In the last entry, I mentioned picking up a nice box set of various composers’ works as conducted by Eugen Jochum. Included in that set are entire cycles of Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner symphonies. At this point I have to say I feel pretty comfortable with most (if not all) of the symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms. Okay, so I haven’t memorized every nuance of those scores, but I can tell the Brahms 3rd from the Beethoven 3rd by now – not a small accomplishment for me! Symphonies can be pretty dang long works!
A big selling point of the box for me was the cycle of Bruckner symphonies. I was especially pleased with the performances of the first and second symphonies. The third symphony kinda threw me once again – I’ve had an ongoing tug of war with that symphony for awhile now. What really shocked me was how unfamiliar Bruckner’s 4th Symphony sounded to me when I played the Jochum version. Odd since this symphony – also known as Bruckner’s “Romantic” symphony – was one of the first extended pieces of music I latched onto when I started this crazy journey down the “serious music” path seriously. Then again – it had been awhile since I’d spent time with any Bruckner symphony. For awhile there I was really keen to hear them all, yet I don't think I made it through all of them. The 4th, though, I really thought I had down cold!
So it was when I recently made my yearly, summer run down to the Princeton Record Exchange I kept my eyes peeled for another Bruckner 4th. I managed to find a nice, vintage specimen 2LP set housed in the same kind of box my old copy of Mahler’s 8th came in – probably from the early 1950s. Listening to this version I felt I managed to reclaim my understanding of this great work (as best as I’m able).
The sound here is pretty good all things considered. I know I have a few other recordings of Otterloo conducting the Hauge Philharmonic on Epic. Can't say I know anything of his story, though he seems to have been more of a regional figure than a world-known conductor. Unless that's just my own ignorance, which is always a good bet!
Here's the CD where I first heard Bruckner's 4th:
There are still a ton of these early 90s budget discs floating around. Again, some of the performances are better than others - all usually feature regional European orchestras and lesser known conductors. Yet I still find Bruckner's 4th on this disc really enjoyable.
I remember seeing a website devoted to critiquing all of the PILZ "Vienna Masters" compact discs. My cousin bought a bunch of these back in the 90s and gave me some which I held onto in case I wanted to get a little more into classical, which I did. The above CD was a "gateway" disc for me and I played it a lot. Bruckner's 4th was the first lesser-known symphony (as opposed to Beethoven's 5th) that I'd really enjoyed. Why the Jochum version didn't register when I played it - who knows..........I haven’t headed back to the Jochum box yet as I’ve been derailed by more vinyl purchases. As if I need more than this.....here's the bulk of the classical LPs I've dragged home (but not all of them, mind you!).
I know I’m going to be cursing all these platters in a few weeks time since I’m likely to be moving. At least I’m not moving too far away from where I am now and I’m not in a hurried situation to move quickly. Still I’ll have to relocate a lot of LPs and figure out how they can fit in my new living situation. Record collecting can be fun, but its not always convenient. And when there’s so much great music to be discovered, for such a small investment it’s hard to hold back. So while most folks seem to be purging their physical music sources……..I’m still hauling them in! Here are some recent results:
Three box sets of Haydn Symphonies (from #57 to #81). Four LPs per set. $1 for each set. Nice early 70s London pressings made in England. Maybe not mint, but certainly strong VG+ and not abused. These were great to score since I have a nice set of Paris Symphonies (#82 - 87) on CD that I like. And I'm sure I have some of the London Symphonies somewhere. Of course, these pieces are not very long - about one symphony per side of an LP. Haydn sometimes also gets slagged by critics for composing too much "same-y" material which is hard to argue. However, the samey-ness probably had more to do with the demands of his patrons and their tastes. I mean, how far out are you going to get when you're being paid to write stuff to please the princes? Honestly, things aren't much different today. Modern music has its own familiar sound and recycled motifs, doesn't it? So in Haydn's time people expected to hear those sawing 8th and 16th note patterns over and over and over. What really makes listening to Haydn interesting for me, is when I hear unexpected deviations from the saw, saw, saw routine. That's where Haydn's creativity really lives. It's kinda like the blues - the basic forms are simple enough, but it's how you get creative within those forms.
I picked up this LP along with the others. Even though I had #70 I didn't have #48. Plus I really liked the conductor's name - Raymond LEPPARD. Sounds kinda rock-n-roll doesn't it? I have no clue about him really, but I liked the name and the LP sounds good too. An early 70s Philips LP. Cool!
At the same place I got the Haydn, there was this box set of early Mozart symphonies. Again - 3 discs for $1. Mozart's early symphonies don't get a lot of attention perhaps due to the developing nature of his talent as a young composer. So far, though, I'm finding a lot of enjoyment in hearing these lesser-known works. And these pieces are really brief - 13 symphonies over 6 LP sides? Don't blink or you're gonna miss them! Pretty good sound for a budget, early 70s release too!
Although the music is what drives my thirst for new records to discover, I have to admit I like album cover art too. Recently I picked up these records because they looked to be in good shape and I really liked the cover art. Have a look:
The albums run the gamut of the eras - from Bach to Brahms to Copland and the above LP with more obscure American composers of the late 1800s / early 1900s. Good music - great album covers!
These were all from Princeton Record Exchange. Where I really got excited was in the bin for modern classical. I found a couple of Varese records and this cool LP:
The cover says "mono" but I'm happy the disc is stereo since it's so psychedelic! Early electronic music is fun stuff to listen to! I immediately recognized the album cover from a picture I saw a while ago of John Lennon holding the same record. See here:
Considering Lennon's state of mind in 1967, I'll bet he really liked this record! No doubt it would help inspire his later work on "Revolution 9". I like 20th Century freakout music just as well as Hadyn's saw, saw, saw in its own way. Why put limits on anything? Especially music!
Alright - one last item..........
Last year I did a little deal on the anniversary of the introduction of the 33&1/3 long playing microgroove disc. Since then I've been on the lookout for the first record in that series from June of 1948 - catalog number ML 4001. Well, I got close yesterday when I bagged ML 4003! Looked a little dirty, but the grooves had integrity. Plus the sleeve had a different design to it with the flap at the top and the sides that folded over (unlike later one-piece sleeves of the same look). So this must have been among the first batch of those earliest Columbia LPs from 1948.
So, there you go - it isn't always about the music for me. There's all sorts of cool angles that make record hunting fun. Keep 'em spinning!
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