REVIEW POTPOURRI: Gershwin & Ravel; Herbert Kegel; Leroy Vandyke

by Peter Cates

Gershwin & Ravel

George Gershwin

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue – Adolph Drescher, pianist; C.A. Bunte conducting the Pro Musica Symphony Orchestra.

Ravel: Bolero – Samo Hubad conducting the Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Sony Music Special Products BT 22444, cassette, 1991.

The late 1980s tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Iron Curtain precipitated, among other benefits, a flood of available classical recordings from very talented artists such as, to name a few examples, pianist Dubrovka Tomsic and conductors Anton Nanut, Marko Munih, Heinz Rogner etcs. Often the companies of inexpensive releases used pseudonyms but Google has proved useful for spotting them.

Maurice Ravel

The names on this cassette release however were real people. Pianist Adolph Drescher (1921-1967) collaborated with Maestro C.A. Bunte (1927-2016) in a very good Rhapsody in Blue, arguably the most frequently recorded piece of George Gershwin (1898-1937) while Samo Hubad (1917-2016) conducted Bolero, a piece that remains, for many the most popular; and for many others the most disliked piece that Maurice Ravel (1874-1937) ever composed. Hubad achieved a strikingly good performance.

I have read that Ravel himself was quite pleased with what he achieved with the piece as a tour de force.

The 1991 release date may be a reissue of 1960s tapings since pianist Drescher died in 1967.

Herbert Kegel

Mahler Symphony #3 – Herbert Kegel conducting the Dresden Philharmonic; Weitblick SSS0029, two CDs. Recorded March 25, 1984.

The late East German Maestro Herbert Kegel conducted a phenomenally exciting and eloquently shaped performance of Gustav Mahler’s longest, sprawling Symphony and one I also consider a masterpiece, having collected over 40 different recordings. Kegel was very gifted whether conducting Beethoven, Mahler, Carl Orff, Alban Berg or Dimitri Shostakovich.

He also struggled most of his life with depression and committed suicide during the early 1990s.

Leroy Vandyke

Leroy Vandyke – Auctioneer; and I Fell in Love with a Pony Tail; Dot 45-15503, seven inch vinyl 45, recorded 1956.

Still living at 95, country singer Leroy Vandyke recorded two very hokey and, despite hokey, quite enjoyable songs, Auctioneer being hugely popular.

All Star Trio

All Star Trio and their Orchestra – Hortense, Medley Fox Trot; and Never Mind, Fox Trot; Victor 18863, recorded 1922, ten inch acoustic shellac.

Three very gifted musician, including a xylophonist, and their backup orchestra played two very perky and enlivening dance tunes . An intriguing example of roaring ‘20s dance music from 103 years ago.

The 1920s and ’30s generated a rich recorded legacy of dance bands which, in turn, provided employment for numerous giants of the World War II big band era, such as Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, etc.