More Tchaikovsky - Ballet Suites from Boult

Sir Adrian Boult

In posting these ballet suites from The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, it may seem like I am getting a head start on the holiday season. The timing is a coincidence, however; this particular transfer is in response to a request.

The conductor is Sir Adrian Boult, whose recordings are always welcome on this blog. We have heard him most recently in the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Indeed, I've only had Boult here in English music (Elgar, Britten, Arnold, in addition to RVW). 

That narrow focus does Sir Adrian a disservice; he was a distinguished conductor of all types of music, and often programmed the works of Tchaikovsky. Of course, he didn't know the Russian composer, as he did all the English composers mentioned above. Still, their lifetimes did slightly overlap, the conductor being born in 1889, and the composer dying in 1893.

Boult recorded music from The Nutcracker on three occasions; this was his only recording of music from Sleeping Beauty. The set was done with the Royal Philharmonic in 1967. This particular record, may have been, in fact, the first Nutcracker I owned. Many have come (and gone) since then. The Nutcracker music has appeared here as conducted by Arthur Fiedler, Frederick Stock, Sir Thomas Beecham, Paul van Kempen and Fritz Lehmann. You can hear music from Sleeping Beauty led by Nicolai Malko, Constant Lambert and Robert Irving.

The Studio 2 edition

The two suites from Boult and the RPO were first issued in UK Columbia's Studio Two series. That was EMI's answer to Decca's Phase 4. Both were designed to be "sonic spectaculars." At the time, that meant they employed multiple microphones for a close-up view of the proceedings, rather as if you were sitting on Sir Adrian's rostrum and getting in his way.

In practice, whether because of the close-in mikes or knob-twiddling by the engineers, the result was a much-elevated frequency response in the upper mid-range and high frequencies. I've not tinkered with the sonic balance; your tone controls, if you have them, should be at the ready.

The Seraphim edition

This transfer is from the US Seraphim edition of 1971. The record suffers from the usual poor surfaces of the time, which in this case started with drop-outs in the first few measures of The Nutcracker. These were present on two different pressings, so apparently were induced in mastering. I have replaced those opening few seconds with another performance sonically matched to the EMI edition. You may notice a shift in perspective when Boult takes over.

Even with some caveats about the sound, these are buoyant performances that will give much pleasure. Sir Adrian had experience as a ballet conductor early in his career, and his tempos are generally pleasing, although I doubt that any troupe of Russian dancers could keep pace with his accelerando during The Nutcracker's Trepak.

In The Nutcracker, in addition to the selections contained in Op. 71a, Sir Adrian inserts the Pas de deux (No. 14a) before the concluding Waltz of the Flowers.

I have to observe that of the two covers above, I much prefer the graceful ballet image chosen by EMI to the drab mash-up of Peter Max and Petipa offered by Seraphim.

Although this record was originally issued in EMI's Studio 2 series, it was actually taped in Studio 1 at Abbey Road. At the time of the sessions, Abbey Road Studio 2 was the lair of the Beatles. The Fab Ones and the great conductor apparently were not in the building simultaneously, however. Otherwise, Sir Adrian could have conducted "I Am the Walrus," which was on the group's docket at the time. He had the moustache for it.

Sir Adrian in the studio, 1969

Nutcracker Dances with Stock and Fiedler

To me the Nutcracker music never gets old and remains a magical evocation of Christmas time, even with the overuse of some of its most popular moments in television ads.

Today's post takes us back to a time before the first recording of the complete Nutcracker ballet music. Until 1954, all you could find were suites, mainly Tchaikovsky's own op. 71a suite, and that's what we have here, in a November 1939 recording from Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony, made in Orchestra Hall.

Frederick Stock

At that time, Stock had been the CSO's music director for 33 years and would continue in that post until his death in 1942. This 78 set, with its Alex Steinweiss cover, is actually a reissue that followed Stock's passing.

The other set of Nutcracker dances in this post makes a good complement for the Stock set, for it includes five other memorable dances that were not included by the composer in his suite, including the Waltz of the Snowflakes, the Pas de Deux and the final waltz. These were presumably chosen by the conductor, Arthur Fiedler, for this recording with the Boston Pops. As far as I can tell, it was issued in 1949, on an early RCA 45 set. At this time, RCA was color-coding its vinyl issues, with the Red Seal issues being pressed on red vinyl. (See examples of the different colors at this site, or in my basement.)

Arthur Fiedler

Fiedler was conductor of the Boston Pops for an amazing 49 years, until his death in 1979.

Both performances are quite good - with the strings of the Boston ensemble in particularly glorious form. The Chicago recording is more vivid, although will some distortion in the louder passages (which may be just my pressing - or my transfer, I guess). Stock is a little more yielding; Fiedler can be businesslike. But both are most enjoyable.

Christmas in July - Nutcracker Reups, Plus Many Limited-Time Uploads

I've been belatedly getting into the Christmas in July spirit, inspired by my friend Ernie's ongoing celebration. My contribution is to revisit two Nutcracker suites from long ago. Plus we have many new limited-time uploads through the generosity of reader 8H Haggis.

The Nutcracker Suite No. 1 (Op. 71a) is from a 1939 recording by the Chicago Symphony conducted by Frederick Stock, transferred from a 78 album. The Suite No. 2 (Op. 71b) comes from a 1946 recording by the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler, dubbed from a 45 set. Both are excellent, and in good sound for the time, now repitched and remastered from my 2010 transfers. Find them here.

Meanwhile, Santa 8H Haggis, confused about the holiday, has been busy planting Easter eggs in the comment sections of various old posts. I have not heard even half of these, but I can tell you that his work is sterling on those I have auditioned.

Once again, you must look in the comments section to each post, scroll down for his contribution and his amusing commentary. These are limited-time uploads - the links will expire in a month or less.

Chopin - Les Sylphides, Delibes - La Source, in excellent performances from the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and Peter Maag - LINK

Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony, an outstanding record from the Philharmonia and Paul Kletzki - LINK

Two great serenades - Brahms' Second, led by Vaclav Smetacek, and Dvorak's Serenade in D Minor, under Martin Turnovsky - LINK

A real rarity, Bruno Walter conducting the NBC Symphony in Daniel Gregory Mason's Suite After English Folksongs, from a 1939 broadcast - LINK

Khachaturian's Symphonies No. 1 and 2 in historic Soviet performances led by Alexander Gauk - LINK

Three venerable recordings of the so-called "Corelli Suite for Strings" - the Pinelli arrangement as done by Ormandy and Koussevitzky, and the Arbos version from the most interesting Hans Kindler - LINK

Bizet's Symphony in C and the Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite, with the Bamberg Symphony led by the underrated Fritz Lehmann - LINK

Schubert symphonies - No. 2 and 6 led by Marcel Couraud, and the so-called Gastein (a Joachim arrangement of the Grand Duo sonata), conducted by Felix Prohaska - LINK

Russell Bennett's suite from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, and a suite from Tchaikovsky's opera Queen of Spades as arranged and conducted by blog favorite Andre Kostelanetz - LINK

Nielsen and Sibelius pieces conducted by John Hollingsworth and Arthur Winograd - Sibelius' Rakastava, Canzonetta and Romance In C; Nielsen's Little Suite and Dance Of The Cockerels from the opera Maskarade - LINK

Music inspired by Shakespeare from the Prague Symphony and Vaclav Smetacek, including a transcription for orchestra by Otakar Jeremias of Smetana's Macbeth and the Witches - LINK

Soviet composers Meytuss (Dnieper Power Station) and Mossolov (Iron Foundry), in powerful vintage performances - LINK

Edward Van Beinum leading the Elgar Wand of Youth Suites, and Sir Adrian Boult conducting  Moeran's wonderful Symphony in G minor - LINK

The Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia and Anshel Brusilow return with Haydn's 60th and Cherubini's Symphony in D - LINK

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris from the Vienna Symphony and Dean Dixon, with pianist Vivian Rivkin - LINK

Bloch's Concerto Grosso No. 1, Mozart's 34th Symphony, Brahms' 1st, and Tchaikovsky's 4th and 6th in the legendary Chicago Symphony recordings under Rafael Kubelik - LINK

And a large number of Antal Dorati performances: the Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty Suite, Romeo and Juliet and Symphony No. 5, Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Overtures, Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, Schubert's 8th, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess Suite and An American in Paris - LINK

Thanks again to 8H Haggis!

Nutcrackers with Van Kempen and Lehmann

The Pacific Northwest Ballet production

For those of us who can never have too many Nutcracker Suites, here are two from leading mid-century conductors, Paul van Kempen and Fritz Lehmann.

Both maestros chose the suite as constructed by Tchaikovsky himself, designated as Op. 71a. It includes the Miniature Overture, the March, the Dance of the Super-Plum Fairy, the Russian, Arabian and Chinese Dances, the Dance of the Reed Flutes and the Waltz of the Flowers. 

Also on this blog, Op. 71a can be found as performed by the Chicago Symphony and Frederick Stock and the Royal Philharmonic and Sir Thomas Beecham. (The latter is newly remastered.) Finally, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops came up with a different and equally delightful Nutcracker Suite No. 2 in 1949, available here.

More about the Van Kempen and Lehmann recordings below.

Paul van Kempen and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Paul van Kempen

The Dutch conductor Paul van Kempen (1893-1955) spent most of his career working in Germany, a fact that made him less than popular when he returned to the Netherlands for conducting engagements after the war. He was the principal conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra from 1934-42, making this set for Deutsche Grammophon in 1939.

Despite being the second-ranked orchestra in its home city (the best known is the Staatskapelle Dresden), the Philharmonic did well here, as did DG's sound engineers. I would only question the leaden tempo for the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

This transfer comes from what I believe is a postwar pressing on DG's main label; the original issue was on its Polydor imprint.

Fritz Lehmann and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

Fritz Lehmann

Fritz Lehmann (1904-56) was another busy conductor who died too young. An enthusiast of Baroque music and early advocate of period performance practices, much of his recorded legacy is from the classical and Romantic periods. DG kept him busy but he also recorded for other labels.

This Nutcracker Suite comes from a July 1951 DG session with the Munich Philharmonic. As with the Dresden Philharmonic, the Munich ensemble may be the second-best known orchestra in its home city. The Bavarian State Radio Orchestra perhaps has a higher profile internationally.

EP cover

Like Van Kempen, Lehmann was a highly skilled conductor whose performance with the excellent Munich orchestra will give much pleasure.

This transfer is from the original 78s; DG also issued the set on EPs and LPs with a variety of colorful covers that you can view in the download. One is at right.

Both of these sets were recent addition to the lossless files that can be found on Internet Archive. As always, I've cleaned them up for presentation here.

Tenth Batch of Reups

Here are some of the recent reup requests that have come in. Sorry I am a little late on the Christmas records!

As before, links to all the reups are in the comments to this item. The links below take you to the original posts, where you can read my snappy, insightful commentary (or ignore it, if you prefer).

All but the Mickey Spillane are in one lossless format or the other.

Complete Manhattan Tower

This is the second time I've reupped this popular item - Gordon Jenkins' expanded second go at his Manhattan Tower. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Ellis Larkins Plays Harold Arlen

I almost forgot I had posted this superb album by a very tasteful pianist. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Beecham Conducts the Nutcracker Suite

The Nutcracker has appeared three times on this blog - this version was a contribution by my pal anonymousremains. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Mickey Spillane as Mike Hammer

An odd early LP with author Mickey Spillane appearing as Hammer and rescuing a damsel in distress, accompanied by bongos. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Erik Tuxen Conducts Nielsen's Third Symphony

A favorite recording - and the first of any Nielsen symphony. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Cor de Groot - Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4

The excellent Dutch pianist in Beethoven's most sublime concerto. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Christmas Music from M-G-M

A collection of Christmas music for children as issued on M-G-M singles and collected on an M-G-M spin-off label. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Beecham and the Nutcracker Suite

It's always a pleasure to have contributions from our friends, and here's one from anonymousremains. It is a joyful performance of a suite from The Nutcracker by the Royal Philharmonic and its founder, Sir Thomas Beecham.

The recording, a very good one, was made in December 1953 in Walthamstow Town Hall. The transfer, which I have cleaned up a bit, is excellent.

Beecham had a way with this music, and there are few more exhilarating recordings than this version of the Waltz of the Flowers. Even if you have heard this music many dozens of times, you should hear this.

I've been trying to find identifications for the dancers on the cover, without luck. I think the woman may be Alicia Markova.

Thanks again to anonymousremains for his thoughtfulness.

Jean Morel Conducts Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky's ballet scores for The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty have appeared here a number of times, but I have neglected his Swan Lake music. To make amends, here is a set of excerpts from the early days of stereo.

The conductor is Jean Morel (1903-75), born in France and primarily associated with the operas from that country. This post is one of the few commercial records he made that were not accompaniments.

Jean Morel

Morel left Europe in 1936, and after stops in Latin America, came to the US in 1940. He became associated with the New York City Opera a few years later, staying there until 1951. A 22-year association with the Juilliard School began in 1949. He soon became an influential teacher. Morel has appeared on this blog before, conducting the Juilliard Orchestra in a Mozart concerto with pianist Rosina Lhévinne, his colleague at the school. Much of the conductor's reputation rests on his 1956-71 tenure with the Metropolitan Opera, where he primarily was associated with French works.

In this Tchaikovsky recording, he leads the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden. As far as I can determine, Morel never was engaged by the Royal Ballet, and only conducted a single 1960 performance of Manon for Covent Garden Opera. Nor was he a specialist in ballet music, unlike most of the conductors who have appeared here in that repertoire.

That said, his reading of the Swan Lake music is very good. The opposite of an improvisatory conductor, Morel believed in having all aspects of the score worked out ahead of time. You can hear that this performance is well controlled, and his care over the score may seem a little too careful at times. But all in all, it's most enjoyable.

The recording was made for RCA Victor by UK Decca engineers working in Watford Town Hall in September 1957. As usual with Decca recordings, both the low and high frequencies are emphasized. While the results are vivid, the microphones perhaps were too close to the strings, which can sound wiry at times.

Cover of first US issue

RCA originally issued the LP in mono only in the US (above). The first US stereo edition, which is the source of my transfer, was in 1965 in the budget Victrola line (advertisement below). RCA's UK arm issued a mono version in late 1958 and stereo early the next year. The download includes a Gramophone review from October 1958.

Ad in May 1965 High Fidelity magazine (click to enlarge)

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At Ernie's, Christmas Has Come 5,000 Times in 15 Years

My great pal and sometimes contributor Ernie Haynes runs the web's most extensive and longest lasting site devoted to Christmas music. Just this morning, Ernie put up his five thousandth post, covering the 15 years his blog has been in existence. To give you an idea of how much work that is, I will reach ONE thousand posts in a few months, spread out over 12 years.

To make this even more impressive, Ernie generally only publishes in December (actually, from Thanksgiving into January) and July. During the Christmas season, he posts an album a day; in July he publishes "Christmas in July" music that he derives from singles and non-holiday LPs.

The annual July orgy (poor choice of words, I know) is on now, so be sure to make it over to his site. As a special bonus, he's been posting different versions of the Nutcracker Suite every day - so far, Steinberg, Rodziński, Ludwig, Grüner-Hegge, Karajan and today's selection - the "Amsterdam National Symphony Orchestra - Peter Haas, conductor," which is almost certainly one of those budget-label pseudonyms. (Rodziński is my favorite.)

Congratulations, Ernie!

Reups, Remasters, Limited-Time Uploads, and the Christmas Season Begins

At the Big 10-Inch Record, it's always Christmas - or so I like to think. Today we have a huge pile of presents for the music lover, courtesy of the ever-prolific 8H Haggis, along with a bunch of additional gifts from Santa Buster. (Santa Busta? Santer Buster?)

And to really get the Christmas season underway, old friend David Federman has prepared a new compilation of seasonal songs, promising that it is just the beginning of a series. Let's start with David's goodies.

A Homeland Security Christmas

David is calling his digital mix tape "A Homeland Security Christmas." I am going to let you read David's own thoughts for an explanation, but let me mention that his intention is to highlight great songs from previous generations. "Man, did our parents have standards!" he notes. "And not just as gauges of excellence and workmanship, but songs worthy of cherishing.

"This mix is meant to put you in a kind of ancestral state of mind as you imagine job- and war-worried people trying to spend time alone or together in hope and happiness."

Please go to the comments section of the All Saints' Day post to read David's comments and a link to his 31-song compilation. His own link only will be good for a few days, but I have added a more permanent link just below his comments.

Paul Whiteman, Parts 3 and 4

I know many of you were interested in the Paul Whiteman records posted here and on the blog of good friend Lee Hartsfeld. Just wanted to let you know that Lee has added two new groups of Whiteman songs - go here and here.

Reups and Remasters

As my own contribution to the festivities, I have prepared a pile of reuploads. Most of them are of recent vintage, so I have not revisited the sound. But a few date back many years, so I have remastered these, and they now have much better sound. A few words on these spiffed-up items, then a list of the other reups.

The superb, wildly imaginative pianist Johnny Costa was the subject of a relatively early post on this blog. I can recommend this LP to any of you who have enjoyed the André Previn or Cy Coleman albums I have posted. Costa was that good. LINK to original post.

Another early post was the original 10-inch version of the soundtrack to the famous Marlon Brando motorcycle opera The Wild One. Leith Stevens was credited with the score, but props to Shorty Rogers and his jazz troupe, who performed it. Superb stuff in excellent sound. LINK to original post.

The other reups:

Leo Sowerby - Prairie, From the Northland (ARS Orchestra/Dean Dixon) - LINK

Robert Ward - Symphony No. 3, Leon Stein - Three Hassidic Dances (Cincinnati SO/Thor Johnson) - LINK

Barber - Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Elenor Steber, Dumbarton Oaks CO/William Strickland); Four Excursions (Rudolf Firkušný, p.) - LINK

Django Reinhardt - Le Jazz Hot (contribution from my pal flyingfinger) - LINK

Roy Harris - Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra (Johana Harris, p., M-G-M SO/Izler Solomon); Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight (Nell Tangeman, ms.) - LINK

Americana for Solo Winds (works by Barlow, Rogers, Copland, Kennan, Keller, and Hanson, conducted by Hanson) - LINK

Arnold - English Dances (London PO/ Sir Adrian Boult) - LINK

Limited-Time Uploads from 8H Haggis

Now let me offer just a synopsis of what our man 8H has been up to in the comments section. As always, see the comments to the posts below for what 8H has for you. I suggest searching on the composer or artist to minimize scrolling.

In the Whiteman, Previn and a Profusion of Limited-Time Uploads comments

"The Virtuoso Harpsichord"/Anton Heiler
Barber - School for Scandal Overture/Werner Janssen
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique/Arvid Jansons
Boccherini-Gruetzmacher - Cello Concerto/Danil Shafran, Arvid Jansons
Cherubini - Symphony in D/Carlo Zecchi
Debussy - Martyrdom of St. Sebastien/Victor Alessandro (don't miss this one)
Grieg - Piano Concerto/Richard Farrell, George Weldon (Farrell is terrific)
Liszt - Piano Concerto No. 1/Richard Farrell, George Weldon
Liszt - Tasso/Arvid Jansons
Mozart - Lucio Silla Overture/Antal Dorati
Mozart - Symphonies Nos. 39 and 41/Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnole, Le Coq d'Or suite/Ernest Ansermet
Schumann - Cello Concerto/Danil Shafran, Arvid Jansons
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker/Antal Dorati
Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty/Antal Dorati
Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto/Ruben Aragonyan, Arvid Jansons
Tchaikovsy - Suite No. 1/Arvid Jansons
Thomson - "The Mother of Us All" Suite/Werner Janssen
Thomson - Cello Concerto/Luigi Silva, Werner Janssen
Weber - Symphony No. 2/Willem van Otterloo
Plus a "mystery download" (my hint: very interesting operatic recordings)

Plus an extravaganza devoted to the obscure but Haggis-approved conductor C. A. Bünte:

Barber - Symphony No. 1
Beethoven, Schubert - German Dances
Beethoven - Consecration of the House Overture
Beethoven - Early Piano Concerto in E-flat (Galling, p.)
Beethoven - Symphony No. 3
Brahms - Serenade No. 1
Busoni - Konzertstueck (Glazer, p.); Rondo Arlecchinesco (Moser, t.)
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue (Bianca, p.)
Glinka - Ruslan und Ludmilla Overture
Harris - Symphony No. 3

In The First Recording of Vaughan Williams' Pastoral Symphony comments

Vaughan Williams - English Folksong Suite, Greensleeves Fantasia, Norfolk Rhapsody, Tallis Fantasia/Sir Adrian Boult

In the Hanson Conducts MacDowell comments

Dvorak - Symphony No. 7/Sir John Barbirolli
Dvorak - Symphony No. 8, Scherzo Capriccioso/Sir John Barbirolli
Elgar - Enigma Variations; Purcell-Barbirolli - Suite/Sir John Barbirolli
Grieg - Peer Gynt music, Symphonic Dances/Sir John Barbirolli
Haydn Oboe Concerto (Evelyn Barbirolli); Dvorak Serenade in d/Sir John Barbirolli
Hovhaness - Prelude and Quadruple Fugue; Lo Presti- The Masks; Sessions - The Black Maskers/Howard Hanson
Prokofiev - Symphony No. 4, L'Enfant Prodigue suite/Georges Sebastian
Schumann - Symphony No. 3/Paul Paray
Suppe - Overtures/Sir John Barbirolli
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 8, Bax, Butterworth/Sir John Barbirolli

In the Kostelanetz Conducts Grofé and Kern, Plus Many Bonus Items comments

Villa-Lobos - saxophone works/Vincent Abato, NY Woodwind Quintet
Saxophone concerti/Eugene Rousseau

In the More Limited-Time Uploads comments

Haydn - Organ Concerto in C and Sinfonia Concertante in Bb/soloists, Karl Ristenpart
Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 13, 19, 29, 31, 44, 45, 49, 64/Leslie Jones
Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 44 and 57/Szymon Goldberg
Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 55 and 85/Roberto Benzi
Haydn - Trumpet Concerto; Divertimento for Flute; Serenade; and "Das Echo"/soloists, Kurt Redel
Mendelssohn's Quartet No. 1/Fine Arts Quartet
Mozart - Quartets/Roth Quartet
Rosza - Overture to a Symphony Concert; Theme, Variations, and Finale/Miklos Rosza
Saint-Saens - Tone Poems/Louis Fourestier
Schubert - Quartets Nos. 13 & 14/Fine Arts Quartet
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7/William Steinberg (a rare one with the Buffalo PO)
Strauss-Dorati - Graduation Ball/Antal Dorati

And finally...

Another plug for my new Twitter feed. Links to all the posts here and on the singles blog when those posts appear. Links to other items of interest (to me, anyway) on the web. And a new benefit - periodic uploads for Twitter followers only. (Like I said, it's the start of the holiday season!)

Just click the link below.

Follow @BusterBig10Inch

Fritz Lehmann Conducts Romantic Overtures

Fritz Lehmann is a little-remembered conductor whose recording heyday was short, but who did manage to make dozens of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon before his early death at age 52 in 1956.

Lehmann has appeared here twice before - with his recording of The Nutcracker Suite and with Brahms and Schumann overtures, along with two of Dvořák's Slavonic Rhapsodies. This post will revisit the Brahms and Schumann works while adding overtures from the Romantic period by Mendelssohn, Weber and Schubert.

About Fritz Lehmann

To paraphrase myself from an earlier post: Lehmann (1904-56) was a busy conductor who died too young. An enthusiast of Baroque music and early advocate of period performance practices, much of his recorded legacy is from the classical and Romantic periods. DG kept him engaged, but he also recorded for other labels.

Although not reflected in this program, it's important to mention Lehmann's advocacy for Bach and Handel. He was conductor of the Göttingen International Handel Festival, from 1934-44, and then again from 1946-53, where he conducted modern revivals of two Handel operas. His death came while he was conducting a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. At the time he was in the midst of recording the Christmas Oratorio. The final sections were completed with Günther Arndt.

Two Mendelssohn Overtures

In 1951, Lehmann joined with the Berlin Philharmonic for recordings of two sea-going Mendelssohn concert overtures issued on the 10-inch LP above. The first and better known is The Hebrides (also called Fingal's Cave), a marvelous, dramatic work here in a performance that does it full justice.

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage - written at about the same time as The Hebrides and inspired by Goethe - starts off (uh) calmly. There isn't enough wind to sail. But soon enough the voyage is on its way. The composer's music is never less than interesting, but the work suffers in comparison with its predecessor.

The recordings - like all here with the Berlin orchestra - were made in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche.

Brahms and Schumann Overtures

The second 10-inch LP is the one I have previously featured, but which has been thoroughly reworked for this post.

It combines Brahms' Tragic Overture, the portentous work that has remained familiar in the concert hall for nearly 150 years. Hugely dramatic and impressive, it is one of the composer's best and best-known works. 

Lehmann is a sure hand with this material, again with the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance from 1952.

From that same year we have Schumann's Manfred Overture, the most familiar part of the composer's set of incidental music inspired by the Lord Byron poem. From that music, the overture alone has maintained a footing on symphony programs.

For the Schumann, Lehmann leads the Bamberg Symphony, which is not as refined as the Berlin ensemble, but which still produces a worthy performance whose dramatic qualities make it a good disk mate for the Brahms.

Weber - Der Freischütz Overture

Late in 1952, Lehmann and the Berliners turned their attention to the overture from the first German Romantic opera - Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz, which also is well performed by the musicians from Berlin. The opera itself is far more often heard in Germany than here in the US, but the engaging overture is a welcome program addition.

This pressing appeared in American Decca's budget 10-inch line. Decca reprinted many of Lehmann's recordings and those of other DG conductors such as Paul van Kempen and Ferenc Fricsay. This collection does not include the second piece on the Decca LP - Gluck's Alceste Overture - because it is not from the romantic period.

Two Schubert Overtures from the Same Work

Our final selections are two Schubert overtures associated with the same work - the composer's incidental music to Rosamunde, a play by Helmina von Chézy.

When Schubert assembled his Rosamunde score, he opted to use the overture he had written for his opera Alfonso und Estrella. This is the overture that is now sometimes called the Rosamunde, as it is here.

In 1855, well after the composer's death, a publisher substituted Schubert's Die Zauberharfe overture in an edition of the Rosamunde score. Since then, conductors have generally used that piece when they program the Rosamunde music, at least in part because it's considered better music than the Alfonso und Estrella overture.

Here you can judge for yourself in these 1952-53 performances from Berlin, again from Decca's budget 4000 series.

DG's sound during this period was impressive, although with a tendency to bass heaviness, which I've clarified in these transfers.

LINK

Two Christmas Compilations, Plus Many Reups

For today's post, David Federman has favored us with two new compilations, both on the theme of a "Cozy Covid Christmas" - "Home Suite Home" and "Holiday Happiness." Plus I have a garland of reups for you as a bonus.

Christmas Compilations

As always, David has put together a couple dozen of the choicest tunes for each set, mostly from the first half of the last century. "This year," he writes, "I'm thinking of being home bound and all the music themed to longing for home, arriving there, and staying put. My main purpose in selection has been to make the most of being shut-in, discovering its blessings, and overcoming its torments." To help in this process, he has put together sides from many of my favorites, including artists like Eddie Miller and Ruby Murray, who have not been featured here before. Also, greats such as David Allyn, Jack Teagarden and Gordon Jenkins make an appearance.

"Holiday Happiness" is just as felicitous. It includes more of my faves, never spotlighted here, including Caspar Reardon and Lee Morse. "This mix is an inverse gift-list of thank you's for the simple, self-renewing things to be thankful for - in a year where every day can be a Christmas celebration," David says.

Links are in the comments. Thanks, David!

Reups

I've mentioned a few of these in recent posts, but only in passing. So I am featuring them again, along with several other requests. Let's take the Christmas-related items first. Click on the titles below to be taken to the original posts.

Beecham Conducts the Nutcracker Suite

Sir Thomas Beecham was a master of this famous score, as shown in this 1953 recording with his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. "Beecham had a way with this music, and there are few more exhilarating recordings than this version of the 'Waltz of the Flowers,'" I wrote way back when.

Merry Christmas 1952 from Coral Records

This 10-incher had songs from the Ames Brothers, Don Cornell, Teresa Brewer and Johnny Desmond. I commented, "These were the 'NEW Christmas Songs,' as the cover helpfully points out, and were Coral's attempt to generate some holiday cheer (and sales)." Coral put the same comp out the following year.

Call Me Mister

Harold Rome's terrific Broadway revue Call Me Mister and its star Betty Garrett are consistently entertaining. This postwar production had a cast mainly composed of ex-soldiers. The score includes a Christmas song - an ode to conspicuous holiday consumption called "Yuletide, Park Avenue."

Tony Bennett - Because of You

I posted a few of Tony's 10-inch LPs in the early days of the blog, including this one from 1952, with a title tune that was the singer's first huge success. Columbia later issued another LP with the same title, but somewhat different contents. The post includes all the songs contained on the two albums.

Tony Bennett - Alone at Last

This Bennett LP, another 10-incher, dates from several years after Because of You although its contents come from 1950-53. The disc includes such favorites as "Sing You Sinners," "Somewhere Along the Way" and "Stranger in Paradise." All the tunes but one have Percy Faith arrangements.

Tony Bennett - EPs

The final selection comprises two EPs and a bonus 78. On the EPs, Tony warbles the current tunes, including "Something's Gotta Give," "Heart" and his superb rendition of "Blue Velvet." From the 78 we have two unfamiliar songs, "You Could Make Me Smile Again" and "Yesterday's Roses."

Elliot Lawrence's Woodwind Band

In 1957, bandleader and arranger Elliot Lawrence was recording with studio bands for both Fantasy and RCA's Vik imprint. (Examples of his work for both labels can be found on this blog here.)

Lawrence had retired his road band a few years before, and soon thereafter was taking lessons from the famed conductor Pierre Monteux, who had premiered works by Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev and others. That tutelage inspired Lawrence to try arranging for a different ensemble than the dance and jazz bands that had made his reputation. The result is this album, clumsily titled Hi Fi-ing Winds, scored entirely for woodwinds and rhythm section - no brass, or saxophones for that matter.

Elliot Lawrence

Unlike many of his records, the arrangements here are all Lawrence's own, and they are a delight. He chose from among his own compositions, added some standards, plus a few items particularly suited to the woodwind sections. Among the latter, Lawrence transformed the "Dance of the Reed Flutes" from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet score into "Flight of the Flutes," and unearthed the catchy novelty tune "Piccolo Pete" from 1929. The album begins in ironic fashion with a string-free version of "Holiday for Strings."

I should mention that this is not a jazz LP. I only noticed three solos - Barry Galbraith's obbligato guitar on "Holiday for Strings" (mixed so low as to be almost inaudible), the leader's piano on his own "Windfall" and a clarinet solo on "Fascinating Rhythm," probably by Sam Marowitz.

I can't tell you what is transpiring on the cover. The clarinet and oboe players have shoved their instruments into the sand (which couldn't have been good for the reeds), inspiring a young woman to pose in the surf in her evening frock. If any of you can decode any significance from this odd tableau, please enlighten me in the comments.