Dvorak Serenade Strings Arensky Tchaikovsky English Chamber Vinyl LP Record VG+

Description: Yes we combine shipping for multiple purchases.Add multiple items to your cart and the combined shipping total will automatically be calculated. Dvorak Serenade Strings Arensky Tchaikovsky English Chamber Vinyl LP Record VG+ Record Grade per Goldmine Standard: VG+ DVORAK / SERENADEfor Strings in E major op.22ARENSKY / VARIATIONSon a Theme by Tchaikovsky op. 35aEnglish Chamber Orchestra, JOHANNES SOMARY, conductorProduced by Seymour SolomonANTONIN DVORAK was bom in 1841 of Czech peasant stockand until his death in 1904, served as the most eloquentmusical spokesman of the Czech cultural tradition. Politicalunrest in his native Bohemia, where the movement for Czechindependence was brutally repressed by the Austro-HungarianEmpire, proved to have a profound effect on his art: Following amusical apprenticeship as a violist and organist in Prague, Dvorakturned more to composition in the 1870’s, giving voice to thespirit of Czech nationalism while first reaching artistic maturity.Already, the quasi-programmatic musical nationalism of hiscountryman, Smetana, had gradually supplanted the early in-fluence of Wagner and Liszt in Dvorak’s work. His music came tothe attention of Brahms, whose enthusiastic support broughtDvorak his first real prominence.At the same time, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert (whosemusic formed the major part of his early training) began torecapture the composer’s imagination. The mid-1870’s markedDvorak’s return to absolute music in the classical tradition, whilecontinuing to invoke the Czech folk heritage with characteristicexuberance and melodic beauty.The Serenade in E Major, Op. 22, composed in 1875, indicatesthe new path Dvorak had entered upon: adherence to basicclassical forms, infused with the distinctive melodic and rhythmicelements of folk music. A lovely pastoral motif forms the maintheme of the opening movement, Moderate, a marvel of lyricsimplicity. The two minuets of the classical serenade are herereplaced with two more contemporary dance movements: Tempodi Valse, a gentle waltz in C sharp minor (framing a rather moreassertive Trio in D flat major); and a lively Scherzo, Vivace, in F(again with a Trio, in A), brimming with peasant vitality.A tender, poetic Larghetto in A foreshadows the great slowmovement of the “New World” Symphony, composed sometwenty years later. And finally, a vigorous Finale, Allegro vivace,restores the high spirits of the Scherzo — briefly quoting thelyrical first-movement theme before its closing measures.ANTON ARENSKY was born in Novgorod in 1861. Followingstudies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under Rimsky-Korsakov, he took a chair at the Moscow Conservatory, laterreturning to St. Petersburg as musical director of the ImperialChapel. While still in his 40’s, Arensky fell victim to tuberculosis,dying in a Finland sanitarium in 1906.Arensky frequently composed in the larger symphonic andoperatic forms, but was most often successful in more intimatesettings. And although he studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky’s music is closer to the lyric spirit ofTchaikovsky — a debt explicitly acknowledged in these Variationson a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a. Significantly, while thebulk of Arensky’s oeuvre has fallen into neglect, both theVariations and the Piano Trio in memory of Tchaikovskyremained in the repertoire.Originally, these variations formed the slow movement ofArensky’s Quartet No. 2 in A minor — composed in 1894 as atribute to Tchaikovsky (who had died the year preceding). Scoredfor violin, viola and two cellos, the quartet was later rewritten forthe standard ensemble of two violins, viola and cello. Thevariations in particular achieved instant popularity — hence thisfinal reworking for string orchestra.The theme derives from “The Legend (Christ in His Garden)”— fifth of Tchaikovsky’s Sixteen Songs for Children, Op. 54, andespecially appropriate to the occasion of Arensky’s deeply-felteulogy. Writes critic Edwin Evans: “The manner in which thetheme, inverted for the occasion, is coupled with the chromaticfigure given to the viola, brings to mind a highly poetic picture,remotely related to the military custom of reversing arms at afuneral.”Following a statement of the theme, Moderato, the sevenvariations alternate in fast and slow tempos. The cellos carry thetheme with dignity in Variation 1, Un poco piu mosso, wistfullyaccompanied by the upper strings. The theme remains in thelower register, decorated by playful violin figurations, in Varia-tion II, Allegro non troppo, while Variation Ill, Andantinotranquillo, signals a brief key change to the major. Variation IV,Vivace, sets violins and violas against a pizzicato accompaniment,with the cellos taking over the theme once more in Variation V,Andante.The last two variations, Allegro con spirito and Andante conmoto, are especially reminiscent of Tchaikovsky — and indeed,the entire work attests to Arensky’s enormous affection for, andaffinity with, his best-known musical compatriot.Notes by Jody BreslawJOHANNES SOMARY has established himself in the frontranks of brilliant and masterful conductors, and as an extra-ordinarily stimulating musical thinker and teacher. He was bornin Zurich, Switzerland, received a Master of Music degree from theYale School of Music in 1959, and has taught and lectured atBrooklyn College, the New School of Social Research and theNew England Conservatory. He is Musical Director of the AmorArtis Chorale, Choirmaster and Organist at the Church of OurSaviour in New York, Chairman of the Arts Department at HoraceMann School, N.Y. and a composer of note whose works havebeen performed in the United States and abroad.JOHANNES SOMARY conductingTHE ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRAGRIEG HOLBERG SUITE/DAG WIREN SERENADE stereo VCS-10067“Spectacular playing and performance like this don’t just happen. Theyhave to be made with care, and then inspired during the performance bya skilled conductor. Somary is a master ...”San Francisco Examiner and ChronicleIntroducing the Great American Trumpet Virtuoso, Martin Berinbaum(Haydn, Hummel, Albinoni, Torclli) stereo VCS-10098 quad VSQ-30012“Johannes Somary is by now a seasoned and lucid conductor of Baroqueand classic orchestral music. His leadership, I’d say, has a good deal todo with the good styling of these performances.”Edward T. Canby. Audio MagazineTCHAIKOVSKY Serenade, Op. 48 — PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony -ARENSKY Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35astereo VCS-10099“Somary’s (Prokofiev) is . .. the most interesting reading of them all,. . .he presents the score in a more intimate and subtle light than anyconductor I’ve ever heard, on or off records.”Marlin Bookspan, Stereo Review“. . . a conductor worth following ... his interpretations are always gov-erned by a strict musical objectivity. He gives the Suite an overall senseof unity which is often lacking in more flamboyant performances, whilephrasing every nuance with loving care. The Arensky work .. . onediscovers a subtlety and emotional intimacy in this music which hasnever been apparent before.” Hi-Fi News & Record Review. LondonHANDEL MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL FIREWORKS (orig. scoring) -SUITE FROM THE WATER MUSIC stereo VSD-71176 quad VSQ 30020“Johannes Somary has restored Handel's ‘original’ scoring. In the RoyalFireworks Music, this works stunningly . .. it’s graceful, exhilaratingstuff...”Raul Kresch, Stereo Review LP595

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End Time: 2024-10-01T00:59:24.000Z

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