by Peter Cates Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”; Muir Mathieson conducting the Sinfonia of London. Camelot CMT 102, stereo LP, recorded 1958. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony was given its world premiere on October 28, 1893, nine days before he died at 53. He wrote a letter to his nephew that year describing his feelings […]
by Peter Cates Elizabeth Coatsworth “Outwardly I am 83, but inwardly I am every age, with the emotions and experiences of each period.” Born in Buffalo, New York, the writers Elizabeth Coatsworth (1893-1986) and her husband, Henry Beston (1888-1968), lived in an early 19th century farmhouse, Chimney Farm, alongside Damariscotta Lake, in Nobleboro, Maine. She […]
by Peter Cates The Headliners, Volume 3 Columbia Record Club, GB 11, LP, released December, 1962. A number of record collectors with very long memories, including myself, joined the now-extinct Columbia Record Club which started in 1955 and was based in Terre Haute, Indiana. Every year around Christmas starting in 1960, it would send a […]
by Peter Cates In last week’s column, I wrote about the pianist Glenn Gould and mentioned his classical hit record, the 1955 Bach Goldberg Variations for Columbia Records but failed to mention another million seller, his 1981 remake of the same work, of which many of his fans, including myself, also consider basic to any […]
by Peter Cates Glenn Gould (1932-1982) Glenn Gould would have been 87 this past September 25 if he had not died of a stroke October 4, 1982, at the age of 50. A world-famous pianist at a rarely achieved level of success as was Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein and Sviatoslav Richter, and still Yuga Wang, […]
by Peter Cates Budapest String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 Budapest String Quartet, Columbia MM-510, 4 12-inch 78s, recorded September 15, 1941. The Budapest String Quartet began in 1917 when Budapest, Hungary, was a major center for classical music education with composers Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly and violinist Jeno Hubay and others. Four unemployed […]
by Peter Cates Graham Greene The Paradox of a Pope, from his Collected Essays Originally written in 1951. Eugenio Pacelli (1876-1958) later became Pope Pius XII upon the death of Pope Pius XI, in 1939, during very evil years of the last century and, upon his own death, would be succeeded by the even more […]
by Peter Cates Ravel Bolero, Pavane for a Dead Princess, and La Valse William Steinberg conducting the Pittsburg Symphony; Capitol SP 8475, stereo lp, recorded October 29, 1958, at Pittsburgh’s Syrian Mosque. One of the most gifted conductors to have emerged in the last century, William Steinberg (1899-1978), led the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1952 to […]
by Peter Cates Green Mountain Country “He got up at seven as usual, and he and his wife had breakfast together. At half past eight he went to his office in the town. His old friend and partner was already there when he entered. They were both early risers. They spoke with each other for […]
by Peter Cates George Enescu This past August 19 was the 138th anniversary of the birth of the great Romanian composer , violinist, conductor and teacher, George Enescu (1881-1955), whose musical legacy is still drawing ever-increasing attention and appreciation. The number of his compositions is very large and ranges through most classical forms. His own […]