by Peter Cates Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2; Vocalise; Scherzo in D Minor Pavel Kogan conducting the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra; Alto- ALC 1031, CD, recorded 1990. This Symphony would easily make a list of five starter Symphonies for newcomers. It abounds in gorgeous melody, grandly sweeping orchestral passages and a compelling, noble optimism combined with […]
by Peter Cates Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Seiji Ozawa conducting the Boston Symphony; Stravinsky: Firebird Suite-Lorin Maazel conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony; Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet Suite excerpts- Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic; Deutsche Grammophon- 413 155-4, 88 minute cassette, from 1960 and 1978 original tapes. The exotic, very listenable and ever popular Scheherazade has received a […]
by Peter Cates Music of Richard Strauss (1864-1949), Maurice Ravel (1874-1937), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791); Elisabeth Soderstrom (1927-2009), soprano, with various conductors and orchestras; BBC Legends – BBCL 4153-2, CD, from 1960, 1971 and 1976 broadcast concerts. Like her compatriot, the great tenor Nicolai Gedda (1925-2017), Swedish-born soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom sang in several languages, […]
by Peter Cates Paul Baumgartner Piano Recital recorded February 17, 1964; Ermitage-ERM 200-2 ADD, CD. Swiss-born Paul Baumgartner (1903-1976) was most definitely below-the-radar, when compared to Rubinstein, Brendel, Ashkenazy or Horowitz, but he was highly revered by connoisseurs of really fine piano recordings. This CD preserves a live concert of the following works – Beethoven’s […]
by Peter Cates Sidney Bechet The Blue Bechet RCA Victor LPV-535, LP reissue of 78 originals, released 1966. To call Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) an ornery cuss would be an understatement. He was COLD – willfully mean, self-centered, and capricious in his cruelty to others. One night, he was drinking tiny glasses of booze, one after […]
by Peter Cates Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 Paul Kletzki conducting the Czech Philharmonic; Quintessence PMC-7216; stereo LP, 1983 reissue of 1967 Supraphon original LP. Paul Kletzki, who died in 1973, was one of six truly great conductors – the others being Jascha Horenstein, Karel Ancerl, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Otto Klemperer and Istvan Kertesz. From what I have […]
by Peter Cates John Prine The first time I heard singer/songwriter John Prine, now 71, was at the Gorham gym, of what is now the University of Southern Maine, during the spring of 1972. He was the opening act for Lighthouse, was totally new to me and failed to make any impression . Even his […]
by Peter Cates Conversations about Bernstein William Westbrook Burton, editor Oxford Univ. Press, 1995, 198 pages. Conversations is a volume of interviews with various individuals who knew and worked with the composer, conductor, pianist, author, TV personality extraordinaire, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), who was arguably the most famous man involved in classical music during the last […]
by Peter Cates Alfredo Campoli, violin, with Eduard Van Beinum conducting the London Philharmonic (Mendelssohn) and Royalton Kisch, the New Symphony (Bruch); London LL 966, mono LP, recorded 1954. I own a number of duplicate recordings in which the Mendelssohn is coupled with either the Bruch or Tchaikovsky VCs; all three are central to the […]
by Peter Cates The number of record collectors who listen to the dusty old 78s are few when one considers the general population but, if gathered in a convention hall from around the world, could fill it. The dealers hawking them on Ebay, popsike and other venues plus the Facebook pages testify to the interest, […]