Welcome to the Summer Issue. I am pleased to introduce a new contributor to Liner Notes: organist, composer, musicologist and author Robert James Stove. You can view a profile of him at the Ars Organi label website, for whom he has recorded several CDs – click here. He has written extensively on music, including César Franck: His Life and Times, the first study in English of this great composer in nearly four decades – click here to view at the Roman & Littlefield’s website. For Liner Notes he has written a superb piece on a composer close to his heart, Charles Villiers Stanford. In “Stanford Before Stereo”, he examines the early discography of this still under-rated composer (p. 31). We are grateful to have Robert onboard and hope he will return soon.
The always illuminating Jon Tolansky returns with a much needed profile of another under-rated musician, the conductor Georges Prêtre (p. 103). His death in 2017 was duly noted in the press, of course, but most obituaries and tributes – even in music magazines – ran to a couple of paragraphs at most. Jon’s piece goes some way to redress that. Prêtre was a charismatic man and podium presence, and his music-making reflect this.
With Philharmonic Hall, James H. North reaches the final installment in his three-part series on the acoustics of New York’s major concert venues (p. 71). A life-long NYPO subscription holder, there is no one more qualified to chronicle the evolution of the Philharmonic’s home over the last 6 decades, with a particular focus on the irreplaceable Leonard Bernstein.
In “The Art of Cover Art” we meet Italian master glass blower Fulvio Bianconi, a man who was an artist to the very core of his being. Aside from pioneering contributions to the art of glass blowing, he was a prolific graphic designer for magazines, books, record albums and more (p. 135). “Portraiture & Design” focuses on Jascha Heifetz’s 1949 recording of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Sir Thomas Beecham and the 75 years of cover art that has resulted. (p. 83). Two of this quarter’s features are linked together – First, in “From the Archives” we re-visit Sir Hamilton Harty’s glorious modern orchestra transcription of Handel’s Water Music, which he set down for Columbia in 1933 (p. 58). Then, in “Desert Island Discs”, we review what is arguably its finest recording – George Szell and the LSO’s magnificent 1961 version for Decca (p. 149).
In “Rarissima” we meet the somewhat forgotten American conductor Izler Solomon, whose musicianship puts lie to the idea that America lacked great podium talent before the arrival of Leonard Bernstein. Here, we delve into his very first recording as conductor, made in 1949 with the Columbus Philharmonic Orchestra (p. 46).
In “The Curiosity Shop” we find a rare 78rpm “picture disc” issued by Victor in 1933 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Pablo de Sarasate’s death (p. 164). In our “Film Department” we screen filmmaker Peter Rosen’s indispensable documentary “Jascha Heifetz – God’s Fiddler”, still the finest treatment the legendary violinist has received on film (p. 183). This will be the first in a retrospective series, with Peter’s pathfinding film on Aram Khachaturian to be featured in the Fall issue.
This quarter’s “Label Focus” is on the UK-based Clarinet and Saxophone Classics Recordings, which has done much to resurrect rare recordings of both instruments, as well as introduce new repertoire to the concert hall and record catalog (p. 127).
Finally, in our “Shop Focus” we meet the man who made much of Clarinet & Saxophone Classics’ historical issues a reality, clarinetist, saxophonist and transfer engineer Malcolm McMillan (p. 120). Readers in search of expert and affordable transfer services for 78s or LPs would do well to consider his shop Macsworks, as Malcolm brings a true musician’s touch.
I hope you are enjoying a nice end of summer. As always, thank you for staying with us. Your support is deeply appreciated.
— Warm wishes, Joe Moore