Manoug Parikian and Walter Goehr in Mozart Violin Concertos

A little Mozart for the soul. This is a beautiful partnership between two excellent musicians who both played "under the radar." Being half Armenian, I was delighted to find this lp since it features the great Armenian violinist-conductor Manoug Parikian partnered with one of the finest accompanying conductors of the last century, Walter Goehr. Your day will be all the better after listening to the concertos numbers 3 & 4!

Manoug Parikian was one of those players who played with practically everybody in his adopted country of England. Like many Armenians living in the Turkey during the first half of the 20th century, he left to seek better, more favorable opportunities elsewhere. Settling in the UK as a student, Parikian would remain there, making it his home base, first as a concertmaster of numerous orchestras, and then later as a soloist and conductor. Walter Goehr, of course, fled Germany prior to the second world war and settled in the UK as a conductor with, I think the BBC. Goehr made a ton of records, mostly with second and third rate orchestras however, he is recognized today as having the ability of coaxing terrific results from these lesser orchestras often under very tight recording and rehearsal schedules.
Parikian and Goehr make wonderful, wonderful partners. Goehr does a marvelous job of getting his recording chamber orchestra to match Parikian's sweet tone and earthy approach to these concertos. I always enjoy these recordings where it is not soloist vs orchestra and here is a fine example of how the proceedings should go, always! A fine tribute to two strong, vital musical personalities.

I'm not sure of the dates of this monaural release but probably mid 50's.

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The Kroll Quartet plays Beethoven and Haydn

What good fortune one has sometimes! Sometimes the "three for a buck" god casts his/her glances my way enabling me to acquire great music played by great musicians at about the price of a gumball. Here the contents of two lps released by that "other RCA" on their Allegro Elite label. Haydn's Op. 54 No. 2 and Op. 77 No. 1 along with Beethoven's second and third Op. 18 quartets played by the Kroll Quartet.

In its heyday, the Kroll Quartet was justly renowned and often mentioned in the same breath as the famed Budapest Quartet. As we all know, many have held the Budapest to be a gold standard though admittedlly personal changes through the years often played havoc with the end result. Well, no bother, here it is the magnificence of the Kroll, an ensemble truly made of peers who play for, and to, each other.

The Haydn and Beethoven quartets are immaculately played and oh, so intimate in style and texture. If you are tired of quartets that try to find the "symphonic" in these rather personal works, this is your antidote. I cannot stress the intimacy of the playing and the apparent joy that these musicians convey by the act of purely playing together. It reminds me of the famed Casals-Schneider-Istomin recordings. So refreshing and beautiful! Such a shame that the "other RCA" could not provide the recording excellence that the Kroll richly deserved though the mono sound is quite listenable.

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Ivry Gitlis performs Stravinsky

My apologies for kind of falling down on the job. As most of you know, it is Oktoberfest season and I've been especially busy bringing the sounds of Munchen to the good people of New England.

This Dover release of Stravinsky compositions is a compilation of Vox issues from the 50's. The featured works are the Violin Concerto, the Duo Concertante and Jeu de Cartes. The very fine, and somewhat forgotten though still living, Ivry Gitlis performs in the concerto and the duo. Harold Byrns conducts the Concerts Colonne Orchestra and Charlotte Zelka accompanies Gitlis in the duo. Filling out the program is a highly enjoyable performance of Jeu de Cartes under Heinrich Hollreiser with the Bamberg SO.

I like Gitlis' playing very much. His musicianship is spot on and he possesses a sweet, loving tone which helps to smooth out, in a positive way, Stravinsky's spiky melodies. Both Byrns and Zelka provide strong partnership. Hollreiser's Jeu de Cartes was a pleasant surprise for me. I've always thought of him as rather a kapellmeister type but he fully immerses himself into the humor and spirit of this rather "French" music.

Enjoy!

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Robert Shaw's first recording of Ein Deutsches Requiem

Robert Shaw made two recordings of Brahms' masterpiece Ein Deutsches Requiem. Though separated by some 35 years, both represent well Shaw's devotion to the score and his understanding of the deep sense of humanity captured in the words and brilliantly supported by the music. Here from 1948 is the first recording with Shaw leading the RCA Victor Chorale and Orchestra with soloists Eleanor Steber and James Pease.

Robert Shaw was a remarkable man. When I was in college, he visited and gave several lectures which culminated in a marvelous performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion. What struck me most about Shaw was his inner strength and spirtuality. His communicative style was based on personal reflection and the need to include everyone in the dialogue while his words were measured, humble, yet authoritative. I found him to be a man that spoke to one's soul through music and philosophy in an engaging, inclusive manner. Truly a wonderful human being.

Perhaps Shaw's personal characteristics play a major, if not pivotal role, in the interpretation of this Brahms masterwork. I find the sense of "line" to be just right and the singing is impassioned with a lyric gentleness to it. Though the RCA Victor orchestra cannot match the tonal lushness of the later Atlanta Symphony, these seasoned musicians from the Philharmonic and NBC Symphony propel the music along nimbly and with a lean sound they prevent the "full cries" of the chorus from becoming garbled and bloated. Though other conductors might have more outward passion, listening to this and the later recording are antidotes to a world of rush, rush, rush and grave inpersonalism.

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