Glenn Gould -Three Beethoven Sonatas: "Moonlight Sonata"/"Appassionata Sonata"/Pathétique Sonata" LP, Vinyl, Album, 1967 (Columbia Masterworks)

Glenn Gould has the knack (and skill) to perform music by great composers, yet still, question their composition while playing the piece.   The iconic "Moonlight Sonata" sounds less iconic in his hands, as he takes us what seems to be a different listening experience for the audience.  Usually a very romantic piece of music, but on this recording, Gould makes it into the blues. I always get the impression that Gould's purpose is not to give the ultimate version of a piece but to investigate, question, and poke the work, and see how and why it operates in such a fashion. 

Gould is like someone with architectural knowledge, and he takes a building by Frank Lloyd Wright part-by-part and studies all the individual pieces that made the building.  And therefore get a view how the architect thinks.  This is what he does with Beethoven and Bach.  I get the impression that he's not trying to interpret the work, more like getting into the composer's head, regarding a particular work. 

Thelonious Monk comes to mind when I hear Gould.  It's not the melody of the piece, but how they trace the theme through their skills as a pianist.   Gould is an excellent musician.  A skilled artist. But the reason why we talk or write about him is due to his intellect when connected to his playing.  The same goes for Monk.   "Appassionata Sonata" is a dynamic and romantic piece of music, but in Gould's hands he brings out the poetry of the melody and brings the pomposity of the work down a notch so we can focus on the construction of the work and its natural sense of beauty.  Always an enjoyable experience. 

Pablo Cassals -"Pablo Casals Conducts Bach: The Six Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites Nos. 2 and 3" 3 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 1965 (Columbia)

When I listen to this box set of Pablo Casals' recordings of the Six Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites Nos. 2 & 3, I think not of pictures, but shapes.  Bach's music is very circular, and one can enter and exit from that circle.  What I hear is not passion but an obsession of mathematical systems and the organized culture that is an orchestra or string section.  A perfect balance between the musicians and the give and take at a particular point in the music.

It's shocking to hear someone breathing or even singing along (Glenn Gould style) with the piano.  It's the series of moments where the human essence is felt and not the concept. This is the beauty of Bach's music performed.  It's a chemistry formula that has been tested through the ages and played well.   The other thing that comes to mind is that Bach's music is truly timeless. As I listen, I don't think of a specific age.  To me, it could have been written in the 21st century.   The precision of the idea and the practice of that craft makes Bach an essential experience.

John Cage & Lejaren Hiller/Ben Johnson - "HPSCHD" / "String Quartet No. 2" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1969 (Nonesuch)

Of all the compositions of John Cage, this has to be the most intense or insane piece in his catalog of goodies.   Co-made and written with Lejaren Hiller, this is Cage's first adventure in the computer world that existed in 1969.   First of all the title, HPSCHD (1967-1969) is the word harpsichord reduced to the computer's six-word limit at the time.  It consists of 51 electronic sound tapes and seven solo compositions for harpsichord, all played at once.  If you have the means, you can hear the album on the left channel or the right channel, or in this case both.  This is not only the weirdest stereo/hi-fi adventure but one that is a challenging listening experience.  The irony is that the music is written for an old keyboard concept, but done in the most advanced manner in 1969.   What I get here is clearly what sounds like four or five harpsichords with various sheets of electric sounds, that at times sound like a generator or bits and pieces of melody, but very faint.  It's a noisy, full volume lease breaker of a record.  I think with respect to Cage's works, HPSCHD is the most extreme in its attack, noise, concept, and in general, Nonesuch was a brave label of its time.  The total opposite of Cage's famous 4:33.  Silence and noise.   It's 21 minutes of a relentless attack, yet, listening to it the time goes quickly.  I love it. 

Flip to the second side, and we have Ben Johnson's "String Quartet No. 2"(1962) and performed by The Composer's Quartet.  It's a work that reminds me of Schoenberg.  It's a moody work and emotional compared to Cage and Hiller's concept of making music.  It's work that is dissonant in tone, yet the sound is very sculptural to me.  I hear, but I can see it as well. It's interesting to note that Johnson was a friend of Harry Partch, and helped him build his instruments.  And he also studied with Cage as well as Darius Milhaud.  Johnson was (or still is) working on the foundation or perhaps storm, where the contemporary composition and practices took place.  "String Quartet 2" is demanding but pays off well, especially in its ending which is very serene and quiet.  Unlike the other side!

Stockhausen/ The London Sinfoniettta - "Stop" / "Ylem" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1974 (Deutsche Grammophon)

There is a method to his madness, and Stockhausen is clearly the man who was holding the keys to his incredible compositions.  Conceptually minded, these two pieces "Stop" and "Ylem" are made for live performance where the musicians are both on the stage as well as in the audience.  The music on both pieces are textural with quietness, but also a great deal of intensity.  Reading the liner notes I'm aware that perhaps this music is not really made for a recording, but for one to experience it in a concert hall.  Stockhausen seems to have an interest in architecture - both in the sense of space, such as a concert hall, but as well as the openess or space that is in music.  There is a 3D effect in the works that draws one into the aural world of Stockhausen.

Mel Powell/Vladimir Ussachevsky/Otto Luening - "Music For Electronic & Older Instruments" Vinyl, LP, 1968 (Composer Recordings Inc)

I have an addiction to music that was recorded in the 1950's/1960s that deal with electronic tape manipulations.  My favorite composers, and who often worked together is Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening.  Both were with the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York.  Which is a cell in NYC that was devoted to making new sounds.  This album, "Music for Electronic & Older Instruments" was released in 1968, but most of the music was composed in the early 1960s.  

Side one is devoted to my heroes, and the first piece is a collaboration between Ussachevsky and Luening.  "Concerted Piece" is a dual of sorts with a full orchestra and tape manipulated sounds.   They have done this before, and it never fails.  The tension between live and real music being performed with the addition of a 'future' technology is pretty incredible.  

"Wireless Fantasy" is the masterpiece on the album, and it's by Ussachevsky.  It goes back to the origin of radio sounds, and it's kind of a nostalgic piece of work because it is both a tribute but also a source of that noise that was made in the early 20rh century.   When I heard it for the first time, I immediately thought of Kraftwerk's "Radioactivity" album.   Which is also a throwback to a sound or at the very least a tribute to early technology.  

The second side is devoted to Mel Powell who I don't know.  The works on this album are electronic or tape orientated but with some pieces that are the total real instrument - although very 20th century modern.  "Two Prayer Settings" is voice by Charles Bressier, with text by Paul Goodman, and music performed by the New York Soloists.  It's a beautiful piece of music, and Bressier does his work with great voice and skill.   The electronic piece he does is called "Events, a nice" and it is text by Hart Crane, read by actors.  He prerecorded the actors and does a cut up with them, and it's a  beautiful piece but not essential for my taste.  His other tape piece is "Second Electronic Setting, " and it's hardcore tape music.   I like it.

What is great about this album is that it's a collection of works that were at the time modern and new, and I like to think of myself drinking a martini in a mid-century home with my hi-fi listening to this album.  Bland yes, but it feels great. 

Tom Recchion - "Proscenium" Vinyl LP, Limited Edition with Vinyl 7" 45 rpm (Elevator Bath)

Tom Recchion's "Proscenium" is like going into a room, and there is nothing there, but this eerie, beautiful sound, that is hard to distinguish from something natural in the air, or man (person) made.  All I know is I can sit at a table in this room and do some writing or something creative.   The music (sound) is demanding, so you can't read a book there, but you can think through the levels of aural pleasure that is this album.

I'm not sure how Tom made this record.  I once in awhile hear what sounds like a piano, but is it him playing or just a sample?  Listening to the album becomes a mental exercise where you describe smoke that lingers in the air, which is the graphic on the cover by the way.  Or is it a spirit of some sort?  Or both?   Music that is abstract becomes a sound sculpture. I can almost see it, but not really.  Although I feel I can walk right through it.  Artists like Brian Eno has done ambient music - sometimes for a specific space and time - "Music for Airports" for example.  "Proscenium" is a work that gives me a sense of place, but not time.  I sense not a large space, but a room.  It's interesting to read the titles which is "Entrance Music No. 1" or "Exit Music No. 1."  There is also "The Mesmerized Chair" and of course, "The Haunted Laboratory."  I don't have to know the titles, but it's interesting that they do convey a space or studio of some sort.  Space is vague, but the emotions are not.  It's a very warm album, and I feel good being contained by its sense of seduction.   I have this album on vinyl as well as an MP3 (code comes with the album), and I often listen to it while writing.   I like it because it doesn't free up my brain/mind but puts me in a room that I can focus in.  In a practical way, I can recommend this music if you're a writer and need time to reflect on your thoughts.  Or it can be music that you enter in, but you can stay inside for hours.

I didn't know this, till I started writing this piece, but the proscenium is a theatrical term meaning "an arch framing the opening between the stage and the auditorium in some theaters."  It's a great album. I keep hearing new things in it, and it maybe just my ears playing tricks on me, but the vinyl listening experience is different from the MP3.  The medium alters same music, but space.  It never ends.   I like that.

Oscar Levant - "Oscar Levant Plays Chopin" Vinyl LP, 1952 (Columbia Masterworks)

As Oscar Levant was once quoted that "what the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left."  Which comes to mind while listening to Levant's recording and playing Chopin.  Both were clearly the genius, in their ability to change one's landscape to fit their presence in that world.  I'm a long time fan of Levant's wit and Chopin's melodies.  A lunatic, like him and another quotable genius, Serge Gainsbourg, loved Chopin's music.  One wonders what they saw in him that made them both be such fans.   There is sadness in Chopin's music, and I suspect both suffered from the dregs of depression.  I wouldn't say they were depressive artists, but more of the fact that they had to run ahead of the dark depression as it tries to take over their soul/lives. 

This is an album of Chopin hits performed by the hysterical lunatic Oscar Levant.  I can't think of a more perfect relationship.  For Levant playing Chopin and for the listener to dwell in both of their worlds. 

Albert Schweitzer - "Bach Volume 5" Vinyl LP

Albert Schweitzer - Bach Volume 5

Vinyl, LP, U.S.

Columbia Masterworks

I’ve been searching for Bach organ music for awhile now.  Specifically Glenn Gould, but can’t find that  on vinyl yet, but I do have this Albert Schweitzer album.   The only thing I knew about Dr. Schweitzer was that he spent time in Africa and he wore a pyth helmet.  I had not the foggiest notion that he was a musician and played Bach on the organ.  Therefore when I found this album in the bargain bin at Amoeba it was a great find for me.  

The fact that this is Volume 5 and therefore must be four other volumes floating in some store’s $1 bins is an exciting thought for me.  But what about his playing or the music?  Well, he is a doctor and therefore must be good with his hands.  The music is played beautifully with that rich sound from the organ that has to be such a heightened experience to hear something like that live.  When he recorded this album is a mystery to me.  There are no dates on it and there is a very long liner notes, that he wrote, but it is all about the music not about the recording of the album.   The pieces played on the album are “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,” “Prelude and Fugue in A Major,” “Prelude and Fugue in F Minor,” & “Prelude And Fugue in B Minor.”  It’s a beautiful recording, and I do wish there was some information about the actual album.  Perhaps he recorded it in the jungle with his pyth helmet on?