Two ways to celebrate summer -- but one's only free through Aug. 9

(1) WE CAN TAKE NOTE OF SUMMERTIME IN SONG

Summertime and the livin' is easy.
Fish are jumpin', and the cotton is high.
Oh, your daddy's rich, and your ma is good-lookin'.
So hush, little baby, don' you cry.

One of these mornin's you goin' to rise up singin'.
Then you'll spread yo' wings, an' you'll take the sky.
But till that mornin' there's a-nothin' can harm you,
with Daddy and Mammy standin' by.

[2:45] Leontyne Price, soprano; Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. Decca, from the "Gala" sequence recorded for the 1960 Fledermaus recording conducted by Karajan (still for my money the best Fledermaus you can buy), recorded in the Sofiensaal, June 1960

Think the song can't be sung more movingly? Ms. P. again --
(with a nice orchestral intro whittled down from the opening scene)

[4:42; "Summertime" at 1:11] Leontyne Price, soprano; RCA Victor Chorus and Orchestra, Skitch Henderson, cond. RCA, recorded in the St. George Hotel, Brooklyn, May 13-17, 1963
[This is from a really smartly conducted LP of Porgy excerpts with William Warfield and Leontyne Price reprising roles they first sang together in the early 1950s -- and Ms. P. gloriously poaching Clara's famous song (with the chorally punctuated reprise). My goodness, listen to what she makes of it!]

How the song fits into the actual scene (with a fine Clara)

[7:46; "Summertime" on track 2 (at 4:18)] Harolyn Blackwell (s), Clara; Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Simon Rattle, cond. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, February 1988
(This complete Porgy, based on a Glyndebourne production, garnered gushing accolades -- for reasons I've never gotten. Were the accoladers just that unfamiliar with the piece? We do get a classy Clara, though.]

Here's the scene through the reprise of "Summertime" --
(featuring a 26yo soprano headed for quite a career of her own)

[13:50; "Summertime" at 5:15] Barbara Hendricks (s), Clara; Joela Jones, piano; Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra, Lorin Maazel, cond. Decca, taking us all the way through the reprise of "Summertime," recorded in Cleveland's Masonic Auditorium, August 1975
[This performance is more like it! And note the pianist in the "Jasbo Brown Blues." We all know Joela Jones, right? A tip: In 2021, upon her retirement from a 54-year association with the Cleveland Orchestra, clevelandclassical.com published a gorgeous interview she did with Mike Telin. She recalled, for example, playing the accordion (an old love of hers) in Wozzeck, Final Alice, and even Rusalka -- the latter her suggestion to "Franz" (i.e., music director Franz Welser-Möst), happily accepted, when it proved hard to find a proper version of the harmonium Dvořák called for.]

(2) 7 COMPOSERS SHARE "WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER"

"In an age driven by productivity, the term 'workation' has arisen today which describes working whilst on holiday. Of course, the phenomenon itself is much older: composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Claude Debussy sought inspiration during the summer months in the countryside, at health resorts, or by the sea. Our playlist demonstrates how masterpieces of very different character were created as a result."

-- Introduction to the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall playlist "Musicians at leisure: Masterpieces from the summer retreat"
[STREAMING FREE from the DCH through August 9]

by Ken

Yes, I know. We have so much lost ground, lost time, unfinished work, so many posts-in-progress in varying states of incompletion. Meanwhile, I've shilly-shallied so unconscionably that the free music that inspired the post is in its final week of, er, freedom. However, If you miss the offer of this free playlist from the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall, I'll have some good, or at least good-ish, news at post's end.

WHAT ARE THE 7 MASTERPIECES "OF VERY DIFFERENT
CHARACTER" FROM COMPOSERS ON "SUMMER RETREAT"?

[screenshot from the Digital Concert Hall]

From the concert of Nov. 3, 2012, legendary Berlin Phil tandem principals since 1992 Emmanuel Pahud (all of 22 when he took his seat as principal flute) and Albrecht Mayer (joined as principal oboe by Jonathan Kelly in 2003) launch the sinuous Trio of the third-movement Allegretto grazioso of Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 in G, conducted splendidly by Iván Fischer.

BEFORE WE GO ON, A CONFESSION

What we heard up above, under the picture of Emmanuel P. and Albrect M., isn't them playing the Trio of Dvořák 8, from the November 2012 Berlin Phil performance with Iván Fischer. For that you'll have to go to the DCH. What we heard is the Columbia Symphony Orchestra under Bruno Walter, from their February 1961 recording in Hollywood's American Legion Hall.

For purposes of illustration, here are a couple of other performances of the Trio, including an earlier one from Iván Fischer (to my ears the 2000 version, like the whole of the 2000 Budapest Festival Orchestra recording of the symphony, has a certain resemblance too but isn't that much like the magisterial 2012 Berlin performance):


[1:19] Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer, cond. Philips, recorded in the Italian Cultural Institute of Budapest, Feb. 29-Mar. 3, 2000

[2:32] Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Carlo Maria Giulini, cond. Sony Classical, recorded in the Concertgebouw, Dec. 13-14, 1990

Perhaps we ought to hear the complete movement --

DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 8 in G, Op. 88:
iii. Allegretto grazioso


[5:54; Trio at 1:38] Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in the American Legion Hall, Hollywood, Feb. 8 & 12, 1961

[5:39; Trio at 1:32] Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer, cond. Philips, recorded in the Italian Cultural Institute of Budapest, Feb. 29-Mar. 3, 2000

[7:13; Trio at 1:59] Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Carlo Maria Giulini, cond. Sony Classical, recorded in the Concertgebouw, Dec. 13-14, 1990

Now back to the seven works from the DCH playlist, as they're grouped on the website. [In the performer credits I've added bits of information. Note that the seven conductors include not just the orchestra's chief conductor since 2019, Kirill Petrenko, but longtime chief conductor Herbert von Karajan (1956-89) and an emeritus chief conductor, Claudio Abbado (1989-2002).]

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Claude Debussy wrote to his publisher that he had found 'a charming, peaceful spot' where 'the sea unfolds with a thoroughly British sense of propriety.' He was referring to Eastbourne on the English coast, where the composer stayed in the summer of 1905 to revise proofs from his publishing house -- and to complete his vivid tone poem La Mer."

DEBUSSY: La Mer (Three Symphonic Sketches for Orchestra)
From May 24, 2009: Claudio Abbado (1933-2014), cond.

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"Pörtschach am Wörthersee was one of Johannes Brahms's favorite holiday destinations -- he remarked that Carinthia was 'so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on them.' It was here that, in addition to two of his symphonies, he composed his Violin Concerto -- as did Alban Berg, some fifty years later. Berg’s concerto, dedicated 'To the memory of an angel,' took shape here; in it, he paid tribute to Alma Mahler’s late daughter Manon, quoting, among other things, a Carinthian folk tune."

BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77
From Apr. 27, 2024: Lisa Batiashvili (b1979), violin; Daniel Harding (b1975), cond.
BERG: Violin Concerto, To the memory of an angel
From Oct. 16, 2010: Baiba Skride (b1981), violin; Andris Nelsons (b1978), cond. ENCORE (wait for it!): BACH: Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, S. 1003: iii. Andante

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"During the warmer months, Gustav Mahler would flee Vienna to escape his overwhelming commitments and compose masterpieces such as his Ninth Symphony in Toblach -- or, to be more precise, in a secluded, sparsely furnished cottage. Ludwig van Beethoven undoubtedly enjoyed greater comfort during his summer stays at the spa in what is now Teplice, in northern Bohemia, where his Eighth Symphony flowed from his pen. Antonín Dvořák’s summer residence was located south of Prague, near Vysoká u Příbramě, where he composed his Symphony No. 8 in an idyllic natural setting, far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life."

MAHLER: Symphony No. 9 in D
From May 15, 2025: Kirill Petrenko (b1972), cond.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 8 in F, Op. 93
From Nov. 8, 1971: Herbert von Kajaran (1908-1989), cond.
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 8 in G, Op. 88
From Nov. 3, 2012: Iván Fischer (b1951), cond.

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"It was not only the sublime beauty of nature, but also its threat, that inspired Richard Strauss to write his Alpine Symphony. As a young man, he spent his holidays in the Chiemgau region, where he undertook numerous mountain hikes -- which provided the inspiration for his symphonic poem. Later, the composer chose a villa in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as his summer retreat -- for, as Strauss put it, 'it is the most beautiful place in Bavaria and Austria, and nowhere is the air as good as in Garmisch.' ”

R. STRAUSS: An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
From May 31, 2025: Klaus Mäkelä (b1996), cond.


NOW FOR THE GOOD(-ISH) NEWS I MENTIONED

Even after the DCH "summertime" playlist goes dark for non-paying customers on Sunday, you're going to be able to hear the music -- in other performances, of course -- in a succession of posts to follow this one. They'll also wander along the kinds of musical byways we often wander along in this space. For example, I can hardly think of La Mer without its marvelous creation story, which we'll trace back to Debussy's much-sneered-at Saxophone Rhapsody, with some other incidental goodies.

Watch this space. (As if at this point you have any reason to trust me!)

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