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mudic onecorBy Boland MillerAn exceptionally fine vocal album, one of the best we have] heard in a long *ime, is Columbi-,m’s recent release by Jennie Tour-1 *1 of Ravel and Moussorgsky.It includes, on the long-play record- one side devoted to Ravel's Sheherazade.” and on the other, a quartet of Moussorgsky songs entitled “Songs and Dances of Death. In the Ravel, Miss Tour-, el is accompanied by the Columbia Symphony orchestra directed; by Leonard Berstein while the i Moussorgsky accompaniment is1furnished by the talented Berstein ihimsel at the piano.These are beautiful songs, beautifully sung by an artist whose _ voice made a tremendous imprest Sion upon Walla Walla on her vis-' it here several years age. The Ra-i vel music is especially intriguing'and ingratiating, while Moussorg-jsky’s, although cast in a more sombre mold, is first-class writing. jAnother Community Concert artist who appeared here only a fevvj weeks ago, Byron Jams, is rep-; resented m a new RCA-Victor release of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in D minor (Tempest.). Of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, this is just about midway, being the seventeenth in the series, and it is probably the greatest* oi\ all his early period piano works. It shows some of the intimacy which the composer’s piano ■writing attained in later years, but takes the form of a tremendous inner drama, with fireworks that give a performer ample opportunity to display his virtuosity.Janis, who -did a bang-up job in his concert here, provides a clean and thoughtful performance, and the excellent technical work on the recording should make it possibly preferable to the earlier fine Gieseking version.Also on Victor is a recording of. Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo: Four;Dance Episodes,” performed by; the Dallas Symphony under the di-j rection at Antal Dorati. “Rodeo! is music written for the Ballet j Ruise de Monte Carlo for its 1942-43 season, and these excerpts were extracted from the score by Copland for concert performances. They represent a precise, imaginative and fresh picturization of a traditional western Saturday afternoon rodeo, by a composer who is one of the most original and capable interpreters of the American acene.In a considerably different vein is a Columbia recording of the J. M. Barrie play, “Peter Pan,” asire\'ived for the Broadway stage last season. Leading parts are taken by Jean Arthur and Boris Karloff, who played the parts on the stage, with incidental music written by Alec Wilder and some new songs and lyrics by LeonardBernstein.This famous fantasy, which was being performed in this country for the first time in more than two decades, emerges as a delightful show, for young and old alike. The music is fresh and sympathetic to the book, and the entireperformance is carefully recorded.• * *Les Brown, one of our favorites among popular dance bands, gives out with an effort entitled “Classics in Rythm” for Columbia, m which he gives his own unique versions of some well-known classical tunes under such titles as “Peter Is a Wolf.” “Prelude for Minors Only,” “Charmin’ Carmen.” “Evening Star” and “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ”Somehow, when Brown takes a classical melody and tears it apart for dance usage, we don’t take umbrage like we do when some of the other popular band leaders attempt the same thins. Perhaps it is because he does it with such wit and good humor and taste, perhaps because he doesn't add a bunch of soupy lyrics; in any event Brown does nice things to Mssrs. Prokofieff, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Bizet, et a!, and the results are worth hearing.A fairly well-kept secret in the recording world is how Les Paul goes about playing eight guitars so that they are heard simultaneously, as he does an “The New Sound, a Capitol release of not too far back. We’re not sure of the answer, but we won’t argue about it, because the outcome is bright, gay and intriguing. Paul is not only a technical expert at the business but he has a solid beat and a lot of well-integrated ideas, and he sounds especially good on “Brazil,” “Caravan”, “Lover” and “What Is This Thing Called Love?Doris Day, the former Les Brown lark, can be heard in a Columbia album featuring tunes from the film “Lullaby of Broadway,” Actually the tunes are good old standard ones, such as “Fine and Dandy, “Somebody Loves Me, “Just One of Those Things,” and “Lullaby of Broadway,” but it is a nice display of Miss Day’s fine way with a song, be it bouncy or dreamy. The orchestrations are first-class.iIIII :Sinfonietta Is Acclaimed For ProgramEnthusiastic acclaim has greeted Northwest appearances of the St. Louis Sinfonietta. which closes the Walla Walla Community Concert association’s annual series next Saturday evening with a program to be presented at the high school auditorium.Charlotte Upton, music critic for the Spokane Spokesman Be view, reported Friday.*4What to you are the best things in life? Sparkling sunshine? Clear, white moonlight? Happiness? Excitement? The finest and choicest in food and drink? Exquisite detail?Spokane Is Pleased“Those are a few of the words that people used in trying to express their joy and pleasure in the St. Louis Sinfonietta concertWednesday at the Fox theatre. Mgs* agreed that they never had heard such beautiful music.'The small concert orchestra, founded ar*d directed by Paul Sehreiber, combined the delicate precision of chamber music with the more full-blooded playing of a regular symphony orchestra. There was an airiness, a feeling of understatement and a polish that distinguished its playing from that of full-size groups.“It was perfection in miniature— perfect, execution, perfect balance among the instruments- It all added up to an experience of the best in music and life Spokane loved it.7*Program ArrangedFor its Walla Walla appearance,the visiting group will performBach’s Prelude in E major, Mozart’s overture to “The Marriage of Figaro/' Delius' “Walk to the Paradise Garden/' Haydn's '‘London symphony, Ravel’s '‘Introduction and Allegro/' two selections by Arthur Benjamin, and a symphonic arrangement of Jerome Kern songs.Joanne Fintz, harpist will be featured as soloist in the Ravel number. Only 20 years old, she stud-died with Carlos Salzedo at the Curtis Institute of Music and at the Berkshire Music center where she played in the orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitsky. She has recently been a member of the Philadelphia Harp quintet.OLD REMEDIES VERSAILEEDMONTON W A 50-year-oia bottle of liniment turned up here with a guarantee to cure all kindsof human ailments. In addition, it was recommended for horses, cows, bulls and every other occupant of the barnyard.
Newspaper Details
Walla Walla Union Bulletin
Walla Walla, Washington, US
Sun, Apr 22, 1951
Page 23
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WA, USA 13 Jul 2021
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