More from Erno Balogh in Bach

A while back, I posted three part inventions of Bach performed by Erno Balogh and here today are the two part inventions on Lyrichord LL1, in good monaural sound.

Aside from the obvious superlatives regarding Balogh's playing, this is a must hear. Everything is perfect, the phrasing, the dynamics, the phrasing, the insight. If Bach is a god, as Casals said, then Balogh is an archangel.

Indispensable and an antidote to our troubled times.

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Arthur Winograd and the MGM Orchestra in Kodaly and Rozsa

I know that a number of people have been waiting for this particular lp and I was lucky to find it this week in the three for a dollar pile! Here we have Arthur Winograd leading the MGM Orchestra in Kodaly's 'Summer Evening' and Rozsa's "Hungarian Serenade." I believe this record was recorded in 1957 and it is issued here in a good, though dryly recorded, monaural pressing.

Zoltan Kodaly

This may have been the premiere recording of the two works on this record. Sadly, both are pretty much forgotten today and its a shame since they are atmospheric, expertly written and, very, very listenable. Summer Evening was Kodaly's graduation piece from the conservatory in Budapest and it's excellence earned him a scholarship to study abroad. As with most of Kodaly's output, it is highly influenced by folk music and this tone poem of sorts is a collection of episodes that are strung together into one cohesive piece. Kodaly revised it in 1930 and this is the version presented by Winograd.

Miklos Rozsa

The Hungarian Serenade by Rosza is one of this composer's earliest pieces, written after he had abandoned the study of chemistry for music, and it was premiered in Paris. Though Rosza admittedly did not like living in Hungary, he, from time to time, drew inspiration from his native country for his compositions. This "suite" of short pieces is an absolute delight since the writing is witty, sharp, and perfectly structured. Rosza, like Korngold, suffered from being pegged as a film composer but here is a terrific opportunity to hear music that was written long before this composer began his successful tenure in Hollywood.

Arthur Winograd

Winograd and the superb MGM players prove to be honest and thoughtful interpreters of this fare. Though a Dorati might have brought a bit more authentic atmosphere to the music, Winograd acquits himself well in, again, music that was probably quite unfamiliar to many of the musicians. Very enjoyable listening these sounds from old Hungary.

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Trumpet, Flute and Horn Concerti of Haydn conducted by Fritz Lehan

Posting again from a very warm Bulgaria, here's a nice mono Mace lp of Haydn wind concerti featuring the Consortium Musicum with Fritz Lehan leading soloists Helmut Schneidewind on trumpet, Valerie Noack on flute and Erich Penzel playing horn. These recordings date from the early 60's.

I enjoy this simple and honest way with Haydn. In particular, I've heard a lot of recordings of the trumpet concerto and enjoy very few of them, usually because of excessive brightness in tone and technical displays that jar the overall ebb and flow of the writing. I'm happy to say that Schneidewind plays warmly and collaborates with the members of the Consortium Musicum in a concertante style which I attribute to Lehan's firm leadership and a partnership of intrepretive ideas.

On my vacation: Here in Bulgaria, we spent several days in Sandanski, a spa town of sorts close to the Greek border and the reputed home of Spartacus, the "Thracian barbarian" who led a great slave revolt in the last days of the Roman Republic. In the days of Communist Bulgaria, the leaders played up the Spartacus connection as one of the first great "proletarian" uprisings. From Sandanski, the important and impressive historical sites of Rila Monastery, Melnik, and Rozhen Monastery are within easy distance. While in Sandanski, we took a brief trip to Rupite, the final resting place of Baba Vanga, a mystic who combined prophetic insights with Orthodox Christian teachings. Some consider her a saint and on her grave was an icon of her with a saint's halo. In Melnik, the famed caves hold barrels of rich red wine that is definitely the drink of the gods. We will be traveling for a few nights to Hisar, which is an ancient spa town with waters possessing curing powers  for a whole host of diseases and ailments....not that I have any ailments at this time..or that I know of! Bulgaria is an amazing country, with great beauty, variety and a rich history. Also, I will mention that the fruits and vegetables here are the best, simply delicious, a treat for the eyes and the tongue!

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Independence Day with The Goldman Band

It's the grand old 4th of July and here I am in Bulgaria thinking of fireworks, band concerts and the like. Actually, I had the good fortune to catch a free concert by the Sofia Brass Band this past Saturday and they opened the program with, what else but the Stars and Stripes Forever! So, in the spirit of the festivities, I'm able to post from abroad a classic band recording by the famed Goldman band under their founder Edwin Franko Goldman. This particular issue was the first in Columbia's "Harmony" series, the budget label that was the forerunner of the much larger, and expansive Odyssey one.

Edwin Franko Goldman is probably the most influential, and important American Bandmaster after Sousa. Besides being a superb conductor, he was a terrific composer and arranger, excellent cornetist, teacher, and founder of the American Bandmaster's Association, probably the most important fraternal band instructors organization in the world. The Goldman Band, in its heyday, was a great professional band, that set incredibly high standards for band performance and did much to popularize the medium beyond the setting in the park. These performances of Sousa marches by the Goldman Band carry on the tradition of Sousa and set the stage for Fennell and his revolutionary work at Eastman. Important documents they are indeed and a clear and clean record of a bridge of style from the 19th to the 20th century. I'm not sure of the recording dates here but I would guess the 1940's.

I have included four of Goldman's own marches as fillers. These recordings are from the mid 30's and are available on the Internet Archive. Excellent music it is with a strong imprint of Sousa.

Happy 236!

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