Early Recordings of Charles Ives' Music

In response to my recent report of early recordings of the music of Edgard Varèse, longtime blog reader David Federman asked me if I had this pioneering 1951 record of Charles Ives' music. Not only do I have it, I had already transferred it for presentation here.

The LP, on the short-lived Polymusic label, was made when Ives was still alive (he died in 1954, at age 79). At the time, his reputation was growing. He had won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 (even though he stopped composing in 1930), and such advocates as Bernard Herrmann, John Kirkpatrick, Nicholas Slonimsky, Lou Harrison and Helen Boatwright were programming his music.

Nonetheless, recordings were few and the music was still little known. Most of the performances in this album are first editions, possibly all of them except for the second violin sonata, which Patricia Travers had done for Columbia in 1950. These include such pieces as "The Unanswered Question" and "Central Park in the Dark," which are today far more familiar than they were then.

These and the other orchestral works are led by Vladimir Cherniavsky. I had not encountered his name before, so did some research. Online sources generally suggest that the name "Vladimir Cherniavsky" is a pseudonym for Will Lorin. But when I looked deeper, I found that it is actually the other way around.

Ives in his back yard, 1951

I believe that Vladimir Cherniavsky was the birth name of a composer-conductor-writer who was the son of another composer-conductor, Joseph Cherniavsky (or Josef Cherniafsky). The elder Cherniavsky was associated with the Yiddish theater and made a number of records in the 1920s. The younger Cherniavsky first shows up as a composer of a piece presented by one of the radio orchestras on air in the early 40s. He then disappears until this 1951 session.

Cherniavsky thereafter apparently made his living under the name Will Lorin, both as a writer and composer-conductor. Among his credits were working with Duke Ellington to adapt "A Drum is a Woman" for television in 1956, and providing the musical backing for Harry Belafonte's "An Evening with Belafonte" in 1957. In 1960, Lorin wrote the incidental music for the Broadway play Send Me No Flowers. Less auspiciously, he put together a 1963 General Electric industrial record called "Music to Drill Oil Wells By".

Elliot Magaziner

On the Ives LP, Cherniavsky leads an orchestra of New York studio musicians. Performing the violin sonata are Elliot Magaziner, who played in the CBS television orchestra, and pianist Frank Glazer. Joining them for the Largo is clarinetist David Weber.

The LP is a fine accomplishment, considering the music was all but unknown at the time and is highly individualistic. The reviewer for The New Records wrote at the time: "To lear this music, not once but several times, is to have a new and wonderful experience. Imagine what would have been said in 1908! ... The demands on the musicians are great and they answer that challenge with much skill and conviction."

The album is labeled Volume One, but I can't find any evidence that it was succeeded by other volumes. The sound is excellent.

Note (November 2024): this has now been remastered in ambient stereo. The download includes complete scans and contemporary reviews.

LINK to early Ives recordings

Let's Dance Again with Flanagan

Dancing with Ralph Flanagan is something we do regularly around here. This spin around the floor is by request of a reader who was seeking the conductor's rendition of "Dancing in the Dark," which appears herein.

In most ways this is a typical Flanagan program, with smoothly played Miller-style instrumentals. However, the skimpy program of six tunes also includes two vocals, unlike most of the bandleader's LPs. The singing is by Flanagan regular Harry Prime, a pleasant vocalist who doesn't always hit the notes squarely. The record is also unusual in that it contains an honest-to-gosh instrumental solo, also unlike most of Flanagan's output. The forthright and rich-toned tenor spot on "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is by either Ed Dix or Steve Benoric (don't know which).

This 10-inch record dates from 1951, when the Flanagan group was tremendously popular on campus. In the Billboard college poll for that year, the ensemble came in first in three categories - most popular dance orchestra, most promising newer dance band, and favorite sweet band.

The sound here is terrific, and the cover is a riot, what with a violet, teal and taxicab yellow pinwheel affixed to Flanagan's upper back.

Latest Reups and Remasters

Once again we have a pile of reuploads for you. Some of these are requested by readers and some were chosen by me.

These all have been remastered for better sound, except for one set from a lossy original, noted below.

The links to all files are in the comments section of this post. More information on the records and the artists can be found via the original posts.

Today's offerings:

Early recordings of Edgard Varèse. The first LP of Varèse's music, with exceptionally vivid sound and very good performances.

Liebermann - Concerto for Jazz Band and Orchestra. The Sauter-Finegan Band joins the Chicago Symphony led by jazz hound Fritz Reiner in this wonderful period piece. Also a slam-bang version of Strauss's Don Juan.

Mel Tormé - At The Crescendo 1957. Bethlehem clumsily chopped Tormé's 1957 club date into two LPs; Will Friedwald reassembled it for us. (Apple lossy format)

Songs from Kiss Me Kate and Anything Goes. One of the entries in RCA Victor's 1953 "Show Time" Series of potted musicals, with Lisa Kirk, Jack Cassidy, George Britton, Helena Bliss and Helen Gallagher. Terrific.

Wally Stott Conducts Irving Berlin. The great arranger Wally Stott (Angela Morley) with a smooth LP of Berlin scores, plus a bonus EP.

Thomas Scherman Conducts Copland and Thomson

Four years ago a post on this blog presented an American Decca recording of film music by Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson from the Little Orchestra Society and Thomas Scherman. Here is a companion post with more music by the same composers and the same performers, also from 1952.

Scherman

This time around we have a 10-inch LP with music from Copland's score for the film Our Town, and a suite from Thomson's music for The Plow That Broke the Plains.

Scherman was not terribly well regarded as a conductor during his lifetime (Ned Rorem tells the story of walking out on a Scherman performance of Rorem's own music), but in my view these are accomplished performances of most affecting music, beautifully recorded. The Decca pressings are not very good, but hopefully not too distracting.

Hymns with Virgil Fox

My two previous Virgil Fox posts have been amazingly popular. I am not one to argue with success, so here is a third.

But while I won't take issue with Fox's approval rating, I might quibble with his choice of instruments here.

This selection of popular hymns is played for the most part on an electronic Hammond Concert Organ. I for one usually find the sound of these instruments strange and unnatural - always have. However, Fox had no problem with them and later made quite a living with his flamboyant recitals on portable electronic instruments.

Fox

The recording of the Hammond took place in Church of the Incarnation in New York. There are two churches by that name in the city; it's not clear which was used. The cover shows a small town church, which probably didn't even have an organ.

Not all the songs on this 1954 LP are on the Hammond. Although the cover does not mention it, the last five selections ("Abide with Me," "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," "Faith of Our Fathers," "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus," and "Alleluia Sing to Jesus") are clearly performed on a pipe organ.

I am guessing that RCA took down these final hymns at the same time that it recorded Fox's 1954 Christmas LP offered here last December. Those sessions were in Riverside Church, where Fox was the organist. It's possible that the LP of hymns was originally designed to be a 10-inch album, and RCA later decided to make it a 12-incher, necessitating another session. (The bigger format was then beginning to supplant the smaller one.)  Both the hymn record and the Christmas album came out in both 12-inch and double-EP format, the latter of which is equivalent to a 10-inch record.

The sound is excellent.

Jean Sablon on RCA Victor

I've been presenting early LPs by the legendary French crooner Jean Sablon now and then, and this is the third such post - also the third cover to feature the same photo of Sablon.

But while the first two albums were on the American Decca label, this is an RCA Victor product from the early 1950s, a double-EP version of a 10-inch LP. 

The EP gives no information about recording dates or conductor identities. However, I found the labels for the 10-inch LP equivalent (included in the download), which does have partial information. The recordings date from 1938, 1941 and 1947. The bandleaders include Emil Stern and Toots Camarata. Sablon first recorded some of these songs in the 1930s for Pathé Marconi.

These RCA recordings are just as good as the Decca sides from earlier in the 1942 and 1946, and the sound is excellent.

Later on, I'll complete our look at Sablon's American records with his 1952 Capitol LP.

Note (May 2025): this has now been remastered in ambient stereo.

LINK

Szell, Ormandy, Böhm and Maag Conduct Mozart and Haydn

Two early LPs for you today showing mid-20th century approaches to Mozart and Haydn from leading conductors and orchestras.

Ormandy attempts to poke a cellist in the eye

The Columbia album has an April 1947 edition of Mozart's Symphony No. 39 from the Cleveland Orchestra, early in George Szell's tenure with that ensemble.

It is backed by a recording of Haydn's Symphony No. 88 set down by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy in December of the same year.

Also on offer is a London LP with two additional Mozart symphonies. First is No. 36 with Karl Böhm leading the Vienna Philharmonic. I enjoyed this rendition, which is from September 1950, but Lionel Salter in The Gramophone certainly did not, as you will see in an appended review.

Young Peter Maag

The other side of the LP has the Suisse Romande Orchestra under Peter Maag performing Symphony No. 29, in what was the Swiss conductor's first recording - at least the first to have been released. The taping is from October 1950. I believe this was during a time when Maag was Ernst Ansermet's assistant in Geneva.

Another Batch of Reups and Remasters

Here we go again down the path of reuploads, mostly by request, but some by choice of the proprietor.

As always, these are remastered for better sound, except for the newer transfers. Remasters are noted below.

The links to all files are in the comments section of this post. More information on the records and the artists can be found via the original posts.

Today's selections:

Barkleys of Broadway. The original 78 soundtrack of the final Astaire-Rogers film. Now includes a repitched version (the published version is a little sharp). Note that the original post can be found on my other blog.

Benjamin and Vaughan Williams by Larry Adler. The harmonica wizard's original recordings of works written for him by Arthur Benjamin and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Dori Anne Gray - Copa Girl. Obscure 50s vocal records are always popular around here.

Mary Kaye Trio - Music on a Silver Platter. A little less obscure, vocalist Mary Kaye and her trio were Vegas regulars.

New York Jazz Quartet - Goes Native. A most enjoyable set from the Mat Mathews-Herbie Mann-Joe Puma group. Remastered.

Junior Miss. An EP presenting songs from a forgotten Burton Lane-Dorothy Fields TV musical. Remastered.

Matt Dennis - Saturday Date. Fabulous 40s transcriptions from the great singer-pianist-songwriter. Remastered.

William Warfield - Deep River. Songs of folk origin and inspiration from the great bass-baritone. Remastered.

Americana for Solo Winds and Strings

This Mercury LP celebrates the conservative but highly attractive music of the composers associated with Howard Hanson at the Eastman School - with the notable addition of Aaron Copland, in what may be the only recording of Copland's music led by Hanson.

The delightful and striking cover seems to pay homage to Copland's "Quiet City," and perhaps Kent Kennan's "Night Soliloquy." An alternative cover used for an EP issue (at the end of the post) switches to a rural motif more in keeping with the conductor's "Pastorale."

Howard Hanson

A few words about the lesser known composers:

Kent Kennan and Homer Keller

Kent Kennan, an Eastman School graduate, spent most of his life teaching, but he was an active composer earlier in his career and near the end of his life. He wrote a few widely used instructional books.

Homer Keller was another product of the Eastman School. He wrote three symphonies and spent much time teaching.

Bernard Rogers and Wayne Barlow

Bernard Rogers was head of Eastman's composition department for several decades.

Wayne Barlow earned undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees from Eastman, then taught there for many years. "The Winter's Past" is also known as "The Winter's Passed" - either makes sense, as would "The Winters Past," for that matter.

The recordings were made in October 1952 and May 1953. The sound has been remastered in ambient stereo and is very good. The download includes several reviews.