Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Eugene Ormandy

Ormandy’s Lost American Gems Barber Persichetti Vincent

It’s not so much that I am out of ideas, but it is mighty convenient that I had so much material left over from last week’s show, consisting of rarely-heard recordings of American music performed by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” I reach for the already conveniently stacked CDs to cue up three more gems.

Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, Pa., not far from Philly, in 1910. He attended Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music and had his first orchestral work, the “School for Scandal Overture,” performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1931, when he was 21 years-old.

His “First Essay for Orchestra” was sent to Arturo Toscanini in the same mail as his “Adagio for Strings.” Toscanini performed both works with the NBC Symphony in 1938, but it was Eugene Ormandy who made the first recording of the “Essay,” with the Philadelphians, in 1940.

Vincent Persichetti was born in Philadelphia in 1915, and he died there in 1987. In between, he attended Combs College of Music, the Curtis Institute (where he studied conducting with Fritz Reiner) and the Philadelphia Conservatory. He taught at Combs and the Philly Conservatory. Then he received an invitation from William Schuman (some of whose music we heard last week) to take up a professorship at Juilliard.

Persichetti was one of our great composers, but to this day he remains underappreciated, more respected than loved. His Symphony No 4 of 1951 must be one of his most immediately attractive works.

Finally, John Vincent may be the most undeservedly neglected composer in Ormandy’s entire discography. Ormandy described his recording of Vincent’s Symphony in D (“A Festival Piece in One Movement”) as “one of the best we have ever done,” and the piece itself as “one of the finest compositions created by an American composer in the past decade.” The 1954 work sounds at times like Sibelius gone to the rodeo, but my, is it good stuff!

I hope you’ll join me for “All-American Ormandy II,” rarely-heard recordings of Barber, Persichetti and Vincent, on “The Lost Chord,” this Sunday night at 10 ET, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or that you’ll listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.

To help get you in the mood, here’s an in-depth interview with Persichetti by Bruce Duffie:

http://www.bruceduffie.com/persichetti.html

November 12, 2019
Ormandy’s Lost American Legacy

Eugene Ormandy, of course, was born in Hungary. His birth name was Jenő Blau. But he became a naturalized American citizen in 1927 and directed the Philadelphia Orchestra for 44 years.

In that capacity, he championed much contemporary music and works by his adopted countrymen –facts frequently forgotten next to his legacy as a superb interpreter of the 19th century classics.

In fact, much of his American legacy has dropped out of print. In the late 1990s, Albany Records briefly attempted to rectify the situation by reissuing some of Ormandy’s recordings of lesser-heard American music. In the event, the series only reached three discs, but each of them is a treasure.

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear two works by Pulitzer Prize-winners, both of whose music has sadly fallen out of fashion. The first is William Schuman, the very first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1943, for his “Cantata No. 2, ‘A Free Song.’” At the height of his fame, Schuman was also President of Lincoln Center.

We’ll hear music he composed in 1955, called “Credendum – Article of Faith,” which was written in response to the first ever commission by the U.S. government for a symphonic work.

Norman Dello Joio was the recipient of the Pulitzer in 1957 for his “Meditations on Ecclesiastes.” The concert suite from “Air Power” was adapted from 22 individual scores he composed for the CBS television series, about the history of aviation, which aired from November 1956 through spring of 1957. Its individual sections underscore the early days of flight, with its barnstormers and daredevils, followed by those of air battles and war scenes.

I hope you’ll join me for these rarely heard recordings of American music, conducted by Eugene Ormandy. That’s “All-American Ormandy,” tonight at 10 ET, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.

November 12, 2019
Rachmaninoff Rarities: Lost Chord Broadcast

Don’t fear the Reaper!

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” listen in for historic recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff, including a newly discovered demo of his “Symphonic Dances,” with the composer playing, humming, and singing at Eugene Ormandy’s piano in 1940.

Ormandy will introduce “Isle of the Dead” and conduct a special memorial performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, given only days after Rachmaninoff’s death in 1943.

And the pianist will make a meal out of the Ukrainian folk song, “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” at a party in 1942.

That’s “Rach of Ages” – Sergei Rachmaninoff in rare, vintage recordings. I’ll present a random harvest, this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

Some rare home movies, with a personal reminiscence by Alexander Greiner, manager of the concert and artist department at Steinway & Sons from 1928 to 1958.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=506&v=QB6-gT-dt18&feature=emb_logo

LIFE OF THE PARTY: Depending on the source, Igor Stravinsky described him as either “six-foot-six of Russian gloom” or “a six-and-a-half foot scowl.”

November 10, 2019
Rachmaninoff Rediscovered on The Lost Chord

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” get a piece of the Rach!

It’s an hour of historic recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

We’ll hear Rachmaninoff play his own “Symphonic Dances” in a newly rediscovered, fly-on-the-wall recording, captured surreptitiously at the home of Eugene Ormandy in 1940. Then Ormandy will introduce – and conduct – the Philadelphia Orchestra, in a special memorial performance of “Isle of the Dead,” given only days after the composer’s death, in 1943.

We’ll round out the hour with a literal party piece – as Rachmaninoff tosses off the Ukrainian folk song, “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” in 1942.

These recordings are part of a 3-CD boxed set, issued by Marston Records, the record label of industry legend Ward Marston. Now based in West Chester, PA (he was born in Philadelphia in 1952), Marston is one of classical music’s most revered audio engineers. Incredibly, he has been blind since birth.

Marston’s work in restoration and conservation of historic audio has been both miraculous and rapturously received. His acclaimed remasterings have appeared on the Andante, Biddulph, Naxos, Pearl, RCA, and Romophone labels. For more information and a complete catalogue of Marston Records releases, look online at marstonrecords.com.

Then join me for an hour of Sergei Rachmaninoff in vintage recordings. That’s “Rach of Ages,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

November 10, 2019
Marian Anderson Birthday Celebration

Arturo Toscanini lauded hers as “a voice that comes once in a hundred years.”

Join me as we celebrate the Lady from Philadelphia, Marian Anderson, on her birthday, with a 1939 recording of Brahms’ “Alto Rhapsody,” featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

1939 was the same year, you’ll recall, as her ultimate demonstration of turning lemons into lemonade: when Anderson was barred from performing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, on account of her race, she sang instead from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial – to 750,000 people on the mall and a national radio audience estimated in the millions.

Anderson’s Brahms performance will be just one of the highlights of a birthday-heavy afternoon, which will also include music and/or performances by Louis Coerne, Mirella Freni, Viktor Kalabis, Gidon Kremer, Morten Lauridsen, Lotte Lehmann, Sir Hubert Parry, and Wilhelm Peterson-Berger.

Your presence will be your present, from 4 to 6 p.m. EST. Then stick around for a party favor in the form of Max Reger and Mendelssohn, on “Music from Marlboro,” following at 6, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

February 27, 2019

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