Kurtz Conducts Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky

In the late 1940s, Dmitri Shostakovich's music had come under attack for formalism in the wake of the 1946 Zhdanov decree. It demanded that he and other composers write only music for the masses.

To comply, and to support himself, Shostakovich and his colleague Lev Avtomian came up with the idea of repackaging lighter music from the 1930s into suites. The first such Ballet Suite was published in 1949. It was followed by a second in 1951, and third and fourth suites in 1953.

Efrem Kurtz

It didn't take long for conductor Efrem Kurtz,  experienced in ballet and of Russian descent, to discover the music. When he did, he concocted his own version of music from the first two suites into what he called a Ballet Russe, which he and a New York studio orchestra recorded for Columbia in December 1952. As far as I can tell, this was the first recording of this music.

For whatever reason, the conductor changed the titles of most of the pieces from the published scores, and neither he nor Columbia saw fit to denote their sources.

With a little detective work, I was able to assemble a table (included in the download) that shows the names that Kurtz used, Shostakovich's names and the suite derivation, and the source material that Avtomian used for the music. For Kurtz's Ballet Russe, all of the source material dated from 1934, most of it from the ballet The Limpid Brook. From my spot checks, it appears that Kurtz employed Avtomian's arrangements.

Kurtz used five of the six pieces from Ballet Suite No. 1, eliminating the Romance, and five of the six from Ballet Suite No. 2, dropping the Spring Waltz.

Shostakovich (right) with East German leader Walter Ulbricht and wife Lotte, 1950.

The liner notes, while less than clear about the music's provenance, aptly describe it as "direct and simple and immediately appealing." The reading by Kurtz and his forces is light and sparkling. The conductor underplays any parody that Shostakovich intended in the work.

Young Bernard Greenhouse is the soloist in the "Serenade for Cello," and Robert Nagel in the "Romance for Trumpet." Nagel, then a freelancer, would found the New York Brass Quintet a few years later.

Gjon Mili's stroboscopic photo of Kurtz in action.
Sorry if this induces a headache.

Kurtz maintained his light touch even in the more brooding music of Tchaikovsky found on the second side of the LP. First up is the Sérénade mélancolique. Most often heard in violin and orchestra form - although it has been arranged for everything from cello to theremin - here it is performed in an orchestral arrangement of uncertain origin. Kurtz himself might be responsible; regardless of parentage, it works well.

The conductor follows this by programming the second movement of Tchaikovsky's First Symphony. (I believe it is somewhat cut.) The composer's early symphonies were not heard often at the time. Only Sevitzky (available on this blog), Rachmilovich and Ivanov had recorded the First at the time.

To add to the confusion that seems to be a theme on this record, Kurtz calls the work "Andante," even though the movement is marked Adagio and the composer titled it "Land of desolation, land of mists."

Just as the conductor's Sérénade is not overly mélancolique, his Andante is more contemplative than desolate. Tchaikovsky called the symphony "Winter Dreams" or "Winter Daydreams," so perhaps Kurtz's approach isn't too far off the mark.

Columbia's sound is pleasant, although it doesn't have much dynamic range and is over-reverberant. It may be an example of the "stairwell reverb" technique that Columbia engineers were using at the time. That involved playing the tapes in a stairwell and adding the reverb created to the final mix. It was not an unusual practice, but it worked better for pop music than orchestras. Note below that in 1956 Columbia promoted this record as one of its "Hi-Fi Landmarks!", so at least they were proud of it.

Click to enlarge

To return to Shostakovich, to my knowledge Kurtz recorded the composer's music three times - the Ninth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic, the Tenth with the Philharmonia, and this Ballet Russe. [Update: reader David Gideon notes that he also recorded the First Symphony for EMI, published by Capitol in the US.]


If you are interested in more of his Shostakovich, please visit my friend Bryan's Shellackophile blog. He hasn't published anything for the past year, but his previous posts are still on line, including his transfer of the Shostakovich Ninth mentioned above. Even though Bryan's item dates back to 2010, the links still work.

Previn Plays Gershwin Songs, Plus Reups

One of the first songs André Previn recorded for RCA Victor was Gershwin's "But Not for Me." That was in 1947. Except for a 1949 reading of "Who Cares?", he would not return to the composer until his final piano-and-rhythm sessions for that label, in May and June of 1953.

The result was this splendid LP, which RCA did not get around issuing until 1955. And that was it for Previn's tenure with the label, save for his 1956 Collaboration album with Shorty Rogers.

André Previn

Previn was closely associated with Gershwin's music, as you might expect of a virtuoso pianist, star conductor and Hollywood orchestrator all combined into one person. He recorded the orchestral works three times (with Kostelanetz, the London Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony), accompanied Ella Fitzgerald and Diahann Carroll in Gershwin songs, and did a song album himself for DG in 1998. He and Ken Darby won Academy Awards for their work on the 1959 film version of Porgy and Bess.

On the RCA album, Previn has a accomplished trio of studio musicians backing him - Al Hendrickson, guitar, Artie Shapiro, bass, and Irv Cottler, drums. The results are delightful and the recording is excellent.

A few of these songs have appeared on my previous Previn collections. Eventually I hope to present all his early RCA Victor recordings.

Reups

Here are my most recent attempts at remastering my early work, all done by request. The links below take you to the original posts.

Dardanelle - Piano Moods. Unlike Previn, the virtuoso pianist Dardanelle's fame did not last, despite a late career renaissance. I can assure you that if you like Previn, you will enjoy this fine artist. The LP is from 1950.

Louis Bellson - The Exciting Louis Bellson. This LP is primarily a showcase for drummer Bellson's powerful all-star big band - Maynard Ferguson, Wardell Gray, etc. The sessions date from 1953 and 1954.

Three for the Show (OST). An obscure soundtrack record for Betty Grable's final musical, issued in 1955. She shares the vinyl with Marge Champion and Jack Lemmon. Amusing, even though the singing ranges from toneless to croaking.

Omar Khayyam / The Mountain (OST). Two colorful scores dating from 1956-57: Victor Young's music for Omar Khayyam and Daniele Amfitheatrof's for The Mountain. Good sound - highly recommended!

The Academy in Concert

The distinctively named Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields laid claim to being the most widely recorded orchestra in the world for many years. Its records were popular for good reason - under conductor Neville Marriner, they were almost guaranteed to be beautifully played and elegantly presented.

From the beginning, the Academy's repertoire was heavily tilted toward the baroque and classical eras. Its first record, from 1961, included music by Handel, Corelli, Locatelli and Torelli, for example.

This present LP dates from 1974, during the height of the orchestra's fame. It veers toward the most popular side of its repertoire, including the two pillars of the pop-baroque, the so-called Albinoni Adagio and the Pachelbel Canon. Also included are crowd pleasers from Handel, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

October 1974 Gramophone ad

In the UK, the LP was titled, "The Academy in Concert," and I have titled this post that way, even though the US pressing I transferred (cover at top) uses no such nomenclature, while presenting a laundry list of contents instead. Angel presumably wanted to highlight the Albinoni Adagio, which then could often be heard during classical programming.

The Adagio has a curious story. Albinoni scholar Remo Giazotto claimed to have found the music among the composer's manuscripts during the 1940s. He published his arrangement of the music, which became popular. But no documentation has ever surfaced that would definitely attribute the strain to the Italian baroque composer. It's likely that what is sometimes called the Albinoni-Giazotto Adagio is actually the Giazotto Adagio.

Iona Brown

The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields was founded in 1958 under the leadership of Marriner (1924-2016), then the principal second violin of the London Symphony Orchestra. The ASMF took its name from St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the 18th century James Gibbs church on Trafalgar Square. Iona Brown (1941-2004), who plays the violin solo in this recording of the Albinoni Adagio, also directed the group at one time. The orchestra has always been primarily a recording ensemble. It is now under the leadership of the distinguished violinist Joshua Bell, although its name has been shorn of its three hyphens.

The download includes scans, as always, along with the slightly different UK, Dutch and German covers, the vintage Gramophone ad above, and a review from that magazine by W.A. Chislett, who also wrote the LP's liner notes. Unsurprisingly, he liked the record.

The sound from Abbey Road Studio No. 1 is excellent. Several of the items on this record - notably the Beethoven Contradances - have not been reissued, to my knowledge.

I plan to present the Academy's first recording (mentioned above) in the near future, and possibly other items. While performance styles in baroque and classical music have moved on from the refined and subtle approach of this modern-instrument ensemble, to me the ASMF will always represent a high point in 20th-century recorded music.

Kurtz Conducts Prokofiev

My previous post of selections from Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella reminded me that I wanted to feature this record presenting music from the composer's greatest ballet, Romeo and Juliet.

Directing matters is a veteran dance conductor, Efrem Kurtz, who has appeared here a few times before.

Efrem Kurtz

Despite his experience in ballet, I doubt that Kurtz ever conducted a staged performance of this ballet. He left the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo in 1942, before the work was widely known in the West.

Although Prokofiev finished the ballet in the mid-1930s, it had a prolonged gestation period before reaching the stage. There were concerns about the ending (happy or not) and about the music (undanceable?), along with severe political machinations - it was the time of Stalin's Great Purge. The first performance - in truncated form - was not in Russia but in Brno, in 1938. Finally, it came to the Kirov Ballet in complete form in 1940. (This is an oversimplified account - see here for a more complete version.)

The original Juliet (Galina Ulanova) and Romeo (Konstantin Sergeyev) at the Kirov

The first recording of music from the ballet was by Prokofiev and the Moscow Philharmonic in 1938, followed by the Boston Symphony and Serge Koussevitzky in 1945 and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and Yuri Fayer in 1946.

Prokofiev himself derived three orchestral suites from the complete score, along with a piano suite. The present recording is in effect the second orchestral suite, along with a few pieces from the first suite. It is a satisfying selection, and Kurtz skillfully balances the balletic and dramatic aspects of the score. The music itself is remarkable; I well remember hearing it for the first time and being overwhelmed by its power and poetry. Prokofiev's masterly use of the orchestra is fully on display, and has been a source of inspiration - and sometimes more than that - for other composers, notably such movie artisans as Bernard Herrmann and John Williams, and even pop musicians.

Original cover

This recording is from June 1963 and EMI's Abbey Road Studio No. 1. My transfer comes from a later reissue. The Philharmonia Orchestra plays beautifully for Kurtz, who often recorded with the ensemble. The sound is clear and well balanced.

I have not included any production photos from the ballet itself in the download because this recording was not associated with any particular staging. I did locate four diverse reviews of Kurtz's reading, which is called elegant and effective, but also lacking thrust, vitality and poignancy, depending on who you read. If you believe me, both the music and the performance are treasurable.

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Updated Doris Day Set

When I posted the Doris Day set below, I commented that I had adjusted the faulty pitch, and that is was now "spot on." Reader Mac gently suggested that my assertion was not, in fact, "spot on." Too low, he said. So I checked, and he was right! So now there is a new, repitched (higher) version available both in the comments of the original post, and in the comments to this post.

My apologies to all those who downloaded the previous version and thought, like Mac, that Doris sounded a little lugubrious.

The Great Doris Day

Doris Day was one of the great singers, but never received the respect she deserved.

A few reasons for this come to mind. First, she was very good looking, so was invited to make movies while still singing with Les Brown, and turned out to have so much talent, she became famous as a film star.

While she kept making records - and was remarkably prolific at it, at least for 25 years or so - the quality of her material was distinctly variable. Will Friedwald notes that she deferred to Mitch Miller and husband Marty Melcher in repertoire. Both wanted the hits to keep flowing, so the likes of "Rickety Rackety Rendezvous" ended up on the music stands.

Still, there was considerable depth of feeling in her singing from the beginning. It shows clearly in her first hit, "Sentimental Journey" with Les Brown. (I've uploaded a V-Disc version of the song on my other blog, in company with all her other V-Discs.) In his incredible book A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, Will quotes singer Mary Cleere Haran as saying, "She's so sunny and bright, but she's different when she sings. She can be dark and mysterious, and there's a wistfulness and yearning in her voice." When allied to her excellent intonation and superb rhythm, you have the makings of a superior singer. And that she was.

When Day started making movies, the
endorsements came rolling in. From 1949.

Day was prolific, but virtually all of her output is in print. So as a tribute, I decided to bring you some more unusual stuff - the 21 songs she recorded for Standard Transcriptions in about 1952. These are relaxed, swinging and altogether wonderful. What wasn't so wonderful was the sound on the bootleg that compiled them many years ago. I acquired it when it came out, and was dismayed to discover sound that was considerably off-pitch with the tonal balance wildly awry. Back then, while I could adjust those characteristics, it was a hit-and-miss proposition. I wasn't too happy with the results.

Today, I took another crack at the source material, and the resulting sound picture is much more pleasing. The pitch is spot on and the frequency response is very reasonable. The sound is now good enough for you to enjoy an excellent set of current songs in the compact renditions that were normal for radio transcription companies. [UPDATE: reader Mac gently suggested that far from being "spot on," I had the pitch wrong on this set. After listening, I am sure he is right. I didn't compensate enough! There is a link in the comments to the repitched version.]

The first 10 tunes were done with the Page Cavanaugh Trio, a favorite of this blogger, which has appeared here several times. One of Page's specialties was accompanying singers, and he does well here. The rest of the numbers were backed by orchestra or combo, all quite adequate. But the star is Doris' singing, as always.

I've also remastered a five-year-old post of songs from her 1951 film On Moonlight Bay. The download includes a promo disc that has Day introducing four of the songs, and offering opening and closing remarks. (I do love promos.)

Finally, as mentioned, I posted her 12 V-Discs, recorded both with Les Brown and under her own name. This is a treasurable collection with several rarities. It's now on the singles blog.

After listening, I only hope you enjoy Doris' singing half as much as I do.

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'Lady in the Dark' - the 1941 Recordings and More

The 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark is almost never revived today (although it had a short run at New York City Center last month). The show deserves to be much better remembered for its innovations and its remarkable score by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin.

Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin

Why isn't it revived? First, Moss Hart's book is very dated. Its protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy editor of a fashion magazine, a hard-edged character that is a cliche even today (cf., The Devil Wears Prada). She needs the love of a man (and some quick psychoanalysis) to reveal her inner femininity and make her happy.

"Zolotaryov, Kvoschinsky,
Sokolov, Kopylov ..."

Second, it requires two virtuoso performers. Hart tailored the Liza Elliott part for the magnetic Gertrude Lawrence, and not many actors can measure up to her. And he gave the equally gifted Danny Kaye his big break by casting him as photographer Russell Paxton, whose rapid-fire delineation of Russian composers, "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)," stopped the show.

Finally, the show contains what amounts to three mini-operas in its dream scenes, all requiring elaborate staging that must have stunned Broadway patrons.

The original production was very successful on Broadway, running for 467 performances, then another 83 in a 1943 revival. Those were the years before Broadway cast recordings were common, though, so the recorded legacy of the original production is spotty. What exists are 10 solo recordings by the two leads for two different companies. Today's post brings them together in one place, with a few bonus items.

Recordings by Lawrence and Kaye

Four days before the February 27, 1941 opening, Victor invited Lawrence into its studios to record six numbers, which it issued in an album (cover shown at top). She sang all six songs in the stage production: "Glamour Music," "One Life to Live," "This Is New," "The Princess of Pure Delight," "The Saga of Jenny" and "My Ship."

From Vogue magazine

The record company tossed out the Weill orchestrations, substituting new ones by Sydney Green, who worked regularly with the conductor it chose, Leonard Joy. The arrangements do retain some semblance of the dramatic setting; for example, "This Is New" is introduced by a snatch of dialogue involving the character of Randy Curtis.

Shortly after the opening, one of Victor's competitors, Columbia, engaged Danny Kaye to record four songs - his showpiece "Tschaikowsky" along with "Jenny," "The Princess of Pure Delight" and "My Ship," which he did not sing in the show. Again, some element of the staging is retained, at least in "Tschaikowsky."

Bonus singles

The young Cy Walter

To these 10 singles I've added a medley of "My Ship," "This Is New" and "Jenny" recorded by pianist Cy Walter for the Liberty Music Shop label at the time of the production. The young Walter even then was a fixture in the best nightspots, and it is certainly possible that he regaled Lawrence or Kaye with the medley if they happened to stop in after the show. He surely played it for many theatergoers fresh from the Alvin Theatre.

The final item in the package is Lawrence's 1950 re-recording of "Jenny," made for Decca. At that time, she was at a high point in her career, starring in The King and I on Broadway. She died in 1952 at age 54.

Two versions that are more complete

As may be apparent from what I've written above, the historical recordings do not provide a complete picture of Lady in the Dark. Nor does the 1944 film version - for one thing, it tosses out most of the score and is missing Lawrence and Kaye. (To hear two pieces of music that were written for the film, please see a companion post on Buster's Swinging Singles.)

Fortunately, two friends of the blog have contributed additional material that should be helpful to those of you with an interest in the show. First, Alan Gomberg has provided a complete recording of the score (if not all the dialogue) as presented by the BBC in 1988. Conducted by John Mauceri, it has the excellent Patricia Hodge as Liza Elliott. This radio production demonstrates the scope and stature of the music composed by Weill and Gershwin. The download includes Alan's notes on the recording.

Also, reader David has provided a one-hour radio version of the play as presented by the Theatre Guild on the Air in 1947. It presents a much fuller portrait of Lawrence in the part than do the 1941 records - and frankly she is in better voice than she was six years earlier.

Both of these recordings are from lossy originals, but I have remastered them and they sound just fine. They are presented in separate links in the comment section for a limited time. My thanks to Alan and David for their help!

Documenting the staging

From the Glamour Dream

The Wedding Dream

Finally, the download of the 1941 recordings also includes dozens of photos from the original production, which will help demonstrate the elaborate staging by Hassard Short during the dream sequences and the costumes by Irene Sharaff. (The Glamour and Wedding Dreams are above; the Circus Dream is below.)

I transferred the Kaye and Lawrence records from a 1963 RCA LP reissue, but in the end decided to use my remastering of the 78s found on Internet Archive. The resulting sound is as good as the LP, and I like to use the originals where possible.

The Circus Dream

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