CD iteration is superior in sound to this one, but try to get a copy for under $45.

The cost of this or the RCA CD is worth the price for the stunning Alkan Symphonie For Piano, movements from his !2 Etudes for the Minor Keys OP 39. Far from an academic etude, this is truly a well proportioned and argued symphonic statement. Lewenthal is breathtaking in the stark staccato passage near the end of the 1st movement of the Symphonie, taking them to a shattering climax. The other Alkan selections "Le Festin D'Esope" (from the op 39 Etudes) Barcarolle and "Quasi-Faust" from the Grande Sonata" are stunning in their virtuosity and musical thought. The Liszt piece "Hexameron" (I am not a big fan of Liszt's hyper-romantic music) is technically brilliant and always musical.

I was introduced to these performances from the wonderful Lance G. Hill who is not only the force behind the Classical Music Guide but hosts a weekly radio program featuring an artist of the week on Saturday evenings. You can listen in on WPEL radio Saturday at 7PM EST 6PM CST.



Worth seeking out!

Tomorrow, from the other side of the spectrum, The River Cow Orchestra.

Wrestling With Bernstein's Mass

It was the musical commission of a generation. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis gave Leonard Bernstein quite a plum; compose a work for the highly anticipated opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The whole world would be watching, the audience glittering, an event tailor made for the showman in Lenny. Bernstein wrote: “I’ve always wanted to compose a service of one sort or another, and I toyed with ecumenical services that would combine elements from various religions and sects, of ancient or tribal beliefs, but it never all came together in my mind until Jacqueline Onassis asked me to write a piece dedicated to her late husband…The Mass is also an extremely dramatic event in itself—it even suggests a theater work."

"Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers" premiered in September 1971. Vietnam still raged, everything in society was questioned... everyone was cool, hip, flower power reigned. This "cool", "hip" and irreverent Mass was panned, lauded, dismissed, raved about, misunderstood and dismissed.. sometimes by the same critics. Embarrassingly 70's-ish, awkward, one moment highly classical, the next then trendy pop-ish, "Godspell" on steroids
(the two pieces had the same librettist), Mass seemed to be a one performance wonder. Jacqueline even stayed away.

A recording led by Bernstein soon came out on Columbia LPs. The day it appeared at the "Spin Shop", I snatched a copy...played the damn thing endlessly. My friend Rodger and I listened to it daily. Off to college, my friend and eventual roommate Steve also loved it. In fact, it was my hearing it coming from his room that led to us becoming long time friends. It was played endlessly then as well.

To this day, I know every note and word of this strange, zany, psychedelic recreation of the Roman Catholic Mass. That being in spite of not having heard it in years, the LPs being victims of a flooded basement years ago. I never got the CD version.

For a long time, it appeared that only the opening "A Simple Song", soon to be a staple of church performances and the "3 Meditations", taken from 3 instrumental interludes, would survive. A few performances cropped up now and then, but the Kent Nagano led German performance with Jerry Hadley as the Celebrant was the first recorded since 1971. Looking back, with nostalgia and a realization that little socially and politically had changed, Mass looked a little less geeky and silly.. and a bit more relevant and grown up.. as we had along with it. Critics seems to let up a bit and even say the piece might have some life left.

2009 has been an embarrassment of Mass riches, with two new recordings: Kristjan Jarvi led another German based performance for Chandos and now Marin Alsop leads a Baltimore performance on Naxos.

I have not heard the Nagano performance in total so I can not comment on it myself, but it was well received and compared favorably with the Bernstein. It was the first recording using Bernstein's revisions in the score and libretto. The Jarvi was quite good, but a bit on the fast side and I am not sure his cast really understood the piece.

However, the new Alsop/Jubilant Sykes performance is quite a revelation, and spot on for the most part. Sykes is more comfortable in the pop/gospel element, but pales a bit in comparison to Alan Titus' darker, more intense (and "classical") Celebrant in the Bernstein. Alsop's "Dona Nobis Pacem" section of the "Agnus Dei" is breathtaking in its intensity, but darn it, I missed Titus' more commanding, operatic breakdown, screaming "pacem!!" to the out of control cast and world as he breaks the chalice and spills the blood of Christ on the floor.

In a couple of classical music forums, I posted that I dismissed Mass as a dated, embarrassing mess.. part of me wants to simply hate the piece. But 40 years on(!!!) I am still wrestling with the damn thing. Yes some parts are corny (kazoo band still intact, some awfully silly lyrics, every musical style imaginable, sometimes within the same measure) and it still reeks of a bell bottomed, flower child, "peace, man", "dig this" society... but I think, maybe, if we give it a chance and overlook it weak points, it still will speak to us. Instead of being dated, it can show us we have not made a lot of progress socially in 40 years, only the names and clothing styles have changed.

Bernstein wanted this to be his magnum opus; he yearned to be remembered for Mass rather than West Side Story. That likely will not come to pass, but neither will this wacky, overblown...thing.. disappear. It has come back with a challenge to listen and reassess and to remind a fragile nation that "we've got quarrels and qualms and such questions, give us answers, not psalms and suggestions" is a cry heard on the streets today just as loud as it was in 1971.

What I am Listening to Today

For the 4th of July, of course some American music:

Charles Ives: "Three Places in New England"
Carl Ruggles: "Sun Treader"
Walter Piston Symphony # 2
Michael Tilson Thomas
Boston SO Deutsche Grammophone 463 633 2

Piston's Symphonies are frequently labeled "academic", and indeed they are finely crafted works. But they are far from dry, never out stay their welcome and are certainly worth hearing from time to time, as opposed to some of the even more drearily same music our orchestras play.

Ruggles was an individualist, a bit of an iconoclast and quite a personality. "Sun Treader" is given an intense, macho performance that I am sure Ruggles would have loved.

Ives' well known tone poem in 3 parts is one of his most deservedly popular works. This is another exciting, yet frequently subtle performance that never fails to bring out the colorful writing, perfectly capturing the quiet mist of the Housatonic River and the brassy exuberance of "Putnam's Camp".

One of the best, if not the best, compilations of American music ever recorded.

What I am Listening to Today

Total musical insanity. That is my description of one of Shostakovich's most unique and rarely played works, the Symphony # 4. Shostakovich started his Opus 43 in late 1935 and completed the work in mid 1936, preparing for a December 1936 premiere. But in January 1936, the communist party newspaper "Pravda" published a review of his recent opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" under the chilling title "Muddle (also translated Mess or Chaos) Instead of Music. Under the oppressive climate of Stalin's purges, this was more than a poor review, this was a kiss of death. Some think Stalin himself ordered the editorial to be printed. Despite this attack, Shostakovich completed the symphony and began rehearsing the premiere. During rehearsals he changed his mind and withdrew the work, claiming (much of his life he echoed the same sentiment) that the work needed revision. It was laid aside until its premiere in the Stalinist thaw of 1961.

Scored for a huge orchestra of nearly 100 instruments, this most Mahlerian of Shostakovich's symphonies is oddly proportioned (two long movements bracket a short Mahler/landler middle movement), bursting with themes presented and then discarded (the first movement is nothing but a fantasy on several themes and episodes) and quite long (over an hour long). This makes for few performances in concert but has not kept this fascinating work from receiving attention in the recording studio.

I have been listening to the new Mark Wigglesworth/Netherlands Radio SO recording on BIS (BIS 1553). A bit slow, and thus missing some of the raw insanity of the piece, but a crystal clear recording that exposes all the myriad of detail in this complex score. Slatkin and St Louis on RCA (get it while you can) and Jansons/Bavarian Radio SO on EMI may be a bit more insane and exciting, thus one should have two recordings from this batch; Jansons or Slatkin to listen to breathlessly and the Wigglesworth to mine the depths of this fascinating symphony.

What I am Listening to Today

A rainy, cool AM has me ensconced in my bedroom listening to some delightful music of which I have only recently become acquainted. The 2 Symphonies of Italian composer Giuseppe Martucci.

Born in 1856, Martucci had a formidable career as a pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. He toured extensively, championed Wagner and other German composers in Italy, and was the teacher of the much more famous Ottorino Respighi. Strangely, he was not, as were the vast majority of Italian composers of his generation, a composer of operas. He did produce some colorful and quite interesting orchestral works, including two large scale symphonies. Both are infused with the style of Schumann and Brahms, but also laced with the irrepressible Italian lyricism, making them less "heavy" and "turgid" than Brahms for sure.

Two excellent recordings exist. The earliest is the Kees Bakels Malaysian Philharmonic recording of the two symphonies on BIS 1255, the recording I am listening to now. Naxos has begun a series with the Rome Symphony under Francesco La Vecchia performing not only the symphonies but other orchestral works as well. I plan on sampling those later. Which ever you choose, delightful, interesting, lyrical and often powerful compositions await.

What I am Listening to Today

Erkki Melartin 1875-1937

His music is new to me, and quite good. I have just started to sample it, listening to the Symphony # 1 of 1902 and now the Symphony # 6 of 1924, which is quite a bit more harmonically advanced and darker.

A short blurb from the Ondine Records site sums up his career and style:

"Equally renowned as a composer and as a conductor, Melartin was responsible in the early decades of this century for introducing Finnish audiences to the music of Mahler, Strauss, and other moderns. His own music - crowned by the six symphonies - reveals his complete familiarity with the late Romantic style, while maintaining a richly individual voice."

I hear Mahler, especially the 5-7th symphonies, Sibelius too in his music, but as the quote above, combined with an individual voice.

After hearing the 1st once and only through part of the 6th, I do think this is a composer to explore.

Ondine ODE931-2 Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra Leonid Grin.

What I am Listening to Today

Mieczysław Karlowicz

Tone Poems: Stanislaw and Anna Oswiecimowie. Lithuanian Rhapsody, Episode at a Masquerade

Naxos 8.570452 Warsaw Philharmonic Antoni Wit

What a loss Karlowicz (12/11/1876-2/8/1909) was to Polish music and to 20th century music in general. Similar in style to Szymanowski, Richard Strauss, Scriabin, and other turn of the century Europeans, his music is colorful, youthful, exuberant, yet polished and actually quite mature.

Karlowicz wrote a small amount of music including a Symphony a Violin Concerto and several atmospheric tone poems including the ones recorded on this album. He also wrote a number of songs for voice and piano. Sadly some of his small output was lost during WWII.

My introduction to Karlowicz, I look forward to more.

What I am Listening to Today

Conlon Nancarrow, Studies for Player Piano Volume I and II

Wergo 6907 part of a 5 CD box. Nancarrow prepared player piano performing.

Imagine a possessed honky tonk piano, out of tune... spitting fire and smoke, inside glowing blood red hot, no mortal soul around to manipulate it.. playing a demonic boogie woogie at supersonic speed.

Get the image?

Fucking loony music... wild, inventive, colorful, awe inspiring, definitely unique. Lucky for us, Nancarrow composed these pieces on piano rolls and his original player pianos still exist, thus we can today experience the otherworldly muse of this unique man.

Nancarrow was born in Texarkana, Arkansas in 1912. In his youth, he was introduced to jazz and played trumpet in a jazz band. He went on to study music with some of the greats of the early 20th century, Sessions, Slonimsky and Piston. As many artists did in the 30s, he joined the Communist Party and eventually went to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Upon return, he found himself harassed due to his Communist affiliations and time in Spain so he left New York for Mexico, where he lived in virtual isolation for the rest of his life. His earliest pieces for player piano were jazz influenced, but later works evolved around complex ratios of simultaneous rhythms, resulting in even more dense and intricate pieces. Although he composed for other media, his player piano works have earned him an enduring legacy.

What I am Listening to Today

Albany Records has recently released an important recording, documenting the often uneven but always fascinating Symphonies of Roy Harris.

Harris has to me always been an "also ran" among American Composers. Never quite reaching the level of competency and popularity of Copland or even Diamond, Schuman, Rochberg or Persichetti. Yet, perhaps out of curiosity and frequently enjoying the restless energy of his works, I always welcome a new recording of his Symphonies.

The Albany, under the direction of Ian Hobson and his Polish group Sinfonia Varsovia, features works by Douglas Moore, (Symphony # 2), Cecil Effinger (Symphony # 1) Morton Gould (Cowboy Rhapsody) and the Roy Harris Symphony # 11.

Harris' 11th was a New York Philharmonic Centennial commission and was first performed in February 1968 by the NYP, conducted by the composer. Like so much of his work, it is intense, brassy, dense, rugged and craggy. Unlike his best work, the Symphony # 3 for example, it is also a bit repetitious, awfully strident, lacking in organic development and meanders for its 20 minute duration. The opening, featuring an amplified piano is striking, but the repetitious use of the figure soon wears upon the listener.

I have not listened to the other works yet, with the exception of the amusing Gould Rhapsody that opens the recording.

I was taken by surprise by this release and wonder if it is a harbinger of more Harris by this group. Marin Alsop and Bournemouth is slowly recording a Harris cycle for Naxos as well. Will be interesting to finally hear the Symphonies # 10, 12 and 13 which were critically panned and have likely not played again. And, it is about time for a new Symphony # 1 (Symphony 1933) recording!

Albany Troy 1042 Released September 2008. I think most of these are first recordings. HB has it as does CDUniverse

What I am Listening to Today

Another in the long line of obscure composers my long lost friend Jim would laugh about and shake his head:

Rued Langgaard:

Music of the Spheres

Music of the Spheres is actually one of Langgaard's more well known and recorded works. It is a symphonic work of great complexity, calling for a large orchestra, organ and choir, a supporting (distant) orchestra including a soprano voice. Movement titles are some of the most descriptive and unusual in all of orchestral music:

"Like sunbeams on a coffin decorated with sweet smelling flowers"

"Like the twinkling of a pearl of dew in the sun on a beautiful summer's morning"

"Soul of the world - Abyss - All Soul's day"

"I wish …! "

"The end: Antichrist - Christ"

Music of the Spheres lay in obscurity for nearly 50 years before being rediscovered in the late 60's. Two recordings are available, one with Gennadi Rozhdestvensky and the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir is on Chandos 9517 coupled with 4 Tone Pictures. A second recording is with the same forces conducted by John Frandsen coupled in a 2 disc set with a selection of the remarkable symphonies, including the wonderful # 6 "The Heaven Storming", featuring one of most marvelous extended dramatic endings in all symphonic literature.

Available from the usual places, CD Universe, Archiv, or HB Direct.

What I am Listening to Today

Two Violin Concerti by the Hungarian composer Ernst(Erno) von Dohnányi, one an early work from 1915 the other from his autumn years, 1949. Both tuneful, well written, compelling in their virtuosity and completely accessible. Violinist Michael Ludwig presents these wonderful works with sympathetic performances. JoAnn Falletta and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra provide a satisfying and elegant accompaniment, with a recording full of presence and excellent sound. These are wonderful, and fulfilling works that should be in the repertory. Cheap as hell on Naxos and available from the usual subjects: CD Universe (with the worst search feature of the three), HB Direct (better) and ArkivMusic (Best search feature by far).

What I am Listening to Today

The second new recording by the Kansas City Symphony is garnering some great reviews. I can not add much more to the positive review of the disc on ClassicsToday. Surprisingly great sound considering it was recorded in the cavernous Community Of Christ Auditorium (formerly the RLDS Auditorium) in Independence. I was worried about the sound being scattered and "boomy" from the large space, but the Reference Recording engineers know their stuff and turned out a well recorded disc.

The order of the two Sibelius suites was reversed, intelligently, to make a more satisfying whole from the short interludes and atmosphere pieces that comprise the incidental music to "The Tempest". The Sullivan is a fine example the composer's craft and one of his earliest works. He gained immortality, for those not familiar with the music, as the musical half of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Available at the usual suspects, ArchivMusic, HB Direct , or CD Universe.












Music for Shakespeare's "Tempest"
Sir Arthur Sullivan
Jean Sibelius
Michael Stern, Kansas City Symphony
Reference Recordings RR115