by Peter Cates Bruckner Symphony No. 8 Anton Nanut conducting the Ljublana Symphony Orchestra; Stradivari Classics, SCD-6059, CD, recorded 1980s. If I had to pick only one conductor whose recordings I could take to a desert island, it would be Anton Nanut (1932-2017) . He conducted almost every piece of music as if it were […]
by Peter Cates Bjarne Brustad Violin Concerto No. 4 William Walton Violin Concerto Camilla Wicks, violin, with Herbert Blomstedt and Yuri Somonov conducting the Oslo Philharmonic, Simax PSC 1185, CD, live broadcasts. The 4th Violin Concerto of Bjarne Brustad (1895-1978), one of Norway’s leading 20th century composers, is a meandering exercise full of dramatic, pounding […]
by Peter Cates Beethoven Pastoral Symphony and Leonore Overture No. 3 Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Turin Radio Orchestra of Italy; Urania URN 22.227, CD, from a 1952 broadcast and issued 2002. Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954) was one conductor now considered by more collectors and listeners to classical recordings to be very close to the greatest who […]
by Peter Cates Stan Kenton Stan Kenton Presents Capitol T248, mono lp, 1955 re-issue of original 78 singles and a ten-inch LP from 1950. The great Stan Kenton (1911-1979) recorded a batch of singles in 1950 that highlighted the arranging and compositional skills of such SK loyalists as Shorty Rogers, Bill Russo, Frank Marks and […]
by Peter Cates Morton Gould South of the Border Columbia, m-593, 4 ten-inch 78s, recorded mid-’40s. A very gifted pianist, composer, arranger and conductor, Morton Gould (1913-1996) straddled the worlds of classical and popular music very comfortably in a manner similar to Andre Kostelanetz, conductor and film composer John Williams and the latter’s Boston Pops […]
by Peter Cates Giuseppe Tartini D minor Violin Concerto; Pietro Nardini: E minor Violin Concerto; and Giovanni Battista Viotti Violin Concerto No. 22; Peter Rybar, violinist, with Clemens Dahinden conducting the Winterhur Symphony Orchestra; Westminster XWN 18192, mono LP, recorded 1952. This very antiquated LP contains very lovely examples of 18th century Italian composers, who […]
by Peter Cates Jermaine Jackson Frontiers Motown M7-898R1, LP, recorded 1978. Older brother of Janet, the late Michael and six other siblings and former member of the Jackson 5, Jermaine Jackson has reached a pinnacle of success as singer, songwriter, reality TV star and Jackson family spokesman at the nice young age of 63. The […]
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, […]