Khachaturian: Kaufman vs. Kogan

When I recently posted a transfer of Oscar Levant's Gershwin recordings, reader Brent asked if I had the pianist's rendition of the Khachaturian concerto. I did not, but my good friend Bryan does, and he proceeded to post his fine transfer over at his blog The Shellackophile.

This transaction got me thinking about the composer, and records of his music in my collection. And in truth, my favorite Khachaturian concerto is not his rumbustious effort for the piano, but his gorgeous, atmospheric violin concerto.

My first choice for soloist was blog favorite Louis Kaufman. So I dutifully transferred his version, coming to the reluctant conclusion that this isn't his best recording. He sounds over-stretched, and the sound, too, is wuzzy (a word I just invented that combines fuzzy and woozy). The good news is that the accompaniment from the Santa Monica Symphony and Jacques Rachmilovich is sturdy, what you can hear of it.

Cover of the Kogan version

At that point I decided to bring out one of my favorite artists, the Soviet violinist Leonid Kogan, for a contrasting view of the work, and presumably a definitive one, being backed by the composer himself in a 1951 rendition with the USSR State Radio Orchestra.

A later Kogan recording had been my introduction to this work many years ago, in his early stereo version with the Boston Symphony and Pierre Monteux. I still find that reading entirely magical, but this earlier effort is not far behind and has reasonably good sound to boot.

I believe the Kogan-Khachaturian is either the third or fourth commercial recording of the work. My pressing is on the "International Recorded Music Society" label, which appears to be a Concert Hall Society spin-off dating from the late 1950s.

Kaufman's effort is purportedly from 1945, which would likely make it the concerto's second recording. I am a little dubious of the date because it would come before the founding of the record company itself (i.e., Concert Hall Society), but I suppose it is possible.

The initial recording of the concerto was by dedicatee David Oistrakh with Alexander Gauk, made the year after the work's 1940 premiere.

Please enjoy these contrasting views of this delightful composition and feel free to provide your reactions in the comments.

ADDENDUM - Reader Hiram from Venezuela recommended a version of the concerto with the short-lived Julian Sitkovetsky and the USSR State Radio Symphony under the composer's direction. This comes from 1956, the same year the 30-year-old violinist was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died in 1958. I found a low bit-rate version on YouTube, listened, and was very impressed. I highly recommend it to all. I have remastered the sound and provided a link in the comments to this post.

Khachaturian and Kogan with Soviet notables circa 1960. From left in the front row are the composer, Tikhon Khrennikov, Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Dmitri Shostakovich. Kogan is third from the left behind this group, with Mstislav Rostropovich over his left shoulder.

Kaufman and Milhaud Perform Milhaud

The recordings of violinist Louis Kaufman continue to draw the interest of this blog's readers, so here is another from the files.

Darius Milhaud

As with previous Kaufman records, this presents the music of a contemporary composer, in this instance Darius Milhaud.

The French Milhaud had moved to California and Mills College and became familiar there with Kaufman, who was a very busy Hollywood studio musician. In 1949, the Los Angeles record label Capitol brought them together for this collection of Milhaud compositions.

Louis Kaufman

The longest item here is Milhaud's Violin Concerto No. 2, in its first recording, but the finest work is his Concertino de Printemps, in a dazzling rendition that makes the most of Kaufman's extraordinary intensity. The concerto is well done as well, with an affecting slow movement. Kaufman misses the specific dance character of the final Danses de Jacarémirim, but his virtuosity is worth hearing on its own account.

The sound in this enjoyable program is excellent. In my collecting experience, most Capitol classics of this vintage are reprints of Telefunken originals, including many Mengelberg LPs, but I believe this offering originated with the West Coast label.

Louis Kaufman in Vaughan Williams

I had a request for more recordings by the American violinist Louis Kaufman, who has appeared here before in the music of Delius, Barber and Robert Russell Bennett.

Louis Kaufman

Here is that artist in Vaughan Williams' seldom-heard "Concerto Accademico" of 1924-25. The work finds Kaufman in his usual driving form. The backing here is by the Radio Zurich Symphony under the Swiss conductor Clemens Dahinden, who made many records for this label, although usually with the Winterthur Symphony.

Victor Desarzens

The other side of this 10-inch LP from the 1950s also is of British music as performed by Swiss musicians. This time, it is Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, as assayed by the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra under its founder and long-time conductor, Victor Desarzens, who also often worked for Concert Hall Society and its offshoots.

Both performances and sound are worthy. These were probably the first recordings of these works outside the British Isles.

Sonatas by Delius and Robert Russell Bennett

Following the recent post of the Victory at Sea music, I wanted to provide an example of Robert Russell Bennett's own composition, and one that doesn't rely on his prodigious skill in orchestration. So here we have A Song Sonata, a modest violin-piano item.

Robert Russell Bennett and Louis Kaufman

The work may well have been written for the violinist on this recording, Louis Kaufman, who commissioned quite a number of works during his lifetime. Kaufman was active in the film music colony and made many records of contemporary works for such labels as Concert Hall Society, as here. He was heard here previously in an excellent recording of the Barber violin concerto.

I have to report that Bennett's sonata is as insistently unmemorable as the other compositions I have heard by him. As he himself described it, it is "friendly," but perhaps not a friend one would invite over all that often.

The balance of the record is devoted to what I believe was the initial recording of Frederick Delius' first violin sonata. Kaufman's intense sound and tendency to push ahead is perhaps not right for this music. The pianist in both works is Theodore Saidenberg, a well-known accompanist and the brother of Daniel Saidenberg.

The truth is, I have had this performance recorded for some time, but didn't offer it because of the reservations above. Sorry for the lukewarm endorsement. The sound is good, though! [Note (June 2023) - the sound is even better now, remastered in ambient stereo.] The recordings come from 1947; this LP is from 1951.

The photo portrait of Kaufman below is by Man Ray, who thought the violinist would look best with a bull fiddle coming out of his forehead.

Louis Kaufman

Barber and Copland in Improved Sound

Continuing our series of favorite recordings from the first year of this blog in enhanced sound, we have here two first recordings of important American works - Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto and Aaron Copland's Piano Concerto, 1926.

The audible improvements this time out are not dramatic, but worthwhile nonetheless - reduced rumble and a lossless transfer. [Note (September 2023): this has been greatly improved and is now in ambient stereo.]

Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber

Here is what I wrote about this recording when it was first posted:

Here we have two superb works in what I think are their first recordings, and distinctive ones at that.

Louis Kaufman

Louis Kaufman was a stalwart of the film music orchestras and made quite a few records for budget labels. He takes a very personal and romantic view of the gorgeous Barber concerto - much different from the poker-faced approach that's normal in most music these days. He, the indefatigable conductor Walter Goehr, and their pseudonymous orchestra also do a great job with the finale, which usually sounds like an afterthought. The recording is from 1950.

Leo Smit

Aaron Copland makes an appearance to conduct his early Piano Concerto, which is from the Jazz Age and sounds it. It's great fun and very enjoyable in this performance by the talented Leo Smit, a friend of Copland and a superb interpreter of his piano music. The 1951 sound from Rome can be a trifle raucous in the tuttis, but the piano comes across well.

The Musical Masterpiece Society and its sibling labels made many interesting records. We've seen several already on this blog, and more are to come.

First Recordings of Barber and Copland

Here we have two superb works in what I think are their first recordings, and distinctive ones at that.

Louis Kaufman was a stalwart of the film music orchestras and made quite a few records for budget labels. He takes a very personal and romantic view of the gorgeous Barber concerto - much different from the poker-faced approach that's normal in most music these days. He, the indefatigable conductor Walter Goehr, and their pseudonymous orchestra also do a great job with the finale, which usually sounds like an afterthought.

Aaron Copland makes an appearance to conduct his early Piano Concerto, which is from the Jazz Age and sounds it. It's great fun and very enjoyable in this performance by the talented Leo Smit, a friend of Copland and a superb interpreter of his piano music. The sound isn't too bad.

The Musical Masterpiece Society and its sibling labels made many interesting records. We've seen several already on this blog, and more are to come.