Morton Gould by Mitropoulos; Stoki Does Billy

The connecting tissue on this issue is the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York (as the NY Phil was then titled) performing American music. Morton Gould, who made an appearance earlier on the blog as a conductor, shows up again, this time as both composer and conductor.

Gould's terrific Philharmonic Waltzes were written for the NY bunch, and this is a remarkable performance under Dimitri Mitropoulos, either right before or early in his tenure as the Philharmonic music director, which began in 1949. For the first two years, he co-led the operation with Leopold Stokowski. (Now there was a contrast.)

Stoki also appears on this record. The old cowpoke takes two of Copland's Billy the Kid pieces for a ride, then changes gears and genres for the impressionist Griffes item.

It's amazing to hear the mid-century Phil handle the Gould Quickstep march, then the languid White Peacock, both perfectly in style. These recordings are now largely forgotten - they shouldn't be.

One final note - this item has another cover by Alex Steinweiss.

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