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Pristine News: Friday 25th September, 2009
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Recordings by Artist - Recordings by Composer - Full printable Pristine Audio catalogue New release today: Felix Slatkin conducts Delius, Saint-Saëns, Ibert Pristine Audio PASC 190
Transfers by Edward Johnson Total duration: 66:03
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Multiple Grammy-winner, Sinatra's conductor and father of Leonard Slatkin
Felix Slatkin was a remarkable all-round musician, both as conductor and performer. As a violinist he was founder of the highly-acclaimed and Grammy Award winning Hollywood Bowl String Quartet, as well as being concertmaster for 20th Century Fox, providing numerous violin solos on film soundtracks. This collection, however, concentrates on his role as a conductor. Together with the orchestra he founded, the Concert Arts Orchestra, Slatkin made a number of recordings in the 1950s - when he was also Frank Sinatra's concertmaster and conductor of choice, and regularly conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. The Delius here was taken from the first non-British album of music by this composer, and comes nicely coupled with the two French works. And if that surname sounds familiar? - Felix Slatkin was the father of the world-renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin. Download listening sample: (Delius - On Hearing The First Cuckoo Of Spring, 224kbps ambient stereo)
Notes on the recording: The idea for this release came from Edward Johnson, who supplied the transfers from his own collection. The originals were in very good condition for their era, and if they were at times a little 'veiled' this has been lifted with careful remastering to reveal a much clearer and more open sound than was immediately apparent. Slatkin was the first non-British conductor to have recorded an LP of music by Delius - at the time he was following Beecham and Anthony Collins in being only the third conductor to havw recorded an all-Delius LP (the Collins recording for Decca is available here as PASC015). The recording here moves from Delius to France, where the composer spent the last three decades of his life, with Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals of 1886 and Ibert's colourful Divertissiment, which he wrote for Chamber Orchestra in 1930. To the best of our knowledge, none of these recordings has been previously issued on CD.
Available as 320kbps MP3, 16-bit FLAC, 24-bit FLAC, Ambient Stereo FLAC, CD
or listen on demand with Pristine Audio Direct Access (PADA) New release today: MORTON GOULD Conducts, Plays, Composes & Arranges Tchaikovsky and Gould Pristine Audio PASC 191
Transfers by Edward Johnson Total duration: 69:27 For more download and CD options, see our website
Showcasing Gould as pianist, composer, arranger and conductor
Morton Gould was a child prodigy turned all-round musician who seemed able to turn his hand to almost anything musical, as this collection of recordings from the early 1950s amply demonstrated. It begins with his masterful orchestral arrangement of Tchaikovsky'sThe Seasons (AKA The Months), which Gould also plays and directs from the keyboard - a long-awaited reissue. There are also two rare works written and conducted here by Gould - his programmatic suite Family Album, a nostalgic look back at life in the USA at the beginning of the 20th Century, and his remarkable Tap Dance Concerto, which brings together the music of Broadway and the classical tradition in a quite innovative and spectacular manner. All three works are excellent examples of one of America's greatest composers and musicians at his peak.
Download listening sample:
(The Months: 10 - October - Autumn Song, 224kbps ambient stereo)Notes on the recording:
It's not often that one is required to de-click a tap dance recording, and Morton Gould's Tap Dance Concerto is the first of only two such works I've been able to track down. Fortunately it turned out to be reasonably simple to distinguish between intentional clicks and the by-products of LP age! It's an unusual work, which manages to work remarkably well in an audio-only incarnation - Gould wrote out the tap score simply as rhythm, requiring the dance soloist to choreophraph as he or she sees fit. Naturally there's something of a Broadway or film score feel about some of the piece, with jazzy syncopations and a moderately-sized orchestra. Another rare work by Gould is what the Columbia LP notes describe as "a nostalgic, witty and charming glance back at 'the old days'". As with the Tap Dance Concerto, it's filled with melodies and harmonies which would have easily worked as a film score, and indeed, Gould's programme notes do suggest the pictures to go with the music - including an entire movement inspired by old movies:
The first work on this collection of recordings, however, brings us two entirely different sides of Gould - as an expert arranger, his orchestration of Tchaikovsky's work for solo piano, The Months (known more commonly as The Seasons), is a masterpiece long overdue for revival. Here we also get to hear Gould at the keyboard, from where he directed the orchestra in this recording. As with the two Gould compositions, the Tchaikovsky is both excellently recorded and ravishingly played. Available as 320kbps MP3, 16-bit FLAC, 24-bit FLAC, Ambient Stereo FLAC, CD
or listen on demand with Pristine Audio Direct Access (PADA)
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New review at Audiophile Audition
E.J. MOERAN: Symphony in G minor – The Hallé Orchestra / Leslie Heward – Pristine AudioRecorded in 1942, partially in the presence of the composer, this recording was made as a bit of wartime propaganda to bolster up the country's morale during those difficult times. Published on September 17, 2009
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New review at MusicWeb International
Ernest John MOERAN (1894-1950) Symphony in G minor (1937) [43:25] The Hallé Orchestra/Leslie Heward rec. under the auspices of the British Council, Manchester, England, 26-27 November, 1 December 1942, partially in the presence of the composer. Issued in January 1943 as HMV 78s C.3319-3324 and C.7566-7571 Matrix numbers 2ER641-51, takes 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 Transfer and XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, July 2009 PRISTINE AUDIO PASC180[43:25] Notwithstanding the well integrated Tapiola "borrowings" in the finale the Moeran Symphony is an endlessly fascinating work. It has a cogent emotional trajectory and superb impact. Heward adopts an inexorable pulse for the opening ostinato. The Hallé’s springy exuberance and poetry is accentuated by that taut rhythmic foundation. Andrew Rose knows every wrinkle, tick and bristle of these 78s having made at least three issued transfers each designed to improve on the others (see review). He is unafraid of the mono 78 ‘sizzle’ and has left it in place; good thing too as this CD does not compromise the upper string merits of the original. One thing Rose can do nothing about is the ripsaw edge to the strings at their upper limit as at 6.00 and 11:09 in the finale. For say 97% of the time the strings are rendered with some suggestion of fullness allowing for wartime vintage. The performance inevitably lacks the ripeness and lush orchard-green tone of Boult's classic Lyrita recording (SRCD.247). In Boult, who takes more than a minute longer than Heward overall, the strings have a luxurious weight. The whoop of the New Philharmonia horns can be heard to glorious effect in the pounding finale of the first movement. Heward's recording is historic and this cannot help but show as in the tinny percussion at 9:15 in the first movement. The Heward 78s represented the work's first, and for many years only, recording until Dilkes’ fine EMI version in 1972 (see review). This was followed fairly quickly by Boult on Lyrita circa 1975 (see review), Handley on Chandos in the 1980s (see review) and in this decade by David Lloyd-Jones on Naxos (see review). In that sense this Pristine disc or download has documentary value as well as intrinsic musical merit. For me the pulse in the third movement is too fast (the magical interlude at 3.30 goes for nothing) and much the same applies to Boult and Handley and for that matter Sinaisky in his otherwise fantastic and fiery Golovanov-style performance during the BBC Proms in July 2009. Heward's way with dynamics is the way of delightfully precise differentiation - a constant joy. As an example take 9.00 in the finale where the horns caw confidingly and in contrast to the storm that bookends that episode. This is a very pleasing transfer of one of the gramophone's monuments to British music and one that has been part of my musical landscape since 1972; a heritage track. It is here made all the more artistically resonant by the composer's presence during some of the sessions even if alcohol was beginning to make him something of a volatile quantity. There was a time when I thought I would never hear the Symphony live. This was finally put right when I attended a concert by that overlooked orchestral magician John Longstaff with the Sheffield Symphony Orchestra in the mid-2000s. Why are conductors of his calibre still overlooked despite the passing of Hickox and Handley? Longstaff does not need a dearth of other talent to stand out in the crowd. By the way, while Chandos already have an exceptional Moeran Symphony in Handley's version with the Ulster Orchestra I do very much hope that Sinaisky's firebrand reading will be recorded by them even if they issue the Prom performance itself. In an ideal world this should be coupled with a speculative reconstruction of the Second Symphony the fragments of which were once the subject of a fascinating article by Roderick McNeill. If it's good enough for Elgar why not Moeran? I am curious to hear those sketches and fragments in some form or another. No notes provided with the disc but substantial and informative notes can be read at the Pristine website. Rather like Walter’s Vienna Mahler 9 or Beecham’s RFH Sibelius 2 this is both an historic document and more. It remains a necessary supplement to your choice of the modern recordings; my preference from which is the Boult-Lyrita disc.
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Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano Concerto No 4 in G major, Op. 58 (1808) Arthur Rubinstein (piano) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham rec. 30 September 1947, Abbey Road Studio No 1, London PRISTINE PASC 165[30:41] As I write this review in August 2009 this recording is just under two months short of being sixty-two years old. Had I listened to this amazing transfer by Andrew Rose without knowing that I would never have believed it possible. The recording sounds as if it had been set down perhaps in the 1960s. This is, quite simply, one of the best transfers of an historical issue - which I define as being over fifty years old - that I can ever recall hearing. The sound is bright and clear, without ever being harsh. There's a satisfying degree of front-to-back perspective. The piano is truthfully reported, quite well forward in the aural picture, though not excessively so. Only very occasionally - say in the slightly thin oboe tone - does the recording betray its age. The dynamic range of the recording is good and there's no distortion. I presume some filtering of surface noise has taken place - there's almost no hiss, even when listening through headphones - but any such intervention has not been to the detriment of the music or its sonic reproduction. All in all, this is a significant achievement. In praising the transfer one must not overlook the skilled work of the post-War HMV engineers who captured the original recording. This recording was originally issued by HMV on 78s but I don't know if it has made it onto CD - or even LP - before. I read on the Pristine website that the transfer has been made from 'a good, clean near-mint set of 78s'. The same note very honestly says that 'side joins are seamless - the only possible giveaway is an occasional hint of end-of-side distortion and treble roll-off.' Well, you'll have to have more acute hearing than I possess to spot those instances. I'm not sure I can be quite so enthusiastic about the performance, good though it is in many ways. Pristine reproduce an enthusiastic review from the October 1949 issue of Gramophone by LS (Lionel Salter?) which concludes thus: 'So far as I am concerned, nobody need bother to record this concerto again: this performance is it!' Fortunately other pianists did record the concerto subsequently and, in my humble opinion, have offered different perspectives to that of Rubinstein and Beecham. I think I'd describe the performance overall as direct. That's certainly how Rubinstein's delivery of the opening piano solo sounds to me. There's not the same degree of poetry and thoughtfulness in this short phrase that one finds with, say, Solomon in 1952 (EMI 7243 5 65503 2) or Gilels in 1957 (Testament SBT 1095). The more philosophical and lyrical view taken by these two pianists - and their respective conductors - and emulated by other artists since, is more to my taste in this, my favourite among the Beethoven piano concertos. Rubinstein's way with the opening solo is a fair harbinger of his style throughout the movement. He plays with clarity, objectivity and no little energy. Beecham echoes his soloist's direct, even urgent approach throughout this movement - conducting very well and obtaining playing of great vitality from his recently established orchestra. Though I prefer a more reflective approach in this movement and in the work as a whole, the freshness of the performance by both soloist and orchestra is undeniably appealing. The very directness of the music-making is something that may well attract many collectors. The noble slow movement is very well handled, Rubinstein's limpid playing subduing the orchestra. The finale is excellent. The reading has verve and drive. Occasionally I feared Rubinstein's fingers might run away with him but all is well and a feeling of exhilaration pervades the proceedings. Beecham conducts with élan and the movement ends, with great brio, in an exultant dash for the finishing line. I should mention the cadenzas used by Rubinstein. I'd never heard them before though I noted while listening that they sounded very romantic and anachronistic. It was only subsequently that I learned from the Pristine website that the cadenzas are by Saint-Saëns. The one used in the finale need not detain us long; it's short and quite succinct. The first movement cadenza is another matter, however. It's a fairly extended examination of the movement's thematic material, which lasts for just over three minutes (from 12:55 to 16:00) but seems rather longer. To be honest it's out of scale, both in terms of length and style. Personally I regret Rubinstein's choice of what is something of a curiosity. So I have some reservations about the performance but I'm glad to have added it to my collection. Rubinstein's legion of admirers will most certainly want to hear it. And though technological advances will no doubt continue it seems inconceivable that we will ever hear it in better sound than this splendid Pristine Audio offering.
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New review in Fanfare Magazine
Arturo Toscanini, cond; Rudolf Serkin (pn); New York P-SO;1 NBC SO2 PRISTINE 164, mono (47:34) Broadcast: New York 2/23/1936;1 9/3/1944.2 Available at www.pristineclassical.com Neither of these performances is new to CD, the Symphony having been issued in a now probably scarce Grammophono disc, the concerto in a two-CD Guild set (sold only outside the U.S.) that preserved the entire concert of February, 23, 1936, from which this Serkin performance was drawn. It marked his debut in the U.S. as soloist with symphony orchestra and also featured him in the Beethoven G-Major Concerto. This transfer of the Mozart derives from the same air-check used by Guild, and thus is missing part of the first movement—a loss that begins shortly before the tutti that precedes the cadenza and extends into part of the cadenza itself. The sound of this transfer, in its presence and impact, is slightly superior to Guild’s. But, though thoroughly listenable, it remains markedly inferior to the studio norm for the period. That said, the performance should prove fascinating for anyone interested in the artists, especially Toscanini. It is certainly unlike the conductor’s 1943 NBC performance of the work with Horszowski (once available from Naxos). Sometimes that later one even approaches glibness. By contrast, this 1936 collaboration with Serkin boasts greater breadth and flexibility from both conductor and soloist. But, unlike the 1943 performance, it does not contain an addition of seven measures in the opening tutti that Toscanini inferred to be missing in what was then the standard (but corrupt) edition. Ultimately, Serkin, who gained access to Mozart’s manuscript, confirmed what had been only a suspicion on Toscanini’s part. Today, these seven measures have become standard. Clearly, several limitations, sonic and textual, limit the appeal of this release. Nevertheless, it is a significant document of a memorable collaboration in a work that was Toscanini’s favorite Mozart concerto. The Symphony No. 29 is another matter. In his notes for this release, producer Andrew Rose cites my Arturo Toscanini: the NBC Years, where I noted that the performance is a “revelation for its time” when compared to the recorded accounts of the work made by Koussevitzky and Beecham. This is certainly true in terms of its lean sonority and freedom from overly broad tempos. But on hearing it again, it also sounds under rehearsed and graceless. It is certainly interesting as Toscanini’s only surviving account of the work (I suspect it may be his only performance of it), but it falls short in terms of projecting the music’s elegance, buoyancy, and charm. The sound, if certainly superior to that of the Concerto, is rather shrill and raucous. Reservations aside, for those who want a fascinating walk into history, this is a welcome release. A few of the CBS broadcast announcements frame the concerto. Mortimer H. Frank This article originally appeared in Issue 33:1 (Sept/Oct 2009) of Fanfare Magazine.
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E.J. MOERAN: Symphony in G minor – The Hallé Orchestra / Leslie Heward – Pristine Audio PASC180 [
