REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Puccini Madame Butterfly Selections Arthur Pryor’s Band; Victor – 31697, 12-inch one-sided black label acoustic shellac 78, recorded approximately between 1905 and 1913. Several shellacs from the pre-1924 acoustic era feature symphonic bands doing very nice performances of operatic excerpts. Arthur Pryor’s Band left one devoted to the matchless melodies […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Dick Kuhn and his Orchestra Wild Flower; Bambalina- Decca -3723, ten inch blue label 78 disc, recorded March 25, 1941. There is very little information to be gleaned anywhere on bandleader Dick Kuhn, he starting his own band while in high school being about the only morsel uncovered. It would […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Kodaly Hary Janos Suite; Respighi: Feste Romane- Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra; RCA Victor LM-1973, 12-inch vinyl mono LP, released 1956. Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) was, arguably, one of the four best known conductors of the 20th century, the others being Leopold Stokowski, Arthur Fiedler, and Leonard Bernstein (these […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Jean-Baptiste Loeillet Sonatas; Trio Sonatas; and Lesson for the Harpsichord Pierre Pouleau, recorder; Andre Chevalet, oboe; and Yvonne Schmit, harpsichord. Music Guild MS-113, 12-inch stereo vinyl LP, released 1965. One of a select group of baroque composers who wrote truly beautiful music for both the flute and recorder, Jean-Baptiste Loeillet […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Words of Inspiration by Aladdin Dot DLP 3570, mono LP, recorded early ‘60s. Aladdin Ahmed Abdullah Anthony Pallante (1912-1970) was best known as a regular on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1953 to 1967 and a talented violinist, comic foil for novelty songs and skits and reciter of inspirational verse. […]
by Peter Cates Emilio de Gogorza The Holy City Victor- 74041, one-sided, 12-inch 78, recorded 1906. The baritone Emilio de Gogorza (1872-1949) recorded more discs for Victor than has been documented accurately. Despite this number and his success as a concert artist, he never appeared in any opera on stage due to terrible near-sightednss. The […]
by Peter Cates Whether in an urban or rural area, very devoted, if not compulsive, record collectors patrol the Goodwills and other such venues looking for that particular record, whether rare or not, that strikes their fancy and often buy just a few more that just happen to have been put out that day. This […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Handel’s Messiah Walter Susskind conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus; Musical Heritage Society MHS 582/ 583/ 584, three LP set, recorded September 22-24,1958. Being in the Easter spirit, I offer comments on this Messiah set since the music is appropriate to both Christmas and this week’s observances. Conductor Walter […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Human Desire starring Glen Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, etc.; directed by Fritz Lang; Columbia Pictures, 1954, 91 minutes. Human Desire was directed by the German-born Fritz Lang (1890-1976), whose fame in his homeland with a few classics, examples – M and Metropolis, preceded his highly successful career in the […]
REVIEW POTPOURRI by Peter Cates Dvorak Symphonies 4, 5, and 6; Overtures In Nature’s Realm, My Country and Carnival; Istvan Kertasz conducting the London Symphony Orchestra; Vox Box SVBX 5138, three 12-inch LPs, recorded 1967. Back in my early classical record collecting days during the ’63-’64 years, a peak listening experience was the 9th Symphony, […]