The Waltz King with Arthur Fiedler and Eugene Ormandy

A nice RCA compilation of the music of Johann Strauss the younger featuring the conducting talents of Arthur Fiedler with the Boston Pops and Eugene Ormandy with the Minneapolis Symphony. I would guess that the Ormandy recordings are from the mid 1930's and the Fiedler ones probably 10-12 years later. Interestingly, Fiedler is given top billing here over Ormandy, who by the time of this reissue was solidly in the Columbia Masterworks camp with his Philadelphia Orchestra.

Both of these conductors are naturals with Strauss since each would have played violin in salon bands during their student years and early musical careers, absorbing the style and the oeuvre. I especially want to point out the skill and care that Ormandy brings to these works: his preparation, understanding and purposefulness yields brilliant and incisive playing by the very fine Minneapolis orchestra. It is amazing what details and genius is reveled when these works are not played as an afterthought. You know, I would have loved to have heard a complete album recorded by Beecham but alas, we have none. Beecham, of course, could yield dazzling results with repertoire that others spun an "oh hum" towards. Happily, maestros Ormandy and Fiedler are anything but ordinary.

Sunday is wonderful for Strauss!

NEW DOWNLOAD LINK

Reiner and Ormandy in Tunes from the Homeland

 


The spirit of Hungary from the Keystone State! Here are two fine Columbia issues from the late 40's featuring Hungarians Ferenc Reiner and Jeno Blau. We of course know them as Fritz Reiner and Eugene Ormandy.

The Reiner disc is another document from his Pittsburgh years. I love these recordings from Pittsburgh because they capture Reiner in manner which is almost the polar opposite of what we came to expect from Chicago. In the Windy City, Reiner was known as a severe, humorless perfectionist who drove his orchestra hard and without remorse. Pittsburgh recordings tend to be more flexible and relaxed, sounding at times spontaneous and inspired by the minute.

The selection of Hungarian Dances by Brahms are tossed off winningly and quite naturally. I swear that Reiner has tweaked Brahms' orchestrations ever so slightly though the liner notes say nothing on the subject. As for the Stauss waltzes, another example of Reiner's treatment of these gems as more then mere entertainment and fluff. Reiner really was one of the finest conductors of this genre; interestingly, another perfectionist, Carlos Kleiber, is supreme here as well. Great, idiomatic, interpretations here despite the oddly very dated and stuffy sound.

The Ormandy disc fares much better with sound probably because the Philadelphia Orchestra was the Cadillac in the Columbia garage. Ormandy is well within his element with the two Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies and the Philadelphians play these with all the expected virtuosity of a very great orchestra. I never take these Liszt pieces for granted because poor conducting sabotages the hell out of them while great conducting rivets the listener to his or her seat. Ormandy's traversal is close to great and there is sparkle and wit here. The best Hungarian Rhapsodies, for my money, are Scherchen's mono set from London. It's absolutely terrific - Scherchen at his most inspired finest! The Ormandy record is paired, rather strangely I think, with Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite. This is vintage Ormandy fare and he played Grieg as well, or better then, his contemporaries.

A nice full program here with two fine conductors recorded in their prime with two terrific, but very different orchestras.

SORRY - MEDIAFIRE REMOVED THE LINK

First Chair! Philadelphia principals get a chance to shine.

Some folks on google groups classical recordings were looking for this record and, well I happened to have it. This, I believe, is the first of the "first chair" albums issued in Philadelphia and the success of it would yield additional Philly installments, as well as versions featuring other orchestras in the United States.

No doubt that Eugene Ormandy had, in 1952, fantastic principal players. Some like William Kinkaid on flute, had been around for decades and had not dropped a beat. Ormandy was a shrewd man and recognized that highlighting his orchestral leaders in an album such as this would be good for the orchestra, the players, sales and Eugene Ormandy. Thus we have this fine sampler featuring works of the baroque up through the modern day, deftly handled by those fabulous Philadelphians.

Sound is pretty good here though there are a couple clicks due to a less than pristine lp. This is a great chance to hear some of the best orchestral players of the day, up close and under spotlight.

DOWNLOAD

Eugene Ormandy with those Fabulous Philadelphians in Bartok

I've really grown to appreciate the 1940's through 50's recordings that Ormandy made with his incredible Philadelphia band. Here's a very good one, the 1954 recording of Bartok's masterpiece, the Concerto for Orchestra. Ormandy would go on to record this two more times, in stereo, but I think the overall playing and energy level, not to mention concentration of the conductor is not to be beaten here.

This recording had the unfortunate timimg of having to compete with Reiner's Chicago stereo remake. Reiner was considered ,and billed as, the leading authority in Bartok's music, perhaps only rivaled by Fricsay, who was European based and little known on these shores. Reiner's record is excellent and has stood the test of time, but no doubt but there is much to enjoy here too. Ormandy, being a native Hungarian, understood the idiom well and was able to project the work honestly and with sufficient authority. And, this is a piece made for the virtuoso talents of the Philadelphia Orchestra as the section chairs have the opportunity to shine brilliantly. Great listening.

DOWNLOAD

More from Rodzinski and the PSONY

I've heard gazillion recordings of the Nutcracker Suite and so have you. After a while, the music just seems to play itself for god's sake. Well, if you are tired of the hum drum, cookie cutter, totally auto pilot approach, give this a listen. In short, this is the finest take on this overrecorded ballet suite that you are apt to lean an ear towards. There is a bounce in all the numbers and articulation, which often is glossed over, is crisp and clean. Most important, sunshine and a child's sense of merriment abounds in this most childlike of scores. My only regret is that there are a couple of unfortunate skips in the Miniature Overture due to the poor quality of the lp; everything else cleaned up rather well. A gem!

Nutcracker is not the end of the story. Tchaikovsky's Suite No 4 "Mozartiana" is served up in spades, the "prayer" will make your heart melt. To be truthful, I've never much cared for any of these suites or given them much thought but this Rodzinski recording opened my eyes up to Mozart's melodies brilliantly realized by the great Russian master. This is superb arranging and orchestration folks and, Rodzinski knows how to present the palette of colors truthfully and tastefully. 

And....as a fill, I've incorporated a 10 inch by Ormandy of Rimsky's Russian Easter Overture and Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. Each is immaculately performed by this great Philadelphia orchestra. These recordings made during Ormandy's first 20 years in Philly are the real deal.  There is an excitement level, an intensity you might say, that wore off as the stereophonic era took hold and made its way into digital.  Note: The cover above is not from my copy but from the French edition of the record.

DOWNLOAD

Eugene Ormandy Conducts Richard Strauss from 1947

A quick one here as I'm going to be out of town for several days. Eugene Ormandy conducting Richard Strauss' Death and Transfiguration and Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, presumably the Dorati arrangement. This is a Columbia Special Products reissue restored to its mono original. Recordings date from 1947.

I've grown to like these early Ormandy recordings. If you only know Ormandy from his later recordings, you are not getting the full picture of the man. In his younger days, he was clearly inspiring and somewhat daring and, he had the great fortune of having a brilliant orchestra at his disposal. These are vital recordings and thoroughly engaging, in fact, I got to thinking about Beecham while listening!

DOWNLOAD

Ormandy conducts Haydn along with a dose of Fiedler for good measure!

Though I have been somewhat ambivalent about Eugene Ormandy over the years, when I saw this lp of him conducting Haydn's Symphonies Nos. 7 and 45, I had to pick it up and offer a transfer, if anything because my fine colleague Mr. Austin would enjoy it immensely...at least I hope he does! The cover above is from the CBS Special Products issue though my copy is the ML 4673 edition. 

Eugene Ormandy did conduct relatively little Haydn perhaps being that Szell, and later Bernstein, were so darn successful with this composer and Columbia could not afford to flood the markets with too much Haydn you know. After listening to this fine issue, I feel that it is a real loss that Ormandy did not explore more of Haydn for he does have a way with these symphonies and his way is superbly supported by the wonderful Philadelphia Orchestra. Let me tell you, the proof is is in the pudding - just listen to the adagio "farewell" from Symphony 45, so beautifully shaped and played. This is probably the finest "exit" I have ever heard for this unique work. In the earlier, "Le Midi", Ormandy's interpretation affords this early symphony a greater stature and place in the canon. It just sounds not too far away from the "London" symphonies which were years in the future. I say this as a compliment to Ormandy's interpretative skill, not as a cheap shot towards Haydn as a composer. All in all, I am glad to have come across this in the dollar pile; it is worth many times that!

The filler: I've had this under 30 minute Camden reissue of Fiedler conducting the 1812 Overture and the William Tell Overture for sometime. I've been waiting to find a suitable place for it in a post and I think its a nice filler here alongside the Ormandy. Two rather contemporary recordings by two outstanding musical ensembles. Those accustomed to Fiedler's later 1812's may be in for a surprise here. This is Markevitch type conducting, no nonsense, brisk, totally unsentimental, and technically impressive on an instrumental level. Without cannons and other electronic gimmicktry, Fiedler lets the percussion cut loose for a battle royale. Very impressive job by all and I'm sure this one is up my friend Buster's alley!

DOWNLOAD ORMANDY

DOWNLOAD FIEDLER