NO, WE HAVEN'T GONE AWAY

No, we haven't gone away. We've just been busy with other things.

I, personally have been listening to some of the old Furtwangler recordings that Jeff loaned me, and I must say, I am impressed. After listeing to all those old Toscanini recordings, with his riveting attention to rhythm and detail, the emotional, even subjective feel of Wilhelm Furtwangler is a revelation. I never knew a conductor could break so many rules and still produce such an amazing peformance.

My favorite Furtwangler recording to date is the 1950's recording of the Beethoven 9th Symphony with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. WOW! The man begins on a loose, casual note, but as the performance continues he tightens control until you're emotionally exhausted. Oddly enough this was a technique that he brought to every piece he conducted. While
Toscanini produced an emotionally exhausting experience through an almost anal retentive control, Furtwangler allows his emotions to show. He infuses each and every passage with what he feels to be the proper emotion for that particular time and passage. Rather like the late Leonard Bernstein and his approach to the Mahler 9th.

If you're into historical performances, I highly, (highly!) recommend recordings by Wilhelm Furtwangler. His control of the orchestra is phenomenal and the fact that he wears his passion on his sleeve is an extra added bonus.

GOLDSMITH AND WILLIAMS

After posting this as a comment on another blog. I am offering it here in praise of my favorite film score composers.

I loved a 1979 movie called ALIEN. This may shock you but I loved the Jerry Goldsmith film score, which sounded a lot like minor key Allan Hovanhess (check spelling). This was the same composer (Goldsmith) who wrote the background music for the original PLANET OF THE APES; STAR TREK--THE MOTION PICTURE: the theme music for STAR TREK--THE NEXT GENERATION (which was derived from ST--TMP); the theme music for THE WALTON'S TV series; POLTERGEIST; the Satanic Chants from OMEN I and DAMIEN--OMEN II, not to mention a myriad of science fiction and crime drama movies. Regrettably, Mister Goldsmith has passed away, but his many compositions live on in our favorite movies and soundtrack recordings. But back to ALIEN The Main Title is both haunting and magical. A hard combination to achieve, but it actually sets the tone for the entire picture. Wonderful composition for a wonderful science fiction movie.

As for STAR WARS...Could we ever imagine them six without John Williams film scores? I'm serious. Can you imagine the double sunset on Tatooine without the soaring, romantic "Force Theme?" Can you imagine any other music except the themes that you've heard since 1977? Luke's Theme; the Force Theme; Princess Leia's Theme?: Doesn't the music fit every scene to a T in those films?

The next time you watch the movies--any of the above will do, STAR WARS related or not--give an extra listen to the compositions in the background. Far from just background music, you will hear reoccurring themes, l Wagnerian Leitmotifs, swirling through the action, often emphasizing or predicting the action.

Just think about it.

The closing title of STAR WARS I--the PHANTOM MENACE: Though you never hear it in the movie proper, the final notes of the closing credits are a very slow and very quiet version of the Darth Vader Theme,What about STAR WARS II? The scene where Anakin reveals rage and pain at the loss of his mother; where he confesses to Padme about the way he murdered the sandpeople. Could you imagine any other music besides the Darth Vader Theme? And what about the end to REVENGE OF THE SITH?. With the inclusion of a few snippets from the movie proper, this is actually a replay of the end title of STAR WARS--A NEW HOPE, PART IV. Like I said, it uses a number of themes from REVENGE OF THE SITH, but for the most part, we're talking about an expanded version of the finale to STAR WARS IV--a wonderful form of foreshadowing in which we are told that there will indeed me a happy ending at some point.

I'm sorry about "wasting your time," but this topic that has been tempting me for some time. I love film music, especially John Williams and the late Jerry Goldsmith and I wanted our readers to know that I consider their works to be legitimate works of art.

Ciao

Daniel

ZUBIN MEHTA'S BRAHMS

When I visited my friend, Jeff on Sunday afternoon the topic came around to Zubin Mehta's Brahms. Jeff, being the diplomatic individual that he is, tried to skirt the issue by saying how much he enjoyed the Vienna Philharmonic performance that Mehta turned out in the late 1970s. My date for the afternoon, however insisted that Mehta's 1970's recordings with the New York Philharmonic of the Brahms Symphonies (the 2nd in particular) were some of the best recordings out there. Luckily--or maybe not so--I had the opportunity to listen to some of these God-awful recordings the next day. And I have to give my friend credit where credit is due. These were truly horrible recordings.

At the risk of sounding picky, I really have to take issue with Mehta and the New York Philharmonic. Zubin Mehta did a fine job when it came to building the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but his Brahms ( or for that matter, ANY composer) with the New York Philharmonic left a lot to be desired. The string sections have always sounded a little too thin for my tastes, and in Mehta's hands they took on an undisciplined characteristic which annoyed me to no end. Indeed, I always had the feeling that the string section itself was out of balance: as if the violins were too loud and too shrill; the violas all but not existent, leaving a huge gap between the celli and the double basses, which themselves were lacking in strength and discipline. As for the timpani....I could have done better with a tin can and a pencil.

The end result was an entire orchestra which was out of kilter, with anemic violas, celli, and double bases, while a shrill, over-emphasized violin section competed with ear-piercing flutes and trumpets. Moreover, the playing/conducting left a lot to be desired. I expect Brahms to sound rich, luxurious, gentle, conlficted, and impassioned-- as a romanitc composer should sound--and the lack of precision playing from Mehta and the orchestra offered little to nothing in those characteristics. I had trouble with the tempi as well which seemed just a little on the rushed side, but that might have been because the orchestra truly revealed its weaknesses in slow, sustained passages. Overall, I had the distinct impression that I was listening to a rehearsal, not the actual recording. Indeed, there were moments when I thought I was listening to either a very good high school orchestra or a very bad chamber orchestra.

For those who are interested in the Brahms Symphonies,there are plenty of fine recordings out there--some more available than others. For those of you who are keen on historical performances, I would suggest Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. If you're more into modern performances I would recommend either the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert Von Karajan; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Sir Georg Solti; the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Otto Klemperer. Any of these sets, if you are lucky enough to encounter them, should present Brahms in the hands of capable musicians.

And yet, I have to admit, that the Vienna Philharmonic performance is to die for. Regrettably I heard it for the first time on a scratchy LP, but beneath the many technical problems which were so common to vinyl recordings, there was a wonderful rendition here. Rich, sensuous strings, golden horns; mellow woodwinds under virtuosic conducting. And to be fair to the New York Philharmonic, I rather enjoyed watching it come back to life once Mehta did the crew a favor ad stepped down from the podium.

As for the New York Philharmonic performances...If you should ever encounter them in CD or LP? Do yourself a favor and leave them where they are. Failing that you might consider ignoring all those warnings against leaving them in the sun on the back seat of your car on a 90 degree day.

HAS IT BEEN RELEASED?

Why is it that the best performances always seem to end up as premiums for orchestral fund raisers?

A few nights I ago I heard the best version of the Bruckner SYMPHONY NUMBER 6 In A MAJOR. It was performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the late Rafael Kubelik, and surprise, surprise, it wasn't a commercial recording. Rather, it was a premium for those who had donated X number of dollars to for the Chicago Symphony Orchestrta.

It isn't that I'm against premiums, but I really wish that some of these recordings would be released to the general public. This was not a second rate performance. This was the Chicago Symphony at its absolute best, and yet it remains virtually unkown outside certain circles.

What would it take for the corporate powers that be to get their acts together and arrange for a public release of this and similar recordings which are currently buried in vaults and private collections?

Who Would You Invite?

Assuming you have the required supernatural powers and the financial resources to pull it off, what five composers would you most like to invite to your house for a semi-formal meal and an afternoon of stimulating conversation.

Mine are as follows:

1. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: My absolute idol. Not only would I ask him about composition and his feelings about the bloody, hypocritical Napoleon; I would also ask him just who in the hell the Immortal Beloved really was. And while we're at it--would he please be so kind as to improvise for us?

2. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: An afternoon with a musical genius. Could it get any better than that? Not only would be be the life of the party. this would be a fine opportunity for him to offer a few opinions as to how HE would have finished the Requiem.

3. RICHARD WAGNER: I would love nothing more than to watch Beethoven and Wagner go at it. I'd like to ask Herr Wagner where his ideas about the Jews, the French, and the Jesuits came from. And while I'm at it, I'd like to know what he would have thought of the Hitler regime. Would he want his name associated with the Nazis or not?

4. PETER I TCHAIKOVSKY: This might be a risk, but could a man as moody as Tchaikovsky be boring? Probably not. More importantly I'd like to ask the all important question: DID YOU REALLY COMMIT SUICIDE? OR WAS IT AN ACCIDENT?

5. GUSTAV MAHLER: I'd like to pick his brain on on the finer points of orchestration. I might ask him why he re-orchestrated the Schumann Symphonies and the Beethoven 9th. And since he was both, a composer and an opera conductor, he and Wagner might have some INTERESTING conversations. Wagner might not appreciate his Jewish heritage, but he (Wagner) can learn to love it.



Any suggestions? Daniel