York Recorded Music Society

[Stanley Stewart]

Thanks, again, L-L. I'm still pondering about the sea of rhythmic change and harmonies which eventually brought about musical theatre as we know it. Certainly, the pioneering of work by John Wilson in the past decade has managed to distil many brilliant arrangements throughout the past century whether by, say, Arthur Freed at MGM, or simultaneous developments on Broadway. Even in the early 20s, Jerome Kern startled audiences by introducing a banjo in his arrangement of Till The Clouds Roll By. And how effectively the banjo resonated the pain and endurance of life on the Mississipi in his memorable score for Show Boat, 1927 Perhaps its apotheosis was reached in the finale for the revival of Vincent Youmans, No, No, Nanette, at Drury Lane Th, 1973; the cast advancing downstage playing banjos, literally stopped the show before the finale. It is these nuances which Wilson is now refining as many of the major musicals may take pride of place in future Prom seasons alongside classical repertory; Guys & Dolls, Show Boat etc must surely follow with strong audience support in attendance - and the time is now!

[Lat-Literal]

Thanks, again, L-L. I'm still pondering about the sea of rhythmic change and harmonies which eventually brought about musical theatre as we know it. Certainly, the pioneering of work by John Wilson in the past decade has managed to distil many brilliant arrangements throughout the past century whether by, say, Arthur Freed at MGM, or simultaneous developments on Broadway. Even in the early 20s, Jerome Kern startled audiences by introducing a banjo in his arrangement of Till The Clouds Roll By. And how effectively the banjo resonated the pain and endurance of life on the Mississipi in his memorable score for Show Boat, 1927 Perhaps its apotheosis was reached in the finale for the revival of Vincent Youmans, No, No, Nanette, at Drury Lane Th, 1973; the cast advancing downstage playing banjos, literally stopped the show before the finale. It is these nuances which Wilson is now refining as many of the major musicals may take pride of place in future Prom seasons alongside classical repertory; Guys & Dolls, Show Boat etc must surely follow with strong audience support in attendance - and the time is now!

Yes - I think nuance is needed. The songs will last but there is a question about how best to keep them afloat. My preference is for periodic theatre productions of Show Boat etc as well as having a place on radio for original recordings to be heard. However, I accept that there isn't any argument for narrowing it and it can be done in a variety of ways. Was it this year that John Wilson presented a Sinatra night at the Proms? I have never been a regular visitor to theatre but I did see "The Rat Pack" some years ago and it wasn't too bad.

[Stanley Stewart]

Catching-up, L-L! Yes, John Wilson did a Sinatra Prom last season although it was stymied for me by an under-powered leading man who didn't begin to match the presence of Sinatra. I've just had a look at an off-air recording and, as I remembered, it was the orchestration which saved the day.

Still vivid in my memory is a couple of major productions of Show Boat (i) at the Adelphi Theatre, early 70s, when Cleo Laine, as Julie, stopped the show with her longing for "My Bill" number. (ii) A later production by Opera North, 1990ish, delivered a better production with tingling arrangements for a superb chorus.

I still rate Show Boat as the most revolutionary example of music theatre in the 20th century. My DVD collection, from off-air video transfers, include the 1936 film version, worth preserving for the sheer presence of Paul Robeson as Joe and a vulnerable Helen Morgan as Julie La Verne. The 1951 MGM film version has the advantage of glorious technicolour and a striking Show Boat to sail the Mississippi with Howard Keel in fine voice as the gambler Gaylord Ravenal - what a delicious name!

EMI also did the show proud with an EMI 1988, 3CD set and liner notes to match; London Sinfonietta/John McGlinn and a first rate cast, Frederica Von Stade, Jerry Hadley, Teresa Stratas, Bruce Hubbard - and a lovely touch, Lillian Gish as the Lady on the Levee with a brief but memorable intervention. Layers of sentiment, yes, but humanity still prevails in Edna Ferber's fine tale.

[Lat-Literal]

Catching-up, L-L! Yes, John Wilson did a Sinatra Prom last season although it was stymied for me by an under-powered leading man who didn't begin to match the presence of Sinatra. I've just had a look at an off-air recording and, as I remembered, it was the orchestration which saved the day.

Still vivid in my memory is a couple of major productions of Show Boat (i) at the Adelphi Theatre, early 70s, when Cleo Laine, as Julie, stopped the show with her longing for "My Bill" number. (ii) A later production by Opera North, 1990ish, delivered a better production with tingling arrangements for a superb chorus.

I still rate Show Boat as the most revolutionary example of music theatre in the 20th century. My DVD collection, from off-air video transfers, include the 1936 film version, worth preserving for the sheer presence of Paul Robeson as Joe and a vulnerable Helen Morgan as Julie La Verne. The 1951 MGM film version has the advantage of glorious technicolour and a striking Show Boat to sail the Mississippi with Howard Keel in fine voice as the gambler Gaylord Ravenal - what a delicious name!

EMI also did the show proud with an EMI 1988, 3CD set and liner notes to match; London Sinfonietta/John McGlinn and a first rate cast, Frederica Von Stade, Jerry Hadley, Teresa Stratas, Bruce Hubbard - and a lovely touch, Lillian Gish as the Lady on the Levee with a brief but memorable intervention. Layers of sentiment, yes, but humanity still prevails in Edna Ferber's fine tale.

"The most revolutionary example of music theatre in the 20th century" is quite a statement and it encourages me to learn a lot more about it!

[Stanley Stewart]

Another truly delightful afternoon in the embracing setting of Dower Court for our final meeting of the year; the first week of Advent with a relaxed agenda of laissez faire and chairman, Gavin (hmvman) never raising an eyebrow as members presented their seasonal choice at will. Christmas, indeed, was the heart of the matter but it was also refreshing to hear a suite from Mendelssohn's "MND", as my mind raced to cope with an appropriate Shakespearian text to match the music, "Now fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws on apace.." as accompaniment to the Wedding March, or contain a wide smile when I heard Benny Goodman and big dance band play, Bach goes to Town! But the afternoon was full of small pleasures enhanced by the full attention of a concentrated and listening audience. No nay-sayers or toffee-nosed disdain! My favourite in the session was the choice of 3 Herbert Howell's choral anthems by member, Malcolm, seated next to me. Chatting at the interval, I spoke about the joy of hearing these anthems in York Minster, but I envied his experience of also hearing them performed in the intimacy of the Minster Chapter House - 'a consummation devoutly to be wished'.

As always. the intense pleasure of our meetings usually resonate into the evening and I decided to postpone the R3 broadcast of Morgen Und Abend as I was particularly keen to transfer to DVD, Tony Palmer's 2011 documentary, Callas, followed by Act II of Tosca, ROH 1964 production with Callas & Gobbi - astonishingly on ITV's Golden Hour - in black and white, of course. The overall voltage still astonishing - love and art never so heartfelt. For me, the end of a perfect day.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[Stanley Stewart]

Sat, 16 Jan, started the year well at YRMS, as we assembled at Dower Court, where the attractive outlook was one where "shivering pines do clime the day" but we still had a good turn- out for member, David Archer's presentation, Born in the USA, prompting a lively toe-tapping for ditties by Louis Gottschalk, John Philip Sousa and Scott Joplin- images of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting, pursued by an outraged Robert Shaw, rather like a bear!

In turn, the substance of the talk took over with the compositions of Stephen Foster, Antonin Dvorak, Edward Macdowell, Charles Ives, Amy Beach - a well timed entrance for the female composer; votes for Women in Americal in the
mid 1920s when Lindberg also flew across the Atlantic- a new confidence and sense of assurance for The States, in itself, before the 'Crash' and Depression era a few years later.

I've made notes to look further at the work of Ives, Amy Beach and Hanson as they are under-represented on my shelves; intrigued by the Ives, Violin Sonata No 4,
'Children's Day at the Camp Meeting' (1916). By sheer coincidence I'd read the Essays of Gore Vidal over the Festive Season and there was a piquancy in grasping a historical connection in several of the works. Delighted, too, to hear an orchestral arrangement of Foster's, Jeannie with the light brown hair, but difficult to listen without hearing the dulcet tones of John McCormack! I can also recall seing a Hollywood biopic on the life of Stephen Foster, Swanee River, (1939) when I was a boy but couldn't grasp the reason for his dire poverty. David Archer put this right for me; his work was seriously plagiarized in an era when copyright couldn't be enforced and royalties ignored.

A most salubrious afternoon heightened by a doorstep surprise when Gavin, (hmvman), kindly dropped me off at my front door and a package awaited me. A DVD, Music - A Journey for Life, Paul Smaczny's portrait of Riccardo Chailly -"Without inner fire, without physical energy, this profession would be unthinkable." SUMPTUOUS. More in due course.

[Gordon]

Thanks for report Stanley, good to hear that the York RMS is srill going strong. Keep those reports coming.

It would be good to hear similar reports from other RMS groups and their meetings, I feel sure that York is not the only one despite the decline in branches and memberships elsewhere. For example I used to go to the Winchester branch but it folded some while ago but Carshalton, Wimborne, Bognor and Christchurch/New Milton in the south here are still around. I think hat there is still an informal one at Street in Somerset too.

Anyone going to the Yorkshire RMS weekend at Ilkley in March? Looks like a r eally good programme. Contact details available if you are interested.

[Stanley Stewart]

Thank you, Gordon. We've had several conversations during car journeys about the existence of other RMS groups in the country and can only assume that the ready availability of technology and huge CD sets at a budget price have ultimately diminished the appeal of communal groups getting together. A sad loss but I'm pleased to add that the quiet determination of our chairman, Gavin Mist, rescued the dwindling numbers of the YRMS over several years by welcoming members to his home until the offer of an idyllic setting at Dower Court - and it is exceptional - came his way. He also negotiates imaginative and attractive programme suggestions, including arriving at a date convenient for the presenter; nimbly organises the setting-up of the equipment at each assembly, before he is briefed on the operational side of the talk, proficiently operating the CD, LP selections on cue; exemplary stage management much appreciated by the members.

The programme until May 7th, although we continue beyond this date:

Feb, 6 - Lesser-Known Mendelssohn
March, 5 - Mozart's Contemporaries
April, 2 - A Seat in the Back Row- and Life's Twists and Turns - as well
as a career as an orchestral principal wind player,our guest speaker,
Lesley Schatzberger, is a chamber music player and klezmer musician.
May,7 - Philip Paul talks - The Genius Bach Walked 200 miles to hear Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707).

Meetings start at 14.00hrs and we disperse between 16.30 - 17.00hrs.

I do hope that forum members attending, say, York Early Music Festival, will join us if the dates coincide with a visit to York. A warm welcome awaits you.

Gavin also made leaflets available for the Yorkshire RMS weekend events at Ilkley, March 11 to 14, as well as adding the details to the seasonal programme for York and has added the FRMSMusic Weekend, Daventry, April 22-24.

[Pianoman]

The Ilkley meeting will include our very own Makropulos giving a programme on "The Philharmonia at 70', as well as a mouth-watering talk by the venerable Malcolm Walker '50+Years in the Recording Industry' and ex-LPO cellist Catherine Wilmers on life in the orchestra - not to be missed if you are in the Yorkshire region in March..

[Stanley Stewart]

Saturday's YRMS meeting was subject to a setback as the planned programme had to be swapped with next month's presentation at short notice. Member Irene Parkin rose to the occasion, 'Mozart and his contemporaries' with aplomb. A revelation for me as I only recognised a few names along the way: Johann Baptiste Vanhal, Ignace Joseph Pleyel, Henry Hargrave, Michael Haydn, Niccolo Jomelli, Antonio Salieri, Georg Anton Benda, Giovanni Punto, aka Johann Stich, Carl Stamitz, CPE Bach, Johann Wilhelm Hertel, and Karl Ditters von Ditterdorf. Reader, what's your score so far?

The influence of Handel, Haydn and Mozart could be felt throughout but I was instantly engaged by Giovanni Punto's Horn Concerto No 11 in E, Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf's Horn Concerto but the CPE Bach Motet - Gott, deine Gute reicht so weit, - has an enthralling singularity and I must pursue a recording. Any recommendations?

The presentation stimulated my interest to look further into the musical and social developments of the 18th century; the development of the string quartet and the social developments prompted by the increased affluence of the industrial revolution. I accessed a harmionia mundi 30CD boxset, Lumieres, determined to tackle the miniscule print in an otherwise remarkable and substantial set of liner notes by Stephane Roth, trans Chas Johnston. Her intro, 'Music of the Enlightenment, discusses the emergence of 'a new political philosophy (democracy), a new social class (the bourgeoise) enriched by its growing economic power which would solicit new representations in all the arts in order to assert its prestige and its dominant position. The immediate effect, extremely noticeable in the final third of the 18th century, was a decline in the influence of the authorities - the clergy and the higher aristrocracy - to which musicians and composers were traditionally attached, followed by a neglect of the musical forms those controlling bodies had imposed, as is shown by an evident decrease in an interest in church music, especially after the advent of 'Viennese Classicism'. Roth continues, "...At the same moment a parallel itinerary was being traced, no less singular, yet generally neglected in the overall picture in the history of music: the invention of the 'listener'. Far from appearing, in the light of a radically innovative subjectivity - a new man bearing within him, and him alone a hitherto unknown capacity for listening - the modern listener who emerged in the eighteenth century was dependent above all on a mode of 'musical production' and its development.
He was therefore defined by a general apparatus; he had a musical instrument in his home, often a keyboard instrument..." The intro concludes, before a full analysis of the recording on each CD, "...It will easily be understood, then, how our conception of music, and the way we practice or consume it, still remain in a sense contemporary with the agenda set by the eighteenth century: and that is why harmonia mundi has thought it worthwhile today to look back on that flourishing era, to present a survey of it which, without claiming to be exhaustive, make it possible to grasp the principal outlines of musical creation between the twilight of the Baroque and the dawn of Romanticism."

A ripe new learning curve for me fostered by a first class stimulating presentation at YRMS.

[Stanley Stewart]

Another dreich day for our monthly rendezvous at Dower Court although the window outlook indicated early signs of Spring foliage. Most encouraging was the turnout for our guest speaker, Lesley Schatzberger, outlining her career as principal clarinet in a number of orchestras, as well as being the Founder of Jessie's Fund charity. I instantly warmed to her topic, A seat in the back row, but her presence registered a relaxed and feisty individual, enrichened by life and experience. A degree of serenity goes hand-in-hand, too, devoid of self-important pomposity or grandstanding. The audience immediately relax and settle as Lesley gave us a Red Letter Day to remember.

Her early memories recalled the impact of Halle concerts and, even as a youngster she felt attracted by the sound world of the clarinet and took lessons before her university years and subsequent training at the RAM and many years with Alan Hacker as her trainer. How adroitly she reminded us of the platform layout of an orchestra and the pitfalls in being seated in the back row in the wind section as she learned to adjust to matters of pitch, rhythm and dynamics involved from her position on the platform. Fascinating for me after 15 years as a thesp learning to understand space and how to adapt to a large auditorium with a degree of sensibilty for each play. Fortuitously, my Easter reading focussed on a memoir by Edward Dusinberre, Beethoven For a Later Age, The Journey of a String Quartet, first violinist of the Takacs Quartet since the early 90s. They spent many years rehearsing, playing and recording the Late Quartets for Decca, yet balancing continuity with change and experimentation, particularly the alternative endings for Op 130. Of course, the scale for a quartet is more intimate but the principles of interactivity and the contact in listening to each other seem to remain. I've been on a learning curve and delving into the 3CD set throughout the week.

Lesley focussed on her work with John Eliot Gardiner, 'fiery and demanding', including the Adagio from Gran Partita and a duet from Clemenza di Tito, Schumann;s Zwickau Sym, Haydn's Creation, Beethoven's Choral Sym and Missa Solemnis and Berlioz, Sym Fantastique. I did a slight freeze on hearing mention of Stockhausen but the 7mins extract from Michaelsreise unexpectedly kindled my interest. Lesley told a delightful anecdote about sharing a cab with Stockhausen after a rehearsal and his natural air of nonchalance.

Altogether a top of the league presentation and what a pleasure it was to see Lesley's copy of a Stadler's extended basset clarinet, developed from the ancient chalumeau,through baroque, classical and romantic instruments, on a side table, as she spoke so eloquently and with such warmth and real insight about her vocation. Fully deserved a spontaneous hearty ovation, too.

[hmvman]

Thanks for your review, Stanley. It certainly was a marvellously enjoyable presentation and one to remember for a long time.

Just a point about the Mozart 'Gran Partita' extract we heard: the recording was by Alan Hacker's The Music Party, a recording made in 1987 for the Nato label.

[makropulos]

Forgive the self-advertisement... This is not York RMS, but pretty close: a little bit West in Ilkley this coming Wednesday (6 April) at 7:45 p.m. in St. John's Church Hall, Ben Rhydding (entrance in Margerison Road), I'm doing a talk for the Wharfedale Recorded Music Society on Charles Mackerras: a programme of private or broadcast recordings of works he never recorded commercially - several of them utterly marvellous and all of them interesting. The society in Ilkley is exceptionally friendly and I know any visitors would be made extremely welcome (they always are). If any one can come, it would be lovely to see you.

[Stanley Stewart]

Good to hear from you, makropulos. Ten years ago, I used to make regular trips to London on spec but today, alas...

I treasure the two biographies of Charles Mackerras on my shelves and vividly recall his work at the ENO during my London years, along with his later productions for WNO on tour at the Dominion Theatre. Coincidentally, I have put an off-air video of his Proms 2002 performance of Haydn's Creation to one side for transfer to DVD. I'm confident that your presentation will be much appreciated.