Gould from De Groot and The Hague

This is an unusual record in that the concert music of Morton Gould was certainly not being recorded in Europe at that time (mid-50s). Whatever possessed Philips to program Gould's music with orchestral forces from The Hague, conductor Willem van Otterloo and pianist Cor de Groot, we can only be grateful, for these are remarkably idiomatic performances, beautifully played and nicely recorded. They make a fine addition to our ongoing series devoted to de Groot.

Interplay, the piano piece here, is also known as American Concertette. I believe it was introduced under the latter name, and acquired the former when it became a Jerome Robbins ballet. An early work (1943), it echoes Gershwin and Ravel to good effect, being quite memorable in its own right. De Groot sounds at home.

Spirituals for Orchestra was also an early work - it is from 1946 - and one that became very successful for Gould, who was all over American music during this period. He was on radio, making mood music records, conducting, composing concert music and writing a Broadway show. It was during this period that he was compared to another wunderkind, Leonard Bernstein, who was more outgoing, photogenic and aggressive than Gould, and ultimately became more famous. Was Bernstein more talented? Perhaps.

Billboard item

This Philips recording was issued in the US in 1953, occasioning the characteristic Billboard headline at right, "Morton Gould By Dutch Ork." Well, the Dutch ork, their Dutch baton waver and Dutch ivory tickler really wail on these American riffs!

The wildly inappropriate and completely unattractive cover on this American Epic pressing is by A.F. Arnold, a fairly well-known commercial artist of the time.

This post goes out to my friend Mel, one of the first supporters of this blog. Hope you like this one, Mel!