#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalTimeMachine Week 2

 Last month the Classics a Day team chose vintage recordings as the theme. Specifically, recordings made before the LP era. This month, the focus moves forward in time a little, to the early LP era. This runs from 1948 to about 1958, with the advent of stereo recording.

In that era (as with other eras of recording) composers conducted their own works, legendary performances were preserved, and occasionally history was made. 

Here are my posts for the second week of #ClassicalTimeMachine (early LPs).

11/09/20 Jussi Bjorling - Nessun Dorma (1952)

"The Voice of Firestone" was a classical music program running from 1928 (on radio) and from 1949-1963 on TV. This recording comes from Bjorling's performance on the program.

11/10/20 Sibelius - Violin Concerto (1951)

A young Isaac Stern recorded this with Thomas Beechem and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abby Road Studios.

11/11/20 Chopin - Polonaise in A, Op. 40 No. 1 (1951)

Artur Rubinstein made this recording for RCA. who he started with in 1928. When he died, Rubinstein had recorded over 100 hours of music for the label.

11/12/20 Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker Suite (RCA, 1950)

Leopold Stokowski made over 100 recordings with "Leopold Stokowski's Symphony Orchestra." The LSSO had an ever-rotating roster of NYC musicians (including the NY Phil and NBC orchestra).

11/13/20 Schoenberg - Verkaerte Nacht (Capitol Records, 1950)

The Hollywood Quartet was founded by Leonard Slatkin's parents, Felix Slatkin and Eleanor Aller. Its members were top movie studio musicians, and the ensemble made a series of outstanding and important recordings.

Jan Ladislav Dussek Sonatinas present challenges

The liner notes for this release carefully points out that Dussek "wrote extensively for the Middle Class." In this case, 12 Progressive Lessons and Six Sonatinas, Op. 20 -- both written for amateur musicians.

And while they're not masterworks, they're certainly well-crafted. And I found myself enjoying them in different ways. 

The 12 Progressive Studies are more than just a series of lessons. They also introduce "several characteristics airs of different nations." Listening to the studies as a group, the music seemed to have a narrative arc as it moved from simple to complex.

The Six Sonatinas are simply a collection of stand-alone works. And while they may be simple in structure, some of the passages sounded quite challenging.

Ursula Dütschler plays with a sure touch. The last of the progressive lessons move from amateur to professional level, and Dütschler rises to the challenge.

I wasn't especially enamored with the sound of the fortepiano, though. It's a reproduction of an 1800 Schanz, and the action seems a little sluggish. Dütschler seems to take that in stride, too. Still, I'd like to hear her performing on a more responsive instrument.

On the whole, a solid addition to Brilliant Classic's Dussek series.

Jan Ladislav Dussek: Complete Piano Sonatas Volume 8: Sonatinas 
Ursula Dütschler, fortepiano
 Brilliant Classics 95982

Moszkowski series continues with sweet orchestral suites

This installment of Moritz Moszkowski's orchestral music features two of his three orchestral suites. Ian Hobson and the Sinfonia Varsovia deliver sympathetic performances. 

The strings especially seem to exude the Romantic gooeyness of Moskowski's style. The ensemble is well-recorded. The sound has a little bit of soft focus, but all the music details can be plainly heard.

The Second Suite for Orchestra, though late Romantic in style, looks back to the Baroque. The first two movements, Preludio and Fuga especially seem to be reinterpretations of the baroque forms. Mozskowski orchestrates his lyrical melodies well; listen especially for the solo violin and harp duet. 

Moszkowski remains solidly in the Romantic Era with his Third Suite of ORchestra. The work was completed in 1908 and is full of lush, Romantic harmonies. At times, I thought I heard elements of Polish folk music. If Bach provided some of the inspiration for the second suite, Schubert seems to have done so for the third. The music has a fluidity that just pours from one theme into another. 

These are exceptionally beautiful works. As with the first volume, the quality of the music here more than justifies this project. These are works that (in an ideal world) could easily find a wider audience. 

The first volume in this series featured but one work by Mortiz Moskowski: the massive Joan of Arc. This volume has two of his orchestral suites. I wonder if the third volume will have three works on it. 

Moritz Moszkowski: Orchestral Music, Volume 2
Suite No 2, Op. 47; Suite No. 3, Op. 79
Sinfonia Varsovia; Ian Hobson, conductor
Toccata Classics TOCC 0557

Aleck Karis brings fresh insights to Debussy

There are plenty of Debussy recordings made by artists past and present -- so what makes this release different? Two things, I think; Aleck Karis' musicality and Bridge Records' skill at piano recordings. 

Right from the opening Etude, I was impressed. Pour Les "Cinq Doigts": D'après Monsieur Czerny starts off with a simple scale but soon veers off in another direction. 

Karis' performance made it all sound spontaneous. As if he was the one wandering off from boring scales into much more interesting cascading harmonies.

The other etudes also benefit from Karis' interpretations. My impression is that he not only gave thought as to what the character of each etude should be but how it should be in context with the etudes before and after it. 

As I listened, each book of the Etudes seemed to have its own emotional arc -- albeit a picaresque one. I also enjoyed the Children's Corner. Karis plays these pieces in an innocent, light-hearted way that reminded me strongly of childlike innocence. 

The piano is a difficult instrument to record, but Bridge Records knows how to do it. The instrument in this recording sounded natural, with the registers properly balanced. Karis uses the pedal sparingly here, and the accuracy of the recording lets me appreciate that subtle distinction.

Beautifully performed, and beautifully recorded. That's what makes this release stand out in a crowded field.  

Karis Plays Debussy
Claude Debussy:  Etudes, Books I and II; Children's Corner
Aleck Karis, piano
Bridge Records

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalTimeMachine Early LPs, Week 1

 Last month the Classics a Day team chose vintage recordings as the theme. Specifically, recordings made before the LP era. This month, the focus moves forward in time a little, to the early LP era. This runs from 1948 to about 1958, with the advent of stereo recording.

In that era (as with other eras of recording) composers conducted their own works, legendary performances were preserved, and occasionally history was made. 

Here are my posts for the first week of #ClassicalTimeMachine (early LPs).

11/02/20 Edgard Varèse - Complete Works Of Edgard Varèse, Volume 1 (EMS LP, 1951)

Varèse supervised these premiere recordings of his works. A year after its release, a 12-year-old Frank Zappa would discover it and become a fan.

11/03/20 Andrés Segovia - Astrudias (Decca Gold Label 1952)

Some consider Segovia's 1950s recordings to be his best -- the artist at the peak of his abilities combined with recording technology sufficient to capture it.

11/04/20 Bela Bartok - Concerto for Orechstra (Columbia Masterworks 1946)

Shortly after Bartok revised the score, Fritz Reiner and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recorded it on 78 rpm records. It was later released as a 12" mono LP by Columbia.

11/05/20 Fiesta in Hi-Fi (Mercury Living Presence 1958)

Howard Hanson and the Eastman Rochester Orchestra were a mainstay of American music. This release includes works by Quincy Porter, Wallingford Riegger, Lyndol Mitchell, and others.

11/06/20 Chausson - Symphony in B-flat major (Mercury Mono 1956)

Composer and organist Paul Paray conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952-63. He specialized in French repertoire and made legendary recordings of it with the DSO for Mercury.