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More Aafje Heynis and "Haunted Heart"
Let me clarify the header - Dutch contralto Aafje Heynis does not attempt the Dietz-Schwartz semi-standard "Haunted Heart." She leaves that fine number to several great pop singers. Instead, she favors...
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Buddy Clark on OKeh, Columbia and Varsity
Buddy ClarkMy friend Morris asked me to transfer a batch of Buddy Clark records - ones that are not often encountered. Not that you find too much of the singer's output around these days, save for his...
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Robert Ward's Symphony No. 1; Alexei Haieff's Piano Concerto
Here are two fine mid-century works by two of the leading composers of the time, Robert Ward (1917-2013) and Alexei Haieff (1914-1994).Robert WardWard has appeared here before with his Third Symphony;...
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Newport 1957 with Eddie Costa, Mat Mathews and Don Elliott
After my recent post of music by Johnny Costa, good friend David Federman suggested that I present that pianist's namesake, Eddie Costa.It happens that I transferred an Eddie Costa record many years...
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More André Previn on RCA Victor
Several years ago I offered two EPs and a 10-inch LP of Andre Previn's 1947-53 recordings on RCA Victor, a post I re-upped last year. Today we have two LPs from my collection with further examples of...
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Gordon and Prokofiev Ballet Scores with Lambert and Braithwaite
This post is another in a series devoted to Constant Lambert's recordings as composer, conductor and orchestrator. Today he and Warwick Braithwaite conduct scores from notable 20th century ballet...
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Ernie Felice at Capitol, 1947
Jazz accordionist Ernie Felice first came to public notice as a member of the Benny Goodman Quintet in 1947. Benny was just then embarking on a record deal with Capitol, and was able to get Felice a...
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'Lady in the Dark' - the 1941 Recordings and More
The 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark is almost never revived today (although it had a short run at New York City Center last month). The show deserves to be much better remembered for its...
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The Great Doris Day
Doris Day was one of the great singers, but never received the respect she deserved.A few reasons for this come to mind. First, she was very good looking, so was invited to make movies while still...
View ArticleUpdated Doris Day Set
When I posted the Doris Day set below, I commented that I had adjusted the faulty pitch, and that is was now "spot on." Reader Mac gently suggested that my assertion was not, in fact, "spot on." Too...
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Kurtz Conducts Prokofiev
My previous post of selections from Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella reminded me that I wanted to feature this record presenting music from the composer's greatest ballet, Romeo and Juliet.Directing...
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The Academy in Concert
The distinctively named Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields laid claim to being the most widely recorded orchestra in the world for many years. Its records were popular for good reason - under...
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Previn Plays Gershwin Songs, Plus Reups
One of the first songs André Previn recorded for RCA Victor was Gershwin's "But Not for Me." That was in 1947. Except for a 1949 reading of "Who Cares?", he would not return to the composer until his...
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Kurtz Conducts Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky
In the late 1940s, Dmitri Shostakovich's music had come under attack for formalism in the wake of the 1946 Zhdanov decree. It demanded that he and other composers write only music for the masses.To...
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The Complete 'WIld One,' Plus Reups
From top: the EP, 10-inch LP, 12-inch LP coversAlmost 10 years ago, I featured the 10-inch LP of Leith Stevens' score for The Wild One - you know, the flick where Marlon Brando and his motorcycle gang...
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Rignold Conducts Prokofiev's Cinderella
About a month ago, I featured excerpts from Prokofiev's score for the ballet Cinderella, from the Royal Opera House Orchestra under Warwick Braithwaite. Now here, on request, are two of the three...
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Where There's Life, There's Beer - and Music
These days, the big beer brands sell mainly via ads that punctuate the televised exploits of professional athletes. But sixty years ago, easy listening music was part of the marketing mix, as this 1960...
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Boult's Scottish Elgar Second, Plus Reups
The young Adrian Boult was one of the first proponents of Sir Edward Elgar's Second Symphony. After Boult conducted a 1920 performance, Elgar wrote to him, "I feel that my reputation in the future is...
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Morton Gould - Music of Lecuona / String Time
We return to old friend Morton Gould this week with a 1951 LP that repackages two of his 78 sets from the 1940s, with a few other items tossed in, all in a handsome Alex Steinweiss cover.Music of...
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Carl Fischer's 'Reflections of an Indian Boy'
Carl Fischer had a dream of finishing a suite of music reflecting his Native American heritage. He never was to fulfill that dream during his brief lifetime, but after his death, his powerful friends...
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