*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

TOMMY DORSEY/THE HOMEFRONT

"The collective title suggests, perhaps, a succession of short pieces. But for many the reality will improve on that, for as well as those shorter pieces two complete sonatas are included, giving each of the varieties of enjoyment the great benefit of some contrast in style.

The two sonatas concerned are those of Poulenc and Saint-Saens. Among the lighter examples of their kind they fit the programme very well indeed and also, it seems, the performers; for Stoltzman has a style, beautifully expounded, which suits the lighter music ideally (indeed, the booklet suggests that he has also a feeling for sophisticated jazz playing, which is easy to believe; and it is a field in which I will hope to hear him one day).

In the sonatas Stoltzman is partnered excellently by Irma Vallecillo; in the arrangements of the shorter pieces he is partnered equally excellently by the harpist, Nancy Allen. The soloist's style of playing perhaps gravitates more easily to the lighter, more romantic than to the classical. In fact, a few will think the lighter side overdone here and there (the Debussy Prelude, perhaps?): hopefully, many more will think all the music suits ideally: and especially so the Satie Gymnopedies, sounding at their very best in these arrangements."

-- Gramophone [4/1992]

THE HOLLY AND THE IVY EMILY M

RAVEL: BOLERO, LA VALSE, ETC

This selection is available for a limited time as a special import.

Includes song(s) by Stephen Foster (Composer). Ensemble: National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Gerhardt. Soloist: Robert White (tenor).

Galway is at his engaging best, economical with his very personal vibrato, caressing in the slow movements and sprightly in the fast ones.

Quantz wrote about 300 concertos and 200 chamber works for the flute, more than Vivaldi did for his instrument, the violin and, I venture to guess, more than anyone else for any one instrument. Of course there were two good reasons for it: he was the premier flute virtuoso of his time and was well paid for his duties as flute teacher (with a bonus for each work he wrote) to Frederick the Great at Sanssouci, where the establishment included C. P. E. Bach—who was far less well rewarded. The four concertos recorded here confirm the why of it: Frederick's musical tastes were conservative and better satisfied by Quantz, who only half-released his grip on the Baroque, than by the often wildly experimental Bach. Quantz, faithful to the four-movement format in his trio sonatas, followed Vivaldi's three-movement, fast-slow-fast example in his concertos. His flanking movements commonly feature five appearances of the ritornello, from the material of which the solo episodes develop; there is little of counterpoint or sophistication of any kind. The thematic material is more galant than baroque, and what there is of the latter is redolent of Vivaldi, not least in the Allegro assai of the G minor Concerto.

These straightforward concertos, 'music for pleasure' as it were, spring no surprises—which no doubt pleased the king, and should likewise please today's lovers of cultured 'easy listening'. Galway is at his engaging best, economical with his very personal vibrato, caressing in the slow movements and sprightly in the fast ones. The Wurttemberg CO, with the friendly sound of the harpsichord nicely audible in this well-balanced recording, share Galway's virtues in these luculent and stylish performances.'

John Duarte, Gramophone [11/1991]

NOEL! NOEL! NOEL! CHRISTMAS WI

Rescued from the vaults, ArkivMusic reissues a long lost Christmas Treasure! The Musical Christmas Tree from Morton Gould is an orchestral holiday classic. Featuring Holiday standards, this unique release includes many of Morton Gould's own arrangements as well as original compositions written for the holidays, including "Winter" from the Burchfield Gallery and "Skiers Waltz" from the Cinerama Holiday Suite.

MENDELSSOHN: PIANO CONCERTOS 1

MOON, WIND AND STARS MORTON G

Where some conductors cultivate neo-classical grace and order in this music, Gatti relishes just as much its pungent discontinuities. Like Rattle, he seems to take his cue from the opening bars and the way the childlike, jingling sleigh bells are caught out, immediately undermined. . . . One could hardly mistake Gatti’s exceptional ear in the first movement: he unearths a wealth of uncomfortable detail, wind lines in particular jostling for attention like gawky adolescents. . . . After a Scherzo in the same provocative vein, the slow movement is projected with extreme sensitivity. Don’t expect the lofty, Beethovenian repose of Sir Colin Davis: Gatti is lighter and more flexible . . . . [T]he string lines are shaded with exquisite, heartfelt lyricism, radiant high above the stave. In the finale, the light, shining timbre of Ruth Ziesak is a distinct asset, well-placed to offer consoling balm as Mahler evokes the joys of heaven and its music through the eyes of a child. . . . [T]his is a reading of real originality. The four songs are a welcome bonus in sympathetic orchestrations by David and Colin Matthews. . . . The eloquent notes are by David Matthews for whom ‘Mahler is one of the first composers whose work relates to the whole history of music rather than simply to his immediate predecessors; in this respect he belongs very much to our time.’ Gatti’s Mahler has this ‘authentic’, all-embracing quality: he dons the X-ray specs of modern Mahler interpretation without sacrificing the emotional warmth of a previous generation. -- Gramophone

MARTINU: CELLO SONATAS JÁNOS

Music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh.

Principal cast includes: Sid Caesar, Virginia Martin, Nancy Andrews, Mickey Deems, Swen Swenson, Peter Turgeon, Joey Faye, and Mort Marshall.

Sid Caesar played seven different roles in this episodic comedy, which was well reviewed and is fondly remembered, although it wasn't much of a hit at the time despite stars like Sid Caesar, Neil Simon's script or Bob Fosse's dancing. Adapted from the book by Patrick Dennis (Auntie Mame), with a book by Neil Simon and a score by Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman, the show was more clever than inventive.

Virginia Martin gives 110-percent to her parts of the score however, and "The Other Side of the Tracks" is memorable for her seemingly boundless energy as she belts it out. And "I Love You" comically sung by Sid Caesar includes some end-of-line vamps that brighten the proceedings, as they seem to be having some good-natured fun at the expense of "Try to Remember," the biggest hit to come out of the then new off-Broadway phenomenon The Fantasticks; additionally, "Deep Down Inside" and "Be a Performer" both have enjoyable ensemble performances. And, of course, "Real Live Girl" and "I've Got Your Number" have had significant lives outside the show.

Apart from that contribution to popular culture, the show's most enduring legacy, at least to some baby boomers, may have echoed through the presence in the cast of Joey Faye and Mickey Deems -- it was around this same time that the two comics, who had known each other for about 20 years, were teamed together in the syndicated Trans-Lux-produced series Mack & Myer for Hire, endearing them to a generation of viewers too young to know Cy Coleman or Sid Caesar, never mind Patrick Dennis.

1 Overture Coleman, Leigh 2:21
2 The Truth Coleman, Leigh 2:16
3 The Other Side of the Tracks Coleman, Leigh 1:30
4 I Love You Coleman, Leigh 1:41
5 The Other Side of the Tracks Coleman, Leigh 1:30
6 Deep Down Inside Coleman, Leigh 5:04
7 Be a Performer! Coleman, Leigh 2:02
8 Dimples Coleman, Leigh 1:38
9 Boom Boom Coleman, Leigh 2:10
10 I've Got Your Number Coleman, Leigh 2:52
11 Real Live Girl Coleman, Leigh 1:06
12 Real Live Girl Coleman, Leigh 3:49
13 Poor Little Hollywood Star Coleman, Leigh 2:52
14 Little Me Coleman, Leigh 2:51
15 Goodbye (The Prince's Farewell) Coleman, Leigh 3:15
16 Here's to Us Coleman, Leigh 2:41