THEY SHALL HAVE MUSIC!

Do you remember the 1939 film, THEY SHALL HAVE MUSIC with Jascha Heifetz,Joel McCrea,and Walter Brennen? Well, after 39 hours without music we finally had our electricity back online and consisered ourselves lucky because much of S. Jersey is still without power. We did get water in our basement and might have to replace the rugs but that's a minor thing compared to some of our neighbors' problems. Our first post IRENE coffee concert included a terrific performance of Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suites with Jean Martinon and the Chicago Symphony, available only through a Haydn House CD or a good old RCA vinyl. I have ordered 3 Vaclav Neumann CD's from the Japanese Co. Exton, so stay tuned.

Ludwig and the Hurricane

It's Saturday morning and we sit in our den sipping our coffee from the Kona coast in Hawaii, it's called Pele Plantation and it's named after the Hawaiian goddess of fire. We are also listening to a recording of Beethoven's Symphony no. 6 ( the Pastorale ) with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Fritz Reiner, a former faculty member at my Alma Mater. I did not remember what a great performance this is and it's remastered by JVC on their XRCD series, expensive but well worth it. As we listen to the 4th movement called the STORM, we also await another storm called Hurricane IRENE. I expect this storm to last longer than Beethoven's summer shower. Stay safe!

Bad Blood

A friend recently bought a recording of the Dvorak "New world Symphony" with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Gerd Albrecht. This performance, the 100th Anniversary of the the Czech Philharmonic, promised great things plus, was recorded live by my favorite Company, Canyon Classics. Nothing prepared me for the disengaged performance that I heard as Albrecht audibly stomped on the podium, trying to motivate them. This performance was a culmination of the bad feelings that had been simmering for some time over a concert at the Vatican which was vetoed by Albrecht. This conflict even involved Czech President Vaclav Havel, and eventually led to the resignation of Abrecht. Music and politics don't mix!

Bass from Columbia

It was always said that Columbia Records lagged behind on the matter of bass response in their recordings of classical music. Well! that was certainly not the case with their reel to reel pre-recorded tapes. The stereo tape of an album called Ports of Call with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra is a real eye opener, and was transfered to compact disc by a friend. Except for an unengaged "Claire de Lune", which sounded like a sight reading session, all the performances exemplify the great orchestra at it's best. I think I'll try to round up more reel to reel tapes!

The Fiery Cantelli

 As we sat sipping our coffee and listening to a Tchaikovsky 4th with Kubelik and the Chicago Symphony, I thought "something is missing". I went to a recording with the NBC Symphony conducted by Guido Cantelli on Christmas Eve 1949. This performance has to be heard to be believed- orchestra's just don't play like this any more. Cantelli's conducting is passionate and thrilling with no tears, but unfortunately it's available only in a 12 CD  set from Music and Arts. Maybe you can find it used on Amazon or Ebay. No more blogs for a week..........we're off to Mexico and the Western Caribbean...... Via con Dios.

Bon Bons from Ormandy

Have you ever heard of " Hi-Fi in 3/4"? I never have! This recording from 1953 features the music of Waldteufel and Lehar with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ormandy. This record typifies the  variety of music that the PO recorded through the 50's and 60's. Another example would be a Victor Herbert album from 1952 hard to find but worth the search. Both of these records are Delightful.......... and my wife agrees.

Removing the Thud!

When the recording of the Grieg Piano Concerto with Leon Fleisher and George Szell was remastered great pains were taken to remove the annoying thud that appeared frequently because of a loose floorboard. Unfortunately the dynamic range of the recording was compromised leaving a very dull recording of a very great performance. My friend David has solved this problem by using an old reel to reel tape of that performance and utilizing the newest soft wear to correct the problem. What a difference and what a performance. Leon Fleisher, who suffered many years with Carpal Tunnel syndrome, now teaches at my Alma Mater, the Curtis Institute of Music. More on us later.