Maurice Abravanel (1903-1993)

[vandermolen]

I think that I've enjoyed every recording I have collected by this long-lived conductor who was born in what is now Greece but then part of the Ottoman Empire, of Sephardic Jewish origins and died in Salt-Lake City USA. He was associated with the Utah Symphony Orchestra with which he made loads of recordings. I have especially been enjoying his Bloch and Vaughan Williams recordings. He also recorded complete Mahler and Sibelius - anyway, I thought that he deserved his own thread. Any views on Maestro Abravanel?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Abravanel
http://www.bruceduffie.com/abravanel.html

[Harry]

Believe it or not, but I do not have one single recording with this conductor. What makes him so special, pray tell

[Mirror Image]

I'm not that familiar with this conductor, but his Satie set of orchestral works (and arrangements by other composers) is top-drawer. I should investigate what else he's done. Thanks for the thread, Jeffrey.

[pjme]

He was adventurous and couragous!

Possibly his recording of all the Mahler symphonies was the first complete set, he recorded Varèse ( Ameriques, Nocturnal, Ecuatorial), recorded Honegger's Judith and Roi David with Madeleine Milhaud as a superb reciter, Milhaud's Pacem in terris, Protée, l'Homme et son désir , RVW's 6th, Flos campi, Fantasy... Sibelius, Tsjaikovsky ...



I still enjoy these recordings.



Peter

[vandermolen]

Believe it or not, but I do not have one single recording with this conductor. What makes him so special, pray tell

For example, there are very few recordings, in my opinion that get the pianissimo 'Epilogue' of Vaighan Williams's epic Sixth Symphony right. Most recordings play it too loud or too fast or both. Abravanel is one of the very few who gets it right (Boult's Decca recording is another). I find that there is great feeling to his performances. I guess his LPs of Vaughan Williams's 'Dona Nobis Pacem' and of Walton's 'Belshazzar's Feast' and Partita for Orchestra were my introductions to works that meant a lot to me when I began collecting in the 1970s. His Bloch 'Schelomo' and 'Israel Symphony' which I have been listening to today are very deeply felt and atmospheric. I've ordered his CD of Mahler's First Symphony today and his Prokofiev Symphony 3 which has been very well reviewed.

[vandermolen]

He was adventurous and couragous!

Possibly his recording of all the Mahler symphonies was the first complete set, he recorded Varèse ( Ameriques, Nocturnal, Ecuatorial), recorded Honegger's Judith and Roi David with Madeleine Milhaud as a superb reciter, Milhaud's Pacem in terris, Protée, l'Homme et son désir , RVW's 6th, Flos campi, Fantasy... Sibelius, Tsjaikovsky ...



I still enjoy these recordings.



Peter

Very much agree with you.

[Todd]

His Mahler 4 is one of the greats.  The rest of the cycle is variable.  His Varese is good.  His Sibelius meh.

[kishnevi]

His Tchaikovsky cycle is a strong one.
[asin]B00005QKFQ[/asin]

And cheap as heck on Amazon MP, too.

[vandermolen]

Thanks Todd and Jeffrey. Bad news about the Sibelius as I bought the cycle recently but haven't listened to it yet  .
Yes, his recordings are often a available incrediby cheaply online. I also like his Copland CD with Lincoln Portrait although I prefer Adlai Stevenson to Charlton Heston as the narrator although I prefer Mr Heston to Mr Fonda as the narrator. I have a ghastly feeling there is a version narrated by Margaret Thatcher but maybe that was just a nightmare I had.
I like the look of the Tchaikovsky cycle.

[ritter]

I have a ghastly feeling there is a version narrated by Margaret Thatcher but maybe that was just a nightmare I had.

Et voilà ....

[André]

I have always liked his conducting. I have the Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Mahler symphony cycles. I enjoy them all, even though by dint of fallible playing and correspondingly cautious conducting they sometimes fall into the 'meh' realm.

What's to be retained is the utmost honesty of his conducting and the (at the time) innovative programming. Whenever I hear one of his discs I have the feeling of the home concerts I was attending when young (the Montreal Symphony was a 'meh' band before the Dutoit era). Warts and all. 

[vandermolen]

Et voilà ....

OH NO!!! 

[vandermolen]

I have always liked his conducting. I have the Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Mahler symphony cycles. I enjoy them all, even though by dint of fallible playing and correspondingly cautious conducting they sometimes fall into the 'meh' realm.

What's to be retained is the utmost honesty of his conducting and the (at the time) innovative programming. Whenever I hear one of his discs I have the feeling of the home concerts I was attending when young (the Montreal Symphony was a 'meh' band before the Dutoit era). Warts and all. 

thank you Andre! You express it much better that I could. Yes, something about the honesty and sincerity of the performances - a kind of integrity and innovative choices. After all he released the first LP of Vaughan Williams's 'Dona Nobis Pacem'. I guess that the Walt Whitman settings had something to do with the interest from the USA (the Colarado SO have just released a recording of the work). I feel better now about acquiring the Sibelius set and looking forward to hearing his Mahler Symphony 1 (a work I have become more obsessed with in the past few weeks). 

[pjme]

I have always liked his conducting. I have the Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Mahler symphony cycles. I enjoy them all, even though by dint of fallible playing and correspondingly cautious conducting they sometimes fall into the 'meh' realm.

What's to be retained is the utmost honesty of his conducting and the (at the time) innovative programming. Whenever I hear one of his discs I have the feeling of the home concerts I was attending when young (the Montreal Symphony was a 'meh' band before the Dutoit era). Warts and all. 

The same feeling over here in Belgium! Abravanel and his Utah band not only chose music i loved ( or loved to discover & learned to love) but it actually got recorded and distributed at a reasonable price.

Good job!

Peter

[ritter]

There's only a few Abravanel recordings in my collection, but among them is this clear example of "innovative programming" (a CD I cherish):

[vandermolen]

There's only a few Abravanel recordings in my collection, but among them is this clear example of "innovative programming" (a CD I cherish):

How interesting - don't know that one at all. What is it like?

[vandermolen]

The same feeling over here in Belgium! Abravanel and his Utah band not only chose music i loved ( or loved to discover & learned to love) but it actually got recorded and distributed at a reasonable price.

Good job!

Peter

Yes, Abravanel with his Utah orchestra played a big part in my musical education as the LPs and later CDs were inexpensive. There were some very innovative Honegger releases and his was my first experience of Walton's 'Belshazzar's Feast' complete with American pronunciations - a great disc.

[ritter]

How interesting - don't know that one at all. What is it like?

Must relisten, but my recollection is that Pacem in Terris is not really that inspired a piece (some longuers to it), but with some historical importance (the text incorporates parts of the last encyclical by Pope John XXIII). L'Homme et son désir is rather more interesting: a "primitivist", Braziilian-inflected ballet on a scenario by Paul Claudel (he didn't write any text as such, the vocal contributions being simply onomatopoeic). The first production was given by Rold de Maré's Ballets Suédois in 1921. There's a version sans voix which I'd say is more succesful (Edmon Colomer recorded for it for Calliope).

Cheers,

[vandermolen]

Must relisten, but my recollection is that Pacem in Terris is not really that inspired a piece (some longuers to it), but with some historical importance (the text incorporates parts of the last encyclical by Pope John XXIII). L'Homme et son désir is rather more interesting: a "primitivist", Braziilian-inflected ballet on a scenario by Paul Claudel (he didn't write any text as such, the vocal contributions being simply onomatopoeic). The first production was given by Rold de Maré's Ballets Suédois in 1921. There's a version sans voix which I'd say is more succesful (Edmon Colomer recorded for it for Calliope).

Cheers,

Many thanks. I read a review online which didn't make me want to rush out and buy it but I'd be interested in the orchestral version. I received Abravanel's Mahler Symphony 1 in the post today which I look forward to hearing and have ordered his Mahler Symphony 3 too.

[André]

One should not forget the superb acoustics afforded to these Vanguard discs. They are part and parcel of the attractiveness of the Abravanel legacy. And to ice the cake, the price of the sets is quite unbeatable.