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Agenbite of Inwit, whole no. 4, Spring 1944

Page 11

Agenbite of Inwit -- Spring 1944 -- Page Eleven
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This is an old sot; the surfaces are not entirely free of noise. But it is an unassailably eloquent reading, given by a great conductor leading a splendid orchestra. You will be amazed that Lizst, known chiefly for sugary, sentimental works such as "Liebestraume" produced this work -- a thing with the fire and orchestral brilliance of Wagner at his best.

Also unreservedly recommended is:

Symphony #6 (Pathetique) by Tschaikovsky. Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. V-553.

As with other sets, obtainable in this country, the recording was made in London, and no proceeds went to Nazi Germany.

Here is the recording of (in my opinion) Tschaikovsky's greatest work, sans the sentiment and bombast often prevalent in readings and recordings of that master. It sounds (as one friend put it) as if every member of the orchestra were a poet. Furtwangler lets the music speak for itself, and it speaks nobly.

Incidentally, from what little I have been able to gather, Furtwrangler is all right. When Hindemith's symphony on "Mathias the Painter" was completed, it was officially forbidden to be played in Germany, inasmuch as Hindemith was accused of "feeling at home in Jewish company". Furtwangler performed it anyway -- and was dismissed from his post. Whether or not he was reinstated, I don't know; he may actually be a supporter of the Hitler regime. But such an act deserves honoring at any rate.

With Tschaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, there exists one recording with is superfine (though it has slight limitations as a reproduction). That is Sir Thomas Beecham's beautifully luminescent, unsentimental, uncut. version in C-470. Here is a straightforward reading of the music as it was written, devoid of gush for its own sake. He realizes every nuance of the score (revealing, as one critic has put it, some things that the composer might better have left out; I dissent from that criticism, but it exists nonetheless) and manages to get a far more thrilling and satisfying performance than those you hear as a rule. I know I'd decided that this music had nothing more to offer me before I heard Sir Thomas' version; this music, in this form, however, wears exceedingly well, and repeated hearings will bring more and more out to you.
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REFLECTIONS FROM TROUBLED WATERS
By John B. Michel

There are twin phenomena of modern times which posses the magic power of bequeathing me belly-chuckles of the gut-busting variety. The first is the delicious picture of the socialist Soviet Union successfully resisting the military onslaught of the most powerful capitalist combination of power possible under one unifying idea -- fascism. In other words, 1 ton of Soviet steel withstanding and defeating three tons of pan-European steel during 1941-42; in 1944, the proportions have been reversed, with fascist military strength crumbling to dust, while socialist military and economic power has increased many-fold. The second mirth-provoking vision is the spectacle of world capitalism dreading the approach of peace with its accompanying social and economic collapse, with the resultant eventuality of the eyes of the world's mass turning inevitably toward the one-sixth of the globe where peace will be the signal of a great offensive of socialist economic, social, and scientific might against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -- war, disease, poverty and death.

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Agenbite of Inwit -- Spring 1944 -- Page Eleven *********************************** This is an old sot; the surfaces are not entirely free of noise. But it is an unassailably eloquent reading, given by a great conductor leading a splendid orchestra. You will be amazed that Lizst, known chiefly for sugary, sentimental works such as "Liebestraume" produced this work -- a thing with the fire and orchestral brilliance of Wagner at his best. Also unreservedly recommended is: Symphony #6 (Pathetique) by Tschaikovsky. Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. V-553. As with other sets, obtainable in this country, the recording was made in London, and no proceeds went to Nazi Germany. Here is the recording of (in my opinion) Tschaikovsky's greatest work, sans the sentiment and bombast often prevalent in readings and recordings of that master. It sounds (as one friend put it) as if every member of the orchestra were a poet. Furtwangler lets the music speak for itself, and it speaks nobly. Incidentally, from what little I have been able to gather, Furtwrangler is all right. When Hindemith's symphony on "Mathias the Painter" was completed, it was officially forbidden to be played in Germany, inasmuch as Hindemith was accused of "feeling at home in Jewish company". Furtwangler performed it anyway -- and was dismissed from his post. Whether or not he was reinstated, I don't know; he may actually be a supporter of the Hitler regime. But such an act deserves honoring at any rate. With Tschaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, there exists one recording with is superfine (though it has slight limitations as a reproduction). That is Sir Thomas Beecham's beautifully luminescent, unsentimental, uncut. version in C-470. Here is a straightforward reading of the music as it was written, devoid of gush for its own sake. He realizes every nuance of the score (revealing, as one critic has put it, some things that the composer might better have left out; I dissent from that criticism, but it exists nonetheless) and manages to get a far more thrilling and satisfying performance than those you hear as a rule. I know I'd decided that this music had nothing more to offer me before I heard Sir Thomas' version; this music, in this form, however, wears exceedingly well, and repeated hearings will bring more and more out to you. ********************************* REFLECTIONS FROM TROUBLED WATERS By John B. Michel There are twin phenomena of modern times which posses the magic power of bequeathing me belly-chuckles of the gut-busting variety. The first is the delicious picture of the socialist Soviet Union successfully resisting the military onslaught of the most powerful capitalist combination of power possible under one unifying idea -- fascism. In other words, 1 ton of Soviet steel withstanding and defeating three tons of pan-European steel during 1941-42; in 1944, the proportions have been reversed, with fascist military strength crumbling to dust, while socialist military and economic power has increased many-fold. The second mirth-provoking vision is the spectacle of world capitalism dreading the approach of peace with its accompanying social and economic collapse, with the resultant eventuality of the eyes of the world's mass turning inevitably toward the one-sixth of the globe where peace will be the signal of a great offensive of socialist economic, social, and scientific might against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -- war, disease, poverty and death.