Night After Night

Opposites attract.

New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' H.M.S. Pinafore at City Center

and

American Composers Alliance at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia
The New York Times, June 9, 2008

All is forgiven.

Hillary, please, ignore everything I've said since Wednesday night: I didn't waste my primary vote, and I love you all over again. This beautiful speech made me proud to be a thinking American.

Viola.

Morton Feldman - 'The Viola in My Life'
Marek Konstantynowicz, violist; Cikada Ensemble; Norwegian Radio Orchestra, conducted by Christian Eggen.
ECM New Series 1798; CD.
The New York Times, June 8, 2008
(ArkivMusic, Barnes & Noble)

Desperately seeking Dmitri.

I don't usually use this blog to solicit shopping tips, but I'm trying to get my hands on what is proving to be a most elusive CD. For a major project I'm currently working on, I'd very much like to track down a copy of a recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 4 by Dmitri Mitropoulos and the New York Philharmonic. Practically every reference source devoted to the Vaughan Williams symphonic canon mentions this account, and apparently the composer thought highly of it, too.

Mitropoulos and the "Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York" recorded the symphony on January 9, 1956 at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in Manhattan; it was issued on LP in 1957. I scored a used copy of the original album moments ago on eBay -- and I know, I know: my valiant buddy FJO and other vinyl purists figure I should stop at that. But for reasons too lame and unwieldy to go into, playing LPs here is something of an arduous ordeal at the moment, and I default to aluminum laziness whenever possible.

Besides, the two CD issues of which I've learned -- both British Sony BMG issues, naturally -- include compelling added incentives. One is a Mitropoulos/New York Phil recording of Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, recorded on March 3, 1958 at the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn,  and released in the same year. The other is the Symphony No. 6, recorded by Leopold Stokowski and the Phil in the 30th Street Studio on February 21, 1949, and issued that year -- notably, a year before Vaughan Williams revised the Scherzo movement, which means this disc includes the original version. (I've got Boult's recording of the first version, but would love to hear Stoki's.)

Both of the above discs are available for serious gobs of pounds through secondhand sources on Amazon.uk, but I'm wondering if anyone can offer me a better deal. Comments from those who know these performances are welcome here. But if you've got a CD with which you'd be willing to part -- even temporarily -- e-mail me via the address in my ABOUT profile.

(Recording specifics courtesy of James H. North's impressively researched New York Philharmonic: The Authorized Recordings 1917-2005: A Discography.)

Newly on the blogroll: So I've Heard, the recently promised, just ignited blog of left-coast senior correspondent Alan Rich, among the most vibrant and vital classical reviewers currently tapping keys. (Props to ACD for noting the launch.)

Playlist:

:Zoviet*France: - Music for a Spaghetti Western (Klanggalerie), In.Version (Charrm), Gris (No Man's Land) and Mort aux Vaches: Feedback (Mort aux Vaches/Staalplaat)

Fish - 13th Star (Chocolate Frog)

Made Out of Babies - Trophy and Coward (Neurot), and The Spoiler (The End)

Reformed Faction - The War Against... (Soleilmoon) and Vota (Klanggalerie)

A Storm of Light - And We Wept the Black Ocean (Neurot)

Emmylou Harris - All I Intended to Be (Nonesuch)

Torben Waldorff - Afterburn (ArtistShare)

Eivind Opsvik - Overseas III (Loyal Label; sample the sounds in this nice review by Hank Shteamer)

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Symphonies Nos. 1-9 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vernon Handley (EMI Classics)

The Residents - Duck Stab and Eskimo (Ralph/Mute)

Post minimalism.

Bruce Brubaker at the Stone
The New York Times, June 7, 2008

Total recall.

Bang On A Can Marathon 2008 - Dan Deacon "Ultimate Reality Part 3" from Justin Levine on Vimeo.

Blogger Justin Levine caught some of the sweet spots in the weekend's Bang on a Can Marathon, including this nice video of the first two minutes from the already legendary Dan Deacon performance that touched off Bang on a Can's first-ever mosh pit. (Thanks to Alex for the tip.)

Justin's video cuts off before the music shifts into hardcore mode, the point at which the pit actually started boiling. Also not visible: The mix of terror and amusement on the faces of two elderly women who'd staked out front-row seats at 3:45am, in anticipation of Stockhausen 's Stimmung (which was due at 5am, and arrived at 5:30). One turned to me and asked whether I thought all those kids would still be standing in front of the stage after Deacon's performance was over. I said I suspected most would leave, and others might lay down flat on the floor for Brian Eno's Discreet Music, which would precede the Stockhausen.

"If they're still there," she replied, "I'm going to go sit on the stage."

One young composer from NYU came over to very sincerely congratulate these women for "representing for their generation." During the fracas, the moshing kids took pains to avoid falling on, hitting or otherwise damaging these two hardy souls.

More reportage: Bruce Hodges (who gets extra points for attending the American Symphony Orchestra's excellent space-music concert on Sunday afternoon), Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Lauren Cartelli.

Update: One colleague just told me that she couldn't see Justin's video because her computer didn't have the appropriate version of Flash. For anyone else in that camp, Name Drop Acid has a YouTube clip of the Dan Deacon performance -- slightly longer and shot from a different angle, and once again cutting off before the real freakout began.

Marathon, man.

Bang on a Can Marathon at the World Financial Center
The New York Times, June 2, 2008

Update: Darcy James Argue, among my companions for the duration, has posted a scrupulously detailed, characteristically insightful play-by-play account of the marathon, complete with photos.

Masters of the universe.

"Seeking Profits Beyond CD Sales"
The New York Times, May 29, 2008


Confirming rumors that have circulated since arts manager Jeffrey Vanderveen announced his departure from IMG Artists in March, Universal Classics and Jazz announced on Wednesday the formation of a new division, Universal Music Classical Artist Management and Productions, headed by Vanderveen. Some of the biggest stars in the operatic firmament, including Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca (both Vanderveen clients at IMG), have joined the new roster. But there is a catch: IMG, alleging a variety of serious improprieties, has filed suit against Universal and its principals in the New York State Supreme Court.

This is certainly a story that will bear watching. One thing definitely worth noting is that while early rumors suggested that the new division would be concerned primarily with producing pop-concert extravaganzas, the project held up as an example of what Universal is interesting in achieving is the new Deutsche Grammophon recording of La Bohème available now in Europe and due June 10 in the U.S. The project, recorded by DG during concerts arranged by Vanderveen at IMG, doubles as the soundtrack for a cinematic film of the opera that will be screened in Europe this summer (and presumably here at a later date). More such complete opera recordings are already in the planning stages.

Defenders of the faith.

Seems I'm not the only one who made the transition from youthful heavy-metal enthusiast to grown-up classical-music aficionado: After attending a show by Finnish cello-thrash quartet Apocalyptica, Ontario critic John Keillor exposed his dark roots in "The Ear Wants What It Wants," an essay that appeared in Monday's edition of the National Post. Keillor goes on to explain why everything you've ever listened to with passion has colored and perhaps even enriched your subsequent and present listening experiences.

Keillor's story doesn't exactly parallel my own. I was soaking up classical music -- and in training to play it -- at more or less the same time I was exposed to metal, punk and prog. (See this recent post for the lurid details). And sadly, it appears that Keillor no longer indulges his passion for the adrenaline high of a good metal show. But I definitely throw horns to him for an idiomatic reference to Cannibal Corpse in what is still in fact a classical critic's piece in a major newspaper. (Hat tip to FJO.)

Playlist:

Slayer - Hells Awaits (Metal Blade)

Leyla Gencer - Arias and Scenes, Vol. 2 (Opera d'Oro)

Nile - Black Seeds of Vengeance (Relapse)

Christopher Theofanidis - Visions and Miracles; Paul Moravec - Morph; Lisa Bielawa - The Trojan Women; Michael Gatonska - Transformation of the Hummingbird - String Orchestra of New York City (Albany)

Obituary - World Demise (Roadrunner)

Morton Feldman - The Viola in My Life I-IV - Marek Konstantynowicz; Cikada Ensemble, Norwegian Radio Orchestra/Christian Eggen (ECM)

Marillion - Brave (Sanctuary)

Fish - 13th Star (Chocolate Frog)

John Zorn - Spy vs. Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman (Elektra/Musician)

Thomas Adès - Violin Concerto - Anthony Marwood, Chamber Orchestra of Europe (EMI Classics download)

"Deadheads for Obama" (Phil Lesh and Friends with Mickey Hart and Bob Weir) - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA, February 4, 2008 (Archive.org download)

Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 1 - Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Jaap van Zweeden (Brilliant Classics)

Hector Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique - Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel (Deutsche Grammophon download)

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 1 - London Symphony Orchestra/Valery Gergiev (LSO Live)

Elodie Lauten - The Death of Don Juan (Unseen Worlds)

Giacomo Puccini - La bohème - Anna Netrebko, Nicole Cabell, Rolando Villazón, Stèphane Degout, Boaz Daniel, Vitalij Kowaljow, Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra/Bertrand de Billy (Deutsche Grammophon, due June 10; audio samples at ArkivMusic)

Bach and awe.

Bachiana Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
and
The Xanthos Ensemble at Roulette
The New York Times, May 26, 2008