Ancerl/Boston SO, Smetana: Ma Vlast. 1969 broadcast, during a very audible thunderstorm!

I haven't posted any music for a while, and was in a quandary about what next.

The big pause (not only a lion specialty) only heightened the importance of making this selection.

For those who are interested, I've had a beautiful boy, now 2 months old in the while. He's our first. As I've been engaged with microburst volcanic eruptions and impressive blowouts of the rear chassis, thoughts of which and why and how have come up; choosing and posting has been on my mind just not on the schedule. I do have a ridiculous bunch of music on the mental cue however, and it will continue to be brought here.

[Insert Name Here] and an unnamed sonic cleanup collaborator brought this to the groups,

and I freaked out as usual. It concerns the most beloved work by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. Here you go:

"A Tanglewood concert...soul-stirring Má vlast 
led by Karl Ancerl (the first complete performance by the BSO) ...[at] the Koussevitzky Music Shed..."


I hope you find this performance as moving as we have here.

Given the Heraclitean flow that my life has been awash in these past weeks, it seems appropriate. What with the fossil fuel-extraction disaster in the middle of the Americas' waters (which happened to white people this time, so the outrage is suddenly more newsworthy) and its possible upcoming climate change legislation effects, the evocative 'Vltava' is perfect.

Check the real thunder and lighting backing 'Bohemia's Woods and Fields' from outside the building, starting from 3:08 and onwards.

It speaks for itself.

The contributor has gotten some wonderful handed-down stories regarding this performance, especially about one of those who

"...attended this concert, and according to this person, members of the

orchestra were literally in tears at the conclusion of the work. You can tell this was a cathartic experience for all involved...", as well as other reports of folks who were, "...told by a friend that he and his wife left the concert in tears."

The sound of water sluicing gloriously at 12:43 is evidence of an all 'round aquavitae-soaked confluence of sound, emotion and nature. The Berkshire storm even enacts a curious reserve in the adagio moments.

I encourage you to look into conductor Karel Ancerl's history, which will further enrich your listening experience of this piece. It resonates still more upon remembering that when this was recorded the invasion and killings of 'Prague Spring' were still fresh in the Czech homeland.

Bedrich Smetana

Má Vlast (My Homeland)

Karel Ancerl

Boston Symphony Orchestra

August 1969

Live broadcast

1 Vyšehrad (The High Castle)

2 Vltava (The Moldau)

3 Šárka

4 Zčeských luhů a hájů (From Bohemia's Woods and Fields)

5 Tábor

6 Blaník

130.83 MB

Play it loud!!!

Guillermo

Mahler's 9th, Giulini, The Fabulous Philadelphians in 1972: What a ride!

Statework is ridiculously proud to present (all thanks to Ray):

Gustav Mahler

Symphony # 9

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor

Alan places the recording from either the March 17

(Friday concert) or March 18 (Saturday evening concert)

Philadelphia, PA

1972.

Ray contributed this, "One of the great performances of this symphony. In excellent sound. "

In the crowded football field full of Mahler 9th recordings that exist in the world, here is a standout, a steal, a touchdown.

-Or, as some of my fellow broadcast freaks ahem, expert listeners have effused: "...a gem, indeed...", "As fine as his studio recording is, this is even better. Again, the situation of a live performance is just more tense and intense. Did I hear
Giulini's voice somewhere in the first movement? And forget about that
trumpet intonation at the start of III, the orchestra is flat out gorgeous..."

Tom V, a Statework member, remembers the concerts:

"I was there at the Saturday night concert, up in the $1.50 or $2 "nosebleed" seats in the amphitheatre of the Academy of Music. It was my first live performance of any Mahler symphony and "live" is an understatement.

Giulini's Chicago recording never matched my memories of the Phila concert. Now I know my memory is correct.

Three notes:
1.Giulini conducted the performance w/o a score.

2. I don't recall a dog barking during Saturday's performance, so this must be Friday.

3. The announcer is probably from the late lamented WFLN, which was heavily involved in the production of the Orchestra's radio series for many years..."

My own scribbling from a third hearing (many more have passed since then!) include '...incisive attacks-surging, oceanic but opposite of schmaltz-then a clearing, a respite...3:47 Giulinian stomping ensues-'

Please listen closely to this recording for what you will, not least of which may include the oddball, "...And I thought there was a dog bark in the last movement! Sounded like a little lap thing who woke up in her master's purse"

En fin, a must-have. If it happens to be your first brush with the Mahler 9th or Mahler 's work (gasp!) in general, you couldn't have come across a finer first date. And before this I thought I was taking a Mahler vacation...

Tchaikovsky's WarHorse Cometh: 1st Piano Concerto with Hough, Vänskä & The Marvelous Minnesotans: Oct 3, 2009

Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto No.1

Minnesota Orchestra

Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Stephen Hough, soloist

October 3, 2009

Program:

[Wagner Siegfried Idyll- available but not in this post]

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1

including Siloti's de-arrangement of the slow movement as an encore

[Bartok The Miraculous Mandarin- unrecorded]

Hyperion Records (UK) http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67711/2&vw=dc

will offer this recording (mixed in, I imagine, with a few other nights' efforts) officially as a CD in March, but this is a sneak peek in decidedly inferior sound. Huge fun.

Yes, I still love the warhorses. So what. I can enjoy the weirdo, off beaten pathway modern composers deeply, but you've got to get silly and wave your arms around to a tried-and-true stonker every so often as well. Here is the Tchaikovsky First, and if it is your first version of it, you are in for it.

There's a small leap in the sound continuity right in the beginning, but none of it can detract from the happening captured here.

I admit to being an impatient listener to yet another new Tchaikovsky First, usually going straight to the Third Movement's hustle and sprint to see what the pairing of orchestra and soloist is up to by then. No disappointments at all there, and the whole affair holds more delights, even upon repeated listening- what more to ask?

The take is a rip-snort, plunge-taking, ace-at-the-controls barnstorm that brings to mind the epic 1940 Carnegie Hall battle between the young Horowitz and Barbirolli, abetted by a whipsmart New York Philharmonic in that instance.

Though more controlled and cooperative here, the give and take of the Minnesotans and Hough is something I can't wait to hear in high quality sound on official release!

enjoy, best heard at unconscionable volume and with a generous nature towards lo-fi...

Mahler 3: Jansons/Royal Concertgebouw, Fink. 2010 broadcast of a great performance

Gustav Mahler

Symphony No.3

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Mariss Jansons, conductor

Bart Claessen (trombone), Liviu Prunaru (violin), Frits Damrow (Trumpet)

Bernarda Fink, mezzosoprano

Boyschoir Rijnmond, Sacramentskoor Breda

Groot Omroepkoor

February 5th, 2010

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

169.91 MB in a .zip folder containing four mp3 files, 'art' and text with information inside. See comments.

This thanks to an upload by Epicóndilo, of the foroactivo Mahler tribe

I think I can make up for the excising of Martinon's Mahler 3 links now.

This Mahler Symphony no. 3 is worth strapping good sound on for (even though the 192 kbps original bitrate does little to support that thought), in part for the detail that Jansons has been able to bring to surface and for the tempos he sustains. How the thing is kept moving so inexorably forward, with that special sense of occasion that marks great performances, is a feat that can only be properly explained in the doing. It is done here. Press play & listen, read no more. But if you must-

Jens Laurson of musicweb has a review of the live event which shows unhappiness with this crew, panning the performance from the night before, Feb 4. The present mp3s record a different night, and a different story. The last of a triumvirate of M3 offerings, I think the Concertgebouw was back in fighting shape for this one, if the musicweb reviewer was right about an off-night just 24 hours earlier.

There's a sequence, a set piece in the final movement which is particularly telling, that came though the headphones at 3AM the first time I listened carefully to this recording. It had not been apparent to me before! [This may be just a confession of heathenness] The movement, which is originally named "What Love Tells Me", has within it a solo violin phrase which blooms supported by the orchestra, is repeated by its cohorts, then again by a larger swath of orchestral textures against the evolving backdrop. The phrase comes back beautifully in various guises thereafter, but I had not been as struck by the concerto-like moment of the soloist until now. This is true even though the violin is sonically set back quite a bit here, and ends up having more room (reverb) around it; it ended up highlighting the experience to me.

Enjoy!

Guillermo

Sibelius 2: Barbirolli & Boston SO 1964 broadcast

Maestro Barbirolli in a '64 Sibelius Second, one to rival his well-known RPO & Halle accounts.

Jean Sibelius

Symphony Nr. 2, Opus 43

Boston Symphony Orchestra

John Barbirolli, conductor

30 October 1964 broadcast

Symphony Hall, Boston MA

Annie (short for Anonymous) sent me this, when I mentioned being an avowed Barbirolli groupie. Sir John Barbirolli never fails me. His recordings always exude a romantic impulse throughout, which the orchestras respond to quite audibly; such it is in this case as well. The expanses that open at around 6:00 into the first movement have turns on a dime, in ways that cannot be written into a score but must be felt and transmitted though the borderline-fictitious magic of conductorship. His footstamped grunts at 6:45 and 7:08 are the pockmarks, evidence of the presence of authentic leather, it happens.

The snowstorm of tension at 5:40 is a marvel of Boston Symphony string prowess. There are, few and far between to be sure, tiny bits of ensemble discombobulation but these come at times when they are at the service of a set-up for a larger swath of sonic narrative. The conductor sounds like he's taking a few risks and liberties that may not have been completely planned, and they feel right;

these are spurts or colors that add to the enjoyment of a deeply considered, living performance.

Overall, this Sibelius 2 is everything I look for -and so often find- in a Glorious John joint.

So I'm sentimental. I love Barbirolli for it.

The complete program of this concert was

[Berlioz: Carnaval romain, Overture

Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet

Vaughan-Williams: Symphony Nº 6]

Sibelius: Symphony Nº 2

[++UPDATE: Hornsby's struck again! Progress Hornsby sent me the Delius and Vahugan-WIll

iams from the concert which I will soon post; we wonder if anyone out there has the Berlioz?]

Our generous source for this broadcast recording, who wishes anonymity, notes:

"...This tape has sat in a garage for over 30 years, but the sound is pretty good (a little bright and hissy)..."

Thanks, again, Annie. Sorry I couldn't offer this a few weeks earlier to catch Barbirolli's birthday, but here it is as a late present for that, and an early one for these holidays.

While the performance is, as usual, in the comments,

Joe was kind enough to put the info together into a nifty, ready to print covers inlay, available here:

http://rs552cg.rapidshare.com/files/327461431/9531075/Sibelius-Barbirolli-Sy2.jpg

Enjoy, play it loud and pay it forward!

Guillermo

Mahler Symphony 5: World Orchestra For Peace, Gergiev, 2009 Sweden, Live broadcast rec.

A seasonal Offering; I hear alot of hope in this version!

Stockholm, Sweden

2nd September 2009 WOP Concert, part of the Baltic Festival

World Orchestra For Peace

Valery Gergiev, conductor

This concert was given at the invitation of Sveriges Radio/ Berwaldhallen as a part of the 2009 Baltic Sea Festival - marking the 70th anniversary of the start of World War 2 in the Baltic in 1939 and 200th anniversary of the peace treaty between Sweden and Finland.

Programme for this concert:

Track 1.

Krzysztof Penderecki

'Prelude for Peace'(WOP commission, Swedish premiere)

Tracks 2-5.

Gustav Mahler

Symphony No. 5 in C# minor

Penderecki's Prelude For Peace is short, in five minutes it achieves a broad swath of wonder to bask in and press 'repeat' immediately after.

The Mahler is a clean, positive-sounding reading that satisfies greatly. As usual with the Fifth, there are all these gorgeous musical structures spread to the skies only to be destroyed, and rebuilt, and again, the process moves forward thusly. Made up of a pick of crack top flight musicians, the World Orchestra For Peace shows its mettle navigating the big crashes without any undue muddiness of texture. It fits wonderfully for all us knit-browed 'serious music' junkies heading into a new decade!

for more info see

http://www.worldorchestraforpeace.com/concerts/previous-concerts/2-september-2009-stockholm/default.aspx

Thanks to "kurth.johansson" at concertarchive for originally getting this, enjoy and play it loud!

Ivan Moravec, Philadelphia Orchestra with Keene: Grieg Piano Concerto live 1984

Sometimes I'm silly and try to stick words in here to describe or peddle or even vaguely reflect music.

unnecessary here.

Edvard Grieg

Piano Concerto

Ivan Moravec, piano

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Christopher Keene, conductor

live broadcast, October 19, 1984

I've no other info about this save that it is Ivan's debut with the Fabulous Philadelphians.

Links for this in comments, as customary; if you enjoy this, I must suggest

something that has given more enjoyment with each listen,

from the Czech recording company Supraphon's

collaboration with Mr. Moravec:

Live In Brussels

He plays the Beethoven Pastoral sonata, Some Chopin mazurki, nocturnes, the Scherzo in B minor and a few of his Brahms lagniappes, always twinkling with a watchmaker's focus and brilliance.

As it is an official release, very reasonably priced and relatively available,

here is the link to see it and buy it if you wish

http://www.supraphon.com/en/catalogue/releases/?item=827

With that, I have no other comment than I love Ivan Moravec.

Guillermo

Jack brought the Grieg concerto to symphonyshare, and I couldn't but share- A thousand thanks Jack!