Antal Dorati conducts his arrangements of Johann Strauss, Richard Strauss and Jacques Offenbach

In over 35 years of listening to the classics, I can honestly say that one of the greatest influences on me has been Antal Dorati, in particular early Dorati from the mid 40's through late 50's. What strikes me most about early Dorati is the excitement, the sense of occasion that he brought to, and inspired, in his performances from Dallas and Minneapolis.

The three performances here feature three orchestras tackling works arranged by Dorati and recorded during the late 1940's by RCA Victor:

• The ballet "Graduation Ball" based on music of Johann Strauss the Younger performed by the Dallas Sympony Orchestra
• The suite from the ballet "Helen of Troy" by Offenbach performed by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra
• The suite from "Der Rosenkavalier" of Richard Strauss performed by the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra (pseudonym for the Philadelphia Orchestra which was under contract to Columbia)

In all of the works, Dorati elicits sharp playing and sensitive phrasing from the musicians. In addition, Dorati keeps the pulse steady and accurate and this is no easy feat as these suites are scenes that require flawless transitions in order to move along convincingly, rather in a transparent way I would say. It is so easy for suites like these to become fragments strewn together but Dorati does not let that happen. I think one reason why these arrangements are all but forgotten is that few conductors could pull this off as convincingly as Dorati. These are great examples of the art and talent of Antal Dorati: composer, conductor, leader.

These records were in so-so shape. Overall, the transfers came out better than I had imagined however, there are a couple of spots where added noise removal would jeopardize overall sound. I don't think this will prove too much of a problem as the historical reason for listening to these recordings outweigh any technical limitations.

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Richard Strauss with Reiner and Szell

Though I've got the 10 inch jacket pictured above, my transfer is from ML4800, which includes the Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme suite conducted by Reiner while in Pittsburgh. I picked up this really rough lp for the suite since I've had in my collecton a really crappy sounding Membran cd for sometime. Membran is the German company that puts out 10 cd boxes for under 15 bucks of historic performances.Their transfers leave something to be desired though because they over filter and the sound quality becomes incredibly muffled. This is especially pronounced when original recordings were less then their company's best efforts, as was the case with Columbia in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.

People might scoff at me but I have long enjoyed Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. This is delightful, unpretentious fare, wonderful melodies with skillful writing. Call it bottom drawer Strauss if you wish, but I love it and well that's that! Reiner, of course, recorded it twice - in Pittsburgh during the mid 40's and in Chicago in the late 50's. Outside of Bud Herseth's magnificent trumpet playing in the Chicago recording, I find the Pittsburgh issue more relaxed and inviting, less driven then Reiner's later recording. In addition, there is a more intimate feel which is wholly appropriate for this suite of incidental music.

As I stated earlier, this particular lp was in a real rough shape. Do people use lp's as frisbee's? I wonder. Running it through ClickRepair several times cleaned up a lot but a couple of hiccups remain and I think they are quick and not cumbersome to the listening experience. Oh! the sound is much better then the Membran cd and I can hear details that on the cd were muffled away. 

Reiner leads an engaging and impressive Don Juan and Szell, in one of his earliest Cleveland records, captures the vitality of Till Eulenspiegel ...with charm!

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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!

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Charles Munch and the BSO in Don Quixote

Ah....Munch and the BSO! Like champagne and cavier, isn't it? I never heard a Munch BSO recording that I didn't find compelling; his combination of driving passion  and the BSO's smooth sound and razor precision certainly produced much to gush about!

Admittedly though, we really don't associate Munch with Richard Strauss but here we have an "on the edge of your seat" performance of Don Quixote featuring the great Gregor Piatigorsky with BSO greats Richard Burgin and Joseph DePasquale lending impeccable support. This Don Quixote is unlike any other you know and you probably know well Karajan, Beecham, Reiner and Kempe to name a few. It's subtleties are few but Munch manages to steer this music on, avoiding  sections that, in the wrong hands, can, and will bore the listener. I've always found this large tone poem the most difficult to engage myself in but Munch's performance kept me focused throughout.

So..maybe not a version for everyone, but still, a reminder of Charles Munch as a presence and a personality who had definite ideas and COULD communicate them to an orchestra, achieving sparkling though sometimes controversial results.

Enjoy this 1953 RCA recording.

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