Customer Reviews

Brahms: Serenade No. 1; Dawson; Negro Folk Symphony

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I've never seen Stokowski and Mitropoulos paired before, but both conductors were associated with the NY Phil. in the late Forties and early Fifties. This twofer from DG brings together material originally released elsewehre. Anyone who assumes that Stokowski can't touch a score without tricking it out in plush strings and soupy phrasing should hear this lovely Brahms Serenade #1, incongruously paired with a dated American semi-classical work, the folksy but pretty basic Dawson Symphony based on Negro spirituals. In the original CD issue from MCA I threw the Dawson away to keep the Brahms. The "Symphony of the Air" is a moniker briefly taken on by the NBC Sym. after Toscanini died in 1956 and the musicians were thrown back on their own devices.

The Mitropoulos material features two Prokofiev chamber pieces; both are sparkling and vibrant, and the transferred sound is quite good for its age. The Over. on Hebrew Themes, here played in its chamber version, is the best recording I've ever come across. Since the musical groups involved form quite a divrese bunch, here's a run-down:

Symphony Of The Air / Leopold Stokowski - Serenade No.1 in D op.11 (Brahms). New York Ensemble of the Philharmonic Scholarship Winners / Dimitri Mitropoulos - Quintet in G minor op.39. Overture on Hebrew Themes op.34 (Prokofiev). American Symphony Orchestra / Leopold Stokowski - Negro Folk Symphony (William Levi Dawson). New York Ensemble of the Philharmonic Scholarship Winners / Dimitri Mitropoulos - Night Music - Weintraubenmusik (Howard Swanson).

I bought this disc to replace an ancient, beat up 1950's Decca LP of the Dimitri Mitropoulos-conducted Prokofiev works (Overture on Hebrew Themes and Quintet in G minor). You may notice this conductor, composer, and composition go unmentioned on the title of the CD itself.

While I continue to find them to be the most interesting and engaging pieces on the disc, the other material is by all means a bonus. I just happen to really dig the Prokofiev works which strike me as a more modern aesthetic than the other pieces. But I would doubt they'd have a universal appeal.

Sonically speaking the entire disc is well recorded with an honest, intimate kind of sound, but without much sense of room acoustics, very different in style from most newer classical recordings.

The only reason to buy this is the Brahms Seranade. You also get some performances by Mitropolous performing Prokofieff. The other cd is American works by Black composers. If you die without hearing these works, you won't miss anything. They are not bad, but not exactly classics. I can appreciate Stoky trying to promote new works, but they are just mediocre. The good news is that the remastering is excellent. Much better than the old MCA edition from 1989. Not much stereo spread on the seranade, because it's closely miked, but it sounds good. Buy it for the Brahms and Prokofieff, but skip the others.