York Recorded Music Society

[Stanley Stewart]

Another engaging three -hour conversazione of the YRMS at the elegant Dower Court site, yesterday afternoon (14 Feb). The Recreation Room is ideal and hmvman, as ever, nimbly manages the setting-up of the audio equipment unobtrusively, yet has time for cordial greetings with arriving members.

Member Desmond Smith chose a large canvas for his presentation when he selected 'musical connections - 1833 into early 20th century' with the focus on Germany and France. Lots of fascinating Brahms and Mahler, in particular, for the first half; Ravel, Debussy Saint-Saens and Cesar Franck for the second - a sense of continuity and change of direction became implicit. Indeed, this period would have been an inviting programme in itself.

The last programme, January, took us into the creative world of Durufle and encouraged me to invest in the BIS recordings of his work. Yesterday, reminded me that I hadn't a recording of Franck's, Violin Sonata in A, and speaker Desmond's choice of the Decca recording with Kyung Wha Chung and Radu Lupu , a glorious account, is now on order.

The romanticism of St Valentine's Day was also present. I always sit where I have a clear view of the central window with its attractive outlook of trees and vegetation. Charmed to watch some squirrels romping and flirting in the trees to set the tone of the day! All the small pleasures of life.

[Stanley Stewart]

An addendum to my posting above, continuing in the vein of French romanticism, I felt prompted to add Jean Renoir's 1936, albeit incomplete, masterpiece, "Une Partie de Compagne" from off-air video to hard drive/DVD. Based on a Guy de Maupassant story, it is an intensely lyrical adaptation of a Parisian tradesman, circa 1880, taking his family on a picnic one Sunday and one of his daughters fall in love. Simplicity underlaid with an aching irony made almost unbearable by the yearning of Joseph Kosma's musical score against the attractiveness of monochrome rural photography. Truly a classic.

Fortuitous, too, that the BPO/Rattle Sibelius Sym. cycle on BBC4 was followed by a 2011 French film gem, "Goodbye First Love" - totally unknown to me - with
Mia Hansen-Love adding to her burgeoning reputation in a heart-rending bittersweet rites of passage tale from a lovesick 15 -year-old to a sadder, wiser 20-something with such elan! Deeply moving and impressive.

And my recording of the Debussy/Franck Violin Sonatas, Kyung Wha Chung, has also been delivered this morning to sustain the frisson!

[hmvman]

Thanks for your review of the meeting, Stanley. I particularly enjoyed the Saint-Saens piano trio (the more so as my innocent ear was fooled!) and that Naxos recording of the Debussy Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane. Great detail in the harp sound.

Mozart/Da Ponte operas is the subject of our next meeting on March 7th in case anyone else is in York then. All welcome!

[Stanley Stewart]

Yesterday's meeting of the York MRS (7 March) took place on a dazzling Spring day with even a special clarity in the landscape as viewed from the central window of our listening room at Dower Court. Guest speaker, James Murray travelled from Cornwall with an enticing programme, Mozart and Da Ponte - a perfect combination. I admired his stamina by deciding to stand for his address - three hours, incl a tea break! His clear enunciation, resonant voice and phrasing indicated experience as a singer. Indeed, this was the case, albeit limited to a place in the offstage chorus, early in his career, as part of the backstage crew at a Glyndebourne season where he also developed a love for Mozart and the Da Ponte librettos, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan Tutte, first performed in 1786, 1787 and 1789 - Mozart died at 35 in 1791.

During last week, I did some preparation by watching the trilogy on DVD, a
2006/7 production by Nederlands Opera, Pierre Audi era, in modern dress. Some fine singing and orchestral playing but, for me, Figaro is essentially a comedy of manners which physically do not gel with casual deportment in a modern setting. Similarly, Don Giovanni demands a wider use of physical expansion. However, "Cosi" took me by surprise and worked rather well in the
setting of a modern Youth Hostel , the duplicity and mischief thrive with naturalism; the cynicism and sour subtext take root with ease.

James Murray delivered an eloquent exposition of the power politics at play in Vienna and the politicking at the Burgtheatre as a background to the revolutionary impact and stigma of the librettos throughout Europe. Easy to forget that our prim Victorian society preferred to ignore Cosi for more than a century before its rebirth at Glyndebourne in the 1930s.

Of course, the heady stuff for me was the wide selection of musical extracts - congrats, too, hmvman, for your skill in operating clean cues, not only on CD but on the trickier aspect of coping with LP stylus precision on a regular basis - and how intoxicating it was to hear a few dozen voices from the golden age of singing, as far back as 1910. Pinza, Berganza, Gobbi, Auger, Fassbander - glorious), Poell, Gueden, D F-D, Schwarzkopf, Seefried, Gens, Persson, Kirchlager, Corena, Siepi, Gedda, Wachter, Schumann, Ludwig, Kraus, Taddei, Berry, Winberg, Janowitz, and Simoneau...

"The personification of absolute perfection" Algernon to Cecily in "The Importance of Being Earnest. I ended intoxicated, sozzled, and energised.

Instead of an apple and an orange on our way out - Sunday School party remembrances from the 1940s - James kindly provided us with a set of notes, a precis of his talk, together with details of all the selections played. A much appreciated gesture.

[Stanley Stewart]

Last Saturday's rendezvous; the lecture and the range of glorious singing left me feeling quite pixilated! Speaker James Murray is also on the management team of Amare Classics, a label unknown to me. He displayed a set of their CDs at a discount price and I quickly grasped a remastered CD of Gioconda de Vito playing the Brahms Violin Concerto, Op 77, Philharmonia Orch/Rudolf Schwarz, recorded at the Kingsway Hall in 1953 and the same forces playing the Double Violin Concerto, Op 102, Amedeo Baldovini (cello), in 1952 - site unspecified. A treat.

[Gordon]

Last Saturday's rendezvous; the lecture and the range of glorious singing left me feeling quite pixilated! Speaker James Murray is also on the management team of Amare Classics, a label unknown to me. He displayed a set of their CDs at a discount price and I quickly grasped a remastered CD of Gioconda de Vito playing the Brahms Violin Concerto, Op 77, Philharmonia Orch/Rudolf Schwarz, recorded at the Kingsway Hall in 1953 and the same forces playing the Double Violin Concerto, Op 102, Amedeo Baldovini (cello), in 1952 - site unspecified. A treat.

Thanks, will look out for that CD. That Brahms Double was recorded at Kingsway on 18th and 19th February 1952.

[Stanley Stewart]

Thank you, Gordon. I've just checked the notes: ' Violin Concerto recorded at Kingsway Hall, London, 25, 27 February and 2, 5 March 1953 - the Double Concerto, recorded in London, 18 and 19 Feb 1952.'. Still worth acquiring.

[Gordon]

Thank you, Gordon. I've just checked the notes: ' Violin Concerto recorded at Kingsway Hall, London, 25, 27 February and 2, 5 March 1953 - the Double Concerto, recorded in London, 18 and 19 Feb 1952.'. Still worth acquiring.

Dates agreed with discography. CD now on its way from Presto!! de Vito was married to David Bicknell A&R at EMI. Her LPs were in great demand and commanded high prices second hand after they were deleted from the main catalogue. I think it was rarity that caused these high prices - she didn't make that many records.

Are you going to the Yorshire RMS weekend at Ilkley in about 3 weeks?

If you like de Vito there is a bit on iTunes some of it concert or broadcast recordings: eg https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/be...to/id385600152 the Bach Double with Menuhin from Kingsway in September 1953.

At Amazon there is this Mendelssohn with Sargent and LSO also Kingsway in November 1951:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gioconda-De-...XS5TWMJDA6W11H which includes another transfer of the Brahms Double.

Here is a photo of the sessions for the Mozart 3 with RPO and Kubelik from January 1959 also Kingsway and in stereo - an LP to CD transfer [coupled with Bach Emajor from June 1959 at Abbey Road] was available from Dynamic- Instituto Discografico Italiano cat no IDIS 332, also from Amazon [use above link and re-click] and here:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/violin-concert-vito-gioconda/id382464393

[Stanley Stewart]

Alas, no, although I'm looking forward to hmvman's comments in due course.

[Gordon]

Alas, no, although I'm looking forward to hmvman's comments in due course.

Good !!! Might get to meet him then!!

[hmvman]

Good !!! Might get to meet him then!!

Sadly, Gordon, I won't be at the Ilkley weekend. It would've been nice to have met up. However, York RMS is hosting the Huddersfield autumn day meeting in October so maybe see you there?

James Murray said that he enjoyed his visit to the York society and is willing to come again. He had a list of talks all of which looked to be very interesting so I hope we can encourage him back in the not-too-distant future.

The violin and violinists is the theme for our next meeting - Saturday, April 11th.

[Stanley Stewart]

Thank you, Gordon. I look forward to having a shufti of the fascinating leads you've provided and to seeing Gioconda de Vito in performance when I return to terra firma after a week of transferring Wolf Hall, off-air compilations and accompanying documentaries to DVD, alongside a crash course in Mozartian and Da Ponte collaborations - and listening to so many glorious voices in performance.

"My memory unfurls its lengthy scroll before me -
I shudder, and I curse, but I do not efface the wistful lines". PUSHKIN

[Stanley Stewart]

Yesterday's meeting (11 April) coincided with a lovely Spring day at York and the landscape view from Dower Court reflected the arrival of green foliage, too. Member, Irene Parkin, delivered an ideal theme, A Violin pot pouri, and the setting, without a 'fourth wall' was almost Chekhovian. I've taken a few snaps and perhaps, in due course, chairman, hmvman, may kindly upload them for me here. Our small gatherings always listen with rapt attention and the setting speaks for itself!

Irene shrewdly chose a few soloists but Itzhak Perlman and Yehudi Menuhin dominated throughout. IP set the tone with a Bach Partita, No 3, and the round, unvarnished tale, continued with an instant toe-tapping Scott Joplin rag, accompanied by Andre Previn, providing a width to the proceedings which fostered a gear- change as I did wonder how we would cope with a range of bleeding chunks and was surprised how easily I adjusted to movements from the Elgar, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn Violin Concertos but absence, after a long period, does make the heart grow fonder; the eternal wonder of music providing a magical antidote of hearing anew. Gems such as the Londonderry Air still produce an aaagh in the listener when performed with loving dedication.

On Friday, I did a video to DVD transfer of "Billy Liar", wittily directed by John Schlesinger, a seminal look at the drabness of Britain in 1963. Tom Courtenay making an auspicious debut. I was playing in 'rep' at the time and recall that our only leisure time was Sunday evening when we would watch TV - one of two channels in monochrome, of course. During the late evening, the Eamon Andrews Show often had guests such as Menuhin and Grapelli in interview and playing duets, or John Barbirolli - a favourite - reminiscing about his career. I got the same feeling of affection and musicianship at yesterday's rendevous.

Incidentally, I'm sure that some forumites will also recall TV of the 60s; the shutdown studio clock before midnight - and how we would sit and hypnotically stare at it as we enjoyed our last cigarette - Olivier or Du Maurier, of course - before retiring for a couple of hours study before kip. Be still my beating heart!

[Stanley Stewart]

A rider to my April posting above. On the short journey to Dower Court, the one person who is always mentioned is salymap. If saly's assiduous amanuensis, Jenny, reads this, can she kindly pass our loving good wishes to her. We are both aware of her birthday in less than two weeks and I'll send a few snaps of our meeting centre to Pamela at her Sidcup nursing home. She would have revelled at our gatherings!

[Stanley Stewart]

Saturday's (16 May) meeting was another lively presentation to match the sunny but fresh elements outside. A well-paced and concise discussion on The Life and Music of Carl Nielsen, (1865-1931). I did some homework on Saturday morning and read a fascinating article in the Proms 2015 Guide on the life of the composer; his two visits to this country, aware that his work was overshadowed by a preference for the music of Sibelius.

Our discussion was also a timely reminder that my knowledge of Nielsen was confined to, say, the Symphonies and the popular overtures, Helios, Springtime in Funen etc. However, I was surprised and attracted by several extracts from the short works, Pan & Syrinx, Symphonic Rhapsody, Bohemian -Danish Folk Tune - all relished by the Danish National RSO/Gennady Rozhdestvensky - and my heart truly melted on hearing the Paraphrase on the Hymn 'Nearer my God to Thee' for Wind Band. Wit, energy and musicality combined.

The presentation concluded with a substantial extract from Maskarade and this delightful work has also been added to my "wants" list:

"...In this country where sunlight is so woefully reduced,
where it is dark eleven months of the year,
where the fog is the sky,and the light a mere strip,
and we splash about in slush and water,
we would probably die at last of rot and mildew,
if we did not, like toads in the pond,
leap into the air once in a while and catch a brief glow
of the sun on our skin.
In this country, in this country, you wisest of fathers!
Can a young cavalier do better than to forget for a while
the swamp in which we wade and make his heart light
and the heavens mild by bathing in the cascade
of dance and song and light and fire
called masquerade, masquerade, masque...

That's enough!"