Just received my cd yesterday and it sounds great! Kudos to Dutton Vocalion. .......Those of you who are fans of Rozsa's film music but not so much his classical work, should do yourselves a favor and get:
RÓZSA CONDUCTS RÓZSA THE ORIGINAL LP LSC 2802 (1965) STEREO/SURROUND RCA ITALIANA ORCHESTRA
1. Overture to a Symphony Concert, Op. 26/a (1956) 2. Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14 (1938): Capriccio – Pastorale – Danza
It's true that this is one of the more painless ways for Rozsa fans to ease into his classical oeuvre. Indeed, parts of the Theme & Variations are filmic enough to have been used to accompany the odd spectacle of Superman fighting a gorilla, I believe. And certainly the Overture is unlikely to bore any fan, however short his attention span. A great release.
My only regret is that Rozsa had edited his Opus 26 to the shorter 26/a which loses a splendidly ferocious tail section.
Is there a recorded version available of the Overture unedited?
The James Sedares/Koch cd contains the same opus 26a recorded. In the booklet notes Rozsa writes that he has made several cuts for the revision. I originally thought it was the unedited version because the back cover of the cd indicates wrongly "opus 26" missing the "a". But inside the booklet is correct.
Gamba used the 26a too on Chandos. There is an old recording with the London Studio Orchestra which I haven't heard, so I can't comment on that. Does anyone know about that? I don't think it's on CD.
There is an old recording with the London Studio Orchestra which I haven't heard, so I can't comment on that. Does anyone know about that? I don't think it's on CD.
Huh? What are you referring to here, William? Is there something I've missed in the discography?? Are you maybe thinking of the London STRING Orchestra's recording of the Concerto for Strings??
There is an old recording with the London Studio Orchestra which I haven't heard, so I can't comment on that. Does anyone know about that? I don't think it's on CD.
Huh? What are you referring to here, William? Is there something I've missed in the discography?? Are you maybe thinking of the London STRING Orchestra's recording of the Concerto for Strings??
I'm sure you're right, Frank: I only remember seeing it on eBay, I don't have it, and am probably misremembering. I didn't check the Rozsa site's PDF discography (WHICH IS A GOOD RESOURCE, EVERYBODY!).
Gamba used the 26a too on Chandos. There is an old recording with the London Studio Orchestra which I haven't heard, so I can't comment on that. Does anyone know about that? I don't think it's on CD.
Can you give some background on the Frankenland State Symphony recording? (When, where recorded/released, etc.) I was never aware of it until today. I always loved the Rozsa RCA album.
Can you give some background on the Frankenland State Symphony recording? (When, where recorded/released, etc.) I was never aware of it until today. I always loved the Rozsa RCA album.
It was originally released in 1957 on Decca, with detailed sleeve notes by George Jellineck, then famous music critic, on DL9966.
Then Varese Sarabande re-issued it in 1978 as VC81058.
Rozsa conducted the Frankenland State SO, and the programme contained the same material as the RCA recording minus the Notturno Ungherese, not yet composed.
I think it was always mono. I'd need to check, but I think the Finale to Opus 13 also has the more complete full material.
I'd strongly recommend going to the Rozsa site, where there are downloadable PDFs of all film and concert discographies laboriously produced, as well as readable back issues of the PMS magazine etc..
Can you give some background on the Frankenland State Symphony recording? (When, where recorded/released, etc.) I was never aware of it until today. I always loved the Rozsa RCA album.
It was originally released in 1957 on Decca, with detailed sleeve notes by George Jellineck, then famous music critic, on DL9966.
Then Varese Sarabande re-issued it in 1978 as VC81058.
Rozsa conducted the Frankenland State SO, and the programme contained the same material as the RCA recording minus the Notturno Ungherese, not yet composed.
I think it was always mono. I'd need to check, but I think the Finale to Opus 13 also has the more complete full material.
I'd strongly recommend going to the Rozsa site, where there are downloadable PDFs of all film and concert discographies laboriously produced, as well as readable back issues of the PMS magazine etc..
Thank-you very much. I had no idea he had made two recordings conducting these pieces.
This is apparently the Frankenland recording of the original version of the overture (clocks in at nearly 11 minutes), on US iTunes combined with his Background to Violence suite, from Disques Cinemusique.
P.S. After listening to both versions multiple times over the years, I have to say that I have come down on the side of Rozsa's revision - I think the "a" actually is an improvement on the original version. Whenever I listen to it, I don't seem to miss anything.
Hope to have the new Vocalion release in hand by next week.
... P.S. After listening to both versions multiple times over the years, I have to say that I have come down on the side of Rozsa's revision - I think the "a" actually is an improvement on the original version. Whenever I listen to it, I don't seem to miss anything.
Hope to have the new Vocalion release in hand by next week.
The same for me. I've educated for years my ear with the revised version Op.26a, now issued by Vocalion, performed in 1963 with RCA It.Orch., and I find this "adjusted" version dense and sublime. The Vocalion release on CD is perfect. Out of this, just as recommended by WilliamDmCrumm, it's worth to visit the Rozsa site, clicking on "Audio" and then in the Concert Music section "The Hamilton-Ontario Concert". There is the whole 1977 concerto with Rozsa conducting the Hamilton Philh.Orch., classical and film music (tons of materials), and at first there is just the CONCERT OVERTURE-Op.26a, that I find here interesting not only because of the composer's own conducting, but also for the special evidence in the brass section during passages never heard with so dramatic impact (so to say, look at 3:45 to 3:57). The Concert Overture-Op.26a has been recorded several times, along with other classic pieces, and it's worth mentioning James Sedares, Mariusz Smolij and Rumon Gamba.
It is remastered from an LP but Naxos has done a good, clean job.
You can choose lossless, and then the download is always there in your account and you can re-download it in any format you wish. I found downloading the complete album in FLAC caused problems and ultimately resulted in failure -- until I chose to download each track in FLAC one at a time. When you finally reach the download stage, Naxos unnecessarily confuses you by calling track 1 Op. 26/a (revised version). It is the full Op. 26.
I'll be picking up the new Vocalion, but I'll also hang on to a double CD I obtained a few years ago from Klassic Haus, because to date it's been my only way of obtaining on CD another beloved Rozsa concert LP:
Klassic Haus, which I stumbled upon, is apparently an outfit which converts LP's to CD's, and I'm guessing it's one of those places that plays by German rules; all the more reason why I'll be buying the new legit reissue.
I'm with you, William, on the original version of the Overture with that dramatic passage. Listening to the revision, I may never notice the spot whence Rozsa has skillfully removed it, but when the piece is over I always miss having heard it. Why MR removed it in the first place remains to me a mystery. It adds to the drama of the overture without extending the piece by more than a mere minute or two.
***
About that "Superman" use of one of the Variations: You remember the gorilla, I remember the pirates. As a kid, I always loved and thrilled to that music, so imagine my joy as a teenager when I discovered the Decca LP and thus discovered that the music was by Rozsa. You can actually hear the track they used on TV if you can find a rare CD called, "The Music of Forgotten Horrors":
Track 15, "Tumult and Commotion" is the "Superman" appropriation, and Track 16, "Men of Steel" is yet another of Rozsa's Theme Variations.
***
One other thing always bothered me about the RCA Italian recording. Actually, it pleased me, and then it bothered me. I'm referring to the Finale of the Theme & Variations. The solo violin passage which opens the movement has never been played with more lyrical flair -- it captures a certain spin which was lacking in the Decca performance. But then, something strange happens in the home stretch. When the dramatic climax arrives, the last notes of the individual phrases, rather than being sustained, are actually truncated, thus diminishing the emotional pay-off. I still don't know whether to attribute this anomaly to the performance or the recording, but I suspect the latter. So, to obtain catharsis, I always turn to the Decca or other recordings by other conductors and orchestras of the "Theme & Variations."
About that "Superman" use of one of the Variations: You remember the gorilla, I remember the pirates. As a kid, I always loved and thrilled to that music, so imagine my joy as a teenager when I discovered the Decca LP and thus discovered that the music was by Rozsa. You can actually hear the track they used on TV if you can find a rare CD called, "The Music of Forgotten Horrors":
Track 15, "Tumult and Commotion" is the "Superman" appropriation, and Track 16, "Men of Steel" is yet another of Rozsa's Theme Variations.
A few years ago I found a copy of the disc containing the library recordings of Rozsa's music used in Superman. Too sad that David Schecter's promised Adventures of Superman album on MMM never happened!
Just received the Vocalion. Excellent overall sound with nice separation. Quite pleased. The surround is electronically derived. After all, it's a 60s recording. But very pleased.
