Messages

I've loved this "unknown" Tchaikovsky concerto ever since the Graffman/Ormandy recording came out. Back then it really was obscure, and little did I know that they used the Siloti edition. I remember the first concert that I heard it played live at. The concert commentator gave a talk before the concert and when it got to the concerto said, and I can still quote it these 50 years later, "it's horrible. I'm sure glad I didn't write it!" That commentator was a composer/teacher who had only one of his many works ever recorded - and it's never been on CD. None of his music is played anywhere, not even at the institution he taught at. I bet he was insanely jealous that such a horrible concerto would be performed and recorded many times while his works lie dormant and probably always will.

Peyton Place is one of my absolute favorite soundtracks. John Waxman is still out there, fortunately making a lot his father's music available. He may not be interested in writing a bio, but there's got to be someone.

And ironically, Stothart was begging to be allowed to score GWTW. His score for The Wizard of Oz is great, but a) it's derived largely from the Arlen tunes and b) heavily borrow from Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky. Steiner's GWTW's only borrowing that I am aware of is the clever hints of Dixie. Excellent concert suites of the Steiner have been put together, but the Stothart hasn't been - the Oz suites I know are all collections of the songs - that Stothart didn't write.

Just finished the Steiner bio last night - excellent in every way. Long overdue but I'm sure glad it got done. Now we need one on Waxman.

Good luck to Blomstedt! That's a big undertaking for a 93 year old. Hopefully his Seventh Day Adventist lifestyle and diet will let him take it to completion. Perhaps Berwald has some special meaning for him, but I can't imagine anyone getting too excited about another Berwald cycle. I can think of quite a few other Swedish composers I'd like to hear recorded.

Fantastic! Love his music. Just watched Treasure of the Sierra Madre last night. I knew a guy who knew "Maxie" well when he was working in Hollywood. Maybe now I can verify some his funny stories.

You know, that's a good idea for a recording project. What little of Cui's music I know isn't all that impressive or even Russian sounding. The operas are likely forgotten for good reason. But the overtures? Interesting idea. But - are there overtures? I've played through Little Red Riding Hood and it had a short introduction. Ivan the Terrible is the same. Unfortunately, on IMSLP we can only see vocal scores. Are there overtures in the orchestral scores?

Currentzis certainly is weird - but it's kind of refreshing I think. For so long classical listeners have complained about how everyone nowadays seems to sound the same. There really isn't much of a difference between Beethoven 5 among the recordings in the last 20 years or more. Then comes along someone who does some things that are odd, unusual, sometimes thrilling, sometimes stupid. And so critics crucify him for it! (Not all, I know.) In bygone eras conductors clearly put a personal stamp on things for better or worse: think Mengelberg, Stokowski, Toscanini, Mitropolous, Bernstein...

I've picked up three of the Currentzis recordings now: the Beethoven 5, Tchaikovsky 6 and Mahler 6. While I'm not going to declare any of them my personal favorite, I think all three are valid interpretations and at times, excellent. One thing they're not: boring. I wish I could see him live someday to know if he produces the real thing in the concert hall and it's not just a recording phenomenon. I just hope that he broadens his repertoire and records some neglected music from Russia. As for Hurwitz, his bashing of the Wilson recording of the Korngold symphony bothers me. He thought it was poor, I think it's the best recording to date.

I couldn't recommend a particular recording of Darke's "In the Bleak Midwinter" though there are numerous excellent ones by British cathedral choirs. I don't own one myself. Once Christmas is over, lovely as it is, it has been done to death and I'm not sure I want to hear it again until next Christmas!

Although my friend wouldn't sell the manuscript, I can't help but think that there are people who would pay a fortune for it!

Completely off topic, but:


Was this vote for the Darke version? or the Holst? or was it just the lyrics? I've never heard the Darke, but found a nice organ/voice version on Youtube. But I really prefer Holst's setting.

The problem I have with Hurwitz: he claims to have listened to every single one of those bizillion cds in his apartment and the "overflow" room. When does he have time to do this? And with so many disks, how closely can he really listen? Sometimes I find his reviews good enough, but sometimes they're way wide of the mark - his recent dismissal of the new Korngold symphony with John Wilson on Chandos is incomprehensible. Still, he's no snob - he really likes music for band and wind ensemble, which is refreshing. And he does apparently attempt to evaluate a performance using the score. Imagine that. I do subscribe to his service, but honestly, I find Musicweb International to be much more relevant.

Thank you eschiss1 - that's it. It's not filed under Borodin - they should at least cross reference it there! Next time I conduct a Halloween concert I'm programming this!

That's the story, and then I read later that Glazunov admitted that he just made up the overture. Who knows.

I enjoyed this very much. Sounds like a soundtrack to a B-grade horror film from the '40s or '50s. I like at around 3:50 the clarinet plays a tune that seems a great fit for the overture Glazunov wrote. Any one know if a score of this is available anywhere?

I'm buying that disk not because of the Dawson, but because of the Kay. Very interesting, exciting music - and not for discussion on this board!

I played in a performance of the Dawson two years ago. It's quite difficult in no small part because of the poor condition of the performance materials. Hand copied, cuts abound. It's a mess. The management was really concerned about using the original - and correct- title. They asked several black players about their feelings. The best response was from a gentleman who said "I'd be offended if you Don't use the real title. Quit pandering to us!" The advertising, promos and concerts went on without any ruckus. Beautiful work that needs a modern edition and more exposure.

Very welcome although I am surprised Petrenko with Berlin didn't do it. That 4th from a couple of seasons ago was terrific.