Classical Music - my/maSCENA

Sternberg Collection Volume 2

By Paul E. Robinson on 5 January 2014 CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Orchestral, Piano

Schubert/Hoiby: Introduction, Theme and Variations Op. 82 No. 2/Rieti: Capers/Menotti: SebastianVienna State Opera Orchestra/Jonathan Sternberg Pierian 0050 (78 m 35 s)Jonathan Sternberg was music director of the Harkness Ballet in 1966-68. He led performances with the company on tour across the U.S. and in Europe and South America. These recordings were probably made during a tour of Europe in 1967, but they were never released.Leo Hoiby (1926-2011) was an American pianist-composer who often worked with the Harkness Ballet. He orchestrated an obscure piano four-hands piece by Schubert into a sort of concerto movement for piano and orchestra. It is a…

Elgar Conducts Elgar The Complete Recordings 1914-1925

By Paul E. Robinson on 5 January 2014 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic, Strings

Elgar Conducts Elgar The Complete Recordings 1914-1925, Elgar: Symphony No. 2/Violin Concerto (Marie Hall)/Cello Concerto (Beatrice Harrison)/Sea Pictures (Leila Megane)/Cockaigne Overture/In the South Overture, etc. Symphony Orchestra/Royal Albert Hall Orchestra/Sir Edward Elgar Producer & Transfer/Restoration Engineer: Lani Spahr Music & Arts CD-1257(4)(296 m 2 s)For collectors this is a gold mine of historic recordings. For music lovers – not so much. These are recordings from the acoustical era, and Elgar went on to make much better-sounding recordings of nearly all the same pieces using the electrical microphone. Frankly, ploughing through many of these performances is almost painful. Given the primitive…

Video of the Day – Pioneers in Canadian Musical Life

By Paul E. Robinson on 4 January 2014 Canadian Music, Video of the day

We need to pause every once and a while to remember the men and women who contributed so much when Canadian musical life was still in its infancy. Much of the most important work was done by a handful of Germans and Austrians who arrived in Canada against their will during World War II and stayed on to make the country their home.Eric Koch (1919-) was one of them, and in a remarkable series of videos posted on YouTube he has articulated very well what it was like to be transplanted into a foreign country, and then to make it one’s…

Video of the Day – Hannigan Sings and Conducts Ligeti

By Paul E. Robinson on 27 December 2013 Art Song, Video of the day

Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan is an extraordinary artist, and is rapidly becoming internationally renowned. Here she is both singing and conducting the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre. Is there any other performer who could have pulled this off?Hannigan is so good it is going to be hard to decide whether she is more gifted as a soprano or as a conductor. Not to mention her remarkable talents as an actress.She has already given over 75 premieres, and just over a week ago gave the first performance of the Hans Abrahamsen song cycle Let me tell you…

“Shelter” Songs for Soprano and Cello. Music by Previn, Tavener, Honstein, Heggie and Rachmaninov

By Paul E. Robinson on 23 December 2013 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Piano, Strings

Mela Dailey, soprano; Scott Kluksdahl, cello; Rick Rowley, pianoPierian 0047 (64 m 44 s)****Recital albums featuring young sopranos are not uncommon. But what makes this new release exceptional is the unusual choice of repertoire and the high quality of the performances.Who would have thought of putting together an album of contemporary music for soprano and cello? And who would have thought that the music for this combination could be of such high quality?Andre Previn’s Four Songs for Soprano, Cello and Piano of 1994 are settings of poems by Toni Morrison. These are beautiful songs, recalling Britten in their transparency, and…

Leonard Bernstein: Historical Recordings 1941-1961

By Paul E. Robinson on 23 December 2013 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Schumann: Symphony No. 2/Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 7/Mahler: Symphony No. 2/Beethoven: Symphony No. 9/Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring/Chavez: Symphony No. 4/Harris: American Creed, etc.Boston Symphony Orchestra/New York Philharmonic/Leonard BernsteinAudio Restoration: Lani SpahrWest Hill Radio Archives WHRA-6048 (11 CDs)*****Bernstein has been dead for over 22 years and nearly everything he recorded has been released and re-released. Dozens of broadcasts have been made available too. But there are still treasures to be found. This latest release contains invaluable rehearsal excerpts and some wonderful broadcasts with the Boston Symphony.Bernstein was a protégé of BSO music director Serge Koussevitsky and Bernstein…

Video of the Day – Christmas at King’s College

By Paul E. Robinson on 23 December 2013 Choral, Video of the day

From the great tradition of Christmas at King’s College, Cambridge, here is John Rutter’s arrangement of O Holy Night. The carol was composed by Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), the man who also wrote the score for the ballet Giselle.Paul E. Robinson

Video of the Day – Celibidache Conducts Enesco

By Paul E. Robinson on 16 December 2013 Orchestral, Video of the day

I first saw Sergiu Celibidache conduct in 1969. It was at the Helsinki Festival with the Swedish Radio Symphony. I was amazed at his ability to control every detail of the music he conducted. And he was a charismatic figure, especially in the encores. He danced, he shouted, he did everything but stand on his head. As the years went by he became less flamboyant but his tempi got slower and slower. His demands for extra rehearsal time became more and more outrageous, to the point where few orchestras would hire him. It didn’t help that he talked incessantly during…

“Journeys”

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 December 2013 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Contemporary

“Journeys”Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence Op. 70/Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht Op. 4Emerson String QuartetPaul Neubauer, viola II/Colin Carr, cello IISONY 88725470602***** The Emerson String Quartet reigns supreme among string quartets but it has recently undergone some major changes. The original cellist,David Finckel, was recently replaced, and after years with Deutsche Grammophon the group has switched to Sony. This new CD is the Emerson’s first recording for the new label and one of its last recordings with Finckel still in the cello chair. The recordings were made in 2012. I don’t recall these two works being coupled on a CD but the pairing…

Mahler: Symphony No. 6

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 December 2013 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

Mahler: Symphony No. 6Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Jaap van ZwedenDSO Live DSOL-5***** This is the latest release from the Dallas Symphony on its own label. It dates from March 2013 during a week of highly acclaimed live performances of the work at the Myerson Symphony Center. Shortly afterwards, van Zweden and the DSO embarked on a European tour; again the Mahler Sixth was prominently featured. This recording documents the best of both orchestra and conductor. After several seasons as music director in Dallas, van Zweden has been able to add some first-class musicians to the band and to shape the ensemble to…

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