Another connection--isn't that the one that also has Michael Flanders singing to the rondo mvt. of Mozart's 4th horn cto.: I once had a whim and I had to obey it to buy a French horn at a second-hand shop. I polished it up and I started to play it, in spite of the neighbors who begged me to stop? [etc.] That record is a delight. Incidentally, those who love it (or would love to have it) should be aware that the corresponding disc in the Flanders and Swann CD box, which also contains a similarly in-performance recording of the successor revue "At the Drop of Another Hat" and the studio-recorded "The Bestiary of Flanders and Swann," does not entirely supplant this LP, as at least some of the material the CD presents from "At the Drop of a Hat" comes from much, much later in the show's unexpectedly long run, and you can hear that by then some of the freshness had worn off. On the other hand, it does offer material that was cut from the LP for reasons of length and incorporates some from yet different performances, captured by nonprofessional, "tape recorder in the audience" sources and originally released as yet another LP whose name eludes me (Flanders and Swann frequently updated or revised their material as the show ran on and then when they took it on the road). To my ear, the "Bestiary" has always seemed curiously flat and proves mainly that Flanders and Swann were unmeasurably better when spurred by the presence of an audience. I believe there's been a single CD reissue of "At the Drop of a Hat" that hews more closely to the original LP, but I've not heard it. Oh, yes, and in the High Fidelity song, I particularly love how Michael Flanders, in his mid-song monologue, pronounces "acoustics" as "I'm surprised they let you have it in this room anyway, the a-COW-stics are all wrong."
Of the four LPs from yesterday, one that appears to have the least to do with "Classical" music as we know it, though there's plenty of classical aspects to it. L. Subramaniam is a violinist playing in the East Indian classical tradition, the contributions of Jorge Struntz are from the Flamenco tradition. I suspect if I had to shelf this LP in a record store I'd file it under 'Jazz'. At the same time there are few Jazz records in the time signatures Subramaniam deploys, few with viola, fewer still with viola tuned down to cello range or the presence of a swaramandel. Some parts sound like a more tuneful cousin of Glass/Reich/Riley, some is a bit more new-agish than, all of it is hard to classify.
Inspired by earlier posts, I thought this frigid day would be a good one to begin my traversal of the Sibelius symphonies. Last time I did this, I chose Blomstedt, which I enjoyed a lot more than I had the first time around. This time, I am going with my favorite, Ashkenazy's set on two Double Decca CDs. New copies of the above 2CD set are selling for under $5 over at amazon.
One of the best performances by anyone of the Fourth Symphony. Managed to find a copy in Rasputin's clearance bins.
Now playing: Jean Sibelius – Symphony No.7 in C major Op.105 — Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – Eugene Ormandy (RCO Live), from: Thought I'd play something from the North for this 10 degree F. morning. [Inspired from some earlier posts.]
Masterworks of the 20th Century CD2 Toru Takemitsu Asterism (Yuji Takahasi, piano) Requiem Green The Dorian Horizon Toronto Symphony Orchestra Seiji Ozawa (Massey Hall, Totonto, 1969) Asterism, a 12 minute piece for piano and orchestra is particularly crystalline and icy, just like the weather I'm in today.
Now playing: Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No.4 in C minor Op.43 — Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – Kiril Kondrashin (RCO Live), from:
I have never heard the mono version. The problem I have with Mravinsky's approach is he sounds like he is conducting the symphonies the same way one would conduct one of Shostakovich or Prokofiev's war symphonies. The melodic side of the symphonies is given short shrift. Still, I realize they are considered the true Russian interpretations. This is one of those rare instances when I am not on board with most listeners. Celibidache is another one.
Now playing CD6 - Works of Gershwin, Ravel and Mussorgsky from the following box for a first listen ...
He had some very interesting theories about tempo played in live performances. Some of his tempos are much slower than the composers markings. IIRC, something having to do with some pieces requiring much slower or faster tempos to compensate for the acoustic space and the listeners perception. Many here like his Bruckner 4th which is probably the most extreme example of his take on tempo. It is worth listening to if you get the chance. You will probably either hate it or love it.
