Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Die Zauberflöte – Sir Colin Davis

THE 270th ANNIVERSARY OF W. A. MOZART’S BIRTH

★★★★★

   Mozart's operatic works as a collection occupy a privileged place in the history of the genre. The composer's genius was fully reflected here, the same as in his symphonies, concertos, chamber works and religious music. Over the course of his creative life, the composer changed his attitude to existing operatic forms, combining various tendencies and opposing solutions to achieve the classical form of opera as a synthesis of the genre in his latest operas. Composed in 1787 Don Giovanni to the libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte is one of most recognized Mozart's achievements. In this dramma giocoso one can notice the unique results of combining opera buffa and opera seria. His last operas are opera seria La clemenza di Tito composed in 1791 to libretto by Pietro Metastasio and Caterino Mazzolà and Singspiel Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), composed the same year to libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Collaboration with outstanding librettists allowed him to establish formal assumptions that remained fresh for many decades, becoming the foundation of formal solutions used by Romantic composers.
   Mozart's operas have another feature that should not escape the attention of a sensitive listener. The means by which Mozart enhances the dramatic expression and illustrates the attitudes and aspirations of the characters constitute a constantly expanding catalog of means of classical music. This is an important element of semantics after the abandonment of baroque system of musical rhetoric. And although each of later composers chose the means of expression more or less individually, Mozart's works are so clear that they can be a great way to penetrate the world of musical meanings. While instrumental music remains an abstraction up to a certain point, the semantic framework of every opera is the libretto. The Enlightenment ideas present in the dramatic work of librettists determine the situation in which in Mozart's operas we receive a fundamental set of musical semantic means. The 22 opera works composed by Mozart, ranging from simple singspiels to complex operas, are a mirror reflecting both the era of Viennese classicism and the extraordinary path of innovation of the brilliant composer. The eight operas that Mozart composed in the last decade of his life have permanently entered the repertoire of world operas.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Die Zauberflöte (1986)

   The position of Magic Flute, Mozart's last opera, is a phenomenon that can only be understood as the result of the creator's brilliant intuition. From the point of view of form, it is a singspiel. On the symbolic level, it is a lecture on the Masonic vision of the world, the system of values ​​and the role played in it by aware and properly prepared individuals. Behind the simple, uncomplicated form of the Singspiel, behind the fairy-tale story of love that overcomes adversity, there is an interesting explanation of Masonic ritual and symbolism. To save Pamina, Prince Tamino undergoes tests of silence, fire and water, and finally is initiated into the temple of wisdom. This opera can be perceived at the same time as a children's fairy tale and as a philosophical parable. All this makes it one of the most popular works in the history of the genre, both in stage productions and on phonographic releases.
   Series of great Magic Flute recordings

E. T. A. Hoffmann – Die lustigen Musikanten

THE 250th ANNIVERSARY OF E. T. A. HOFFMANN’S BIRTH

★★★★✰

   E.T.A. Hoffmann was born on January 24, 1776, in Königsberg. The capital of East Prussia was a port city with rich traditions dating back to the times of the state of the Teutonic Order and its affiliation with the Hansa. From its founding in 1255, thanks to external security and vibrant trade relations, city of Königsberg quickly achieved a prominent position among the centers of European civilization. This city with its famous Castle and Albertina University became the place where Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was born and raised.
   Raised within the influence of Königsberg University and social ideas shaped by university lectures by Immanuel Kant and first readings of the Sturm und Drang poets, the future composer viewed the world from a universalist perspective. Cultural diversity was a natural state of mind, and questions of identity did not occupy his attention. He focused rather on individual freedom and the creative calling of individuals. As a writer, he opened new creative perspectives, paving the way for fantasy literature. As a composer he created in the style of his era, although despite technical adherence to the models of the classical Viennese School, his compositions reveal some signs of the emerging Romanticism. Stage works are particularly important from this point of view, and the fantasy opera Undine (composed in 1816) should be considered the first romantic opera.

E. T. A. Hoffmann – Die lustigen Musikanten (1984)

   The Singspiel "Die lustige Musikanten" (The Merry Musicians) is the composer's second work for stage. The first was the Singspiel "Die Maske," composed by Hoffmann in 1799 to his own libretto. Five years after The Mask, the 28-year-old composer composed music for a two-act play by Clemens von Brentano. The premiere, prepared by a theatre company in Warsaw led by Wojciech Bogusławski, took place on April 5, 1805. The composer was not yet known, and the play, despite favorable reviews, had a very short run. Four years later Hoffmann hoped to re-stage his Singspiel in Bamberg, but he discovered that the orchestral parts had disappeared. They were discovered in Warsaw several years after the composer's death.
   Premiere recording of excerpts from this work was published in 1984 by Schwann Musica Mundi in Germany. The selection includes three instrumental pieces: Overture, Interlude (Zwischenaktmusik), and Prelude to Act II, as well as eight pieces: arias, duets, and ensembles featuring the principal performers. Sopranos Verena Schweizer (Fabiola) and Judith Schmidt (Azelle), bass Klaus Lang (Piast), and tenor Thomas Schulze (Ramiro) provided a solid interpretation of the text and a balanced performance of the score. Four soloists perfectly fit this short version of Hoffmann’s composition. Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Lothar Zagrosek sounds with pleasant and clear spectrum. The recording made on August 23-25, 1983 at Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin and pressed in direct metal mastering technology gives readable and clear sound. This recording is an important addition to the still not enough rich catalogue of recordings of E. T. A. Hoffmann's music.

Ewa Demarczyk Sings Zygmunt Konieczny's Songs

★★★★✰

   The modern song genre has its roots in romantic culture. Song as a dramatic narrative showing through lyrics and music whole spectacle became the new type of preforming art. This was both continuation of folk narrative song traditions and establishing new national directions of music culture. The era of national schools took all kinds of music, from orchestral to stage, but it was the song which remained the most popular romantic means of artistic expression. Romanticism in Poland was closely related to the aspirations of rebuilding an independent state. While in many European cultures much of the Romantic songwriting was focused on sentimental subjects, Polish poems and songs dealt with the most serious existential and social issues. And this approach remained a permanent feature of many Polish songwriters in the 20th century.
   This phenomenon also concerned popular songs with artistic ambitions. For this reason, what in Polish culture corresponded to the genre of French chanson or Russian romance in the second half of the 20th century was called "sung poetry". As a result, the Polish equivalent of the chanson genre are three different categories: songs sung by bards, sometimes referred to as "piosenka autorska” (author's song), songs composed to poetic works, referred to as "poezja śpiewana” (sung poetry) or "piosenka poetycka” (poetic song), and "piosenka aktorska” (acting song), performed as a short dramatic act. In the 1960s, sung poetry became a fully-fledged field of artistic expression, which, thanks to its symbolic and metaphorical content, could overcome the restrictions of political censorship. This also applied to other genres in which the poetic text allowed a certain freedom of expression. Similar mechanisms operated in many autocracies. There were many poetic song performers famous in Polish culture, Czesław Niemen, Marek Grechuta and probably the most valued and most famous Polish poetic song performer Ewa Demarczyk.

Ewa Demarczyk sings Zygmunt Konieczny's songs (1967)

   Ewa Demarczyk was actress and singer, performer of artistically demanding repertoire based on choice of best Polish and European poetry. Her name became famous with series of songs written by Zygmunt Konieczny to Polish 20th century poets. Performances of these songs were rewarded on most significant festivals in Poland and recording of her debut album which became emblematic and radiant artistic statement. Album Ewa Demarczyk śpiewa piosenki Zygmunta Koniecznego (Ewa Demarczyk sings Zygmunt Konieczny's songs), she published in 1967, became her instant success. Her black and white, posterised photo, begin the series of records unifying popular music with deeper existential, moral or historiosophic themes. As Juliusz Kydryński  stated in sleeve notes, her position of truly great artist “is confirmed by her inability to make compromises, to do things the easy way. She is demanding of herself and the public as well”,  Then popular music critic added “She always takes the risk: reaches for the top. She is audacious and at the same time extremely hard-working. Perhaps this is why she always wins”. 

   Her debut LP was significant and complexe recital of songs based on poems by Miron Białoszewski, Bolesław Leśmian, Julian Tuwim, Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, Maria Jasnorzewska-Pawlikowska and many others. The accompaniments were recorded by Zygmunt Konieczny's instrumental band and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stefan Rachoń.

   Brave, dramatic interpretations make these songs being more modernistic mini-dramatic performances than typical popular song genre. The sound of her voice, means of interpretation made these recordings a standard for many subsequent albums, not only those close to Ewa Demarczyk in terms of genre. Brave, dramatic interpretations make these songs being more modernistic mini-dramatic performances than typical popular song genre. The sound of her voice, means of interpretation made these recordings a standard for many subsequent albums, not only those close to Ewa Demarczyk in terms of genre. In Polish musical culture, it became an event with momentous consequences, it was reissued at least 11 times, thus filling the generation gap and creating a context for most poetic songs. Four stars would be sufficient for objective reasons, but from the point of view of Polish culture, the album undoubtedly deserves the full five stars. Ultimately, I propose to accept a rating of four and a half stars, understanding that such a rating does not fully reflect the importance of this album at a specific historical moment and a specific place on the map of Europe.

Maurice Ravel plays and conducts his own works

★★★✰

   Maurice Ravel's Bolero occupies an unquestionable place in the history of music as the most famous and indeed one of the most outstanding works of the early twentieth century. Despite the apparent simplicity of form and content, this work has everything that characterizes the final break with 19th-century music and sets new directions in symphonic music. The Bolero effect, as well as the music for Daphnis and Chloe, were the result of the composer's talent and sonic sensitivity. His achievements in the field of orchestration, however, changed the approach to instrumentation and harmonics, and as a result had an impact on later symphonic music, and indirectly also on the shaping of modern jazz harmonics. Ravel's Bolero is in the repertoire of every symphony orchestra, not to mention hundreds of more or less simplified or complicated popular, rock and jazz arrangements, to mention the excellent recording by Jacques Loussier, a pianist known for his jazz remakes of Bach's music, but also many other composers. Therefore, it is particularly important to know Ravel's interpretation of this work.

   Bolero was Ravel’s last ballet music. It was commissioned by famous dancer Ida Rubinstein who premiered this ballet November 22, 1928 in Paris Opéra in choreography by Bronislava Nijinska. The conductor of the first performance was Walter Straram. After the premiere Ravel was informed about an unknown woman, who was heard screaming Au fou, Au fou! (Madman! Madman!), Ravel replied: That lady… she understood. The idea of this work was unusual. First, whom Ravel revealed it was his friend and music critic Gustave Samazeuilh.  Composer said he promised ballet music for Ida Rubinstein. Playing melody with one finger Ravel asked: Don’t you think that has an insistent quality?And then he said about the idea of a new work: I’m going to try to repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can. He composed this work in a considerably short four months period July through October 1928.
 

Maurice Ravel – Bolero (1930)

   First working title of the new work was Fandango, but when composer realized that fandango's characteristic acceleration would be contradictory to his idea, he changed the title to Bolero. As consequently this was made, the work is a magnificent orchestral crescendo increasing tension only through orchestration. Bolero shortly became the most famous of his works. Ravel was not convinced about the value and musical potential of this “experiment”. In an interview for The Daily Telegraph he stated: I am particularly desirous there should be no misunderstanding about this work. It constitutes an experiment in a very special and limited direction and should not be suspected of aiming at achieving other or more than it actually does. Nevertheless, Bolero is his most frequently performed composition.
   Almost immediately Bolero appeared in the symphonic repertoire. Less than a year after the ballet premiere, November 14, 1929 Bolero was played as a concert performance by the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini. Two months later, on January 11, 1939 Orchester des Concerts Lamoureux conducted by composer gave Bolero the European concert premiere in Paris. And two days after this premiere Piero Coppola recorded a World premiere recording of Bolero with Grand Orchestre Symphonique du Gramophone. This recording was made onstage at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Later, but still in January 1930 Ravel recorded his Bolero for Polydor conducting the same Orchester des Concerts Lamoureux. Three months later, on April 30, Serge Koussevitzky recorded Bolero with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. With these renditions, the position of Bolero as concert work was firmly established.

Maurice Ravel — Bolero (rec.1930)

   Ravel’s recording shows some significant features we have to consider trying to catch the composer's idea. First of all he is executing the whole performance almost in metronomic steady tempo. General change of dynamics works as a wide growing crescendo built by volume of sound and articulation but the main factor of change is timbre of instruments, which is also connected with articulation and sound expression. There were some doubts if Ravel was the only conductor and interpreter of his work. It is true Ravel called for some help from conductor Albert Wolff, but this was only technical assistance as rehearsal conductor. In spite of some writers looking for sensation, Ravel was a competent conductor, and pianist. Pressed by Turnabout album of Ravels historic performances includes orchestral recording of Bolero conducted by Ravel and three piano works played by composer: La Vallee Des Cloches, Chansons Madecasses with singer Madeleine Grey and Pavane Pour pour une infante defunte. Despite some technical imperfections, this recording can be confidently recommended to anyone, and for those interested in Ravel's work, it is a must-have.

Silbermann Organ of Dresden Cathedral

★★★★✰

   Dresden is a city of radiating artistic culture, literature and music. Among many cultural achievements, the city on the Elbe could boast of an extraordinary organ tradition. It is worth remembering that Dresden, as the capital of Saxony, was one of the most important musical centers of its time. Heinrich Schütz spent his entire creative life in Dresden - from 1615 to 1672, educating many generations of composers who had a significant impact on the development of the musical culture of the 17th century. One who created strong base for musical culture of this city was organ builder Gottfried Silbermann, who was eminent organ masters of the late Baroque. He built in Dresden four instruments: the Sophienkirche, Hofkapelle des Residenzschlosses, Frauenkirche and unexampled organ in Katholische Hofkirche, which was the last instrument designed by the master. 
   The construction of Silberman’s last instrument was completed in 1755, two years after his death by his students and associates Zacharias Hildebrandt and his son Johann Gottfried Hildebrandt. Originally, Silbermann planned 66 registers, eventually the instrument had 47 registers on 3 manuals and pedal and 3000 pipes. In 1944, the organ was hidden in the monastery of St. Marienstern, thanks to which the pipework, the action and the console survived the British bombing of Dresden on February 13, 1945. The organ case was destroyed, carved wood prospectus and big parts of wind supply were lost. In 1963-1971, this monument of organ building has been restored by Jehmlich Company.

Herbert Tachezi an der Silbermannorgel vol.1 (1986)

   Exceptional instrument requires great artist who is able not only to present the instrument's unique features, but also can create  interpretations of the best works of the era and build a recital adequate to the quality of unique instrument. The Dresden Cathedral Silbermanorgan was recorded many times. One of most significant session took place a year before the 300th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's birth. The Viennese organist Herbert Tachezi (1930-2016), who has  recorded a set of works by the great composer on the organ of the Dresden Cathedral. The session was co-produced by two labels from the western and eastern parts of the then divided Germany - Teldec and Eterna. As a result, two albums in Direct Metal Mastering technology were published: in 1985 two LPs were released under the label Teldec (BRD) and a year later under the label Eterna (GDR). Both labels also released CDs - Teldec in 1985 and Eterna in 1989.

   The program included a selection of Bach's most famous organ compositions, from the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 to the Passacaglia in C Minor BWV 582. Between these two pillars of the repertoire of each organist, Tachezi placed the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major BWV 552 and Prelude (Fantasy) and Fugue in G Minor BWV 542. This choice may seem too obvious - it contains the most appreciated, most spectacular works in organ literature, but after listening to the album, it turns out to be extremely accurate from an artistic point of view. By linking these works, Tachezi was able to demonstrate the depth and space of the sound of the instrument and the resonance interior in which it was built, while creating a philosophically and aesthetically coherent program. The majestic Prelude in E-flat Major, which, according to Schweitzer, is an image of divine power, and the corresponding triple Fugue, which is a representation of the Holy Trinity, are the only prelude and fugue for organ published by Bach during his lifetime. They form the frame for the third issue of Clavier-Übung - a collection with a clear religious and semantic plan, which is recognized by all significant musicologists writing on Bach's organ literature. As a result, this program allowed Herbert Tachezi to build a narrative presenting a close relationship between the top-class organ building achievement and the metaphysical content of Bach's work. It is hard to imagine a better tribute to the music of the great Leipzig cantor.

Teo Macero — Impressions of Charles Mingus

★★★✰

   Albums issued on vinyl records can tell the complex story of music, performances and artists, trends and ideas, composers, instrumentalists, vocalists and lots of people being a part of the recording industry. Professional position of creative producer in the era of vinyl records was significantly higher than any time before and after. Those were the times of records as subjects of value, pieces of art and complete product. In the digital era, the ease of recording, simplicity of studio processing, cheap manufacturing of discs and possibility to download music in any format were the factors that rapidly changed the world of the musical industry. The compromise between quality of cutting the matrix and the length of the music recorded on one side of the record with worsening quality of sound with every overtime minute was the real technical problem and a symbolic frame for artistic freedom in all types of recording. The other side of the problem was audience demand and expectations. The role of any producer was to seek a balance between these factors and artists’ creative freedom.

Teo Macero — Impressions of Charles Mingus (1983)

   One of legendary producers was Teo Macero (1925-2008), professional musician himself, who sacrificed to support the careers and artistic development of many musicians of jazz and other genres. As composer and saxophonist he was one of these jazzmen who built professional positions in a narrow circle of insiders only. For the wide public he was producer of dozens of jazz albums, but among musicians he was recognized as a competent and creative artist, composer, arranger and saxophonist. Thank to his professional competences he was able to help artists to realize such cornerstone albums as Monk’s Dream and Underground by Thelonious Monk, Mingus Ah Um and Let My Children Hear Music by Charles Mingus, Time Out by Dave Brubeck, but above all groundbreaking fusion albums In a Silent Way and Beaches Brew by Miles Davis. He was producer of most Davis albums published by Columbia Records and his role was so prominent, Davis’ biographer Paul Tingen in book Beyond Miles stated, his role was similar to what George Martin was to The Beatles. Macero was also real friend for many musicians. Miles Davis dedicated him composition Teo (1961). The same did Thelonious Monk with his composition Teo (1964) and Maynard Ferguson with composition Teonova (1973).

Teo Macero — Impressions of Charles Mingus (1983)

   

   Born in Glens Falls, NY, Macero studied composition in Julliard School of Music. Active musician in the field of jazz, he was successful playing his own formations as well as a sideman recording with many others.  Beyond jazz he was producer of over one hundred classical music records. In post-war avantgarde movement he acted as performer and as a composer. He became famous as Columbia record producer taking part in most significant recording sessions. First of them was Kind of Blue (1959) recording session where he was not credited but already coworking with main producer Irving Townsend. From Sketches of Spain (1960) Teo Macero was constantly Miles Davis producer. As producer of groundbreaking works for many artists Teo Macero acted as an art curator – he was prolific as creative. Phenomenon of his work consisted in skillfully convincing artists of the value of artistic priorities. He was trusted for his professional musician competence and for artistic intuition, both in dynamic musical equilibrium. His own music, as is often the case, was overshadowed by production achievements. And this is why the album Impressions of Charles Mingus is as much significant. Listening to this gives the artist a chance for justice.

Columbia–Princeton Electronic Music Center

★★★★★

   Technology is what changes the world. New sources and technical methods of sound modeling have always formed the basis of the development of new styles and even a new aesthetic paradigm. The history of electronic music in USA began in 1951, when the Columbia Music Department purchased the first Ampex 400 tape recorder. Two composers: Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening began experimenting with recorded voices and instruments. During the First Congress of Experimental Music in 1953, they made contact with composers in Europe who created the first experiments in radio studios: Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry in Paris, and Karlheinz Stockhausen and Herbert Eimert in Cologne. These meetings resulted in many new ideas for the development of electronic music studios in universities of USA and Canada. In 1957 first American studio was installed in Macmillan Hall. The same year group of composers were able to work with RCA Mark II synthesizer installed in the studio, a flagship of Columbia–Princeton Electronic Music Center. And the first presentation of electronic music from Columbia–Princeton Electronic Music Center took place at the Composers Forum concert at the Macmillan Theater at Columbia University on May 9, 1961, and was repeated the next day. Material from this concert was published by Columbia in 1964.
   Six pieces by six composers presenting the most advanced achievements in the field of experimental and studio music. Few of them were composers of different cultures. The first in the program was Bülent Arel (1919-1990), a composer and pioneer of electronic music from Turkey. Born in Istanbul, a graduate of the Ankara Conservatory, he was invited in 1959 by the Rockefeller Foundation to the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, later became a professor at Yale University (from 1961 to 1970) and a professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he worked from 1971 to retired in 1989. He was an active composer of contemporary symphonic and chamber music, his music for tape includes the two main pieces of Stereo Electronic Music No. 1 (1961) and Stereo Electronic Music No. 2 (1962). The first of these two tracks was presented during the concert mentioned above and released as an introduction to the first LP presenting the achievements of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.

Columbia–Princeton Electronic Music Center (1964)

   One of artists known for his serious contribution to the development of the ideas and techniques of concrete and electronic music was an Egyptian ethnomusicologist and composer Halim El-Dabh (1921-2017). In his works he combined electronic sounds and processed human voice. El-Dabh’s work Leiyla and the Poet shows modern version of old Arabic tale about Layla and Majnun. The story of Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, 7th century Bedouin poet obsessed with beloved Layla became the context for the narrative form in this early period of concrete music. He achieved interesting effects using processed vocal sounds in the manner rooted in traditional folk music. He became the pioneer of such forms already in beginning of 1940s. He was student of Cairo University, when in 1944 he created The Expression of Zaar, using wire recorder. Composition Layla and Poet was recorded 15 years later in Columbia-Princeton Studio on AMPEX tape recorders. Halim El-Dabh has strong influence on the ideas of developing experimental music and experimenting composers of popular music. His idea of looping became technical base for many progressive artists, and its influences included popular music. Some references can be found in the early work of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (Leila), Mothers of Invention and Frank Zappa.
   Two composers playing leading role in the studio, presented two compositions combining electronics with traditional musical media. In the work by Vladimir Ussachevsky (1911-1990) called /Creation—Prologue based on text of Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish, electronic sound was used as accompaniment to performance of The Little Chorus Of Macalester College mastered by Ian Morton. In Gargoyles by Otto Luening (1900-1996) sound of RCA synthesizer recorded and tape manipulated is interfering with solo violin played by Max Pollikoff. Two works published on this record were created solely as a result of pure artificial sound. Argentinian-American composer Mario Davidovsky (1934-2019) presented Electronic Study No. 1 based on sine wave, square wave and white noise tape manipulations. He came to USA in 1960 to study music and remained as citizen. One of his teachers was composer and mathematician Milton Babbitt (1916-2011) who’s Composition for Synthesizer opens B-side of the album. Babbitt was also performer of this work on RCA Synthesizer. These pure electronic works show how fruitful was new idea of sound creation in connection with 20th century new principles of musical form. Six works, five of them composed with tape manipulations, four composers born outside US, three works of pure electronics, two works connecting electronics with traditional media, one example of musique concrete – this math is something really making sense. Five stars for sixty years of noble presence in musical world.