Arrau Plays Schumann, Vol. 3

The series of Claudio Arrau's recordings of Schumann's piano works reaches its third installment with a fascinating performance of the Symphonic Études coupled with the early Abegg Variations, both from 1970.

Robert Schumann

The Symphonic Études are for the most part variations on a theme by the amateur composer Baron von Fricken. In 1834, Schumann composed the theme and 16 variations, eventually publishing only 11 of the latter. A 12th Étude was added as a finale, but it was based on a melody by Marschner.

I'll spare you the many confusing convolutions of the piece, except to note that the five Études that the composer did not publish were eventually issued by Brahms after Schumann's death, over the objections of Clara Schumann.

These rejected Études are sometimes inserted into performances of the work at various points, as Arrau does here.

Claudio Arrau

The Études were designed to be highly virtuosic, which is certainly the province of Arrau, and he does not disappoint. That is, he does not disappoint me - some critics were less impressed. Some were seeking more animation. Here is the redoubtable Joan Chissell in The Gramophone: 

Arrau plays these five ruminative variations [i.e., the five published by Brahms] perhaps more beautifully than anything else in the work... His own style these days seems to grow increasingly introverted: this music gives him scope to brood and dream. The rest of the performance is affectionately phrased and expansive, but there is not always enough sheer physical exhilaration in the more demonstrative numbers (often taken at rather cautious tempo), not excluding the finale.

David Hall of Stereo Review was closer to my own reaction (to the work, not to Arrau as an artist):

Claudio Arrau has never been a favorite of mine among the veteran superstar pianists: I find much of his interpretation on the cold and somewhat mannered side. So it is a wry sort of pleasure to be able to eat my words, and to commend his new recording of the Schumann Symphonic Études as among the very best ever. Only a certain lack of surge in the exuberant finale keeps me from calling it the single best.

The much shorter Abegg Variations were Schumann Op. 1, a student work from 1829-30. "Abegg" refers to the first five notes of the theme: A, B♭, E, G, and G. It also refers to Paulina von Abegg, an acquaintance and the dedicatee.

The critics were more satisfied with this early work. David Hall: "Arrau tops off this singularly satisfying artistic achievement [i.e., the Études] with an Abegg Variations rendering of the utmost tenderness and charm. Good sound all the way, rich in timbre, clean in texture."

The recording is rich, although quite close.

LINK

Autumn with Tutti Camarata

It's Hot with a capital H where I am and in much of the Northern Hemisphere. For relief, here comes fall, in the form of autumn songs as led by Tutti Camarata.

This particular record was a request from reader Keek. It was a good choice, providing pleasing instrumental sounds from a large orchestra.

Tutti Camarata

Salvador "Tutti" Camarata (1913-2005) was a big band trumpeter and arranger who provided backing on many vocal records before launching Disneyland records in 1956. This LP followed the next year.

It was somewhat unusual for Camarata; many of the records issued under his own name are arrangements of music by classical composers - Puccini, Verdi, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Borodin, even two Erik Satie LPs. This was perhaps reflecting his Juilliard education.

Otherwise, he guided a great number of Disney records: children's items, show tunes and soundtracks. And a la the Ray Charles Singers, he did a recorded tour of the seasons. Autumn was the first, issued only in mono.

Jack Hayes, Leo Shuken

Tutti conducted the band for this record, but he left the charts to two Hollywood orchestrators. Leo Shuken (1906-76) specialized in epics and Westerns film genres. He also was a favored arranger for the scores of Victor Young. He won an Academy Award for his work on Stagecoach, and was nominated for The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Jack Hayes (1919-2011) was nominated twice for an Oscar, for The Unsinkable Molly Brown and The Color Purple.

The record begins with "Autumn Concerto," a new work by Camillo Bargoni that was recorded by many instrumentalists in 1956-57. You may recognize the tune, even if the title isn't familiar.

Bernice Petkere's well-known "Lullaby of the Leaves" dates from the early 1930s.

Kurt Weill's "September Song" is from the musical Knickerbocker Holiday. Walter Huston introduced it.

Joseph Kosma's "Autumn Leaves" was introduced by Yves Montand as "Les feuilles mortes," with lyrics by Jacques Prévert. Johnny Mercer wrote the familiar English words.

"Autumn Serenade" by Peter De Rose dates from 1945 and was first released on record by Hal McIntyre's band. Then there was a flurry of recordings in the mid-50s, including this one.

Vernon Duke's magnificent "Autumn in New York" comes from the 1934 revue Thumbs Up! Let me again recommend Sarah Vaughan's vocal version if you have not heard it.

Next is an original by Leo Shuken - "Autumn Silhouettes."

Josef Myrow wrote "Autumn Nocturne" in 1941, when several bands recorded it. There was a revival of interest in the mid-50s.

Camarata himself was responsible for "The Story of the Stars."

The LP lists the final tune as "With the Wind and the Rain," but the full title is the less meteorological "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair." The authors are Clara Edwards and Jack Lawrence. Quite a few bands did it in 1940; it too made a comeback in the 1950s.

Surprisingly, only "Autumn Nocturne," "Autumn Leaves," "September Song" and "Autumn in New York" are also on the Ray Charles autumn LP.

Camarata produced a good LP, well recorded with lovely charts and excellent playing from Hollywood studio professionals. The sleeve note credits Buddy Cole with the organ parts, and Ray Turner with the piano solos.

LINK

Three Works by American Romantic Arthur Foote

Arthur Foote

Our long series of American music recordings today features the works of Bostonian Arthur Foote (1853-1937), another neglected but worthy composer. The Harvard graduate was a member of the so-called Boston Six, which also included George Chadwick and Edward MacDowell, who have appeared on this blog previously.

Richard Franko Goldman wrote of Foote, "It is not difficult to understand why, in the excitement generated by new sounds and techniques after World War I, such composers as Foote and [Horatio] Parker were so quickly and completely forgotten. They were the 'old-school,' unadventurous, derivative, and unsurprising. But history has a way of wheeling around, and after a while it is possible to get new perspectives. 

"They were composers of their time, and even if they were not 'advanced' during the years in which they were active, this is not always or necessarily a fatal disqualification."

This program of Foote's music shows why. It encompasses two LPs of orchestral works, both conducted by Karl Krueger for his Music in America mail-order series of the 1960s. The first album contains Foote's Suite in D minor of 1895. The second includes the Symphonic Prologue, Francesca da Rimini of 1892 and the Four Character Pieces after the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám of 1905.

Karl Krueger

Karl Krueger (1894-1979) is sadly forgotten, but he was an important figure in American music, helping to found the symphony orchestra in Kansas City, then serving as conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 1943-49. Although he was born in the US, Krueger was of German descent and spent his early years as a professional in Germany and Vienna working with Arthur Nikisch and Franz Schalk. He founded the Society for the Preservation of the American Musical Heritage in 1958 with the backing of industrialist Henry H. Reichhold, who had been a trustee of the Detroit Symphony. The society funded these recordings, among others.

Suite in D minor, Op. 36

Foote's Suite in D minor is in four varied movements. Goldman wrote of it, "This work is not only well made and rather elegant, but has moments of real surge and fire."

In this 1963 performance, the first movement in particular is let down by the string sound, which was unduly strident above forte, which I have addressed. The other movements are less acidulous, but the acoustic was cramped throughout. I've added a small amount of air to the space.

Krueger's view: "The Suite heard in this recording is perhaps his [Foote's] most extended orchestral composition - 'practically a symphony,' he said of it. Composed during the years 1894-1895, the Suite had its first performance, from manuscript by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Emil Paur in 1896. Foote wrote: 'It was only fairly successful, but with two really good movements... Its fortune has been the usual one of American compositions of its sort. It had a few first performances by orchestras here (and one in England by Henry J. Wood), and afterwards little chance. The movement in variation form really satisfied me.'"

LINK to Suite in D minor

Francesca da Rimini, Op. 24; Four Character Pieces after the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám

The tale of Francesca da Rimini comes from the 13th century. Krueger: "Francesca, daughter of Guido da Polenta of Ravenna, was married by proxy to Giovanni Malatesta, the Lame, Lord of Rimini; the proxy was Giovanni's young and handsome brother, Paolo, who became Francesca's lover. Giovanni, discovering their guilt, killed them. Dante has immortalized the story in the Divine Comedy, and it was the subject of works by others. It inspired Tchaikovsky's famous symphonic poem, as well as paintings by Ingres, Watts and others."

Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Paolo and Francesca da Rimini

Francesca da Rimini was of interest to the Pre-Raphaelites as well. The Rossetti watercolor above is from 1855. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám was another subject of fascination in the second half of the 19th century, in artistic circles such as the Pre-Raphaelites and among musicians, including Foote.

Khayyám was a 13th century Persian astronomer and poet whose work became popular in the English-speaking world following the free translations published serially by Edmund FitzGerald beginning in 1855.

FitzGerald described his methods in a letter as follows: "My translation will interest you from its form, and also in many respects in its detail: very un-literal as it is. Many quatrains are mashed together: and something lost, I doubt, of Omar's simplicity, which is so much a virtue in him." Indeed, the work is as much FitzGerald as Khayyám.

A page from an illustrated edition by
William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones

The most famous quatrain from the Rubaiyat is the following, from FitzGerald's 1889 edition:

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, 
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou 
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

A literal translation of a similar Khayyám quatrain:

If a loaf of wheaten-bread be forthcoming,
a gourd of wine, and a thigh-bone of mutton, and then,
if thou and I be sitting in the wilderness, —
that would be a joy to which no sultan can set bounds.

The "jug of wine" quatrain was the inspiration for the third section of Foote's work. The LP's notes delineate all the relevant verses.

The music for both these works is delightful throughout; these are some of the most attractive American works of the period. The sound of this 1968 LP is very good - more spacious than that accorded to the Suite.

LINK to Francesca da Rimini and the Rubaiyat

More Works by Arthur Foote

If Arthur Foote interests you, his music has appeared here three times before. All these records are newly remastered. The links below are to the downloads.

American Music for String Orchestra. In this Howard Hanson/Eastman-Rochester recording, Foote's Suite in E major is joined by Thomas Canning's Fantasia on a Hymn by Justin Morgan and Louis Mennini's Arioso.

Music for Flute by Griffes and Foote. The stellar flutist Julius Baker performs Charles T. Griffes' Poem with a chamber orchestra led by Daniel Saidenburg. He then presents Foote's A Night Piece with a string quartet.

Maurice Sharp: Music for a Golden Flute. Sharp, principal of the Cleveland Orchestra, is accompanied by the Cleveland Sinfonietta under Louis Lane. Griffes' Poem again figures here, as does Foote's A Night Piece, although this time with a chamber orchestra. The program is completed by Hanson's Serenade and Honegger's Concerto da Camera.

Ralph Burns - Spring and Summer Sequences, and More

I transferred Ralph Burns' terrific 1956 LP Spring Sequence (actually two 10-inch LPs combined) then decided to go back to his Summer Sequence of 1946-7, and that somehow led me to Igor Stravinsky. All this is explained below.

Spring Sequence

Before I launch into a discussion of the record, a few words about Ralph Burns (1922-2001). He made his name writing and arranging for the Woody Herman band starting in 1944, with his biggest hit probably "Early Autumn."

That song was originally an Epilogue to Ralph's three-part "Summer Sequence," which he wrote for a concert that also introduced the Ebony Concerto that Stravinsky wrote for the band.

"Summer Sequence" became so well known that Burns also wrote a "Winter Sequence" with Leonard Feather that you can find here. And he did the "Spring Sequence" that you will find on the LP under present discussion.  

Like much else with this post, the "Spring Sequence" LP has a complicated history. It first appeared in 1955 as a 10-inch LP on the Period label. Period then issued another 10-incher called "Bijou" after one of Ralph's most noted compositions.

The Period covers - Period was in its "meh" period

The mail-order Jazztone label combined the two in 1956 and issued the resulting 12-inch LP under the "Spring Sequence" name. That is that release we have for you today. Also, Period sold its catalogue to Bethlehem in 1956, and the latter reissued these same recordings in 1957 under the name "Bijou," leaving out one number.

This record is notable because it features Burns' piano in a small group setting, as compared to the Herman big band or the chamber ensemble assembled for his previous LP, Free Forms. (He also did an album called Ralph Burns Among the JATPs that is mainly a blowing session for Jazz at the Philharmonic mainstays. It is coming up along with Free Forms.) 

The other musicians on Spring Sequence are Jimmy Raney, guitar, Clyde Lombardi, bass, and Osie Johnson, drums. Burns is the primary soloist, but the excellent Raney also is featured.

The first side of the Jazztone record contains the songs of spring. These are Burns compositions "Spring Sequence" and "Sprong," the standards "It Might as Well Be Spring" and "Spring Is Here," both by Richard Rodgers, and pianist Willie "the Lion" Smith's "Echo of Spring."

The "Bijou" side also includes Ralph's "Gina" (named for actor Gina Lollobrigida), "Autobahn Blues" (written in Germany for the Herman band), "Spring in Naples" (from another European tour) and "Perpetual Motion" (which features Ralph overdubbing a second piano part). The only standard is Sigmund Romberg's "Lover Come Back to Me."

Jimmy Raney

After that long introduction/explanation, let me just add that this is a first-rate LP with engrossing piano playing, fine guitar solos and a solid rhythm section. What it was not was well-recorded. Burns' piano tone - at least on the Jazztone pressing - was much too bass-heavy. I separated the piano from the other instruments and rebalanced it. The result is good.

The peculiar cover at the top of this section was the work of Burt Goldblatt, a very good artist who was specializing in murky images at the time. (You can see other examples, both good and otherwise, here.)

LINK to Spring Sequence

Summer Sequence and Ebony Concerto

Ralph and Woody (with his "Winged Mercury" hairdo)

I thought it made sense to include the original recording of "Summer Sequence" with the Herman band, and to tell the story of how it came about. Supposedly Igor Stravinsky was interested in the band because he had heard Burns' "Bijou," and subsequently wrote the Ebony Concerto for the band. I have also read that the great man thought "Bijou" sounded like his music. To me, "Bijou" - a rhumba with wrong notes - does not sound like Igor. I've included both "Bijou" and the Ebony Concerto and you can decide for yourself.

To get to the point, Woody needed a concert piece to go with the Stravinsky on the 1946 premiere program. Ralph wrote the three-part "Summer Sequence" for the occasion - a lovely piece that's a great showcase for the band, and a good contrast with the angular Ebony Concerto.

Burns wrote an Epilogue for "Summer Sequence" the following year, which immediately became popular. Its final theme took on a life of its own as "Early Autumn," a haunting piece famed for the Stan Getz tenor saxophone solo found on the 1948 Herman single.

For this set, I've included the 1946 recording of "Summer Sequence," the 1947 Epilogue and the 1948 recording of "Early Autumn." Johnny Mercer wrote lyrics for the song in 1952 - I've appended Jo Stafford's contemporaneous recording. (Woody also did a vocal version, but I can't find that one.)

Also added are a few of Ralph's best-known pieces with the band - his compositions "Bijou" and "Lady McGowan's Dream" and his arrangement of Louis Jordan's "Caldonia," which Woody sang (and quite well).

Stravinsky rehearses the Herd

The Ebony Concerto is a brief, aphoristic piece. The first movement is nothing if not choppy, sometimes giving way to brief lyrical passages. The Andante starts off as night music; lovely in its own way. I'd say it's taken too slowly, but the composer is conducting and the tempo picks up in the final section. The closing Moderato opens with a passage for Woody, the material then gets passed around the band before culminating in a dirge. For the recording, the band was augmented, but primarily with additional big band performers. The only other additions that I noted were French horn and harp.

LINK to Summer Sequence and Ebony Concerto

Morel Conducts Bizet and Chabrier

French music, particularly of the lighter variety, is not well represented on symphonic programs these days, with the exception of Debussy and Ravel. I took a look at the Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming season and there is exactly one piece from France, Debussy's Images.

Works from French composers (and those of other nationalities) such as those on today's LP are generally corralled into pops programs, which to me consigns their melodic and orchestral genius to a lesser status.

Be that as it may, this 1958 LP is a wonderfully entertaining example of music that is no longer heard very often in concert halls. It contains superior works from Georges Bizet (1838-75) and Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-94).

From the former, we have his two L'Arlésienne suites, from the latter his Rapsodie España and Joyeuse marche. (To be fair, España does at times lead off symphonic programs because it is an orchestral showpiece.)

Jean Morel

This post also gives us an opportunity to again explore the recorded legacy of a fine conductor, Jean Morel, who in this program is leading the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has been heard here previously in Albéniz and Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and a Mozart concerto with Rosina Lhévinne. (The latter is newly remastered.)

Most of today's album is devoted to Bizet's L'Arlésienne suites. These atmospheric and enchanting pieces were taken from the incidental music the composer wrote for Alphonse Daudet's play of that name. And while the music may be charming, the plot was serious. Set in Provence, it concerns a young man who commits suicide when he discovers his hoped-for bride (the "girl from Arles," who never appears on stage) has been unfaithful.

The play was not successful, but the music became popular. Bizet chose the seven most substantial pieces from the incidental music for his two suites. These show his gift for memorable themes and imaginative orchestration. 

Paul Affelder had this to say in High Fidelity: "One would expect idiomatic interpretations of this French music from a French conductor of Jean Morel's stature, and with one exception he does not disappoint. That exception is the second L'Arlésienne Suite, which he delivers in a routine fashion. This is surprising, because he infuses the first suite with poise and sensitivity." In my view, the only routine part of the second suite is the opening Pastorale, which is strangely inert.

Bizet's second suite closes with a Farandole that, following its opening recapitulation of the first suite's Prelude, turns into a remarkable orchestral showpiece. The Covent Garden orchestra was not considered to be first-rank, but they do well throughout the suites.

Emmanuel Chabrier

This fine playing extends to the colorful works of Chabrier. As I mentioned, España is an orchestral showpiece, and the performance here is faultless. Like Bizet's suites, it became popular and famous. The composer was moved to write the work following a trip to Spain.

I never tire of mentioning that Al Hoffman and Dick Manning turned one of España's subsidiary themes into something called "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)." It was a hit for Perry Como in 1956 (and I had the record back then).

Chabrier's Joyeuse marche is not as popular as España, but perhaps it should be. Chabrier tinkered with it for some time; it also exists in two different piano four-hands versions.

The recording of these pieces is one of the best from the late 1950s - well-balanced, atmospheric and convincing. It was done for the RCA Victor "Living Stereo" line by UK Decca in the person of engineer Kenneth Wilkinson, working in the Kingsway Hall, London.

Altogether, a most happy LP - well, except for the suicide.

LINK

David Allyn's 'Lost' Album, and More

After releasing albums for World-Pacific and Warner Bros., David Allyn went back in the studio to record his next LP with the great Johnny Mandel. It turned out to be the best album of all; trouble was it wouldn't be released for almost 20 years.

On the basis of artistic merit, it's hard to understand why. This is clearly one of the best vocal albums ever recorded. Allyn is in marvelous voice; he evidently had a great rapport with Mandel; the musicians were the best the West Coast had to offer.

For whatever reason, it didn't come out until 1978 on the Discovery label. The mastering was not good, however. I've significantly rebalanced matters and now it sounds great - to me, at least!

David Allyn

As a bonus, I've appended a 1960 Guest Star transcription for U.S. Savings Bonds where David sings three songs - all of them also on this LP, although in different performances. Details down below.

Discographies date the Blue of Evening LP from the early 60s, which seems about right considering the song selection. 

On the LP, for three songs, Allyn is accompanied by a small group - Jimmy Rowles, piano, Larry Bunker, vibes, Herb Ellis, guitar, Joe Mondragon, bass and Shelly Manne, drums. They appear on "Dream a Little Dream of Me," "Remind Me" and "It All Comes Back to Me Now."

The next group featured a French horn section with Conte Candoli, trumpet; Frank Rosolino, trombone; Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Joe Maini, and Chuck Gentry, reeds; and the same rhythm section except for Mel Lewis on drums. The songs are "Down with Love." "That Old Devil Called Love" and "Cocktails for Two."

Johnny Mandel

Mandel added strings and harp for the final grouping, which includes "In the Blue of Evening," "All Through the Day" and "And Now Goodbye."

Most of these songs are standards, with the possible exception of two. The first is "It All Comes Back to Me Now," one of my favorites. Alex Kramer, Joan Whitney and Hy Zaret wrote it in about 1940; David recorded it on one of his first sessions with Jack Teagarden's big band. You can find that version in this post devoted to Allyn's earliest recordings.

The second such song, "And Now Goodbye," is by David (music) and Steve Allen (lyrics). It's a very attractive number that should be better known.

Guest Star Transcription

The U.S. Treasury Department had a long-standing transcription series called Guest Star that it used to promote Savings Bonds. Allyn was a guest on a program distributed in 1960. The music director and producer of the series was former Phil Harris and Ozzie Nelson saxophonist Basil (Buzz) Adlam, who also worked on Ozzie's popular TV sitcom.

David's selections with Adlam's very good group are "Dream a Little Dream of Me," "It All Comes Back to Me Now" and "Give Me a Good Night Kiss." He's in excellent voice and does the numbers well; the latter better than the LP because he doesn't sound so besotted. He's stiff in the brief dialogues with announcer Lou Crosby, who is vaguely irritating. A very nice listen, however, and I've tracked it for you, so you can dispense with the superfluities.

FYI - You may note on the label above that Jo Stafford also had a Guest Star appearance on the same record. Unlike Allyn's program, her songs were taken from commercial recordings.

LINK to In the Blue of Evening and Guest Star

Karajan Conducts Bartok and Hindemith Masterworks

Two 20th century masterpieces - both also among the composers' most popular works - are today's subject matter.

The compositions are Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta and Paul Hindemith's Symphony: Mathis der Maler. The Berlin Philharmonic is conducted by Herbert von Karajan, making his debut here. The recordings are from 1960 (Bartók) and 1957 (Hindemith).

The music's importance is well captured by HiFi-Stereo Review's William Flanagan: "If there are  relatively few orchestral works composed since the end of World War I that can safely be said to have 'made' the standard repertory, there are even fewer that are conceded to be full-fledged masterpieces. Béla Bartók's Миsic for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (1936), and Paul Hindemith's Mathis der Maler symphony (1934) have each, in their composer's time, staked a claim to this manner of immortality...

"Both pieces have that elusive combination of properties of which masterpieces would seem to be made. They elicit the unswerving awe and respect of experienced listeners, and they still are accessible to the general public."

Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

Béla Bartók

Bartók's work was a commission by Paul Sacher for the 10th anniversary of his Basel Chamber Orchestra. The piece is quite extraordinary. "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta occupies a special place among Bartók’s compositions," per Orrin Howard's notes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, "not only for its fearlessly independent choice of instruments, but also for the intense expressiveness and vitality of the materials."

"What is the source of such diabolical music? The chromatic wanderings suggest Wagner and his Tristan, which gave us early Schoenberg. But there are other antecedents, and these include Strauss, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, and, crucially, the folk music of Bartók’s native Hungary and its environs. It was this latter, large body of music, researched for years by Bartók, that became the all-pervading force of his creativity, the distinctive elements of which gave his work an individuality as unmistakable to the ear as a well-developed photograph is to the eye: rhythms that pound insistently or that are arrestingly irregular; modes and exotic scale combinations; severely simple melodies whose rise and fall stem from speech patterns; driving, often barbaric energy and, in contrast, wondrously provocative calms; an amalgam of simple triadic harmonies and acerbic dissonances. From all of these elements came Bartók’s ingenious, novel language."

The work is intricately worked out and endlessly fascinating.

Symphony: Mathis der Maler

Paul Hindemith

Hindemith's Symphony: Mathis der Maler also is a near contemporary of the Bartók. It was the result of a 1934 request by conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler for a new work that he could take on tour with the Berlin Philharmonic. The composer had been working on an opera on the subject of Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald. (Mathis der maler = Matthias the painter). He decided to compose symphonic movements that also could be used as interludes in the opera, and Furtwängler did then tour the piece.

Howard Posner wrote this for a Los Angeles Philharmonic program note: "Hindemith’s Mathis story is based loosely on history, but inspired by Grünewald’s famous paintings for the altar of the abbey at Isenheim in Alsace. Hindemith’s Grünewald decides that he cannot continue his comfortable life as a court painter while the peasants’ struggle for justice is exploding around him. He joins their revolt, only to be repelled by their violence. While taking refuge in the forest, he dreams that he is St. Anthony, subject of two of the Isenheim altarpiece paintings. In a scene based on one of those panels, St. Paul the Hermit tells Grunewald/Anthony that it was wrong to turn his back on his God-given artistic gifts, and that he must 'bow humbly before your brother and selflessly offer him the holiest creation of your inmost faculties' to become 'great, a part of the people, the people itself' - words reminiscent of Brahms’ 'republic' letter to Clara Schumann. The painter goes home, and finishes his life in a draining creative burst."

Grünewald's "Concert of Angels"

The opening movement is based on the painter's "Concert of Angels" from the Isenheim altarpiece, with Mary and the baby Jesus. It formed the opera's overture.

"Entombment"

The second movement is "Entombment," depicting Christ's burial. It comes from the end of the opera as Grünewald's life and career comes to an end.

"Temptation of St. Anthony"

Howard Posner: "The last movement is a wholly symphonic creation using music from the extended climactic scene in the opera, which is based on two of the Isenheim paintings. In one of them, St. Anthony is assailed by grotesque demons (Hindemith’s Anthony/Grünewald is confronted with his life choices in the form of characters from the opera). The other shows St. Anthony meeting St. Paul the Hermit. Shortly before the end of a movement of explosive force and great churning energy, the woodwinds introduce the 13th-century chant 'Lauda Sion Salvatorem,' which is answered by majestic alleluias in the brass."

The newly ascendant Nazis were none too pleased with either Hindemith or Furtwängler. Following the premiere, the work was banned as "decadent." The composer left Germany in 1938, eventually coming to the U.S.

Herbert von Karajan

The performances and recording are excellent. Howard Flanagan: "Karajan's attitude toward both works is admirable. He plays them as if they had existed quite as long, and just as significantly, as any major work by Beethoven or Brahms. The tempi are relaxed and judicious, the music doesn't sound aggressive or defiant. And the conductor has brought a splendid lucidity to the complex linear fabric that is the essence of both works."

The conductor recorded the Bartok work five times, but this is the only recording he made of Hindemith's music.

LINK

More Bartók and Hindemith

I've newly remastered the other recordings of Bartók and Hindemith that have appeared on this site. The links below are to the download files.

Lili Kraus plays Bartók. The famed Hungarian pianist had been a pupil of the composer. The folk-derived works on this 10-inch LP - Three Rondos on Slovak Folk Tunes and Romanian Folk Dances - were recorded in 1938.

György Sándor plays Bartók. The pianist is the soloist in the first recording of the composer's Concerto No. 3. The Columbia LP includes Miaskovsky's excellent Symphony No. 21. Eugene Ormandy conducts. The download also includes a bonus in the form of Sándor's 1959 recording of the concerto. 

Hindemith's Four Temperaments. An early LP recording by the Boston-based Zimbler String Sinfonietta with pianist Lukas Foss. This composition is in a similar style to Mathis der Maler, and also is one of the composer's most popular works.

Piatigorsky plays Hindemith. The eminent cellist Gregor Piatigorsky performs the Hindemith Sonata (1948) and Samuel Barber's Sonata in C minor, Op. 6. Ralph Berkowitz is the pianist.