Short-Attention-Span Theater and the value of Album Covers, Part One........

When it comes to classical music, serious music, non-commercial, non-vocal music – I have to readily admit I am not academic about my appreciation. My grasp of concepts like “sonata form” are tenuous at best. I have a little basic training in rhythm, melody, counterpoint, keys, modes, historical background and the like. But I am an outsider in nearly every sense of the word when it comes to the “serious music” scene. I do like to be exposed to different musical ideas, however. I try to find basic appreciation of music even though the deeper significance of any given work is likely to bypass my consciousness quite easily.

So what am I in it for? Specifically – I found myself wanting to hear more instrumental music in general, yet I also wanted to branch out from jazz and other more popular forms.  Really – I knew there was a whole tradition of European music to which I had very little exposure – a reality I wanted to change. So – finding pieces I like and returning to them frequently has been the key. This is where LP records are helpful. Sometimes it’s just a matter of knowing what records I like based on the sleeve art! I’ve got that orange cover Bach cello album…………

the album with the impressionistic river on it (Moldau)……

the Varese album that looks like a psychedelic flushing toilet………..

and this one:

Beethoven – Sonata for Violin and Piano / No. 6 & 9 – Arthur Grumiaux (v) and Clara Haskil (p)     I got this record in a batch of about 10 LPs from an ebay auction last year. All old Beethoven records – all in mint shape for $10 shipped! Not bad. Especially since I eventually discovered I really enjoyed both performers. I have a few other records with Grumiaux – he’s another violinist I’ve picked up on. Great intonation – great tone generally. Tasteful approach. Of course neither Grumiaux nor Haskil are alive today. She died at the height of their collaboration as a result of injuries suffered on the way to a performance, of all things. This record is one example of the telepathic rapport these two had. I’m only just getting familiar with Beethoven works outside of the Symphonies and this record is an example of the value of LPs in this process. I might not always think to myself – “ah! How about those Violin and Piano Sonatas”. But I will remember the cover and think – “yeah! Time for that Grumiaux / Haskil record!”

LP records offer up bite-sized portions of this music. Easily digestible. Album covers, however bizarre, offer a reasonable visual connection to the contents – not usually detrimental to the enjoyment of the music within. Most companies tried to accommodate a certain level of taste in their choice of visuals. Sometimes record executives are misguided – such as in the case of the Westminster Gold reissues of the 70’s like this:

or this..........

 

Just like everything else, there’s a website dedicated to these wacky covers here:

http://www.westminstergold.com/


I don’t own too many of these, but the ones I have are actually quite good from a musical standpoint. It really must have been a puzzlement for record company suits to figure out how to market this music. Did they succeed? I can’t imagine many die-hard music fans were won over by scary sleeve-art. I think there were even some lawsuits in the case of living composers who took exception to the use of goofy images on record sleeves containing their music!

I have more examples for future times - this is part of the fun of exploring the world of physical music products of the 20th Century! It was the golden age of recording for all styles of music. The demand for platters encouraged the outpouring of talent and the growth of the music industry such as it was then. As many folks are discovering for themselves now, those vibrations are still good - and often available on LP for a minimal investment indeed! Happy hunting and listening!

Shostakovich 5th Symphony

Wow! I just watched this powerful film about Shostakovich and his 5th Symphony. This is a must-see! Check it out:

The film is in six parts on u-toob - the first of which is in the window above. To see the whole film in one place, you can check out the PBS website and view the film at this address:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1295305133/#

I literally had no idea this series existed until I stumbled upon it tonight. Will be checking out the other episodes! Enjoy!!

Julian Bream and Classical Guitar

         Here's my latest Juilan Bream score. Just happens to be a duet record with John Williams. I really enjoy the classical guitar records both of these guys have put out - I have a handful from each so far. Normally John Williams records are on the Columbia label and Juilian Bream's are on RCA. Man, that sleeve sure screams 1972 doesn't it? The music within is a great collection of baroque and classical pieces - most of which I'm not familiar with. The exception being "Pavane for a Dead Princess" by Ravel.

        The first time I heard that Ravel composition was watching Larry Coryell perform it live - quite a captivating performance! I've been a fan of that piece ever since. The version on the record above is pretty awesome, but in my mind that will always be Larry Coryell's thing. In general, I really enjoy acoustic guitar music. It's only in the past few years I've managed to find some classical guitar records and I have yet to be disappointed. Just awesome stuff! There are plenty of John Williams and Julian Bream records floating around out there at Goodwill shops and the like. I especially like Julian Bream's releases on RCA. Even the floppy dynaflex jobs sound pretty good to me. Here's a few other records I like of his:

        Just great stuff! I could listen all day long to classical guitar music. I have a few other Julian Bream albums I rescued from Goodwill bins I'll have to get around to posting one of these days. No matter how garish the cover - for $1 you just can't go wrong. Bright Moments!

Otto Klemperer

Alright – I’m gonna save you $100. That’s right. Click on the youtube link below, watch a great documentary about conductor Otto Klemperer and you won’t have to pay $100 to buy the only VHS copy listed at amazon. Must be out of print. No DVD to speak of either and I wouldn’t hold my breath for a release. This thing is about as low budget and funky as it gets, but I found myself laughing out loud many times at the dry, craggy humor of this GIANT of a 20th Century conductor. And considering he topped out at a lofty 6’5” that’s no lie – he was a large boy indeed! Literally – a TOWERING figure of music.

There are so many reasons to like Otto Klemperer. He knew his Beethoven by heart. He was an early champion of Mahler (and knew him as well). He showed distaste for the rise of the Nazi party in Germany after WWI – managed to survive and escape to the USA where he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic for several years before eventually returning to Germany after WWII to give Richard Strauss what for about being politically amoral. Go get ‘em Klemp! In fact, it’s amazing to watch in the film how he navigates through several political situations while remaining true to his ideals and morals. In other words – he moved around a LOT. But consider this – how many people can claim to have enjoyed dual citizenship status of both West Germany AND Israel – simultaneously – in their lives? That’s my man Otto for you.

As if escaping from the Nazis wasn’t enough – life was to deal Klemperer a number of crazy blows. While living in exile in the US, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor – though he survived surgery his recovery was protracted and left him with partial paralysis on his right side (even effecting his facial muscles). In 1951, he suffered a fall and broke his hip. In the early 60s he survived accidentally setting fire to himself (and absent-mindedly trying to put the fire out with a bottle of alcohol sitting on his night-table next to his bed – he admits to doing this in the documentary!!). I don’t think he was ever run over by a sixteen-wheeler truck, but hell – seems like that’s the ONLY thing that didn’t happen to him. The fact that he lived to be 88 years old and worked right up to a year prior to his death is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit – or just crazy luck. Stubborn German, as my mother might put it.

I have to admit, I have only a few of his works – a Bruckner 7th, some Beethoven……but after watching this (admittedly low-budget, but ultimately awesome) documentary I want to grab all the Klemperer I can get my hands on. I really think if you could go back in time and put Otto Klemperer and Sonny Boy Williamson in the same room with a deck of cards you’d have yourself a HELL of a time right there! With the right amount of spiritual lubricants they’d end up either in fisticuffs or laughing and back-slapping each other (or BOTH). I should be so lucky to live to be an 88 year old  badass MOFO like Klemp. They’re not making them like this anymore, folks. It’s mindblowing to see the footage at about 1:20:00 where he’s conducting in a recording session at Abbey Road Studios at around 1970 or so. He looks DISGUSTED with all those interruptions over the recording process – heck! He ain’t PINK FLOYD, y’know!

Watching the documentary, I couldn’t help wondering if Peter Sellers used Klemperer as a model for his Dr. Strangelove character – the resemblance is pretty striking! The film is pretty funky and requires a lot of sub-title reading, but the anecdotes are worth the effort, even if the soundtrack is a little wobbly. I guess what I like most about Otto Klemperer is his refusal to concede to oppressive dictators, his determination and sheer intensity of being. Listening to that Bruckner 7th yet again – there’s a real weight to the performance that must be attributed to Klemperer’s influence.

Here’s a link to the official New York Times obituary – good synopsis of his life and legacy:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0514.html

And here’s that documentary. It’s pretty hard-core stuff, but there are some wonderfully entertaining stories and anecdotes.

Sibelius and the New Year Eureka Moment!

This is composer Jean Sibelius as a young man. There are lots of images of him in his later years as an older man (he lived a very long life), but he's rocking a pretty cool 'stache here. When I started my more disciplined excursion into classical music a few years back, the music of Sibelius appealed to me pretty quickly. I think it was a Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic rendering of the Second Symphony that hooked me in. That was on a compact disc from the Great Performances series. 

In fact, when I first started building up a classical library my main medium was compact discs. I eventually made the jump to vinyl LPs  - cost effective and a lot of fun, as I described in my last entry. For the most part I envisioned this blog to be an outlet for my discoveries in those mediums, thinking “If anyone found themselves rummaging around old LPs in a thrift store and came across a record I profiled they might take a chance knowing it could be a good listening experience.”

Of course, I know not everybody has a turntable these days (not hard to do, but its not a hobby for everyone). But anyone reading my blog obviously has a computer. And so do I. But I have resisted using it as a music delivery system in the man cave. Truth be told – I have a deep connection to vinyl record culture – much more so than even compact disc culture. Vinyl records have a resonance for me – I dunno what it is. I just respond to the record thing. And, to an extent, I’ve had an unfortunate habit of dismissing newer technology before giving it much of a chance.

Now, there’s lots of debate about the old analog vs. digital issue. As far as I’m concerned – good or bad sound can be experienced in both domains. A lot has to do with the recording itself and the way it gets mastered to the medium. And now with lossless digital files like FLAC, really excellent sound is no longer limited to physical media. And that’s not even taking into account the latest HD sites that deliver Hi-Res files in 96/24 bitrate quality! There are some wicked cool advances taking place!

Anyway – it was New Year’s Day and I was just goofing around the net when I came across this recommendation:
http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Complete-Symphonies-Lemmink%C3%A4inen-Concerto/dp/B004Z4ZN4A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1325732397&sr=8-2

This download was priced at $4.99 when I got it, but even still it’s a tempting bargain – all of the Sibelius Symphonies (and more) for that price? Even though the bitrate was no better than a variable one up to 256 I thought – why not? So, I bit. Trouble was – I was no big fan of windows media player or even winamp – at least for listening to music files from the computer.

Enter – FOOBAR2000 ! See that window on my screen below?

This is foobar2000 – finally a user friendly digital media player that is no-frills, does what I need it to do and makes listening to music a breeze from my computer. I can import one symphony at a time – playlists are easy to manipulate. And even this 256 bitrate download sounds pretty reasonable. Yeah – I can tell the frequencies are kinda shaved off the highs and lows, but overall I’m quite enthused!

As I’m writing this I’ve got Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony going and I’m digging it! The nice thing about foobar is I can see the track information clearly both in the larger menu and the playlist menu. Gads – I must sound like an idiot here, but this is a great step forward for me. I know of a few good friends who are laughing their butts off right now as they’re reading this, like “Welcome to the modern age!!” Ha!

Well, I’ll bet there are other great download deals out there. If it helps increase the access to great music I’m ready! Welcome to the New Year! And, of course, I can easily recommend the music of Jean Sibelius. Happy Listening!!!!

René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti

Over the past few years I’ve been digging through thift store record bins and slowly cobbling together a library of classical music. It’s been a great, rewarding (not to mention cost-efficient!) journey. Taking a risk on some music I’ve never heard is a low-cost risk with this approach. I have to admit I’m really enjoying most of what I’m hearing – some records / pieces /  performances are better than others, but overall I’d say I’m addicted.

Most of the LPs I’ve come across are in good enough shape to be enjoyable – some more mint than others – not too many hopeless cases. I’m looking forward to sharing more impressions about record pressings, labels, recording techniques – anything that may be useful for anyone else messing around with this stuff. Here’s one example………….

My preferred turntable rig for classical LPs is a SONY Linear Tracking direct-drive model from the 1980s. For one thing – it can track even nearly-hopeless records (see the last entry on the New World Symphony….). More importantly I found last year that the cartridge /stylus I’d been using on this turntable makes old mono classical records sound real smooth – a P-mount Grado “Red” model. Here it is in action…………..

The platter slides out of a case that is designed so that you can stack other components on top – CD players, etc…..I’ve had my ups and downs with this turntable, but it’s been working great for the last few years. Mono classical records come to life with this rig. Stereo albums shine as well. Here’s an example……..

Some of the better vinyl pressings I keep an eye out for in my travels come from the Columbia ODYESSY reissue label. This was Columbia’s way of repackaging older classical recordings – re-mastered and reissued with new cover art (well, new for the 70s!). Most of the recordings hail from the late 50s / early 60s and sound really great! The other day I bumped into another of these featuring a violin player I didn’t have much exposure to ….. Zino Francescatti. Side one featured the Violin Concerto of English composer Sir William Walton. Side two – Symphonie Espagnole by Spanish composer Edouard Lalo. Hadn’t heard either piece nor much anything else by these composers. This is the winning combination I tend to look for – plus the record was stone mint! My only hesitation was, ironically enough for someone getting into classical music, THE VIOLIN.

To tell the truth – I’d been listening here and there to different violinists – even some of the “big names” of the 20th Century, but I’ve come to realize that I’m either   A)  not a real violin guy      or     B)   I’m really picky when it comes to what I like in violin music. On the whole, violin can be a little on the screechy side for my tastes. Now, cello – I’ll listen to cello all day long! But violin – I dunno. Maybe I ought to check out some modern players – most of what I’m hearing comes from the records of the 20th Century-era artists. But I have come across some players that I really do like. So far I’d have to say there has to be a real command of intonation and, for lack of a better term – TONE. Chops are nice, but plenty of players have chops – I listen for soul over chops.

Just when I was ready to write myself off the violin list – along comes Zino! Now, Zino’s been gone since the early 90s (lived to 89 years old!). The music lives on though and I have to give a shout-out for this guy. Anyone who can get me to listen to 4 LP sides of violin concerto music in one night has got something special going on. Right at this moment I’m listening to the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major from the mono Columbia LP pictured below and Zino’s just OWNING those high notes! Not shrill or screechy – when he goes for those high notes or difficult passages it sounds as natural as Hendrix with a Strat.

Not that this magnificent musician needs MY stamp of approval – heh! But I really get a kick out of making musical discoveries even if the whole rest of the world has known about it since before time immortal! Yet – that’s the whole reason for my outlet here: to celebrate sounds rarely heard anymore and find uplifting enjoyment from new sonic vistas (even if they’ve been around for awhile…). As the old year winds down and a new one is upon us – I look forward to more great discoveries down the road. For anyone who takes the time to read this stuff – thanks! And I hope your listening is as exciting as it’s been for me – KEEP SEEKING!!!  BRIGHT MOMENTS!!!!!

Dvořák - New World Symphony

Here's a 1953 recording of the New World Symphony conducted by Toscanini leading the inauspicious sounding NBC Symphony Orchestra. Of course, the record I bought at a Goodwill was the usual $1 - the record looks darn near mint, but I didn't notice at the store that it must have been subjected to some heat and less than ideal storage - there's a really bizarre warp on this thing. However, the trusty SONY linear-tracking PS - FL7 turntable is a champ at navigating the difficult terrain here - the stylus moves like a 4X4 through the Grand Canyon, but wow - to no major detriment to the music - go figure! Even with a little noise due to the compromised vinyl I have to say - GREAT PERFORMANCE! I love how a 1953 mono recording can deliver the goods - and Toscanini is pretty inspired here. This must have been considered the benchmark recording prior to the stereo era. As much as I like the classic Fritz Reiner / Chicago Symphony recording on RCA (in Living Stereo) - the Toscanini has an edge to it that's pretty remarkable.

My experience with Dvořák starts with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The icon of multi-tasking saxophone playing did a cool thing on one of his albums where he played the melody to "Sentimental Journey" and the "Going Home" theme of Dvořák's New World Symphony at the same time! Classic Rahsaan right there. Anyway - on the record he gets into this rap about how black people say Dvořák was a black man, but the white people say he was a white man. Someone in the audience asks Rahsaan "What do YOU say?" His reply; "I don't GIVE a damn!" Heh heh.

I found that there has yet to be a Dvořák symphony I don't like. Rather than try to compete with the whole Beethoven / Wagner / Brahms / Bruckner / Mahler deal - Dvořák just lays down some beautiful themes and melodies in his symphonies and you can dig it. Now, being able to tell just which symphonies I mean is a little complicated since there was a general agreement to re-number his works somewhere along the line (who decides these things anyway?). So - the New World Symphony was once considered Symphony #5 - now it's like, #9 or something. Someday I'll have it straight.

I also have to give Dvořák a lot of credit for finally getting my ears to open up to some more string quartet music. I have a box set of his SQ's and darn if I don't like them all. I'm still working on getting up the courage to delve into those Bartok string quartets, but that's for another entry. My point is - if you're wondering if you could get into any kind of orchestral music, give Dvořák a try. I would have to say he must be one of the most accessible composers in the so-called "classical" realm. Personally, I just think he really understood the value that Charles Mingus later identified with music - if it stays with you long after the performance is over - mission accomplished (I am paraphrasing Mr. Mingus, of course but you get the drift).

Final assessment : Dvořák rocks. Dig it!