Great American Art: The Broadway Musical, by Bill Messenger (Teaching Company) ★★★

Bill Messenger did another Teaching Company series on the history of jazz, which I liked considerably. Though I was not terribly interested in the broadway musical (far preferring “classical” music), I thought this would be an interesting series to hear out. Messenger starts with the minstrel format, showing how it was a parody of a parody of whites imitating negroes imitating whites. This evolved eventually into ragtime, vaudeville and tin pan alley, now considered to define American music. Eventually, through the work of various greats as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, the full-blown American musical emerged. Messenger follows the broadway musical all the way up to the turn of the century, showing how the genre has changed over time. He offers many musical examples, often performing himself on the piano. This is a fun and informative series, even for a person not terribly interested in Broadway.

The 30 Greatest Orchestral Works, by Robert Greenberg (The Teaching Company Audio) ★★★★

Greeenberg reviews thirty of the greatest pieces in the orchestral repertoire from Bach to Shostakovich. Each piece includes a biographical review of the composer, the nature of the composition, the compositional style, and then what makes it great. It is a whirlwind tour that covers the most relevant pieces. The last lecture on the ones that got away leaves one feeling that probably far more than thirty pieces still could have been included. Greenberg ends with a statement about how we need to support modern composers by listening to their music, noting that the very odd compositional years of the 80′s are long gone, and that composers are again writing quite sensible pieces. Perhaps the best thing Greenberg  could do is to do a series on contemporary classical music, giving us an argument as to why we should listen to modern pieces,  showing us what’s out there, and showing us why those pieces make them worthy of our attention.

Keeping Score – Shostakovich Symphony #5 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony ★★★★

Besides Bach, Shostakovich is one of the truly great composers to ever have lived. His was a life like Bach’s that was filled with tormentors and critics that had no appreciation for the greatness of the person. This film is one of the “Keeping Score” series where the director of the San Francisco Symphony engages in an educational forum that briefly describes the life of Shostakovich, while doing a quick analysis of the 5th symphony. It is quite educational, and even if one doesn’t like Shostakovich, they would find this film to be  informative. The DVD actually consists of two parts, the first being an analysis of the piece, and the second  being a live performance in London of the 5th symphony. Together they help to give a person a starting understanding of person of Shostakovich and the style of his compositions. The film is definitely intended for musical beginners, though anybody will get value out of seeing Thomas’ interpretation one of the great symphonies of all time, Shostakovich’s fifth.

I’ve always wondered how a piano was built. I didn’t realize that Steinway concert grand pianos were entirely built by hand, and are probably one of the only concert pianos still made by hand. This movie walks one through the year long endeavor to build a piano. One starts in the lumber mill, where wood is specifically selected for the piano case and sounding board. Slow and meticulous processes eventually lead to the developed project. Many scenes are also shot of profession musicians in the NY Steinway piano store  trying out pianos. I guess that even with Steinway pianos, the action can vary enough that a concert musician may need to try 10-15 pianos before finding the instrument of his liking. There are a lot of extras with this movie, but the feature attraction was itself a fascinating journal behind the walls of the Steinway piano factory in New York, with interviews of many of the piano building craftsmen. Steinways have many hand carved features, constructed to precise millimeter tolerances. The tuning is all by hand, and not electronic like most other piano builders. The keys and their actions are all meticulously adjusted by hand to properly strike the strings with appropriate action on the key. One was left realizing that there may be a day where much of the art and skills of hand piano construction may be lost, and then we will be stuck with cheap Japanese imitations. Oh well!!!!

Concert Masterpieces, by Robert Greenberg ★★★★★

Greenberg does it again, producing a delightful review of eight concert pieces of value from the classical repertoire. In this set of 32 45-minute lectures, each four lectures covers a given piece of music. Included are the Mozart 25th Piano concerto, Beethoven 5th piano concerto, Dvorak 9th symphony, R. Strauss Death and Transfiguration, Beethoven Violin Concerto, Brahms violin concerto, Mendelssohn Mid-summer night’s dream, and Liszt Totentanz. Each set of four lectures covers in the first lecture a broad survey of the musical scene. The second lecture then focuses on the particular piece in its setting with other similar pieces of music, and then the last two lectures delve into the details of the piece of music itself. The entire lecture set remains very easy to listen to because of Greenberg’s humor mixed with a steady stream of fascinating information. He is never too technical, and spends much time filling in the listener  to the music theory and technical details of the piece. This set is a wonderful way to familiarize yourself to these eight pieces of music. It also helps build one’s ear for listening to any piece of classical music.

Both of these albums were taken from historical archives. Thus, their quality is ok to quite poor. The recordings could have been cleaned up a little better, but were not. Many of these marches and songs are quite difficult to obtain. Of note, the Horst Wessel Lied is not available in Germany. It is illegal to have the tune, or to play it. It was hard enough to procure here in the US. For my German friends…

Bitte zur Beachtung! Passen Sie auf! Dieses Lied ist nicht erlaubt auf Deutschland. Hör es nur mit Kopfhörer. Wenn der Staat wisst, das du dieses Lied gehören hast, kannst du bestraft sein. Du werdest in Gefängnis geworfen sein, und der Schlüssel weg geworfen. Hör auf eigene Gefahr!

01 Horst Wessel Lied (Nazi Party Anthem – choral) 1

First, a clarification. I wish to compare this song with the French and American National anthems.

French National Anthem

Finally, the US National Anthem (I hope you know it already!)

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Notice that the anthems all tend toward violence, and the Nazi anthem is no worse than the French or American. The only redeeming value of the American anthem is the last stanza, which is unfortunately rarely ever sung. Francis Scott Key wrote other hymns, one which is still in the church hymn repertoire, “Lord with glowing heart I’ll praise thee”, but unfortunately is not found in many hymnals any more.

Alexander Borodin was a Russian chemist associated with “The Five”, a group of amateur musicians that sought to reform Russian music. The others in “the Five” were Balakirev, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov,  and Mussorgsky. Though the musical output of the Five was not massive, it did have a profound influence on composers to follow, including Tchaikovsky and the 20th century Russian composers. Borodin has a sweet style to his music that is neither harsh on the ears or lacking in luster. Borodin’s chamber music is not commonly heard, and that’s a shame, since it is both tuneful and creative. The recording is flawless with a strong sense of presence, and the performances by the Moscow Trio/Quartet manifest charm in their interpretation. This is a worthy set to have in either small or large collections.

Die Beinahe Sechs (The nearly six) vocal ensemble  from Germany has composed and revised various Christian themed songs. They offer a mix of songs sung in German and English in a truly remarkable performance. Dr. Kretschmar (from Leipzig) first introduced me to this album. Rather than offer a ponderous description of their music, I thought it best to include two excerpts, both in highly reduced format to hopefully render these as not violating copyright laws. My only regret is that this group is not producing more albums, as they beat most of the Christian music being produced in the English-speaking world.

Jesu, meine Freude

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Bartók has a unique style of composition and Kocsis a delightful ability to render those compositions in a pleasant and enjoyable manner. Bartók was born in Hungary, eventually emigrating to the United States in the early 1940′s to escape the war, though many of his works were produced prior to his emigration. He delved into a range of styles, including atonality of the Schönberg style, polymodal chromaticism, and various modifications of early 20th techniques. Bartók focused on the utilization of Hungarian folk song themes in his compositions. Kocsis manages to take these various forms of composition, and make them flow with reasonable emotive expression. These performances would never be in my “desert island” top 10, but they have great value in most music lovers’ collections, and much to commend to them.

Shostakovich Symphonies, conducted by Mariss Jansons, multiple orchestras ????
My first complete Shostakovich Symphony set was that conducted by Haitink, and also have complete sets by Barshai, Maxim Shostakovich, as well as multiple renditions of symphonies that do not have complete sets, such as symphonies conducted by Bernstein and von Karajan. Jansons seems to be the most novel of all the sets. Some symphonies did not sound entirely like what I heard out of the other performances. In many instances, such as his performance of the Fourth Symphony, it has a very accessible nature, probably the best 4th I’ve heard so far. Some of the recordings had annoying background noise and were not of highest quality. I still prefer Haitink as the all-round best performance of the Shostakovich symphonies, but consider Jansons in very rightful competition for the interpretation of these symphonies, and very much worth having in a music collection.

This is a collection of 60 CDs, representing more than 60 albums of music published on vinyl under the Living stereo label. I remember having a number of these recordings as a teenager. They are now reproduced in CD format. For all of the CDs, the transfer was impeccable, with a brilliant and clean sound. Many of the performances are historically notable, such as the VanCliburn Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto. Also featured were many of the recordings of Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Charles Münch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as Jascha Heifetz. This set represents a super value, running at less than $2/disc when purchased on Amazon.com.

I have long sought for performances of the Zion’s Harp songs, the hymnal used by the Apostolic Christian Church. Kufchak has done a memorable service to this music by providing well-performed and orchestrated renditions of many Zion’s Harp songs, as well as a few of his own compositions and other music. Many of the songs had a ACCA translation (?), not the translation that  I was used to with the ACCN hymnal. Orchestration tended to be one-dimensional, in that the orchestra essentially paralleled the 4 part harmonies, with only an occasional embellishment. Kufchak tended to limit the amount of brass used in these pieces, and probably for good reason since the trumpets were seriously marginal in their performance.  I would wish that Kufchak continue his work, as he is to lauded for a great start in making public many Zion’s Harp songs. I hope that as he ages, his orchestrations develop a sophistication that complements rather than simply parallels the choir.

John Field Piano Concertos (sic), performed by Benjamin Frith, Northern Sinfonia ?????

First a brief comment about the English language. The pleural of concerto is NOT concertos but concerti. Unfortunately, we must live with this unbearable abuse of the common language. John Field is a little known contemporary of Ludwig v. Beethoven. That he is little known is a terrible travesty, since his concerti are so delightful. These 6 concerti on 3 CDs belong in the regular repertoire, as they are most compelling, and fascinating to hear. Field maintains a style that is distinctly classical, but distinctly different from Beethoven and more in line with Mozart or perhaps Schubert. These performances are crisply recorded, and though offered on a budget set, are definitely not budget recordings. They are most highly recommended by me. Though Field does not have much music that is offered in recorded form, he is worth seeking out for what little he may have out there. I have commented previously on the fact that British Isle music is generally lacking, with significant decent composers from those parts being able to be counted on one hand with most of the fingers amputated. Field is Irish, and would have to be added as one of the few that gets counted as a truly great British Isles (though NOT British!) composer.

It is hard to dislike anything that Greenberg does, and this Teaching Company series is no exception. Many of us waited for years for Greenberg to produce this set of lectures, as I’m sure it did not come easy to him. Throughout the lecture set, you sense a very strong love-hate relationship with Wagner and Greenberg. This feeling is reflected in the cynicism found throughout each and every lecture, though usually presented quite humorously, like suggesting, when the sword was named Notung, that perhaps Wagner even had a name for his pillow. In his animosity against the person of Wagner, Greenberg has forgotten his comments on the operas of other composers. Almost every opera has a silly if not ridiculous plot. Almost every opera is inconsistent with real life. No opera is believable. One could crack insults at Verdi for writing an opera where a larger-than-life character becomes fatally obsessed over a lost handkerchief, or a Puccini opera where ladies die of consumption at precise moments and heroes magically appear at the right moment to save tragedy, or Mozart operas where heads of state are made to look like bumbling idiots, Queens of the night appear out of no-where, etc., etc. Greenberg seems to love the music of Wagner, but writhes in agony at the consummate anti-semitism of the composer. Greenberg certainly is correct when he spends lengthy hours describing Wagner as inconsistent, arrogant, self-adoring, egotistical, impetuous, racist, mean-spirited, and any other possible negative epithet. All of these are correct, and would Wagner be alive today, he would be regarded as a despicable Arschloch. Greenberg is quite informative in showing how the thinking of Schöpenauer and virile anti-semitism is reflected in all of the music of Wagner, and this was most informative.

Greenberg does a marvelous job of following the chronological history of Wagner. Of interest is his almost certain Jewish father, which Wagner probably was aware of in forming many opera characters with lost identity. Greenberg probably added too much comment regarding Wagner’s desire for German unification. Most German intellectuals were desirous of unification, just as France had accomplished earlier, and Italy was in the process of accomplishing. It is wrong to presume that what was right for France, England, the United States and Italy was wrong for Germany, and perhaps the world wars came partially as a result of this prejudiced exceptionalism of the rest of the world to German unification. Wagner reflected a German ethos rather than a personal arrogance in desiring to see a unified country.

Greenberg is correct when he repeats often that one cannot separate the man from his music. He is incorrect in not stating that perhaps the greatest insult to Wagner the man is for his music to performed by Jewish conductors (such as Levine) with absolute disregard for the “deeper” meaning in his writings. Such disregard is not only possible but necessary, so that even in an unforgivably flawed person like Wagner, there remains genius to be appreciated. I await the day when a Jewish conductor with an all-Jewish orchestra from Israel performs Parsifal at Bayreuth in a comic fashion.

Charles Marie Widor, principal organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris and the most distinguished organ position in all of France, commanded the international scene from the late 19th century up to his death in 1933. He had multiple distinguished students, including Louis Viernce, Dupre, Varese, as well as Albert Schweizer. Widor had a strong interest in the organ works of Bach, and these organ works definitely have the distinct imprint of Bach on them. These are very attractive works, and while his most memorable organ symphony is his 5th, it would be a disservice to one’s self to limit listening to only his 5th symphony, as the grand total of his ouvre is remarkable and worth listening to. This set consists of 7 CD’s, and Ben van Oosten does a marvelous and flawless job of performance. I have not heard other sets of Widor and so can’t offer comparison, though this set seems to have a high rating on most public forums.

Louis Vierne was an assistant to Charles-Marie Widor in Paris, and during the first third of the 20th century was a formidable organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris. He was legally blind, and had a fairly unfortunate life, being involved in an accident which injured his left leg, having an unfortunate marriage and social life, but otherwise commanding a great presence in the organ scene. His improvisations often became the subject of many of the compositions above. While he is distinctly different from Widor, there are many similarities in their compositional style, including a Debussy-style compositional trait of painting moods rather than distinctive tunes. The result is organ music that is very easy to listen to, yet compelling enough to never venture towards being boring. Vierne is unfortunately not well enough known, and his works are definite masterpieces worth belonging in a good classical collection. There are a grand total of 9 CD’s in this 3 set collection, and the performance by Ben van Oosten is most compelling.

I’ve been listening to the works of the Beaux Arts Trio, who perform a number of classical as well as modern composers, but have selected a few that are my favorites. Of the modern composers, Shostakovich has written the best piano trios. They are tuneful, easy to listen to, and conducive to many repeat listening sessions. There aren’t many piano trios that are wearisome to listen to, whether they are from Beethoven, Mozart, Chausson, Faure, Brahms, or whoever. Yet, the Shostakovich trios stand out as the best of the best. These are NOT Schubert quartets. They are far more soulful, heart-wrenching, agonizing. The trios are accompanied by seven romances that consist of the piano trio plus a solo soprano, also well done, but doesn’t totally fit with the two trios on this disc. For the 20th century classic music aficionado, these are piano trios of that genre at their best, and a must-have.

I’ll be reviewing the Haydn piano trios here, and the following two reviews will go over the Schubert and Shostakovich trios by the same group. All of the performances are superbly done,with a delicacy and interpretive style that conveys a richness to the pieces that are hard to not notice. The Haydn piano trios are a “must hear” set. This is a lengthy set as one would expect with Haydn, but gives an opportunity to see the progression of composition style of Haydn. The first trios of a young Haydn are attractive but slightly pedantic, with a sense of predictability, but the later trios truly reflect the genius of Haydn. It is possible that the interaction with Mozart, especially with the novel compositional style of the Mozart Haydn quartets, triggered the most delightful and mature Haydn to compose as he did. With the superlative performances of the Beaux Arts trio, this is a set that should be in every classical collection.

Kenneth Fuchs is a contemporary composer who teaches music at a college in the mid-west. Having a name roughly similar to my own, it piqued my curiosity. It was quite easy to listen to him, much against my expectations for a contemporary composer. Actually, it sounds like a merger between modern music and elevator music. This is not intended to be an insult but a compliment. There is nothing in these pieces that stood out as either bad or superlative. Fuchs has potential as a composer, and will keep an eye out for subsequent works from him.

Philip Glass creates a violin concerto and other works that do not seem to press the virtuosic abilities of the performer so much provide a minimalistic but not monotonous array of tones that enchant the hearer. I’m not a huge fan of minimalistic music, and would probably die at a Glass opera. This music lacks the intensity of a Wagner or Beethoven, or the cacophony of a late Schönberg. It is easy on the listener. The performance is very well done, and recording made with highest standards. This is a good buy for the budget price that one would find with most Naxos discs. It is to be commended to those who appreciate minimalistic music.

This is a historic collection, and thus contains much disturbing recording noise to it, though in many of the tracks, it tends to be less apparent. There are now a number of Chopin collections, including the Biret and Ashkenazy collection, both of which are superb. I also have  other Chopin recordings by a potpourri of other performers, and the historic performer that is my favorite is Vladimir Horowitz. Artur Rubinstein (not related to Anton Rubinstein) was a Polish-America Jewish child prodigy, making his greatest claim in the interpretation of Chopin. His was a somewhat wanton life, living as a hedonist, though occasionally expressing moral approbation when his personal value system was affronted. While fighting “racism”, he arrogantly manifested himself as the greatest racist and intolerant to others not of his own thinking. Like Richard Wagner, his own personal life and character tends to distract from the personal genius of the man. This is an inexpensive set worth having for historical reasons, though better recordings are now available.

Saint-Saëns; Oratorio de Noël performed by the Bachchor and Bachorchester Mainz ?????; Requiem and Psaume XVIII, by the L’Orchestre National D’Ile France ????

Both of these works are excellent, that oddly have not made it into the standard repertoire . The first piece, a Christmas oratorio, is superbly performed with sensitivity to the script. Neither piece has catchy tunes to titillate the senses or become the object of Hollywood movie moguls. Both have a sweetness to them that make listening easy. Saint-Saëns varies from simplicity to complexity in the pieces while avoiding the bombastic attacks of orchestra and choir as Händel and others might do. Both are high recommendations.

Franz Liszt is mostly known for his piano music. During his lifetime, he underwent various phases. Starting first as a virtuoso performer of the piano, Liszt set new standards throughout the music world of what was expected of a solo music performer. Eventually, he would write more complex pieces for the piano than what was then existent in order to showcase his performance technique. Later in his life, he retreated to a monastery. Living most of his life as a European playboy and “rockstar”, it is a little bit unusual to get a large proliferation of sacred music from him. Yet, the quality of this music is variable but quite good. Of all the CDs reviewed briefly here, the Graner Messe was the best in both composition and performance, and St. Stanislaw close behind. The Corydon Singers do an orchestrated version of the Via Crucis, and quite capably performed. The other Via Crucis found on the last CD was quite anemic, and was the piano and male chorus version of the work. This Via Crucis was a bit anemic, the piano version being performed much better by the Netherlands Chamber Choir and found on the Philips label. The last piece, Liszt’s Requiem, was also performed somewhat marginally, and could have been more convincing in its presentation. Though I appreciate the choral works of Liszt, I find that his piano compositions are far more enjoyable and best demonstrate Liszt’s creativity.

As with my previous post, the review of these CDs reflect my horrid infatuation with the music of Shostakovich. All three of these CDs were budget, yet absolute marvelous specimens of music, impeccably and creatively performed, charming, enjoyable, and compelling. The Songs and Waltzes were particularly attractive, in definite competition with the best of the Johann Strauss waltzes. Shostakovich is not known well enough for his greatness. Much of the music on these CDs is totally accessible. They are not atonal pieces of cacophony so typical of much modern music, but reflect a creativity distinctive of 20th century music while not straining the ear of the listener, and very tuneful. Thus, my highest recommendations.

Those of you who know me well know that I am crazy about Shostakovich. He is, in my opinion, the greatest composer of the 20th century. These works are “pop” works of his, totally accessible, catchy, tonal, entirely tonic-dominant music. Yet, it is creative and possessing a clear brilliance. These are more collector pieces rather than something one would like to time and again. Some pieces, like the Fall of Red Hill in the Unforgettable Year 1919 suite, are absolute masterpieces of all time. The only regrets that I have while listening to these CDs is that the films are not themselves available with English subtitles (0f course). These CDs were purchased separately but were sold by Amazon.com as budget CDs, yet they are NOT budget music presentations.

These choral works are entirely religious, and encompass the breadth of Mendelssohn’s career. Purchased from Amazon.com, they are a steal at less than $3/disc. Some are works that are quite popular, such as Hör mein Bitten, but performed better than more expensive recordings that I have purchased in the past. There was no piece in this set that was inferior, and the soloists were always in top form, not weak as is often heard with Mendelssohn performances. It is a pity that Mendelssohn is so seriously overlooked, especially among church choirs. It is also a pity that Nicol Matt is not better known, as he is a first-rate conductor. Perhaps works like this will draw more attention to Mendelssohn, and we will see more high quality performances of his work.

Five stars should not suggest that these are my favorite quartets. For contemporaries, I certainly prefer the quartets of Beethoven or Schubert. Yet, these quartets have a delightful charm of their own, and worthy of highest recommendation. The Melos Quartet offers a very spirited interpretation, making it a joy to listen to each one of these six quartets. Cherubini is often forgotten, though one must remember that both Hayden and Beethoven praised with works. Anybody who listens attentively to these quartets will understand why Cherubini should stand among the great classical composers. Both the quartets as well as his religious choral works are charming, creative and enjoyable to listen to.

A one time I never found much of interest in Schumann. Now that I’m re-listening to a number of his works, they are gaining a fascination. This album is no exception. The performances are charming and impeccable, very masterfully done. Each piece has its own delights, and provides for differing styles and types of works. This set is a budget set that consists of four CDs, and is a true bargain that will delight.

These set of songs were adequately performed, but lacked brilliance and charm. It is typical of Vaughn Williams to have very predictable music, so that if one has heard one Vaughn Williams piece, you’ve heard them all. There is nothing about these choral pieces to excite the soul or transcend the realm of the ennui. I purchased this CD hoping to find in VW and British music some charm—but, British music, like British food, tends to be bland and uninteresting. The Brits have failed to produced good composers, outside of Purcell and the Beatles. The more I listen to VW, I realize that it is not a matter of missing something in the music that is subtle or complex, such as learning to appreciate the music of Wagner. The music of VW is just plain boring and uncreative.

This and the next review focus on contemporary American composers. Samuel Barber is best known for Barber’s Adagio, popularized by Bernstein. This disc contains not only the Piano Concerto, but several other short works by Barber. The performance was technically adequate, but the pieces lacked an overall luster to them. Perhaps the performers didn’t have a chance? Barber seems to have a sense of non-direction to his music, being occasionally bombastic, occasionally quiet, but never leading anywhere. Fortunately, it was reasonably tonal and thus endured listening to. This is not exactly a disc that I’d encourage you to rush out and purchase.

This is the last of the budget series that I’ll be reviewing, with the conducting of Eugene Ormandy. Eugene Ormandy was born in Hungary as Jeno Blau, being a prodigy that received a masters degree in music at age 14 before coming to the US. After a short stay as director of the Minnesota symphony, he moved and stayed for 40 years at the Philadelphia Philharmonic. Though his major mentor was Toscanini, his style and form are much different from this conductor. Ormandy excelled at modern works, and his renditions of Shönberg works were notable. Many of his works in this set were straight forward, though the recordings left something to be desired. His performance of Mahler’s second symphony was quite poor and left something to be desired. At least Ormandy never felt the urge to speed through a piece like Toscanini. It is without a doubt that Ormandy is one of the great US conductors of the 20th century, though this set would tend to betray Ormandy at his best. My advice would be to seek out Ormandy recordings, but not this set of recordings. There are better out there.

This is the second of three composer collections that I will be reviewing, the first being that of Arturo Toscanini. Furtwängler possesses far greater sensitivity in his conducting that Toscanini. Furtwängler was the director of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra during the second world war years, and was eventually replaced by Herbert von Karajan. It is without hesitation that I could remark on the greatness of Furtwängler as a conductor, in spite of his associations with Hitler and the Nazis. These recordings are quite variable, many of them having much record noise, but many being quite clean. For $17 it is hard to beat as a sampling of Furtwängler. The collection includes mostly classical and romantic composers, with a few non-German composers included.

It is typical that the first performance of any classical work that one hears, if well performed, tends to stick in ones mind, and defines for hearings of other performances a standard to measure up to. I grew up on Toscanini, and was told repeatedly that he was one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century. I remember sitting for hours, listening to nothing but Toscanini. In the case of Toscanini, the rule introduced at the beginning has not held true, and I have found much better recordings and performances of just about everything that Toscanini has to offer. This compendium of 10 CDs of his works confirms that statement. Toscanini tends to always be very sharp, bombastic, and unfeeling in his performances. Somehow, he seems to think that if a work is flawlessly performed in double the meter of any other conductor, it is better performed. Toscanini just has no feel as to the soul of any piece of classical music. There is nothing on this CD that I have not heard better performed by other conductors. Toscanini does a reasonable job with the American composers like Gershwin and Grofe, but destroys Wagner. I will be comparing two other conductor sets in this series, one with Furtwängler and the other with Ormandy. Furtwängler is not my favorite composer but is total delight to listen to, after having one’s ears abused with Toscanini. In addition, the recordings in this set are poorly cleaned up, and much of the record noise and tinny sound remains. They could have done better, though this set was only $17 for 10 CDs so it’s hard to complain too bitterly. The  good grace of this set is that it is very inexpensive, and does give one a proper feel for Toscanini.

Edition Bachakademie Hänssler, mostly featuring Helmut Rilling ?????

This is now my second hearing of this set of 172 CDs, consisting of all the known works of Johann Sebastian Bach. There exist two other collections of his works, one put out by Brilliant Records, and the other by Teldec. I do not have the Teldec set, but will probably purchase it when it becomes available again. This set, costing about $1600 (I paid much less for it), is now being offered for $300 on Amazon.com, which should be a total steal. The Hänssler edition is the only collection that utilizes adults and modern instrumentation for the productions of all the cantatas and other choral works. The only exception, of course, is the boys choir in the Mätthaus Passion. There are better performances many of Bach’s cantatas. I feel that Karl Richter’s cantatas are superior in terms of feeling and expressive content, though Richter offers less than half of all of Bach’s cantatas. Rilling is a most capable conductor, offering the complete cantatas and other vocal works of Bach, with more compelling performances than any of the other complete collections. The Brilliant and Teldec sets oftentimes uses boy performers, which can easily become quite wearisome to the ears. Rilling, like Richter, avoids period instruments, thus giving a brilliance and charm to the works that other performances do not possess. Regarding using modern vs. original instrumentation, the keyboard works for harpsichord are variously performed in this set, occasionally with a piano, occasionally with a clavecin, and usually with a harpsichord. I appreciate harpsichord music, but, much dynamics of performance appear to be missing with a harpsichord. Even when a piano is used instead of a harpsichord, the performer usually tends to plays the piano in a fashion like I was taught, to make it sound like a harpsichord. This ends up in a rather mechanical sound, that might be imitated by a piano roll. Perhaps, this is why I really appreciate the Bach performances of Glen Gould, who breaks out of the mold of original instrument thinking, and allows Bach to speak in a new and fresh fashion. Sometimes, an unusual array of instruments are used, such as in the Wohltemperte Klavier, where the harpsichord, organ and Clavicin are all variously utilized. The keyboard works were quite variable, though most with quite convincing and compelling performances, even though a number were more routinely and mechanically driven. In total, this set is an amazing compendium of mostly top notch, well performed Bach. The cantatas are the selling point of this set, though that should not diminish the attractiveness of the rest of the works on the set, whether they be keyboard, violin or cello sonatas, or any of the other plenteous compositions of the greatest of all composers of all time. Any lover of Bach must have this set: it will be treasured for many hearings.

Schumann Masterworks: Multiple performers, produced by Deutsche Grammophon ?????

This is a wonderful mix of Schumann’s compositions, including his symphonies and other orchestral works, concertos, large choral works, songs, chamber music, and a rather comprehensive mix of his solo piano works. There are multiple performers, so that even in the piano works, you’ll hear a number of different pianists, including Pollini, Ashkenazy and others. Not all the works are the best of Schumann. As an example, Karajan does a much better job of the symphonies than does Gardner included in this set. The Lieder (songs) are very compelling, and offer a superb portrayal of Schumann at his best. Before my listening of Karajan’s rendering of the Schumann symphonies, I have never paid much attention to the works of Schumann as they have tended to be bland. Between Karajan, Kempff, and this set of Schumann Masterworks, life is brought into the Schumann compositions that has stirred my interest in this composer. This set contains 35 CDs and is well worth the price that one can find on the internet.

This is not a comprehensive collection of Schumann’s piano works, but rather an assembly of his most popular romantic works. Kempff performs flawlessly and with spirit, making them appealing. As with his Schubert performances, Kempff is one of the best interpreters of the early Romantic composers, and deserves a careful listening. This set consists of 4 CDs, and is usually sold quite reasonably through Amazon.com.

This compendium of early music (medieval and renaissance) was a pleasant surprise. Carrying a quite inexpensive price tag, the performances are flawlessly executed, yet with enough spirit to make them quite enjoyable. This is a mixture of sacred and secular pieces, and a broad spectrum of composers.  It is distinctly early music, being polyphonic yet without the compositional characteristics of music for the modern ear. This album is a delight, and medieval music at its best.

This set represents 29 CDs of sacred music from the time of the Gregorian chants through the 20th century. It is a broad mix, including selections of oratorios (Messiah, Paulus, Weihnachtsoratorium), masses, requiems, and singular pieces of church music. The quality of the production is quite variable. Various groups, such as Le Chapelle Royale with Philippe Herrweghe, or Les Arts Flourrisants with William Christie (the Messiah) were quite mediocre. Other works, such as Leonard Bernsteins’ Mass was performed well, though very mediocre as a compositional piece. I could have thought of many other late 20th century works of better quality and more representative of modern sacred music. Harmonia Mundi excels in productions of early music, and that is where this collection shines. The cost of this complete set is quite cheap, and thus a worthy addition to many collectors’ libraries.

This is a staged piece with an empty audience, performed by the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1967. This was a time when Karajan, and many of the performers, such as Leontyne Price, and Nicholai Ghiaurov were truly in their prime. Luciano Pavarotti is very young in this production and appears a touch insecure, though Verdi gave the tenor a minor solo part in this work. The work itself is a compositional masterpiece, stylistically being very operatic. Karajan’s conducting is also demonstrative of the best that this piece could possibly be performed. Interestingly, he is usually found with his eyes opened during the conducting, a characteristic I find peculiar to Karajan conducting choral works. The filming is a little problematic at times, since the camera seems to stray off of the performers, and the view is often obstructed by microphone poles. All in all, this is one of the best performances of Verdi’s Requiem, and a must have by any music lover.

Bach Organ Works, performed by Simon Preston ?????

I was a little leery of getting yet another set of Bach Organ works, since both the Peter Herford and Helmut Walcha sets are superb. Preston offers a change of venue, with many of the Bach pieces not performed in a perfectly traditional manner. Yet, the performances were entirely compelling, and most interesting to listen to. Oftentimes, syncopation or variations in volume or tonal presentation made a completely different piece than is traditionally heard. This is a very worthy purchase for the Bach lover. Quite honestly, I think that Bach would approve entirely of this performance. Remember that Bach quite often re-worked the pieces of other composers in order to hear them in a fresh manner. These works are definitely fresh, and bring an intense amount of life and vitality to what might otherwise be considered fairly boring works.

I’m a Vivaldi fan, but he is not in my top 5 composers of all time. Our friend J.S. Bach was far better endowed from our creator with the gift of music, and Bach remains the greatest musician that ever tread on terra firma. Ever. Yet, the fact that Bach listened to the music of Vivaldi, and often wrote modifications of Vivaldi, suggesting that even Bach held Vivaldi’s music in highest regard. This 29 CD set is no longer available, and that is a great shame, since this is the best performances one will ever get of Vivaldi. Between such performers as I Musici and the artistic direction of Vittoria Negri, you will never hear Vivaldi in a better light. It is a pity that the only piece that is usually performed by Vivaldi is his Four Seasons, as so much of his instrumental pieces have deep charm and compositional brilliance. It is even a more serious pity that virtually none of his choral music is widely known, as Vivaldi’s choral (sacred) music excels his instrumental pieces. How could one not be deeply moved by the brilliance of his Dixit Dominus, Nisi Dominus, his Glorias, etc. Vivaldi via Vittoria Negri is a absolute must for the discriminating listener. Make every effort possible to get copies of these performances and you will be greatly blessed through listening to them.

Brahms Complete Edition, by Deutsche Grammophon ?????

I realized that I did not have collections of the complete works of Brahms, and so when these two editions came out on sale, decided that they needed to be in my collection. Both are very worthy editions to have in one’s collection, and are distinctly different. Brilliant Classics, though sold as a “budget” production, had notable quality that would be worthy of the sole Brahms of a less ardent classic music collector. Yet, the Deutsche Grammophon recordings were generally better. The symphonies had a livelier sound and better production, partially attributable to the conducting of von Karajan. The DG edition also had far better vocal works, making the vocal pieces far less of a drudgery, and actually enjoyable, to listen to over the Brilliant collection. The chamber works with the Brilliant Classics were quite nice, and quite on par with the DG productions. All in all, I’d vote for the DG edition, but enjoyed hearing both sets of Brahms works.

I’ve never seen nor heard this opera before, but apparently it is quite popular in Germany. The title means the Czar and the Carpenter, based very loosely on the historical Peter the Great while living in Holland. This is a playful opera, with quite simple music, used in a delightfully extraordinary manner. The performance of Lucia Popp is absolutely extraordinary, with superb acting complementing a most beautiful gentle voice. The plot of the opera is comic, with confused identities, resolving in an expectable sort of way. The opera is sung in German, but the under-titles are fairly accurate in translation. I’m told that Wagner was heavily influenced by this piece written in 1837, and I’m not surprised. Recommended for viewing.

The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart, Hamburg Opera, (Cult Opera) ????
11DEC09 – This opera is a wonderful classic, performed in traditional style in the 1970’s by the Hamburg Opera company. The recording is not perfect in technique, yet the performance is very compelling, and well done. This is a version of Figaro worth having in any musical repertoire. The singing was actually performed in German, rather than Italian, the way Mozart originally scripted the opera. This doesn’t seem to distract from the performance. Tom Krause and Edith Mathis are the two true stars in this film, both with superb acting and voices to make the opera a true success.

Help, Help the Globolinks, by Carl Menotti ???

This is intended to be a children’s opera, written by the same person who wrote Amahl and the Night Visitors. This story is about a space invasion by aliens, who can only be destroyed by playing musical instruments. The message of the opera is quite clear. The story was somewhat akin to Mars Attacks! without Jack Nicholson. The opera is short and thus bearable, the story line a touch contrived, the music clearly 20th century though in good taste. I’ll need to try the opera on a child someday to see if it works.

Weihnachtsoratorium BWV 248, by J.S. Bach, performances with Rilling/Stuttgart Bach Collegium, Harry Christopher and the Sixteen, Richter, Münchinger, and Thomas/Thomaskirche

This Christmas season, I listened to multiple performances of both the Weihnachtsoratorium, and the Messiah, so see also my comments on the Messiah. The Weihnachtsoratorium is an under-performed piece in the United States and Britain. Oddly, both Bach, and Händel (the composer of the Messiah) were born about 30 miles from each other in the same area of Germany, about a year apart. Their individual paths were as different as imaginable, and their music also. Händel composed almost entirely opera, and as mentioned, the Messiah is as close to an operatic piece as possible, though without acting. Bach’s piece was more intended for church, for solemnity, for pastoral reflection, for teaching of the Christmas story. Yet, omitting the flamboyancy of Händel, it is the work of an absolute genius, dare I say, a far greater genius than even Händel. The piece begins with a Pauken (kettledrum) solo. Unglaublich (unbelievable)!!! I had to listen to the opening 5-10 times and review the score the first time I heard that. Drums were not used as a solo instrument of melody until the 20th century, and to think that Bach invented that. Regarding tradition, it is sad that in English speaking countries, the far more worthy Weihnachtsoratorium goes essentially unheard, and we have to endure the Messiah year in and year out. True, the Messiah was Händel’s greatest piece, and it truly is worthy of greatness, but is still surpassed by the majesty and genius of this humble piece by Bach.

Regarding the individual performances, I preferred the Richter performance above all for its interpretation of a piece fitting the accompanying words. Münchinger is very close in conducting style to Richter, and also is a worthy listening. Rilling is typically a superb Bach conductor, but tends here to focus more of style than substance in the piece, though I’d still rate his performance highly. The Christophers have a more intimate performance, but well done. The Thomas performance is at the church where the Weihnachtsoratorium was first performed, and used children for the soprano parts, which I tend to dislike even though the original performances probably used children. I believe that Bach would have used adults if allowed by the school. All of the performances are worthy to listen to.

The Messiah, by Georg Fredrick Händel, Conducted/Performed by Vienna Boys Choir  ??, Solti/CSO?????, Richter ????, Marriner????, Klemperer?????, Higginbottom???, Davis????, Bonynge???, Bernstein????, Alldis????. OK, that’s one lot of Messiah’s to be listening to in the season. I omitted the “doctored” version of the Messiah by Mozart, who translated the Messiah into German. It doesn’t sound bad. The Messiah is a theatrical piece written by a person whose claim to fame was the writing of opera. Thus, rather than a church-type feel, this piece has an auditorium type feel to it. The low rating of the Vienna Boys Choir has nothing to do with their technical skills, but only with their boyish voices, which doesn’t suit me well. The Higginbottom piece was on original instruments, and did not sound bad at all, with a more chamber-sound to the piece. In general, most of the pieces had minimal qualitative differences, though there were differences in the version of the Messiah that they chose to perform. My two favorites remain the Solti and Klemperer performances, which excel.

Note my comments on the Weihnachtsoratorium, which is also used as a Christmas concert piece, though rarely in the US. It is a pity since, though the Messiah is a work of genius, the Weihnachtsoratorium even excels the Messiah. Perhaps someday it will measure more prominently in American church performances.

Die Schöpfung, Conducted by von Karajan ?????

This review is in conjunction with the review of the same piece conducted by Bernstein. While Bernstein offers a rather operatic approach to this Oratorio, Karajan offers a gentler, more pastoral rendering. The performance and recording is impeccable, the sound coming across with clarity and vibrancy in both pieces. Karajan manages to arrive at the soul of this piece in a better manner than Bernstein. This is a strange comment, since Karajan is usually accused as performing too much to the camera. Yet, I see Bernstein as the more flamboyant conductor, when viewed on video. This flamboyancy comes through in the sound of the performance. This is my preferred performance of Die Schöpfung, even though I would give both pieces 5 stars. This piece is a perfect example as to why it is important to listen to the same piece by differing conductors, as the performance is distinctly different in each case.