Some rare recordings

BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in C Sharp Minor, Op. 131 (version for orchestra by Dimitri Mitropoulos). VERDI: String Quartet in E Minor (version for orchestra by Arturo Toscanini). Vienna Philharmonic; Andre Previn, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon 463 579.

Beethoven`s String Quartet in C Sharp Minor, Op. 131, is number 14 of the 16 he wrote and dates from 1826.

There are other recordings of Op. 131 arranged for string orchestra listed in Schwann`s recordings guide OPUS, notably Leonard Bernstein`s 1977 recording, also with the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon 35779; ADD).

A quick check of OPUS also informed me that recordings of arrangements for string orchestra currently are available for Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, No. 11 and Quartet in F Major, Op. 135, No. 16, the later quartet recorded by Toscanini in Vol. 45 of the "Toscanini Collection" (RCA Gold Seal 60267).

So, the recordings under consideration here are not unique, but we can justly call them rare. This means your chances of hearing them at a live concert are slim, and your best bet is to listen to them on recordings. As noted above, on this recording Previn uses the Mitropoulos version.

As for the string orchestra arrangement of Verdi`s String Quartet in E Minor, this recording currently is the only one listed in OPUS. It may seem odd that Toscanini is not represented, because it is he who made the orchestra version Previn uses.

How do these quartets in orchestral form compare with the originals? Very well indeed.

The Beethoven quartet is unusual even in its original form, because it consists of seven movements. The greater number of movements (than the usual four), each with different instructions on how each should be played, gave Mitropoulos the opportunity to utilize the massed strings in a manner that displays the full power such an ensemble can produce.

The Verdi string quartet is special, because it is the only one Verdi wrote. And this one was written by "accident."

The notes to this disc relates the story this way:

In 1872, Verdi was in Naples to supervise a production of his opera "Aida." The two principal singers engaged for the opera came down with an illness that lasted several weeks. To keep himself occupied during that period, Verdi banged out this string quartet. He held a party in his hotel suite, and four string players from the opera orchestra were engaged to play his quartet.

And that was that. In his opinion, his quartet was but a trifle. He did not want it played again. He did not want it published. And then he changed his mind.

We can be glad he did, because it is a splendid string quartet.

Why didn`t he write more music in that form? Only he could have answered that, but suppose we look at it this way: To have done so would have taken his time and his energy. Perhaps that might have prevented him from giving us what he did through his operas. And which opera or even part of an opera would we be willing to give up?

The answer is: not an opera, not a part of any opera, not a note!

Previn reads the orchestral arrangements of the two quartets splendidly. As usual, we hear his meticulous attention to detail, the beauty of his phrasing and the excellence of the ensemble he gets from the orchestra.

And he is conducting the Vienna Philharmonic! Who could ask for more than that?

TWO WORLDS: Bach, Villa-Lobos, Torroba, Kreisler, Falla, Bartok, Mompou, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin and traditionals. Renee Fleming, soprano; Gil Shaham, violin; Julian Lloyd Webber, cello; Lee Ritenour, guitar; Dave Grusin, piano; Ralph Morrison, concert master of chamber strings; flute, James Walker; percussion, Luis Conte and Alex Acuna. Decca 012 157 960.

First, the composers.

They`re all on this disc, just as is indicated above. But they are there not as they wrote their music, rather as it has been arranged in contemporary dress. Can`t handle that? Bach`s gotta be Bach, Bartok`s gotta be Bartok; not in "contemporary dress" but exactly as it was written?

OK. I can handle that. Bye, bye. Please catch my column next week.

And now to those of you who are left, and I hope a lot of you are left, let`s consider what we have on this disc.

We are in an era of cross-over recordings. As best I can make that out, this can mean at least a couple of things: It can mean that artists who usually perform classical works, for a certain recording perform popular works. I suppose it could also be the other way around, but I haven`t heard a lot of that. It also can mean that contemporary composers and contemporary instrumentalists play classical works arranged in a popular manner; as I listen, such arrangements almost always are accompanied by a "beat."

So, that`s what the music on this disc is all about.

What the disc might have been called is "Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin and Friends." They made the arrangements and they, aside from the three visiting star performers - Renee Fleming, Gil Shaham and Julian Lloyd Webber - are the featured artists.

I must say here that I hope it is Lee Ritenour who plays guitar and Dave Grusin who plays piano - because nowhere in the notes is this specifically stated! I had to noodle that out. And I think my noodling is correct. But if I have it backwards, gentlemen, my apologies.

As arrangers, and as performers, Ritenour and Grusin do nothing that is drastic, nothing that should offend the sensitivities of purists. And please believe I in no way mean to mock the purists.

This is a new approach to classical music. The approach is happening throughout the country, and, for that matter, throughout the world. The thing I hope is that these contemporary arrangements will cause listeners to go to the originals. There`s room for both in the vast forest of music. And really, arrangements of music from one form to the same music in another form is nothing new. We`ve had it as long as we have had music.

I am impressed that such leading classical artists as Renee Fleming, Gil Shaham and Julian Lloyd Webber have chosen to perform such crossover works. I think it bodes well for classical music in general.

This quote from the notes with the album: "What`s instantly apparent about `Two Worlds` is that Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour avoid the extremes of being either overly reverential to their classical sources or hell bent on making something entirely different from them. The sound of the album is different from a classical album. It`s more contemporary with a strong presence from guitar and piano. The arrangements are subtle yet true to the spirit of the originals."

I like the album. I think you would, too.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: King Durkee