You're absolutely right, he did make his mark with Wagner, (and many believe he was a little too cozy with the Nazis as well), not to imply any connection; Barenboim championed Wagner as well and he certainly wasn't a Nazi sympathizer.

db

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 7, 2014, at 1:06 PM, Clark Johnsen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> What about Wagner? Beecham left a complete recording of Tristan, much of
> Meistersinger, and numerous excerpts that are all done in grand style.
> According to Wiki he performed all the operas except Parsifal numerous
> times and to great acclaim.
>
> cj
>
>
>> On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 10:17 PM, DAVID BURNHAM <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> My original comment which started this thread was my surprise that Beecham
>> could play the piano - not because I thought conductors were not
>> instrumentalists, (I don't believe there are many conductors who aren't
>> proficient on some instrument), but because, as far as I know, Beecham
>> never had any formal training in music, certainly not in conducting.
>> Fortunately for us, he had a natural aptitude which is evident in his
>> extensive recorded legacy, but I don't think he studied with anybody; his
>> family was financially loaded so he or they paid for orchestras to come to
>> chez Beecham as his "toys" for him to practice with. He by and large
>> conducted popular repertoire, "Lollipops" and main stream symphonies etc.
>> I don't think I've ever heard a Bruckner or Mahler Symphony under Beecham,
>> nor Prokofiev, Shostakovitch or Schoenberg. But he did make a point of
>> dusting off obscure repertoire, like the Lalo Symphony. None of this is
>> intended to be a put down
>> of Beecham; I revere his readings and would never leave a Beecham
>> recording in the store if I didn't already have it. My favourite of all
>> the recorded "Messiah"s is his 1947 version - the first and only complete
>> Messiah on 78s and Beecham's only complete Messiah. The 1959 version
>> leaves out some of the "B" sections of arias, ("He Was Despised" and, I
>> believe, "The Trumpet Shall Sound")
>>
>> db
>> On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 9:14:28 PM, David Lewis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Although of minor relevance to the thread, Stoki added xylophone to his
>>> arrangement of Handel's "Water Music" which he recorded for Victor in, I
>>> think, 1927.
>>> That would be heresy these days, but I found the effect quite novel and
>>> musical.
>>>
>>> David N. "Uncle Dave" Lewis
>>> Lebanon, OH
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 7:53 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Related to this discussion:
>>>>
>>>> In the December 1958 issue of Hi-Fi Review:
>>>> http://tinyurl.com/lcsjutn
>>>>
>>>> There is an article by Colin McPhee about the music of Bali. Photos show
>>>> drums and other native instruments.
>>>>
>>>> -- Tom Fine
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack McCarthy" <
>>>> [log in to unmask]>
>>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 7:18 PM
>>>> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Stokowski and percussion instruments
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In 2012-13 I served as consulting archivist for the Philadelphia
>>>>> Orchestra's
>>>>> celebration of the centennial of its hiring of Stokowski as conductor.
>> In
>>>>> the PO archives I came across a letter from Stoki during his 1928 Asia
>>>>> trip
>>>>> in which he informs the PO that in Java he had purchased four Javanese
>>>>> gongs
>>>>> and was shipping them to the Orchestra. I was later able to track the
>>>>> gongs
>>>>> down - they are owned by the Curtis Institute.
>>>>>
>>>>> Eichheim, who traveled with Stoki for part of the trip, also composed a
>>>>> piece entitled "Java" that Stoki premiered with the PO in 1930. It
>> called
>>>>> for tuned gongs. I presume they used the ones Stoki had purchased.
>>>>>
>>>>> For an exhibit I did as part of the centennial celebration, I was able
>> to
>>>>> display Stoki's letter, two of the actual gongs, and the program from
>> the
>>>>> 1930 performance of "Java."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Jack McCarthy
>>>>> Certified Archivist
>>>>> Archival/Historical Consultant
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>>>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carl Pultz
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 8:10 AM
>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Dora Labbette, Soprano with string quartette:
>> The
>>>>> Flowers of the Forests, 1925?
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm rereading Oliver Daniel's "Stokowski." He tells about Stoki's
>>>>> Asia/south
>>>>> seas trip in the 20s when the conductor studied percussion with Indian
>>>>> physicist Jagadis Bose and collected instruments. Eichheim's "Bali"
>> stems
>>>>> from this journey, which Stoki later recorded. Some of those
>> instruments
>>>>> may
>>>>> have ended up on his famous recording of "Gurrelieder." It was an
>> enduring
>>>>> interest, as well into the 50s he was playing percussion works by
>>>>> Harrison,
>>>>> et al, and premiered McPhee's Tabuh-Tabuhan in 1953.
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>>>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Donald Tait
>>>>> Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 8:08 PM
>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Dora Labbette, Soprano with string quartette:
>> The
>>>>> Flowers of the Forests, 1925?
>>>>>
>>>>> Reiner also studied percussion as a student in Budapest. Including
>>>>> timpani, which might help explain the added prominence of and
>> occasional
>>>>> added timpani parts in his CSO recordings (it's harder to tell with his
>>>>> Pittsburgh and other recordings). I remember talking to Sam Denov, who
>> was
>>>>> then a retired member of the Chicago Symphony's percussion section. He
>>>>> said
>>>>> "Reiner was DEATH on percussion." Meaning that he not only heard
>>>>> everything,
>>>>> which was a given, but that he knew exactly what he wanted and wouldn't
>>>>> settle until he got it. Sam was speaking from his personal CSO
>>>>> experience....
>>>>>
>>>>> Also, Reiner made piano rolls in 1925 et seq. Four-hand versions in
>> which
>>>>> he was credited as being one of the two pianists and others in which he
>>>>> was
>>>>> credited as the "conductor." Philip Hart wrote about it on page 44 of
>> his
>>>>> biography of Reiner.
>>>>>
>>>>> Don Tait
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>