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.

Pavel Kogan

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 bits of wistful melancholy that provides some contrast but never swamps the good feelings. The accompanying Vocalise is a very popular short staple, sometimes performed by a soprano with full orchestra, while the Scherzo, composed at 14, is a mildly pleasant exercise.

Pavel Kogan, now 65, conducts a powerful performance recorded with a commendable, spacious dimension.

Kogan’s father, Leonid Kogan (1924-1982), was considered one of the two greatest and most prominent violinists in 20th century Russian history, the other being David Oistrakh (1908-1974). Kogan himself is an accomplished fiddler but prefers conducting. And Kogan’s son, Dmitri, was a phenomenal violinist, well on his own way to a star-studded career when he died of cancer at 38 just last year in 2017.

A highly recommended CD still available through Amazon vendors.

Haydn

Symphonies 88 and 92
Hermann Scherchen conducting the Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Westminster XWN 18616, mono LP, recorded 1951.

Hermann Scherchen

Conductor Hermann Scherchen (1891-1966) was a gifted interpreter of a wide range of composers from Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart through Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms and Tchai­kovsky to Mahler, Schonberg, Berg, Webern, Malipiero, Reger, etc. He recorded dozens of LPs for Westminster starting in the early ‘50s, most of these now available on CD, along with live broadcasts.

According to one player, he could be a brutal taskmaster; others dismiss such comments. Anyways, this pair of performances is quite feisty and engaging. The 92, better known as the Oxford Symphony, was written to commemorate the University granting the composer an honorary degree. However, a few scholars have disputed whether this is the correct piece. Regardless, this one and 95 are my two current Haydn favorites for frequent listening.

A favorite quote from the Maestro: “Music does not have to be understood. It has to be listened to!”

A personal aside on potential musical talent of the future:

In recent months I have been listening to two performers I know well. However, I will not reveal their identities for the sake of privacy nor mention the genre of their own artistic work most definitely.

The point of my jaw flapping is to encourage musical talent out there in the wind, so to speak, and to hope and pray that they keep at it, if they feel compelled to do so, despite the necessities of survival and the entire gamut of other obstacles, both internal and external.

When I was 25 and possessed various delusions of Peter the Great grandeur, mainly becoming a world renowned classical record critic, I sent a batch of my reviews to both the late music critic, Irving Kolodin (1908-1988), and the very gifted writer and classical review editor, James Goodfriend, of the now defunct Stereo Review.

Kolodin quickly responded with a note suggesting that I avoid extremes of approval and disapproval, cut out the very worn cliches and other verbiage of other reviewers and work hard on a personal style of my own. He added, “This is not meant to discourage you. Only you can discourage yourself!” I know I have failed to create an individual style that would resound with millions of readers and bring fame, fortune and permanent happiness, but I have most definitely made peace with myself and God, try to do my daily best and find contentment in where I am at the beautiful, most comely age of 66. I would suggest, though, that Irving Kolodin’s motto on encouragement be typed on a card and kept within easy reach of anyone who aspires to success in any morally legitimate activity.

Jim Goodfriend’s reply took just more than a year but he gave a list of very useful do’s and don’ts. One most memorable one aimed at any aspiring writer reading this screed was to use nouns and verbs as much as possible and as few adjectives and adverbs.

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.

Nicolai Gedda

Like her compatriot, the great tenor Nicolai Gedda (1925-2017), Swedish-born soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom sang in several languages, and possessed one of the most beautiful, disciplined voices to be found anywhere.

The above CD contains three live broadcast performances from the BBC – Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by the late, phenomenally great Antal Dorati (1906-1988), from October 3, 1976; Ravel’s Sheherazade with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), from August 3, 1971; and two arias from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Sir John Pritchard (1921-1989), from August 20, 1960.

Richard Strauss wrote his final work, the Four Last Songs, in 1948, one that has generated a number of very good recordings. The words are pre-occupied with the confrontation with, and acceptance of, one’s mortality. After a lifetime of composing some of the most exciting music that display the full expressive and technical range of the modern orchestra – including the crazy, brilliant tone poems, Don Juan, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Death and Transfiguration, A Hero’s Life, etc., and the awesomely violent operas, Salome (with its Dance of the Seven Veils and Final Scene, in which the deranged Salome sings of her love for John the Baptist to his head on a platter) and Elektra – as well as a batch of rather dull pieces, Strauss presented music of the deepest, most eloquent serenity. Soderstrom and Dorati did a very satisfying performance that holds its own with other singers and conductors.

The composer was married for more than 50 years to his wife, Pauline; he once described her as ” very complex, perverse, coquettish, at every minute different from how she had been a moment before,” and often screaming at him, “Richard, we are low on cash – go write something!,” even though they were quite wealthy! But he reportedly considered their marriage a very happy one.

The Ravel Sheherazade and the Mozart Figaro arias are also given exemplary performances, consistent with Soderstrom’s unusually gifted reputation for adapting her beautiful voice to the exacting style and sound of different composers. For lovers of true vocal art, this cd is especially recommended!

Hymns Triumphant
Volume 2

arranged and conducted by Lee Holdridge; Birdwing BWC 2058, cassette, recorded 1984.

Lee Holdridge

The very talented composer, conductor and arranger, Lee Holdridge (1944-), has assembled and ar­rang­ed approximately 30 hymns and conducts the Amen Choir of the Van Nuys, Cali­fornia, First Baptist Church and England’s National Philharmonic Orchestra in performances that lack the sentimentality of previous similar glee clubby albums. Holdridge has arranged for numerous singers, the most prominent being Neil Diamond, while both men collaborated on the soundtrack for Jonathan Livingston Seagull. He has also composed a fine Violin Concerto and music for various films and TV shows, which are listed in his wiki biography.

by Peter Cates

Sidney Bechet

The Blue Bechet
RCA Victor LPV-535, LP reissue of 78 originals, released 1966.

Sidney Bechet

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 another, while listening to a performer he didn’t like in a club. As he emptied each glass, he would throw it at the player.

He was also one supremely talented performer on the clarinet and soprano sax. His playing had an expressive beauty that was uniquely his own. There is not a single selection among the 16 on the above record that is less than good.

Charlie Daniels Band

In America; Blue Skies
Epic- 9-50888, stereo 45, recorded 1979.

Charlie Daniels

Now 81, Charlie Daniels and his band have carved out a significant niche in what could best be described as country rock, tinged with blues. He formed the group in 1955, shortly after high school graduation, but it didn’t hit pay dirt until the mid-’70s, later escalating in 1979 with The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

In America was a patriotic reaction to the Iran hostage crisis and a good example of the six member group’s thoroughly drilled ensemble. Still, for my money, the B side, Blue Star, is an even stronger number in musical content and precision teamwork. Yet it is not listed in the otherwise thorough discography of the band on Wiki, despite the band’s success since 1979,

Daniels’s health has suffered at various times – from an arm severely broken in three places by a spinning auger, prostate cancer, pneumonia, a stroke and the installation of a pacemaker. In 2011, tragedy struck when the band’s longtime keyboardist, Taz DiGregorio, died in an automobile accident at 67.

But Daniels stays busy touring and has been honored for his musical contributions by official membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Bellini

Sonnambula- Ah! Non Credea Mirarti (Could I Believe), from Act 3
Alma Gluck, soprano, with Walter B. Rogers conducting; Victrola-74263, acoustic 12-inch 78, recorded 1911.

Vincenzo Bellini

Although I do have several operas of Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) on my shelves, I have not ever connected with them on the deepest level, as I have with ones by Rossini, Donizetti, Ponchielli, Verdi and Puccini – these being the most representative composers/geniuses in the Italian tradition. This disc of the great Alma Gluck (1884-1938) may change my attitude.

First, some context on the opera – it was a hit from the beginning and, inevitably, been used as a vehicle for singers with high notes of steel and beauty; the most famous interpreters are probably Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland, whose recordings are readily available.

The aria is most often referred to as the Sleepwalking Scene in which the heartbroken heroine is, naturally, walking in a deep sleep along a precipice. There are exquisite, separate obliggatos for the oboe and cello in which they blend with the singer. Some good news – the lady does not jump or fall, except in her lover’s arms and happily ever after.

For sheer beauty of phrasing and sustained line, Gluck rose so eloquently to the occasion. Her other Victor records, no matter whether opera arias or hymns, were consistently enjoyable. A shellac from the mid 1900s of Carry Me Back to Old Virginny was the first record by a classical artist to sell a million copies!

Finally, she was the mom of actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

by Peter Cates

John Prine

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 incredible fame over the 47 years that have elapsed since then never stirred my curiosity – that is until just over two weeks ago. While surfing YouTube, I chanced upon a 2011 post featuring him singing a duet with Iris Dement, who has been a favorite singer of mine for at least 25 years.

The song was In Spite of Ourselves with these opening lines; “She don’t like her eggs all runny/She thinks crossin’ her legs is funny/She looks down her nose at money/She gets it on like the Easter Bunny/She’s my baby/I’m her honey/I’m never gonna let her go.”

I won’t quote further because the lyrics go a bit over the top but they are a celebration of true love between a couple who each have two verses to “extol” each other. And, yes, the song was written by Prine and featured on a 1999 album as the title one. He had Dement in mind for the duet. His wife called the singer to tease her about the lyrics, while Dement took a period to gather the courage to record it.

The song became a much requested hit; there are numerous YouTubes from over the last 19 years in which Prine sings with Dement, Emmy Lou Harris and others, not to mention other couples.

Ralph Towner/Gary Burton

Matchbook; ECM records, ECM-1056, stereo LP, recorded 1975.

This very exquisite, delectable album is a collaboration between two very gifted players – guitarist Ralph Towner, now 78, and the presently 75-year-old vibraphonist, Gary Burton. It assembles some of the most captivating “soft” jazz to be heard anywhere, yet not in the superficial, commercialized mode of a few other performers, especially from the ‘70s when such muzak really thrived.

The nine selections include seven original Towner compositions, the Adolf Comden, Betty Green and Leonard Bernstein, Some Other Time, and Charlie Mingus’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. The album is one I shall return to.

Often during the past 47 years, I would confuse Burton, with another Gary who was also a wonderful vibraphonist, was born the same year, 1943, as Burton, but died very tragically at the age of 38 in 1971 – namely, Gary MacFarlane !

Angel and the Badman

starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey, Sr., Bruce Cabot, Tom Powers, etc.; directed by James Edward Grant; Republic Pictures, 1947, 100 minutes, VHS cassette.

John Wayne

John Wayne is a gunslinger who served as Wyatt Earp’s deputy at OK Corral but is running from an otherwise questionable past. Gail Russell portrays the Quaker maiden who falls in love with him. The very engaging actor, Harry Carey, Sr., is the sheriff in pursuit of Wayne while Bruce Cabot appears as another outlaw also gunning for JW. Due to space, all I can say is that I love this film for its plotting, pacing, character development, phenomenal performances from every cast member and the most splendid concluding confrontation scene and aftermath. Finally, there are moments when Carey comes very close to stealing the show; his death within a year was a major blow to cinema!

John Wayne was a very caring friend to Gail Russell, who was an extremely shy, vulnerable woman and who would succumb to alcoholism at the age of 36 in 1961, despite Wayne’s very caring and frequent help and support.

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.

Felix Mendelssohn

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 basic repertoire of concertos that listeners new to classical music gravitate to and rightfully so because they are very beautiful.

Alfredo Campoli

But this record is quite special on its own terms. Alfredo Campoli (1906-1991) had a gift for the most elegant phrasing and fussed over every note as if his life depended on it. Here, he is accompanied by two conductors who were noted for their collaborations with soloists both in concert and the recording studio.

Eduard Van Beinum

Eduard Van Beinum (1901-1959) probably never conducted a bad record during his entire tenure with London/Decca and Epic/Phillips , at least among the ones I own. The notorious Holy Terror perfectionist of a conductor, George Szell bought a copy of the Haydn Symphonies 96 and 97 that Beinum recorded and was so impressed he wrote a note to the latter expressing his deepest pleasure, something as rare as hen’s teeth with Szell. I also own it and love it. And in terms of disposition, Beinum got his results by treating his players with warmth and validation.

Max Bruch

Royalton Kisch (1920-1995) was one of the most talented English conductors to emerge after World War II but, after1964, left conducting because of a bad back. When his father, also a Royalton, died in 1967, the writer mistakenly reported him dead and the error was not corrected for years.

For those who would like to hear this record, they can easily access it on YouTube.