Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, tired fish at that, listening to truly the oddest performance of the Sibelius second that I’ve ever heard and I’ve heard most of ‘em. This is conducted by one Thomas Schippers, with the New York Philharmonic on Columbia, coupled with Pictures at an Exhibition, which I’m afraid to listen to. First off, this was recorded at Avery Fisher Hall the year it opened, and as I understand it, several Columbia recordings made that year at that venue don’t sound good because the engineers were trying to figure out how to record there and deal with its problems. I know I listened to a Bernstein, I think, that was recorded there at the same time as this that was equally weird. So, the recording itself is a bit dry and weirdly balanced. But it’s the performance itself, with even the NYPO sounding a bit ragged occasionally, but it’s Schippers’ interpretation that’s so wacky. It begins slower than any other second – his first movement is five minutes slower than most. It’s quite a ponderous opening, rather like Godzilla walking. As I listened to that movement, I began to wonder if Mr. Schippers had taken LSD. Then the opening of the second movement is like he’s on speed. It’s kind of entertaining in its own way, at least once. Pictures at and Exhibition is now playing and it’s much better and I quite like the approach here, and they’re back in their usual Manhattan Center studio two years later and so the sound is fantastic. So, not a total loss and if I want to hear the Marx Brothers do Sibelius, I now have it. Prior to that, I listened to John Mauceri’s recording of The Threepenny Opera. No one can fault Mauceri’s musical taste – he loves the kind of music I love and most of the time I enjoy his interpretations, although I rarely enjoy the way they’re recorded, and given the similarity between his recordings, perhaps that’s what he likes. His overture is also slow and ponderous – I, in fact, have never heard it played like that and I’d love to know what his point was because it really gets the recording off on the wrong foot, at least for me. No energy at all and no immediacy in the sound. I basically got it for Ute Lemper and she’s fine and so are most of the other singers, but there’s just no rawness, no edge, and no life to the sound – what I call a blanket recording – like someone put a blanket over the sound. It’s distant sounding, too, which robs the recording of all the orchestra detail. Not one for the ages, I’m afraid. I didn’t have the famous 1958 recording with Lenya in stereo, so I rectified that and I’m sure I’ll like that better than this. Street Scene by Mauceri suffers from the same issues – as laudable as it is, the band and voices have no immediacy and are way too distant sounding. It’s a shame because it could have and should have sounded incredible. Again, it may be what Mr. Mauceri prefers, but that is why there should always be a strong producer in the room to explain to him that it’s a recording and has to work for the ears.
Yesterday was, I don’t know what it was, but I’m glad it’s over. I only got about five or six hours of sleep. My brain went to that silly place of wondering if someone was breaking into my motor car again (they weren’t). So, I tossed and turned as well as turned and tossed. I was up at eight, at nine, at ten, and then slept until one. Once up, I had a lot of e-mails to deal with, then I girded my loins and went to the mail place and picked up packages. They may have had mail and more stuff, but they were too crazed to deal with it. I don’t think the regular mail gets put out until the following day and that’s not good. I came home, had tuna sandwiches for lunch – one on an onion roll and because I’d eaten the other onion roll the day before, one on a hot dog bun, which was amusing on some level, although I have no idea what that level is.
After that, I got the final chart, made some corrections, and then heard the first half of it orchestrated – sounded really great. Then I did the Zoom invite for today’s Zoom session and I had a couple of nice telephonic conversations. After that, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a DVD of the American opera (as its composer called it) Street Scene, with music by Kurt Weill and libretto and lyrics by Elmer Rice and Langston Hughes. I love the score a lot and was looking forward to this well reviewed (on Amazon) production from Madrid. I should have known better. I thought the direction was absolutely horrible, from the staging to the choreography (right out of the Kathleen Marshall go-nowhere school of choreography) and especially his direction of the cast. You have never seen so much shmacting in your life from certain performers. The fellow who plays Sam, a Jew, is named Jose Prieto, and he is obviously a Spanish Jew because he can’t overcome his accent and he’s about as Jewish as Billy Graham. He was the worst shmacting offender. Paolo Szot is such a fine singer and actor, but he, too, can’t get past his accent and his cadences in the dialogue fight it at every turn – he does sing it well, though. His wife is played by Patricia Racette and she’s fine. Daughter Rose is played by Brit Mary Bevan and she, too, can’t quite overcome the accent. The two people who do Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed are right out of Kathleen Marshall-land circa Kiss Me, Kate or anything goes – you’d know what I mean if you saw three seconds of it. The rest of the cast is acceptable to poor, and the kids are right out of a road company of Annie. The band is okay, and it’s certainly shot well, but the pace is so slack, with people just meandering around the huge and typical of today set – I just found it irritating, but tried to just enjoy the music, which is brilliant. I have another production to see, this one from Germany, and I’m hoping for a better viewing experience. After that, I went to Gelson’s and got a little bit of stuffing and gravy and a little bit of string bean casserole, came home and ate that and the rest of the Hormel chili that was left over – all fine snacks. The rest you know.
Today, I have to be up by around ten or ten-thirty as someone is bringing me a gift of some sort at eleven and then the helper’s coming at eleven-thirty. After that, I’ll eat, hopefully pick up some packages, although I know it’s going to be a madhouse, even though no one who’s causing the lines is going to ship anything that will arrive before Christmas so why not just wait? Then we have our Zoom session, which will basically just be talking through technical things and making sure all is at the ready to begin the serious work after Christmas. After that, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is just relaxing, watching, and listening and enjoying the holiday week, making book notes, I’ve already begun adjusting project two and did most of that work but am still going through it. Then there will be no Christmas Eve Do for the first time in thirty-two years, and then Christmas Day will be sans the Darling Daughter, but one must do what one must do.
I’m now listening to the cast album of Nine. I have never been able to get with this score – I’m in the minority, I know, and I do like a few of the numbers, but things like Be Italian and The Germans at the Spa are just irritating to my ears. I do like the overture and I enjoy My Husband Makes Movies, although I find the lyrics banal, and certainly the cast is terrific.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten, have two brief drop-off visits, hopefully pick up packages, eat something light but fun, have a Zoom session, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite cast albums, the ones that you think are really well recorded and where you think the presentation really captures the score perfectly? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have heard the Sibelius second a la the Marx Brothers.