Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

Okay, so this is Tchaikovsky. Long before I got the bug to dig deeper into this genre I knew enough about Tchaikovsky from the "Nutcracker Suite" - a holiday classic perhaps, but not anything I felt a great affinity for. That kind of material has little appeal for me. Or NO APPEAL, actually. So when I started off on my "serious music" journey, Tchaikovsky was not on the intended radar at all. For the longest time I just skipped over anything by him other than the 1812 Overture (and gads! I wound up with a boatload of those somehow). Then I got suckered into grabbing this record because the cover reminded me a lot of the Fleetwood Mac THEN PLAY ON cover! Right?

Plus, the record label was a really interesting variation on the classic Capitol rainbow design with this wicked-looking EMI symbol on it:

Aww, man - how could I say no to this? Plus the inner sleeve (not pictured - too lazy) was a custom job with a neat history of the EMI company on it. At the same Salvation Army there was a Tchaikovsky 5th too so I grabbed both (don't get me started on the 5th Symphony, I wound up with a slew of those overnight too - dang!). When I first played this piece I was pretty baffled by the first movement - the rest made sense, but it struck me as a real mystery. Eventually I made it to the 5th Symphony and was convinced I liked that better. Then, inexplicably, I kept picking up different versions of the 5th without realizing how many I already had - it was weird, man! One day I just poked into the Tchaikovsky section and I was like, DANG - WTF!?!? Anyway, for the longest time I thought the 5th was IT, right?

Alright - I think I kinda got the handle on the fact that Tchaikovsky's main deal is really in his symphonies. And, for that matter, the main event of those are the 4th, 5th and 6th. There's an unfinished, sorta 7th, but that's a controversy I haven't dug into yet. But those main three are THE DEAL for this guy. One through three.......I think I have a First Symphony somewhere.....it's alright, but kinda "surface" y'know? Most people ain't into those. So I got a buncha 4ths, 5ths and 6ths now. So much for putting Tchaikovsky on the back-burner, eh?

Recently I watched that Otto Klemperer film and vowed to pick up anything he did in reasonable shape just because he's awesome. And that led me to another 4th:

This was an early 60s recording, but the label betrays a late-60s pressing..........

Actually not bad - especially for Capitol / Angel pressings. It can be a real hit and miss affair with these beasts. Just some surface noise, but overall QUITE enjoyable. And, I felt like I understood and dug the 4th for the first time with this record. Plus, I noticed a funny thing............
PINK FLOYD! Yeah - all you classic rock fans know how the song "Wish You Were Here" starts on the Pink Floyd album right? The radio stations are being changed from one station to another and there's a very brief burst of an orchestral piece right before the iconic descending guitar line of the song "Wish You Were Here". Okay, find a copy of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony and cue up the 4th movement right at the beginning. Well whadda ya know! Heh heh heh!

I liked the Otto Klemperer version quite a lot, but then I found this one:

Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Obviously a 70s reissue from RCA - nice job on the new cover art (no idea what the original looks like)! Even the dynaflex vinyl sounds decent enough...

But I'll tell you....... there's something MAGICAL about this record / version. I don't know what it is...maybe the sound of the orchestra in Boston Symphony Hall, maybe the pacing of the music but Munch just NAILS this one in my opinion. I've played it quite a few times over the last few months and it's a keeper for sure. Just to make sure I pulled out this Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic version tonight and did a shoot-out with the Munch performance...........

I have a mono copy of this, but I know a stereo exists and has been reissued since the early 60s when this was done. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of Lenny Bernstein. He did the planet a lot of good with the work he took on which was not limited to the "stuffed shirt" set at all! Lenny was one HIP dude. He recognized Brian Wilson's genius as a composer and that's just scratching the surface. So, you gotta dig Lenny. But........his Tchaikovsky 4th is a little tentative and, well - just not flowing like Munch's version. I dunno - there just seemed to be all these weird dramatic pauses. It's amazing to me how different interpretations of a written score can yield such dramatically unique results. Gotta love those six-eye, grey label Columbia Masterworks labels though..........

Just for laughs, I pulled out this Karajan version.........

Now, Von Karajan has a bit of a rep for being a kind of "cold fish" conductor and I figure this can't be good for a Russian composer, but really - even in spite of the compromised and yucky early 60s Capitol Angel pressing, this is not a bad listen at all. Normally I get pretty defensive when I see this label color and design:

There's been many a time when these pressings have let me down, but being the fool that I am I still take the odd chance here and there. I lucked out with this one. Acceptable sonics, all things considered. And, oddly, a somewhat more engaging interpretation than the Bernstein.

I didn't make it back to the Beecham version tonight. That's okay. Maybe tomorrow night - that's the nice thing about being vinyl-ready......lots of opportunity to compare different recordings cheaply. Plus, its a great way to learn more about individual works to hear different performances and perspectives. But for now.....my vote goes to the Charles Munch / Boston Symphony disc. Munch does a beautiful job at highlighting the many wonderful themes of this great Symphony. Check it out!

Edgard Varèse

 As usual, I can’t really add anything more about this great composer that hasn’t already been written. For that matter, I know precious little about his life. One wonders (not having read any biographies about him) if his personality matched how severe he looked! He was one scary-looking dude! I know he was part of the avant-garde school of music from his native country of France. He moved to the United States in the early part of the 20th Century – specifically to Greenwich Village, New York (where else, right?). More specifically to 188 Sullivan Street.

To think of all the times I was right nearby shopping at Second Coming Records and I never knew! His wife Louise lived there until her passing in 1987. Edgard Varèse himself left the planet in 1965. But, as he himself put it, “The present-day composer refuses to die!”

My exposure to Edgard Varèse was a direct result of having read that very quote on the sleeve of early Mothers of Invention albums. Once I heard Edgard Varèse’s music it was very clear where Zappa got his inspiration (at least a good chunk of it). My good friend Mike and I tracked down the Columbia double-LP set of the Robert Craft recordings reissued in the early 70s – it looks like this:

Far out stuff! Especially coming off those vinyl platters with the “serious”, grey Columbia Masterworks labels. Technically, Mike bought the LP and I made a cassette copy (which I still have). Though I’ve picked up many other recordings of Edgard Varèse’s music, the renditions on that double LP remain favorites. Here are some other records……………..

This is the famous EMS 401 LP from 1950. I got it as part of a freecycle haul years ago and while it’s not in the best of shape it’s still pretty cool. It is a pretty rough and tumble sounding recording though. I think this was the first commercially available sound recording of Varèse. In the late 50s, the Robert Craft renditions came out, the first one with a cover like this:

I found the mono version of this record for $1 at a Goodwill last year. Okay, not exactly free, but still awesome.

After Mike and I scored the double LP, I located this record in the stacks at the local library. Years later I got my own copy in mono. Really powerful version of Arcana right there!

This album featuring Ameriques came out around the same time as the Arcana record. Funny how the cover art is so similar! Coincidence? Heh!

Here’s a Quadraphonic record of some Varèse pieces. As it happens, I do have the equipment to decode the quad information accurately. Haven’t done that yet, but had to have the record for when the urge hits. And that’s an important admission. Edgard Varèse isn’t “anytime” listening. Have to be in the right frame of mind, but when that urge hits, there’s nothing else like it!

Two years ago, there was a two-night mini-festival of Edgard Varèse at Lincoln Center. Since I won the World Cup pool that year (go SPAIN!) I got tickets for me and Mike and we ended up at the second night when the larger orchestral pieces were performed. ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PERCENT UTTERLY FLIPPING BRILLIANT is what it was to hear this music played with precision, ferocity, virtuosity and VELOCITY that night. If they did that every year, I would go every year. Hope I get to hear some live performances of Varèse at least once more before I split the planet myself.

No matter what some folks think about Frank Zappa, he did the “serious music world” a real SOLID one through his constant advocacy of the music of Stravinsky, Webern, Nancarrow, Varèse and other favorite modern composers. It’s a little known fact that Zappa’s last recording project featured his favorite Varèse compositions performed by the Ensemble Modern under his own direction. The project, which included a film, was even titled “The Rage and the Fury” and it’s DONE, just waiting to be released. As of last summer, Gail Zappa typically, cryptically announced plans to release this project as she put it “by the end of the Mayan calendar”. Isn’t that in 2012? Well, if true – I’m psyched!

Oddly enough, as prolific as Zappa was in his lifetime, his hero was the exact opposite. So, you can get all the Varèse compositions on one two-disc CD set these days. One I’ve heard that is pretty good is this one:

 So, I named my blog after a Varèse composition. It’s only fitting that I post a clip of it here:

I have other posts about Edgard Varèse planned for the future. His influence continues to be felt in modern music and not just through the Frank Zappa connection, though certainly Zappa's enthusiasm has helped to keep interest in Varèse's music alive. As folks continue to debate the nature of music it would be helpful to recall the other Edgard Varèse quote : "Music is organized sound!" Happy listening!