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MOZART: A Musical Joke, K. 522. BRAHMS: Alto
Rhapsody, Op.
53. DEBUSSY: Petite Suite. LIEBERMANN: Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony
Orchestra. BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. HANSON: Symphony No. 4 "Requiem." Songs from "Drum Taps." LOEFFLER:
Memories of My Childhood. THOMPSON: The Testament of Freedom. RAVEL: Boléro. Alborada del gracioso. Rapsodie espagnole.
La Valse. Pavane pour une infante défunte. Valses nobles et
sentimentales. Menuet antique. Le tombeau de Couperin. Ma Mère
l'Oye Ballet. Daphnis et Chloé Suite
No. 2. Admirers of Fritz Reiner welcomed Pristine Audio's recent issue called "Reiner Rarities," reviewed on this site this past October (REVIEW). Now we have the second disk in the welcome series offering performances long out of print on LP and never issued commercially on CD. All except the Liebermann were recorded in New York's Manhattan Center. The earliest is Alto Rhapsody, the third and last of Marian Anderson's three recordings of the work, from sessions in October 1950. The Debussy was recorded in September 1954, the Mozart in January 1952. Doubtless of greatest interest to most collectors will be Rolf Liebermann's exciting Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra which surprisingly never was issued on CD by RCA although it is available in Europe on a Naxos disk. Liebermann (1910-1999) had a keen interest in jazz, vividly displayed in this 17-minute work that was premiered in 1954 in Donaueschingen with Hans Rosbaud on the podium; the same year Reiner gave the American premiere and made this recording in Chicago's Orchestra Hall. I recall at the time a critic said during the concert performances "the joint was jumping" and indeed it was. This is an odd, jazzy piece scored for jazz orchestra (here the outstanding Sauter-Finegan ensemble) and orchestra. This was taken from a brilliant RCA stereo tape, and it sounds spectacular indeed. This is a prime example of the finest RCA sonic achievements during the Reiner reign. Mark Obert-Thorn's transfers, as usual, are perfection. Jascha Horenstein (1898-1973) was unappreciated by major record companies. We are fortunate that Charles Gerhardt arranged for a number of recordings for the Reader's Digest in the '60's (in particularly the Rachmaninoff set with Earl Wild). It is sad to contemplate that Gerhardt wanted to make many other recordings with Horenstein, including all of the Mahler symphonies, but RCA wasn't interested (!). This performance of Beethoven's Symphony 9 was recorded February 6, 1956 in Vienna with distinguished soloists, and has been reissued several times by other labels that made little effort to improve the sonic problems. This remastering by Andrew Rose is a revelation compared with previous releases. Pristine Audio now focuses on early mono recordings made for Mercury by Howard Hanson.. These recordings of American music were made pre-stereo, 1952-1954, and all have the dry sound associated with the venue, Eastman Theater. All of these recordings would have benefited from resonance, but the acoustic does provide remarkable clarity although the bright sound does not flatter strings. It is a pleasure to hear the composer conducting his own favorite symphony, subtitled "Requiem" which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1943. The Hanson Drum Taps songs appear to be unrecorded elsewhere. Randall Thompson's Testament of Freedom also is rare on recordings; Serge Koussevitzky made the first recording for RCA in Boston in 1945, briefly available on Biddulph and reviewed on this site by the late Roger Dettmer (REVIEW). Program notes and texts are available on Pristine Audio's SITE. If you wish to obtain any recordings on Pristine Audio, visit their main SITE Newton Classics has gathered together Bernard Haitink's Ravel recordings with the Concertgebouw Orchestra—but not all: Suite No. 1 from Daphnis et Chloé wouldn't quite fit. All of these recordings were made from 1971-1976, a time when Philips engineers preferred a sleek, resonant sonic picture. Both suites from Daphnis and Chloé, and Mother Goose have already been issued on Pentatone in quad sound (REVIEW) which is superior sonically to the two-channel version. This set sells for the price of two mid-priced disks. Most collectors interested in this repertory probably will already own previous issues, but they might wish to investigate Haitink's later recordings of the complete Daphnis made in Boston and Chicago. R.E.B. (August 2011)
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