To have a listen in genuine low-fi sound click here: Halvorsen:Suite Ancienne
HALVORSEN: SUITE ANCIENNE, op.31 and MASCARADE SUITE,+ NORWEGIAN DANCES Ari Rasilaien -Norw.Radio Orch.
NKF CD 50033 (Qualiton) * * * * *
Growing up in NY City, WQXR Radio helped form my distortedly hedonistic cultural values. They had the good taste to find rare gems in their huge record vault and regularly air them. A Halvorsen recording by Fjeldstad (even then out-of-print!) is a case in point. What a delight it is to have an new CD version of these works. Suite Ancienne
conjures up a wide array of sounds and moods.. impossible to express in words. Also, it is hard to write as this enticing music is playing, since I'd much rather just listen to it ..HAVE A NICE DAY NOW.
WELCOME TO HERMANN SCHERCHEN FAN CLUB
If ever asked to rattle off a list of my top 10 conductors, I sound nearly sane for the first two or three names (Toscanini, Furtwanger etc.)...then I say Hermann Scherchen and we sometimes get that strange look. Happy to report, we now sell Tahra Records- distributed by Jem Music.
Tahra is currently the finest and most active CD label devoted to unearthing performances by many of the great conductors of the past. It is run by Myrian Scherchen (his daughter) so Hermann Scherchen recordings get a major emphasis.Many of these performances
are live concerts or broadcasts, some stereo. Sound is always good or very good.
While not always having the advantage of the fine demonstration quality hi-fi and stereo sound this great conductor had on many of his commercial Westminster LPs, these CDs are nearly as wonderful. Many Tahra items are the first Scherchen performances in any recorded format.
Let me list the Tahra recordings of Scherchen currently issued:
TAH 185/189 (5 CD SET FOR THE PRICE OF JUST 3 CDs!)
A Tribute to Hermann Scherchen- "The BEST-KNOWN UNKNOWN"
Bach:Musical Offering 1950 Vienna; Beethoven:Sym#9 #8 Stereo 1965 Lugano rehearsal/performance; Berlioz:Les Troyens Ballet '52 Paris; Verdi:Nabucco Ovt Prokofiev:Lt Kije SW Radio 1962;
Kalinnikov:Sym#1 1950 Czech Phil
Bach/Schoenberg:Prel
Schoenberg Sym#1, op.9,Krenek: Sym#1 1955 Swiss Radio; Schoenberg:La Danse autour du Veau d'Or Darmstadt 1951; Bartok:
Music Perc.Sts,Celesta 1954 Swiss
TAH 147 MAHLER (4 CD SET FOR PRICE OF JUST 2 CDs!) Sym #6; Sym#3; Sym#10 Leipzig
1960; Sym #8 first mvt. Berlin State 1951; plus Kindertotenlieder
Cervena, alto Leipzig 1960
TAH 120 MAHLER:Sym#8 1951 Vienna Fest. Anday,Wiener,Majkut
TAH 103 MusicVol 1 Leipzig'60
Schumann:Manfred; Beethoven:Prometheus
TAH 104 MusicVol 2'60Leipzig
Mendelssohn:Midsummer Nights Dream; Grieg:Peer Gynt
TAH 105 MusicVol. 3'60Leipzig
Beethoven:Egmont; Bizet:L'Arlesienne
TAH 108/09 Bach:Art of the Fugue Stereo
includes rehearsals Toronto Dec.1965
TAH 112 Tchaikovsky:Sym#6; Wagner:Sieg fried Idyll (chamber version) NW Ger.Phil '60
TAH 113 Mozart:Les Petits Riens, Ser. #13;
Con. FluteVienna St. Orch 1940's
TAH 116 SCHERCHEN AT LUGANO '62
Dvorak:Cello Con (Fournier); Brahms:Sym#3
TAH 126/128 SCHERCHEN CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN: (mono&stereo) Sym#1, #2; Ruins of Athens; Consecration of the House; Egmont; An die Hoffnung; Grosse Fugue (rehearsal performance); Wellington's Victory (rehearsal performance)Lugano '65;
Leipzig 1960; SW Radio 1962; Toronto '65
Berlioz Review: * * * * *
TAH 143/44 Berlioz: Les Troyens a Carthage Paris '52 Giraudeau,Collard,Depraz,Mandikian
Scherchen ranks with Toscanini and Munch (Paray, Monteux, Beecham etc.) as the finest Berlioz conductor within the last 50 years. This magnificent sounding Hi-Fidelity
version of Berlioz: Les Troyens a Carthage makes any other version seem stillborn. If you want to give Scherchen a fair try, start here. Tap into the Frenchest sounding (played
and sung) Berlioz you may ever hear !
If you don't like this performance, I can eat your returned CDs at no additional charge. (Mind you, you won't get your money back- I may simply eat your returned copy of the Berlioz with my morning milk and corn flakes.)
Other interesting TAHRA sets:
THE ART OF HANS KNAPPERTSBUSCH TAH 132/135 NDR Sym. Direct from NDR Archive masters. Bruckner:Sym#3; all-Wagner Concert with Christa Ludwig; Beethoven: Coriolan Ovt; Piano Con#5 (Andor Foldes) and Sym:#8 (not just any Beethoven: Sym#8 - but the slowest, broadest, weirdest and most demented in the ENTIRE universe - - - - and one you should not be without!)
PIERRE MONTEUX IN AMSTERDAM
TAH 175/178 Berlioz:Sym.Fantast; Brahms: Tragic Ovt ,Sym#1 #3;Vio.Con(Milstein); Sibelius: Violin Con (Damen);and Stravinsky:Petrouchka
To have a listen in genuine low-fi sound click here:VINCENT SYMPHONY IN D
Let this be our own Prague Spring Music Festival, as we do some catch up to note some of the
many worthwhile releases from the Supraphon label. (KOCH Distributes this label)
Czech Operas & Oratorios:
Dvorak: St.Ludmila
112141 (2cd) *****
Dvorak: Devil & Kate
11 1800 (2cd) ****
Dvorak: Dimitrij
11 1259 (3cd) ***
Dvorak: Cunning Peasant
SU 0019 (2cd) ***
Dvorak: Rusalka
SU 0013 (2cd)****
Dvorak:Jacobin
11 2190 (2cd)****
Dvorak:Specter's Bride & Novak: The Storm '61&'56 perf. 111982 (2cd)***
Smetana: The Kiss
11 2180 (2cd)***
Smetana: Devil's Wall
11 2201*** (2cd)
Smetana:Dalibor
11 2185 (2cd)****
Smetana:Brandenburgers in Bohemia (2cd)****
Smetana:Bartered Bride
SU 0040 2cd ****
Fibich:Bride of Messina
11 1492 2cd ***
Blodek(1834-74):In the Well
SU 0033 (1CD) ****
First mention goes to Dvorak:St. Ludmilla, it is the only ***** ( highest recommendation ) item in this section. Doubt this fine work will fail give you great pleasure. The St. Ludmila oratorio is one of
the best works that Dvorak wrote. This performance from 1963, conducted by Vaclav Smetacek
and the Czech Phil. is imbued with religious inspiration and pure joy. It typifies the type of highly
idiomatic Czech singing and orchestral playing that appears to be lost as we approach the 21st
Century. Stereo is wall-to-wall with close up miking on top brass and tight drums when needed
(alas- some vocal solos are a bit close in for my taste). GRAB IT! *****
Smetana: Bartered Bride and Dvorak: Russalka are perhaps the two best known Czech operas.
Both performances are conducted by Zdenek Chalabala (the Toscanini of Czech Opera!) with the
Prague National Theatre. These stereo recordings from the early 1960's capture that long lost
feeling of an authentic Czech performing tradition.
Compare either with the newer DDD Czech versions and the point is made. The singing has heart
and you really get to believe in the wonder of these folk tales. The playing time is 132 min and
149 min respectively - each opera is tightly squeezed on 2 CD sets and are mid-priced.. What more do you want!
Smetana:Devil's Wall 137 min on 2CDs is also a Chalabala performance with many of the same
1960's Prague Theatre soloists: Ivo Zidek, Vaclav Bednar, Milada Subrtova (who was Rusalka &
Hedvika in Devil's Wall).
Devil's Wall is a "Comic Romantic" opera from 1882. It is a romantic tale with a happy ending (buthardly a ha-ha comedy). Set in the 13th Century,
a tale of love found at last, between a secludedcountess and an older man.
Smetana:Brandenburgers in Bohemia is a 1963 performance (149 min on 2 CD's) of the first opera by Smetana. Written in 1862 it is heroic in scope and subject. It concludes with a magnificentchorus in praise of freedom:"Long live truth.. Long live our Rights!"
It opened a new epoch inCzech national music and remains one of the movements
crowning achievements. First rate sound & performance.
Similar in scale is Dalibor a tragic opera in 3 Acts. It was revised in 1870. Smetana again deals
with the story of an oppressed people and the heroic life of a man sentenced to death by feudal
powers in 1498. Powerful music to stir the blood and send goosebumps down your spine!
Excellent sound from this 1967 studio recording conducted by Jaroslav Krombholc and the PragueNational Theatre. 145 min on 2 CD.
The Kiss was written by Smetana during the end of his career and premiered in 1876 when the
composer was completely deaf. It was a great success. The plot centers around the power of love
to overcome every obstacle. It is filled with wonderful things: several great duets & arias, fun filleddances and choruses etc. The performance is from 1980 in Brno.
Frantisek Vajnar conducts a cast
including: Eduard Haken, Eva Depoltova and Leo Vodicka. 2CD 113 min. Most enjoyable.
The Vilem Blodek (1834-1874) comic opera in 1 Act The Well, proved to be a delight. His style
sounds a bit like that of Flotow in Martha. Great overture, lively chorus and memorable tunes.Jan
Stych cond Prague NationalTheatre. 1 CD 67 min. Discover!
Dvorak: Jacobin was written in 1888 and revised again in 1898.
The opera features many important choral items (church scenes & cantatas), some dance sections
and heartfelt solos. Especially fine bass and soprano parts. The plot is about the alienation between
father and son with a final blessing by dad to his sons new bride. A 1994 recording on 2 CD. Jiri
Pinkas conducts Brno State. 155 min.
Kate and the Devil by Dvorak was premiered in 1899, the magnificent overture which is the best
known part of the opera was written last. The opera has much appeal because of its combination of
fairy tale and folk music, it is as close in feel to a Czech tone poem as an opera can be. At times, it
feels like a Czech version of Hansel & Gretel. What a really sweet treat this work is. Jiri Pinkas
conducts Brno Opera. This 1980 recording is on 2 CD -118 min. Great AAD sound. Leap!
Dvorak:The Cunning Peasant a 1986 Prague Radio- Frantisek Vajnar features Vaclav Zitek & Eva Depoltova.
This 1877,2 Act comic opera was a great success. It helped establishthe rising popularity of Czech Opera throughout the Austrian Empire and Germany.
Some critics did not understand the emerging trend.
Edward Hanslick believed the opera exhibited a "heavysymphonic style" and thought the ballet in the second actwas more like the Scherzo of a Dvorak symphony.
In retrospect, this sounds like two good reasons to want this opera! (120min) ***
Dvorak:The Specter's Bride & Fibich:The Storm are two cantatas ably performed by the Czech
Phil. Under Jaroslav Krombholc (2CD mid-price 155 min). The Dvorak is 1961 Stereo, Novak is
1956 Mono. Somber works.
Dimitrij is a Czech Boris Godunov. First performed in 1882 the work was revised at least twice.
Originally, a 5 act libretto, the work was changed by Dvorak to emphasize the simultaneity of the
operas contemplative moments in (ensembles and solos) and to contrast them with the collective
drama elements (the Russian peoples choruses acting and reflecting these events independently).
This is a 1989 Prague Radio performance conducted by Gerd Albrecht. No "Boris ", but interesting.
( 3CD set 191 min.) ***
The Bride of Messina by Fibich sounds like a heroic Czech opera written in a style more akin to
Massenet then Dvorak. A Tragic Opera in 3 Acts it was first performed in 1884. Frantisek Jilek
conducts this fine sounding 1975 Prague Radio recording. (2 CD 136 min.) ***
CZECH SYMPHONIC WORKS:
Smetana:Wallenstein's Camp, Richard III, Hakon Jarl; Dvorak:In Nature's Realm, Scherzo
Capriccioso - 70 min
Karel Sejna-Czech Phil. SU 1915 *** (mono '58)
Smetana:Festive Sym, op6; Festive Ovt. Op 4; Dvorak:
Cunning Peasant; Skroup: The Tinker Ovt. - 69 min **** Karel Sejna-Czech Phil.
SU 1914 (Stereo/Mono)
Suk:Summer Tale, Meditation on Czech Chorale; Dvorak: Husitska.
SU 1923 *** mono
Karel Sejna-Czech Phil.-73 min
Novak:In the Tatras, Eternal Longing; Fibich:Water Goblin, & Christmas Day
Karel Sejna-Czech Phil. - 68 min. SU 1922 (Stereo/ Fibich is Mono) ***
Dvorak: 10 Legends, Sym. Var. ***
Karel Sejna- Czech Phil - 64 min. (Mono)
Postage stamp covers, postage stamp size reviews of these mid-price historic releases under the
noted conductor Karel Sejna, who with Talich seemed to be the cat's whiskers of Czech
symphonic conducting. The Smetana tone poems were the first available on LP and have much to
offer in authenticity, drive and insight. The fine Stereo sound in the Smetana Festive Symphony
offers a wide soundstage to this vigorous **** performance. The Dvorak Legends get just the righta loving, warm touch. In the case of the Fibich ***, this is the only available version of this
unusual format of narrated musical melodramas.
Vranicky:Sym.D Op.52; c (no opus) 11 0956 56 min DDD
Vranicky: Sym D op. 36, C op. 11
11 1332 57 min DDD
B. Gregor cond. Dvorak Chamber Orch Delightful big-boned classical works
(scored similar to the later Haydn syms) of Pavel Vranicky (1756-1807). First rate music by the #1Czech classical era symphonist - highly infectious stuff - pure joy!
Nice close bright sound. ****
Ostrcil: Sym A,op.7 & Sinfonietta
11 1826 78 min. Belohlavek-Prague
Tell your friends you found a lost Dvorak symphony, they may believe you. Otkar Ostrcil wrote
this sunny romantic work in 1904 when he was 25. After the first movement, look down to see
how many clouds you are walking on! ****
Martinu: Butterfly that Stamped
11 0380 42 min Belohlavek-Prague
One of the oddest and best works by this prolific composer. A strangely magical ballet with a
chanting wordless chorus. Based on a 5 part Kipling story, this 1926 Paris premiere was an early
success for Martinu. Sounds like The Rite of Spring meets Daphnis on Fog Island with King Kongand Max Steiner not too far away. Enjoy. ****
Fibich:Comenius (Festive Ovt.), Zaboj, Slavoj & Ludfek (Sym poem), Toman and
the Wood Nymph, The Fall of Arkona Ovt.11 1823 54 min V. Valkek-Prague
If you are like me, it is hard to put your finger on the Fibich style. You might think parts of the
Comenius Ovt. were written by Elgar! In any case if you like late Brahms, mid-period Wagner or
Smetana heroics - Fibich is your cup of tea. These are some of his most dramatic and accessible
works. DDD recording is a bit tubby&dark ***
MARC MINKOWSKI c.-WDR coproduction
Jules Bastin, Greta de Reyghere etc.
Opera Ballet in 3 Acts. (2 CD) 120min
Ricercar RIC100084/085
A real "Turkish" delight - one of the most extroverted classical works you may ever hear. It was
the rage of Paris in 1783. The percussion in the overture alone might wake the dead and test your
system too. To quote:"A Masterpiece... Gretry's talent lay in his ability to fuse these
brightly-coloured elements together with music that was perfect in its aptness for the opera-ballet
genre, a style with a glorious past but still little known." Fine"live" performance ****
(Qualiton distributes)
GRAUN: CLEOPATRA & CAESAR
RENE JACOBS c.Concerto Koln(3 hr.18m)
Harmonia Mundi 901561/63 HM
Janet Williams, Iris Vermillion (3cd set)
Includes:Free #4 CD featuring Jacobs.****
One of the most consistently enjoyable baroque operas ever recorded. Highly engaging - aria after
aria, chorus after chorus - painlessly short recitatives that don't bog down the flow of the musical
drama. Graun has spectacle,pomp, power - played and sung with great conviction. Crisp, clean, up-front orchestral balance
MUSIC&ARTS 857 STOKOWSKI All-American Orch.1940-41 (74min)
This disc contains two unforgettable performances-Beethoven:Sym#5 and Brahms:Sym:#1. The Fifth opens with the slowest and most powerful first movement "fate" theme ever heard! Fate isn't knocking at the door, it is being kicked in! This performance puts into perspective the romantic mystique surrounding this symphony and captures like no other performance ever will, the fervor of the time -1941 - as we summon the most resounding V for VICTORY ever heard. Brass seems doubled and there are many Stokowskian orchestral "touch ups". The Brahms First concludes this disc in an equally unique and fitting way. Orchestral textures becomes organ like and we seem to ascend into some cathedral beyond the clouds.. Sound is astonishingly hi-fi! You will be playing and talking about this disc till the day fate knocks at your door and you ascend to heaven! A MUST BUY *****
MUSIC & ARTS 845 STOKOWSKI
LEOPOLD STOKOWSKIAll-American Youth Orchestra 1940/41
Brahms:Sym#4, Bach, Mendelssohn: Scherzo, Strauss:Death & Transfiguration. Another great Hi-Fi sounding CD with the AAYO! This impassioned recording of Bach/Stokowski:Andante Sostenuto is the only version that Stoky recorded.
The Brahms and Strauss are a tribute to a lost tradition of conducting. The triumph of style over notation, in the true romantic tradition. ***
Stoky CALA Gala CALA 0502 (Allegro Imports)
La Marseillaise, Saltarello, Balance Test March, Oh Susannah, Dance of 7 Veils, Adirondack Suite, Tyrolean Dances, March Slav, Romeo&Juliet, Scriabin, Messiah etc.
Includes a l935 Philadelphia Gala in Hi-Fi!! Stokowski shares a wicked sense of humor with his audience, taking pot shots at music critics, his board of trustees, and "serious" music appreciation. I quickly found myself "attending"this concert, laughing with the audience and amazed by the sound of this CD. Provides true Stoky insights. ****
CALA 0506 Stokowski Hollywood Bowl NYC Tchaikovsky:Sym#6; Strauss: Death&Transf.
Fine performances you might consider ***
CALA 0505 Stokowski Russian Masterworks
Russ.Easter Ovt;Tchaikovsky:Humoresque.; Firebird Suite; Love 3 Oranges March; and Tchaikovsky: Sym#4 NBC Sym 1942 performances.
Highlights include the vocal bass soloist in the Russian Easter Overture (N.Moscona).
Very, very nice NBC playing (as usual).
Both CD issues have good clean sound ****
CD#1 - 78 min CD#2 - 79 min HANDEL: JUDAS MACCABAEUS
NICHOLAS McGEGAN- Philharmonia Baroque Orch. UC Berkeley Chorus
Being a Handel Oratorio nut and especially of Judas MacCabaeus which is the near equal of Messiah, we publish this slightly belated review. The usual preference is for UK forces doing Handel (the King serieson Hyperion is quite good), here is an exceptional exception to the rule.The King version only begins to pick up steamabout half way through the performance.
The HM version under McGegan takes command from the opening chord, holds and builds throughout the entire work. Some of the earlier McGegan HM's were a bit on the underwhelming side- weak string playing, poor intonation from the chorus and fairly edgy digital sound. Things have apparently gotten better over the last several years.
A bit of background, many of the earlier stereo versions (most issued on LP) are performed with modern forces and don't seem able to negotiate the orchestral passages with the needed dexterity. Some of the older singers (Peerce,Young etc.) are great but need the proper style & spirit from the orchestral accompaniment.The Mackerras Archiv seemed the best of the lot. Each of these versions were cut!. So here I thought I had it as good as it could be with the Hyperion and HM sends me a sampler CD of the McGegan.... OH BOY! McGegan gets more enthusiasm from his forces,crisp and energized brass, very sharp percussion, greatly improved string tone (OK not 100%), excited and involved singers who get better with every listen. Sound is excellent.
Best of all, look at the running time of these CD's- nearly 80 min. each disc-
McGegan has an Appendix on the second disc which contains 8 tracks of additional alternate sections of Judas.
Highest Recommendation *****
For me the occasion lasted nearly a week- I could not stop playing this!
Written in 1746 to raise flagging spirits in London (the Army of George II was doing battle against Prince Charles for the English throne). This may be the most exciting oratorio ever written. The work is not entirely original-Handel took from other works including a rousing version of Zadok the Priest.This is the Handel of war (trumpets & drums ablaze),hope, faith, joy,
inspiration and redemption.*****
Is it true?: a) Florian Merz is the illegitimate son of Hans Knappertsbusch. b) Florian Merz ran in lead shoes for over six months before recording this Schumann cycle. c) recorded timpani can sound likeTNT detonations. - (the correct answer is C and possibly B! )
Schumann: The Orchestral Works- Florian Merz and the Dusseldorf Philharmonie.
"There's been a drumming and trumpeting within in me for a few days now (trumpets in C)", wrote Schumann to Felix Mendelssohn in September 1845, " I don't yet know
what it will bring?" Perhaps Florian Merz does. A Must Hear CD *****
MORE FLORIAN MERZ SCHUMANN NEW RELEASE - LIVE RECORDING:
EBS 6091 SW Philharmonie -Florian Merz
Overture, Scherzo & Finale and premiere recording of the 1841 version of the Sym. #4 arranged by Johannes Brahms and Franz Wullner. The CD liner notes state that Merz received his diploma in music from Adolf Holler - was this a misprint? Everyone should appreciate an attempt at a new insight into classic works or a unique interpretive vision...no matter no matter how deviant.
A must hear! *****
HISTORICAL ROMANCES Marco Polo 8.223608
Good grief!... I never thought I would take this one out of my CD player. Works include: Korngold: Juarez Overture and Devotion, Steiner: The Charge of the Light Brigade, and Alfred Newman: Gunga Din. The first CD of the score to one of the greatest films ever made! As a film professor, one of my joys is running the film society at the college..I had scheduled Gunga Din and this CD came just 2 weeks before our screening..IT SURE OPENED MY EARS!. Many of us know this score...but we may never really hear how dramatic, moving or memorable it is, till we experience it on this CD!
Richard Kaufman conducts the Brandenburg Philharmonic. *****
CAPTAIN BLOOD Marco Polo 8.223607
Enough Swash to Buckle you! Orchestral Suites from the films: The King's Thief by Miklos Rozsa, Scaramouche by Victor Young, The 3 Musketeers by Max Steiner &Erich Wolfgang Korngold-Captain Blood. Richard Kaufman conducts the Brandenburg Philharmonic in a very juicy recording. Sonic satisfaction to match your wildest Hollywood Studio System Era dreams.****
To have a listen in genuine low fi sound click here:Siegfried Wagner CPO999-366-2
SON OF DVORAK
Classical National Enquirer headline:
"Siegfried Wagner Actually Fathered by Antonin Dvorak .. Humperdinck Jealous! " Well, judging by these selections it might be true!
CPO 999 377-2 Volume 3
CPO 999 378-2 Volume 4
CPO 999 366-2 Symphonic Poems
Here are the next three installments in the complete overtures and tone poems of Siegfried Wagner on CPO.Only 3 of the greatest CDs ever issued - thats all.
"If you only going to try one unfamiliar romantic composer this year.. let it be Siegfried Wagner ".. 3 thumbs up! Siskel Ibert - (Jacques little brother turned idiot movie critic). This stuff shimmers, it glows, it is heaven come to earth... glory, bliss, magic in the form of MUSIC... Absolute complete contentment, walking on clouds, joy beyond belief. SIX Stars! (sorry, we only allow 5) * * * * *W.A. Albert cond. Rheinland Hamburg Phil. Excellent sound.
CPO 999 003 Vol 1. Siegfried Wagner
CPO 999 300 Vol. 2 Siegfried Wagner
Rheinland Philharmonic- W.A. Albert cond.
Delightful Overtures, Preludes& Orchestral Interludes, many in their first recordings.
Simply marvelous music, most exceedingly joyous in spirit and filled with wonder and
fantasy - a user friendly mix of his dad, Dvorak and Rimsky-Korsakov! Nice clean sound. ****
(Naxos now Distributes CPO)
WAGNERIAN REVENGE!
Classical National Enquirer headline:
"Wagner Asserts...Siegfried Is My Son..... Offers Proof " :
ORFEO C312 941A (Qualiton)
K.Rickenbacher Bamberg Sym.
Wagner: Cantatas for Chorus Orchestra: On the Beginning of the New Year(1835); Nicolay- Tsar Nicholas I (1837); Webers Grabe, La Descente de la Courtille etc.
Direct quotes from the National
Enquirer Wagner interview: "When I was a lad , I served a term as composer boy and courts intern, while polishing the Handel on my big Brass door, I took time, these youthful works to score. Filled with festive fun, frolic, pomp and punch...I did it long before I took Tristan and Isolde out to lunch." Great sound and highly spirited performances. ****
SMILING BRUCKNER!
Wilhem Furtwanger claims:" I Once Had Fun".. Comment Sends Shock Through Muscial World..... Fritz Reiner Doubts Authenticity Of Statement...."ENQUIRER EXCLUSIVE: Furtwangler quote: " I was young once, had some fun too. Long before my Second and Third symphonies, of course. Wrote these rather tune-filled works in the later 19th and very early 20th centuries, used Bruckner as my model. I painted a big smile on his photo with a black magic marker and looked up at it just to remind me that music could be a bit of fun as well."
Marco Polo 8.223645 (Naxos) ****
FURTWANGER:OVT. IN E, op. 3; SYM.#0 In D, SYM. #0 in b (1903 &1908)
Alfred Walter- Slovak St.- nice smooth sound.
Based on this CD she would get my vote for best women composer of the 20th Century (she died in 1903!). Franz Liszt style tone poems with some Richard Strauss orchestral gloss. Works
include: Poland- Symphonic Poem, Night and Love, Overture for a Comedy, Symphonic Poem, Andromeda, Ireland Symphonic Poem. This is absolutely first rate stuff! Powerful, lyrical, passionate, and indomitable! DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!!
Samuel Friedmann conducts the Rheinland Philharmonic. Great sounding brass*****
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