 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Jun 23, 2018 - 12:02 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
Adrian Boult’s first prominent post was conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1924. When the British Broadcasting Corporation appointed him director of music in 1930, he established the BBC Symphony Orchestra and became its chief conductor. Boult was made a Knight Bachelor in 1937, thus becoming Sir Adrian Boult. Under his guidance, the BBC Symphony set standards of excellence that were rivaled in Britain only by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO).
Forced to leave the BBC in 1950 upon reaching the retirement age of 60, Boult took on the chief conductorship of the LPO. The orchestra had declined from its peak of the 1930s, but under his guidance its fortunes were revived. He retired as its chief conductor in 1957, and later accepted the post of president. Although in the latter part of his career he worked with other orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and his former orchestra, the BBC Symphony, it was the LPO with which he was primarily associated, conducting it in concerts and recordings until 1978, in what was widely called his "Indian Summer".
Sir Adrian Boult’s recording of Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 with the LPO was made in 1971. Boult died at the age of 93 in 1983.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jun 25, 2018 - 1:10 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
William Steinberg immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1938. He conducted a number of concerts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra from 1938 to 1940. Steinberg conducted summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium in New York (1940–41), led New York Philharmonic concerts in 1943-44, and also conducted at the San Francisco Opera. He became a U.S. citizen in 1944, and was engaged as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1945 to 1952.
But Steinberg is best known for his 24-year tenure as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1952 to 1976. Steinberg's Pittsburgh appearances in January 1952 were so impressive that he was quickly both engaged as music director and signed to a contract with Capitol Records. Thereafter, Pittsburgh was the center of his activity although he held other important positions.
Steinberg made numerous recordings for Capitol Records with the Pittsburgh Symphony, all made in the Syria Mosque, including concertos with violinist Nathan Milstein and pianist Rudolf Firkušný, as well as a cross-section of the symphonic repertoire from Beethoven to Wagner.
In February 1960, Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony moved to Everest Records, but by mutual agreement this contract was terminated after three releases since Everest abandoned their classical recording program. One of those three releases, recorded on 35mm magnetic film during the period of 13-16 February 1960, was Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. In the early 1970s, the Italian label Quadrifoglio International re-released the recording on LP and cassette.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny Winter Second Winter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:34 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
The recording below of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, by Henry Adolph and the Süddeutsche Philharmonie Orchestra, is real. Only the conductor and orchestra are fictitious. They both came from the fertile imagination of Alfred Scholz, a prolific producer of budget recordings, who sold recordings credited with fake artists and orchestras. Scholz sometimes used his own name, sometimes made up names, and sometimes the names of real people were given credit for performances which were not theirs.
The most common orchestra used by Scholz in his fake attributions was the Süddeutsche Philharmonie or "South German Philharmonic". The group probably did exist at one brief period of time--it was originally a short-lived pick-up ensemble assembled by Scholz from members of the Czech Philharmonic in Prague and the Bamberg Symphony in Germany around 1968.
Many dozens of budget labels use the recordings originally obtained from Alfred Scholz, who had a catalog of about 2000 titles. Most of these were old analogue recordings made between 1968 and 1970 for labels like Polyband and Primaton, and by the Austrian Radio prior to 1977. The recordings by the Austrian Radio were sold in 1977 to PREMIS, a company owned or controlled by Scholz. The catalog subsequently passed into the ownership of Musikförderung and is now owned by Point Productions.
These budget recordings are not necessarily poor performances. Many are just old performances which were sold for a one-time payment, rather than for royalties, and have been reissued in various guises ever since. They may be musically excellent, but in general the audio quality is less than first-rate.
In one reported case, someone who was trying to collect every existing recording of Belioz’s Symphonie Fantastique found upon careful listening that the following seven performances were in fact the same:
George Randoph Warren / New Classical Philharmony,
Alberto Lizzio / Süddeutsche Philharmonie,
Alfred Scholz / London Festival Orchestra,
Anton Nanut/ Radio Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra,
Jean Gardinon / Paris Festival Orchestra,
Loic Bertrand / Orchestra Symphonique du Festival, and
Henry Adolph / Philharmonie Slavonica
It’s quite possible that the recording is actually by none of the listed orchestras or conductors. The earliest known release of the Adolph/Süddeutsche Dvorak recording below is dated 1977. But it may have appeared earlier under the name of another conductor and orchestra.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jun 30, 2018 - 12:04 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
From 1958 to 1962, Belgian conductor Edouard van Remoortel was music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO). He was appointed after a successful guest-conducting appearance with the SLSO. However, troubles soon developed between him and the orchestra, because of his relative youth (32, when appointed) and conducting inexperience, and also because of personality clashes with the musicians. In his first season, he attempted to dismiss 42 of the orchestra's musicians, and in return, they voted at one point not to play for him. His last season with the SLSO featured him as conductor in only seven subscription concerts, and his contract was not renewed.
Van Remoortel recorded mainly for the Vox family of labels, using Eastern European orchestras. His recording of Manuel De Falla’s “El Amor Brujo” and “The Three-Cornered Hat” was made with the Vienna Symphony, and was originally released on Turnabout Records in 1968. Van Remoortel was conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra when he suddenly died in 1977 just two weeks before his 51st birthday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 2, 2018 - 12:23 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
Indian conductor Zubin Mehta's father was the founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and from him, Mehta received his early musical education. When he was 18, he enrolled in the Vienna state music academy from which he graduated after three years with a diploma as a conductor. He began winning international competitions and conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at age 21.
In 1961, Mehta was named assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, although the orchestra's music director designate, Georg Solti, was not consulted on the appointment, and subsequently resigned in protest. The orchestra had been without a permanent conductor for four years when Mehta started directing it.
Mehta was named Music Director of the orchestra and held the post from 1962 to 1978. When he began his first season with the orchestra in 1962, he was twenty-six, the youngest person ever to be music director for any major North American orchestra. And since he also conducted the Montreal Symphony during those early years, he became the first person ever to direct two North American symphony orchestras at the same time.
Mehta worked to polish the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s overall sound to something closer to the Vienna Philharmonic. He succeeded in altering its sound to being warmer and richer by fostering competition among the musicians, shifting assignments, giving promotions and changing seating arrangements as he saw fit. He also inspired the musicians; 21-year-old cellist Jacqueline du Pré said, "He provides a magic carpet for you to float on." Cellist Kurt Reher recalls Mehta's first rehearsal with the orchestra: "within two beats we were entranced. It seemed this young man had the ability, the musical knowledge of a man of 50 or 55."
In May 1975, Mehta recorded Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. London Records released the recording the next year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In 1971, Andre Previn recorded Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue,” “Concerto In F,” and “An American In Paris” for Angel Records, with the London Symphony Orchestra, for which he had been principal conductor since 1968.
From 1976 to 1984, Previn was music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Shortly before leaving Pittsburgh, in May 1984, Previn re-recorded the same Gershwin program with the PSO as he had with the LSO, this time digitally for Philips Records. And, as he had with the LSO, Previn played the piano solo parts as well as conducted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 9, 2018 - 12:37 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
Rafael Kubelík was a Czech-born conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 19. Having managed to maintain a career in Czechoslovakia under the Nazi occupation, he refused to work under what he considered a "second tyranny" after the Communist Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948, and took refuge in Britain. Kubelík was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1950–53), musical director of The Royal Opera, Covent Garden (1955–58), and music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1961–79), and was a frequent guest conductor for leading orchestras in Europe and America.
Kubelik recorded extensively. During the period 1973-75, for Deutsche Grammophon Records he recorded the Beethoven Symphony cycle. In an unusual move, he conducted each of the nine symphonies with a different orchestra. In 1966, with the Berlin Philharmonic, Kubelik recorded Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. Five years later, in 1971 he followed it with Symphony No. 7. Then, in a burst of activity in 1973, he completed the rest of Dvorak’s symphony cycle, concluding with Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” shown below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 11, 2018 - 1:31 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
Karl Goldmark’s “Rustic Wedding Symphony” does not conform to the standard structure of a symphony, and it could just be named a Suite. It is in five movements rather than the usual four, which is same as Beethoven's “Pastoral Symphony” and Berlioz's “Symphonie Fantastique.” While Goldmark did not provide any specific program for the work, he did give each of the movements titles suggestive of aspects of a wedding in the countryside.
The first movement is a Wedding March (Hochzeitsmarsch) followed by a set of 13 variations. This is followed by a Bridal Song (Brautlied). The third movement, Serenade, opens with a theme played by two oboes, later developed by the strings. It includes an imitation of bagpipes, played on oboe, clarinet, bassoon and cellos.
The fourth movement, In the Garden (Im Garten), is slow and lyrical. The finale, Dance, is the only movement of the work written in sonata form. It opens with a fugue and the Garden theme briefly reappears, before the Dance returns to end the movement rousingly.
Andre Previn recorded the piece with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1980.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
