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JAMES STEVENS
BBC BROADCAST RECORDINGS
Rare recordings of a neglected British composer
Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 2
Two Overtures
Musique Concrète
Transfers from the composer's own acetate discs of performances broadcast in 1954-56
BBC Northern and Scottish Orchestras under Stanford Robinson and Ian Whyte
XR restorations by
Andrew Rose
Download it now - it's only free from our Cover Page! OR UPGRADE to full quality 320k MP3, lossless 16-bit or 24-bit FLAC downloads, download free covers and cue sheets, scores and notes here: PASC 100 - Stevens |
LATEST REVIEWS
| MusicWeb International
September 6, 2011
MARGUERITE LONG
By Jonathan Woolf
"These are important documents - as indeed is everything on this well transferred and engaging disc"
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This disc gives us the rare opportunity to hear Marguerite Long perform on a single disc the Ravel Concerto in the two recordings she made. The first was made in 1932, conducted by Pedro de Freitas Branco - the long fiction that this was conducted personally by the composer was ended years ago - and the second followed twenty years later, when Georges Tzipine was the conductor. The earlier recording is the one more often encountered on disc, so it's good to hear the later version, though not everyone will be keen as mustard to have the duplication.
The 1932 performance is brisk, business-like, rather boxily recorded, and sometimes indifferently performed by the anonymous orchestra. That said, it has real personality and a sense of occasion. Long is far faster here in the first two movements than she was in the 1952 recording. This has the advantage of strong, rhythmic dynamism, but the disadvantage of seeming slightly matter-of-fact in the slow movement. In her second recording she is more circumspect, and occasionally this leads to a slight feeling of a lack of direction in the first movement. I do, however, prefer the generosity of phrasing in the Adagio assai where she adds a minute and a quarter to her earlier recording's timing, and it makes a difference. It's now less chipped and brittle, rounder of tone and more long-breathed in phrasing - less detached, really, and less objectified, albeit more conventionally beautiful. Some may yet prefer the more taut construction of the 78 set.
There's also the chance to hear Milhaud's go-getting pocket 1933 First Piano Concerto - all twelve or so minutes of it - in this first-ever 1935 recording with the composer this time very definitely on the rostrum. This is a juicy, freewheeling and virtuosic work that plumbs absolutely no expressive depths and doesn't mean to either. The highlight, of the work and the recording, is the lovely fluid Barcarolle second movement which is very lightly textured, well balanced - the violin and wind balancing is good here - and played beautifully. Then Long unleashes some powerful chordal roulades in the mock pompous finale.
The 'fillers' are just as good; more Milhaud solo works where the brio of Alfama contrasts with the brooding Paysandú, and then a perhaps even more important quartet of Debussy works. There are the Arabesques, a glittering and excellently recorded Jardins sous la pluie, and a lovely La plus que lente. Given her position as a leading exponent of the composer's music these are important documents - as indeed is everything on this well transferred and engaging disc.
PASC 285 - Long
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LATEST REVIEWS
| Audiophile Audition
August 31, 2011
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 9 BY KOUSSEVITZKY
By Gary Lemco
"A performance of varying quality and intensity this Koussevitzky Ninth, but it behooves us to hear this maestro in the music of Beethoven"
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Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951) who usually instantiates Russian-born intensity in music-making delivers (6-13 August 1947) a conscientious but linear and relatively lackluster Beethoven Ninth Allegro ma non troppo from Tanglewood in his commercial version for RCA. The transfers, made from red vinyl 78 rpms, enjoy a marvelously restored surface patina-clean, clear, rich in the bass. While the sound of the Boston string section maintains its luster--so much so Virgil Thomson labeled it "overtrained"--the dramatic elements--in this first movement--proceed rather perfunctorily, in the manner of an aesthetic exercise. This does not deny the richness of the BSO's response, but rather that the depth of emotion--especially for Koussevitzky--lacks punch and viscera.
The Molto vivace fares better, the line crisp, the attacks angular and nervously urgent. New day, new rules? Koussevitzky seems to work very hard to keep the entries level, in time, maintaining the inner pulsation of the outer Scherzo. I would have preferred closer miking of the BSO tympani and woodwinds, especially the bassoon. The flute--I assume Georges Laurent--projects a lovely tone and silken gloss in his part. The frequency range altered a bit at 4:47 in my copy, as though the lid were taken off the piano. Some kid-glove, loving phrasing in the trio, with solid punctuations in the brass and low winds. The Adagio cantabile allows Koussevitzky's forces to shine precisely in the strings, the source of his power. Long-breathed phrases, a dynamically graduated approach to the large arch of the melodies and their subsequent variants, add an especial poise and nobility to the line. If Koussevitzky's version lacks Furtwaengler's mysticism, it has a naïve honesty of expression that wins our hearts.
Two members of Koussevitzky's vocal quartet, Yeend and Lloyd, served Bruno Walter for his commercial Ninth on CBS. James Pease, who sang as well in Koussevitzky's Missa Solemnis, brings a decided weight to his opening incantation to replace abstract tones with human meanings. The vocal support of the Berkshire Chorus, directed by Robert Shaw, resonates powerfully. As per expectation, the string line of the main melody purrs and floats over the woodwind support. The tenor aria, a janissary march, balances marcato heaviness against a blithe spirit, leading to a potent fugato from Koussevitzky. The slow movement, "Seid umschlungen" forward, rings with a secular piety quite distinct and spiritually elevating. Strong ensemble carries the day for the final quartet and ensuing janissary figures with high woodwinds, quite energized. The huge pause in the momentum and its surge to glory redeems what had begun as a pedestrian reading and imparts upon it a decided glamour.
PASC 300 - Koussevitzky
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CONTENTS
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Editorial Two very rare American recordings of the 40s
Björling His 1959 Metropolitan Opera Faust
Schnabel Beethoven Piano Sonatas 17-20 at last
PADA André Cluytens conducts Ravel, 1954 recordings
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Editorial - Two genuine American 78rpm rarities
Fascinating material found in the archives As I mentioned a few weeks ago we recently received a marvellous donation of 78rpm discs from record collector and music lover Al Schlachtmeyer, which he had shipped by FedEx from his US home to the studio here in France. The records came in a series of large boxes, carefully packaged to prevent damage, with no external indication as to the contents of each box. As we were about to close up for a holiday and studio redecoration I elected not to open the boxes up immediately, and so this week I finally began the process of discovery to see what treasures might lay inside. The first box i opened yielded a selection of Albert Coates recordings, most of which were among Ward Marston's recent transfers, but the second and third boxes, amid various violin concerto recordings and other assorted sets, offered two truly exceptional and exciting rarities. The first of these was a set of c.1944 vinyl 78rpm discs issued by the Overseas Branch of the Office of War Information and headed "Contemporary American Music Series No. 34". The contents of these seven sides are - it would clearly seem - taken from the second ever public performance of Walter Piston's Symphony No. 2, given by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under guest conductor G. Wallace Woodworth at Symphony Hall on 8th April, 1944, a month after the symphony's première. I can find no mention of the recording's existence online. A listing of BSO concert dates gives us the only performance with Woodworth conducting Piston's Second Symphony as the above date, and despite a very quiet audience and no applause on the discs, the presence of a quiet cough or two during the second movement suggests this is indeed the live concert performance rather than a specially recorded studio session. Although the vinyl sides are at times noisy, and moreover, suffer throughout with rather unpleasant blasting peak distortion on regular replay, I've already managed to greatly tame a lot of this, and I hope to prepare a restoration which will not only be listenable but also enjoyable to hear. It was with this specific work that Piston made his breakthrough and established his reputation as a top rank composer, winning the Music Critics' Circle Award for the 1944-45 season, and this rare recording (which according to the label should have been "destroyed at the end of the emergency"), presumably broadcast to overseas forces, was undoubtedly one of the means by which he became more widely known and appreciated. The second recording might also have been destroyed - Mr. Schlachtmeyer refers to it as "the rarest" of the entire collection. It's called the "Genesis Suite", and is a joint collaboration between a number of mainly European composers-in-exile, put together in 1943 by film composer and conductor Nathaniel Shilkret. Amongst the other composers he was able to interest in his project sufficiently to produce their own contributions, three names jump right out: Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Milhaud. (The others are Alexandre Tansman, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Ernst Toch snd Shilkret himself.) Those three names in themselves lend a certain interest in the music. But the story of the discs is just as fascinating. Having failed to get major record company interest in a recording made in late 1945 by the "Janssen Symphony of Los Angeles", conducted by Werner Janssen and with narration by the prolific Hollywood actor Edward Arnold, Shilkret set up "Artist Records" with a group of businessmen friends in order to press and distribute the records himself. The scarcity of the set suggests it was less than successful... Before long, what Wikipedia opaquely refers to as "problems with Artist Records" led Shilkret to wind up the label. Sales of the 78rpm albums were halted and the remaining stock of shellac records was destroyed, allowing a new version of the Genesis Suite to be prepared for release on Capitol Records. As the original orchestral track had been recorded separately from the narration and choral tracks, it was possible for the Capitol issue, on LP, to include a new narration from one Ted Osborne - though quite why this needed to be done is not entirely clear. At this point in the story let me quote from a review of the 2001 Angel CD reissue of this Capitol version of the recording at classicalcdreview.com, which is less than complimentary of Osbourne's effort: "Due to problems with Artist [the company], the album was to be reissued, Janssen hoping with new narration by either Roosevelt or Churchill, both of whom sensibly declined. Fast forward a couple of years: "Capitol Records chose a clergyman, Ted Osborne, and in December 1950, he recorded a new narration," but "asked to remain nameless, in reverent tribute to the word of God which he has spoken," according to the LP note of 1951. I should have thought he sought anonymity because of a puny, not to say pusillanimous tenor voice..." The original Artist Records release of the recording relocated Schoenberg's contribution to the end of the suite, renaming it "Postlude", but by the time of the Capitol issue it had been moved back to what is now considered its appropriate (and original) place - the beginning, where it was first performed - with the title "Prelude". A letter written by Shilkret (who one couldn't describe as an especially modest man with regard to his own talents, even up against his illustrious collaborators) in 1945 gives some insight into his decision to reorder the record tracks:
"In fact, so successful was my score at the concert that we [Shilkret and Werner Janssen, who conducted the premiere concert performance and was shortly to conduct the premiere recording] are changing the order of the records. Instead of starting with Schoenberg and scaring the buyer, the album starts with Shilkret--Creation 2 sides... We leave the futuristic music of Strawinsky and Schoenberg for one double faced record and at the last." Unfortunately for Shilkret the Genesis Suite never achieved the worldwide acclaim he'd hoped and apparently expected. Sales of the LP edition must have also been patchy, given the three-figure second-hand value that copies of it have been seen to fetch today. And very few people indeed can have ever heard the original Artist Records recording, putting Shilkret's contribution first as he intended and with Edward Arnold stentorian tones narrating the entire proceedings - something I hope very shortly to rectify.
Happily these two recordings referred to here fit perfectly together, in duration at least, on a single CD. Restoration work is well underway, and I hope to be able to offer both to you next week. Andrew Rose
9 September 2011
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Jussi Björling stars as Faust
in Gounod's opera
One of his final stage roles - live at the Met in 1959
 GOUNOD
Faust
Recorded 19 December 1959
Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer: Andrew Rose
Jussi Björling Faust
Elisabeth Söderström Marguerite
Cesare Siepi Méphistophélès
Robert Merrill Valentin
Mildred Miller Siébel
Thelma Votipka Marthe
Roald Reitan Wagner
Orchestra & Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera
Jean Morel conductor
Web page: PACO 064
Short Notes
In 1999 a critics' poll in Classic CD magazine ranked the Swedish tenor Jussi Björling as the greatest singer of the century. His 1959 performance as Faust in Gounod's eponymous opera is a superb example of why he was so highly rated.
Taken from a live NBC radio broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera, Björling's commanding performance dominates a stellar cast, with no hint that he was just nine months away from an early death, aged just 49.
This recording, which we've just about managed to squeeze onto two CDs, has benefited greatly from Pristine's XR remastering system, which has worked wonders to bring out the full, rich sound of the entire production.
Notes On this recording
This recording was issued on Robin Hood Records RHR 5021-5023, and is credited as a "private recording" on the record labels. The performance had been broadcast by NBC radio, and there is aural evidence that the present recordings was most likely taken from this transmission. As was standard practise in 1959, the fourth and fifth acts are both cut and rearranged in order from the original score - despite its popularity, Faust had never been performed in its full version at the Metropolitan Opera by the time of this performance. The Robin Hood LPs would appear to have been mastered from what I would expect to be acetate LP recordings, with little or no evidence of any processing or remastering at the time - some clicks from those original masters were evident on the LPs used for these transfers - clearly distinct from the surface clicks of the RHR sides.
The sound quality of the LPs was somewhat muted and lacking in bass, something I've rectified as much as was possible. The top end extends to around 12kHz, which suggests a broadcast source; hiss was variable but noticeable throughout - slightly more so after XR re-equalisation brought out top end clarity in the recording. Some of the disc sides displayed a greater degree of high frequency hiss than others, and there was a tendency for the pitch to droop somewhat towards the end of each LP side, something which is now correctable. I've used very mild pitch stabilisation throughout - taking into account of course the inappropriateness of "correcting" vocal vibrato! I've also been able to fix some occasional dropouts. The final result is a complete transformation of the sound heard on the original sources to something which I hope does full justice to a great performance from one of the greatest singers of all time.
MP3 Sample Act 1 (excerpt featuring Björling)
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PACO 064 - webpage at Pristine Classical
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The legendary Schnabel Beethoven series continues
"The Tempest", "The Hunt" and "Two Easy Sonatas",
all newly XR remastered
 BEETHOVEN
Piano Sonatas Volume 6
Recorded 1932-1934
Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer: Andrew Rose
Sonata No. 17 in D minor Op. 31 No. 2 "The Tempest"
Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major Op. 31 No. 3 "The Hunt"
Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor Op. 49 No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major Op. 49 No. 2
Artur Schnabel piano
Web page: PAKM 042
Short Notes
"As you know, I make regular purchases from you - and I have to say that the sound on the new Schnabel issues is truly astonishing. I have known these recordings for ages, and bought them in various editions - the EMI re-issues, Naxos etc, but I have never heard such beautiful and life-like sound as your recent re-issues. Congratulations!" S.W. (by e-mail)
Our traversal of Artur Schnabel's Beethoven Piano Sonata recordings continues this week with the sixth instalment of the series. Here two full-length sonatas are joined by two much shorter works - the 19th and 20th "Two Easy Sonatas" were earlier compositions published out of sequence and were probably written for pupils of Beethoven.
Once again, our pitch stabilisation technology has worked wonders in firming up the sound of Schnabel's Bechstein piano, whilst Pristine's XR remastering has again made the very most of the sound captured in the early 1930s by HMV's studio engineers.
Review April 1936 (excerpt)
Not the least good thing about the eighth volume of the Beethoven Sonata Society is Eric Blom's most entertaining essay " Lurid Light on Beethoven.' which consists of an examination of a new book by an eminent German musical scholar, Dr. Arnold Schering.
In this work only the first volume of which has been issued-the author discovers that five string quartets and eight piano sonatas of Beethoven are based on plays by Shakespeare and another sonata on Schiller's "Maid of Orleans " ! And the two sonatas, amongst the eight, attached by the worthy doctor to the " Tempest" and to "Much Ado About Nothing" are those in D minor (Op. 31, No. 2) and F major (Op. 54) included in this album...
Schnabel rises to the full measure of the great Sonata in D minor, the first movement of which is full of superb rhythmic energy. But why on earth does he keep the sustaining pedal down throughout the two lovely recitatives in the middle of the movement? ' The poet speaks" : but why this jangling utterance? I should be most interested to hear an explanation of this interpretative eccentricity.
The adagio, as so often with this player, lacks tenderness and is too heavy : and personally I like the final movement to be less explosive than this. The phrasing and the rhythmic impulse in this wonderful movement are splendid, but I missed the effect of the lovely dissolving harmonics just before the last page and I am inclined to agree with the much-belaboured Schering that the figuration of this movement should be, for the most part, "gently soaring."
The recording of all the sonatas is good if a little coarse, and as I have intimated, there is plenty of matter for discussion in Schnabel's interpretations, besides lots for any pianist to learn and profit from.
A.R. The Gramophone
Notes On this recording
As with previous volumes in this series, the sides here show some variability of surface noise and coarseness, the latter being most obvious in the first movement of the 20th Sonata, but also evident in louder sections of the first movement of Sonata No. 17. Perhaps this isn't always a bad thing - a reminder that these recordings were made nearly 80 years ago is useful when the sonic transformations achieved with XR remastering and Capstan pitch stabilisation are so astonishingly great!
MP3 Sample Sonata No. 19, 2nd movement
Listen
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CD purchase links and all other information:
PAKM 042 - webpage at Pristine Classical
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PADA Exclusives
Streamed MP3s you can also download
RAVEL
Menuet Antique
Ma Mère l'Oye
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
Introduction & Allegro
Laskine, Rampal, Delecluse
Pascal Quartet
Orchestre Nationale de la Radiodiffusion Française
André Cluytens conductor
Recorded 11, 14 May, 24 June 1954
Issued as Angel LP 35173
This transfer is presented with Ambient Stereo remastering by Dr. John Duffy Over 400 PADA Exclusives recordings are available for high-quality streamed listening and free 224kbps MP3 download to all subscribers. PADA Exclusives are not available on CD and are additional to our main catalogue.  Subscriptions start from €1 per week for PADA Exclusives only listening and download access. A full subscription to PADA Premium gets you all this plus unlimited streamed listening access to all Pristine Classical recordings for just €10 per month, with a free 1 week introductory trial.
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