What are we listening to? (outside of Mahler)

[Leo K]

Yo Yo Ma’s second recording of these Suites (on Sony) is perhaps the finest performance of these Suites I have come across. And I have only come across this CD set during my time out of town, seemingly out of nowhere, during a time of stress and physical discomfort.

During the past week I have been vacationing with my family in Orlando, Florida at the world famous Walt Disney World with my parents, my sister and her new husband, and my brother, his wife and their three kids, my two nieces and nephew.

It’s hard to get sick when trying to visit family you hardly get to visit, while being out of town and etc…but first I got motion sickness from a ride called Mission: Space lasting two days, and finally got a nasty cold during the course of the trip…nothing terrible of course, just inconvenient and disheartening.

But one morning, while waiting for a bus at Fort Wilderness Campground, my sister-in-law handed over her Mp3 player and played me the Prelude to Bach’s 1st Cello Suite in G Major, as played by Yo Yo Ma, and for the few minutes the Prelude lasted I received the jolt of “medicine” to keep me going, an eye opener, a flash of fresh, pure air to rejuvenate the spirit. I played this little Prelude over an over again in my mind until the trip was over, and finally today found a used set.

Essentially each movement is a type of dance, but what Bach does with these dance forms is truly profound...from the most extrovert forms of dance we are treated to the most intimate of conversations and considerations of life including love, or perhaps God and spirit, and human needs are reflected as well, including emotions and even mathematics. With only one cello it appears nothing is not covered, including earth, hell and heaven.

The photo below not only seems to capture the essence of Yo Yo Ma and what his interpretations personify (for me at least), but also the experience of these solo works for cello:



As you all know these works are played by a solitary instrumentalist, and therefore when heard, our own loneliness of joy, sorrow or indifference is highlighted and also present on stage, or in a room, or inside an Mp3 player. 



--Leo

[barry guerrero]

While I'm not a huge fan of the Cello Suites (endless hours of cow moooing sounds!), I do agree that his second set is FAR better than his first one.

I really do feel that these suites there are far better works when transposed for the smaller F tuba, as any tuba can provide far greater dynamic range than any cello possibly could. But I think that they really need to be arranged for violin, violin, cello (all with mutes), Eb clarinet, flute, alto flute, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, horn, glockenpiel, xylophone, celeste, harmonium (chamber organ), and tam-tam.

Barry

[Amphissa]

Since my wife is a cellist, we have many recordings of the Bach suites for cello solo -- 19 the last time I counted -- and have heard a dozen more. Yo-Yo Ma is (to me) an engaging entertainer, a great cultural ambassador, and a good (but not great) musician. His video/art sets on DVD that pair music from the cello suites with performing arts (called "Inspired by Bach") is a creative and enjoyable artistic achievement. And I was mighty pleased to have met him when he played at the 50th anniversary gala of our regional symphony.

However, all that said, none of his recordings of any cello music achieves the top tier. In that very competitive arena of the Bach suites, my top choices would be Starker on MLP and Janigro.

As for my listening beyond Mahler -- well, almost all of my listening is beyond Mahler. This week, I've been enjoying the symphonies of Gernsheim, especially the first. These symphonies are solidly in the romantic tradition, very deeply indebted to Brahms (he was a contemporary of Brahms).



My favorite Myaskovsky these days is the stunning 25th, which is perhaps, beginning to end, the most beautiful symphony ever written, and right up there with Ralph Vaughan Williams "Pastoral" on my pleasure-meter. Where RVW is exotic (you've heard this music ripped off for every movie ever made involving Egypt), Myaskovsky is melancholy, with one beautiful melody after another throughout.



I also pulled out some old LPs by the group Oregon, featuring classical/jazz guitarist Ralph Towner, oboe, tabla, double bass, violin, etc. The unique soundscape and music of those guys is (to me) rather like a 21st century version of chamber ensemble, and it holds up very well even now, sounding modern and innovative, 3 decades since I first ran across them. Most of their releases are available on CD, but I still prefer the sound of LP.



And then for fun, it's Zucchero. This guy has been a superstar in Europe for decades, but is largely unknown in the U.S. His DVD "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" is a parade of stars (including Clapton, and the DVD also features videos with Pavarotti, Miles Davis, and Stevie Ray Vaughan), playing hit after hit from his vast and stylistically diverse repertoire.



On the schedule for this weekend is a viewing of the DVD of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame (Queen of Spades). I've never seen it or even heard any of the music from it so far as I'm aware, but my trusted friends of opera tell me that it is excellent.

[barry guerrero]

I'm not terribly familiar with Zucchero, but I've been an admirer of Oregon (the band, not the state) for several decades. Great stuff.

[Amphissa]

I'm not terribly familiar with Zucchero ...

I suppose I should warn .... Most Zucchero DVDs are in PAL format, which will not play on a vanilla U.S. DVD player. However, I have seen the All Regions NTSC format on Ebay, available from Canada, so I'm hoping it will show up in the U.S. soon.

[Leo K]

I have never hear of him...thanks for the heads up!  Great post above Amphissa...I look forward to checking out your top recommends for the suites...how awesome it must be to be married to a cellist too.


--Todd

[stillivor]

   Currently, Roy Eldridge/Art tatum LP.


   Ivor

[sbugala]

My wife got me the Zinman M3, and Hickox's Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 with the LSO.  I love both.  The VW 5th is a superb recording.  I wanted to get it, but I was a little skeptical because I couldn't find a review on it from this side of the Atlantic.  I sometimes wince when Gramophone or another British publication goes too crazy over a recording.  This one seems worthy of the praise, and I've since found other sources that back up the Brits and my critical assessment. 

[John Kim]

Yes, Hickox/LSO/Chandos VW5th is a beautiful recording of this beautiful masterpiece. But others seem to favor two recordings by Previn - RCA & Telarc, so I will venture the Telarc recording soon. I LOVE VW7th and 9th as well, which are, IMO, similar to each other. The Ninth is not an easy piece on the listener's side; bold, enigmatic, and thematically too complicated. But it is a symphony that will reward you enormously upon repeated hearing. I have Thomson/LSO/Chandos that I adore so much.

John,

[sperlsco]

Last weekend, I saw pianist Stephen Hough perform with the Houston Symphony (Rachmaninov's 1st Piano Cto).  I have been on a Stephen Hough binge ever since, listening to his commercial performances of the Rachmaninov, Saint Saens, and Hummel piano concertos, as well as his Spanish (solo) album.  I REALLY like Stephen Hough, and am forgiving him for wearing red Wizard of Oz shoes at his performance.   

Now if only Hyperion would only let him re-record the Brahms concertos, which he recorded too early in his career for Chandos -- and which may be the dullest versions on disc.  I know from a recent live radio rip that he has rethought his approach to Brahms. 

I've also spun the new SACD of Brahms' Symphonies 2-3 by Janowski/Pittsburgh a few times -- I love it!

[John Kim]

hey Scott, you broked the looooong silence of the board

Thank you!

John,

[MichaelO]

John:
The RCA Previn VM5 is excellent.  Just got the Japanse K2 remaster.  Vastly better than the domestic 1980s? masterings which are grey sounding and bright.
Been on a British kick lately.
VM 1-3,5
Boult cond. Butterworth etc. (Lyrita)
Ravel D&C suite 2, Mother Goose suite
Bruckner 4 (Exton SACD)
Hindemith Mathis der Maler, Schwanendreher--some of my favs!

Michael

[Seán]

For the last few days I have been listening to two different recordings of Smetana's music.

The music on the first CD was recorded in 1937 and in 1945 it features the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by a very young Rafael Kubelik.  The 1937 recording features two poems from the Ma Vlast symphony.  Despite the obvious deficiencies in the recording the music is full of vitality and colour:




The second CD has a much older Kubelik from the 1990 recording of the full cycle of Ma Vlast poems again he is conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.  It was recorded at the opening concert of the Prague Spring Festival.  This is one of my favourite CDs.

[Seán]

I also pulled out some old LPs by the group Oregon, featuring classical/jazz guitarist Ralph Towner, oboe, tabla, double bass, violin, etc. The unique soundscape and music of those guys is (to me) rather like a 21st century version of chamber ensemble, and it holds up very well even now, sounding modern and innovative, 3 decades since I first ran across them. Most of their releases are available on CD, but I still prefer the sound of LP.

I don't have that LP, my favourite Oregon recording is "Out of the Woods", it's special

[barry guerrero]

I know that I've heard "Out Of The Woods", but I just can't remember much about it know. That was a long time ago. I don't know Kubelik's 1937 "Ma Vlast", but I certainly like the 1990 about the best of any.

I listen to a fair amount of 1950's jazz. I like a lot of the classic Bluenote reissues, as well as 50's/60's west coast stuff. I find that I lose interest in the Art Blakey stuff once Freddy Hubbard and Wayne Shorter arrive on the scene. Wayne Shorter is a great guy - still around - but I'm not crazy about his playing. Favorite trumpet players include Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown (not the most beautiful sound, but great player), and Jack Sheldon (west coast, and still around). Favorite tenor players include Hank Mobely, Dexter Gordon, Benny Golson, Trane (when he's being tonal and half-way nice), Teddy Edwards (west coast), Plas Johnson (west coast). Actually, I like the tenor sax very much. I'm not a big fan of the alto sax except for Bud Shank (west coast), Paul Desmond, Art Pepper (west coast, mostly), Jackie McClean - maybe one or two others. For me, Phil Woods is too technical and perfect sounding (also a tad loud), and Canonball borders on the obnoxious (that's just me).

I love Kenny Dorham. He was not a strong trumpet player from a technical sense. But I love his choice of tunes on his records, and I love the very musical solos that he takes. I actually think that there's a bit of a Kenny Dorham revival going on right now. He got overlooked for years, partly because the drummer, Max Roach, was ticked off when Sonny Rollins (seriously, not one of my very favorites) brought him in to replace Clifford Brown, after Brownie had died suddenly in an auto accident. It is fair to say that Clifford Brown was better suited to Max Roach's hard driven and busy sounding playing.