Gregory Wanamaker

composer

Clarikinetics features my Sonata for clarinet and piano, clarikinetics, Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking

“An impressive and rewarding unaccompanied work” – – Philip Sinder referring to TubaSuite in the Guide to the Tuba Repertoire: The New Tuba Source Book ©2006 Indiana University Press.

The Composer as Interpreter

I have always been interested in hearing composers take the role of conductor or instrumentalist to interpret their own music as well as works by other composers. While it is hard to say that all of these performances are the best performances of the works performed, they are certainly definitive interpretations.

This is not intended to be a complete list - rather it is a list of some of my favorite recordings from my own collection. There are many, many more recordings like these out there and I am likely to have forgotten a few, but you will find some wonderful recordings below of composers interpreting their own - and, in some cases, others’ - works.

John Adams

My favorite recording featuring John Adams as a conductor is American Elegies (Elektra Nonesuch 979249-2). This is a beautiful collection of American works including Adams’ orchestrations of five songs by Charles Ives (performed by Dawn Upshaw). Adams leads the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in works by Ives, Ingram Marshall, Morton Feldman, and David Diamond. Adams’ own haunting Eros Piano is included (with Paul Crossley, piano). I am not a fan of every piece on this disc, but I really dig the program. Well worth a couple of listenings. Also worth checking out is his performance of his excellent Chamber Symphony with the London Sinfonietta on Elektra Nonesuch (79219-2).

Béla Bartók

Béla Bartók received his earliest praise as a pianist and we are very fortunate to have a number of recordings that highlight his artistry as a performer and interpreter of his own music. Pearl has issued a collection entitled Bartók Plays Bartók with some amazing performances (Gemm CD 9166). Unfortunately, the transfers from the original sources are pretty bad and the recording sounds very edgy and top-heavy.

Vanguard issued a recording of a remarkable 1940 recital at the Library of Congress with Bartók and violinist Joseph Szigeti performing the composer’s Second Sonata and his First Rhapsody. (OVC 8008) In addition, there are brilliant performances of the Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata and Debussy’s Sonata that will knock your socks off!

My absolute favorite recording by Bartók is his recording of Contrasts with Benny Goodman and Joseph Szigeti. The performance (and the piece!) is exceptional and is worthy of serious study. It exists on a number of labels, but the best sound is on a release on the Dutton label called The Composers Play. This recording also features performances by Francaix, Poulenc and de Falla. Cool stuff!

Luciano Berio

Berio recorded his great Sinfonia (1968) with the Swingle Singers and the New York Philharmonic in 1969 before he added the fifth movement. I have not found this performance on compact disc, but I have the CBS Masterworks 1983 reissue (MS 38779). An excellent performance to compare with Pierre Boulez’s 1986 recording (Erato 2292-45228-2).

I am also a big fan of Berio’s former wife and mezzo soprano Cathy Berberian who collaborated with the composer on a number of projects. Berio leads the London Sinfonietta in Recital I for Cathy on the RCA Victor recording that also features her performance of Berio’s 1964 Folk Songs (09026-62540-2).

William Bolcom

William Bolcom won the Pulitzer Prize for music composition in 1987 for his fantastic 12 New Etudes for piano. A long out of print record (never rereleased on CD) is a fantastic recording of his first set of etudes (Advance Recordings FGR-14S). The 12 Etudes were composed on and off between 1959-1966. Many of us many be familiar with Bill’s other recordings, especially those with his wife, Joan Morris, but this one is a real treat as it also shows Bill as a colorful and imaginative soloist. It’s very hard to find so you might wish to peruse rare record auctions, used record stores, etc. Incidentally, Bill transcribed the Scherzino from his original 12 Etudes for the PRISM Saxophone Quartet for their 20th Anniversary Concert.

Benjamin Britten

Although there are works of his I think are fantastic (Nocturnal, Peter Grimes), Benjamin Britten is not one of my favorite composers. But Benjamin Britten is an outstanding conductor and pianist. There are several recordings of Britten conducting and playing his own works, but I prefer his work with other composers’ music. While there are several of these recordings, I will highlight one: his 1959 recording of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (BBCB 8003-2). This is the recording responsible for bringing this work (and Baroque opera in general) back into the quasi-mainstream it sits presently. Claire Watson is a superb Dido, but the real feature is Britten himself and the English Opera Group Orchestra.

Britten's performances of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra on London (443 847-2) are also not to be missed.

George Crumb

George Crumb holds (and will continue to hold) an interesting place in music history as one of the very few composers who made a name for himself in the US by composing chamber music - always at his own pace - not rushing to meet a commissioner’s deadline. I hope that all composers could take a step back and admire that aspect of Dr. Crumb’s career in an era where the commercial success of a composer is almost solely judged by commissions and performances by symphony orchestras. Of course, this is not to diminish the quality and importance of his music. George Crumb’s 70th Birthday Album (Bridge 9095) was released in 1999 (appropriate, considering his age) and features him as a performer on every track. He is a percussionist in his massive Star-Child (1977) and also in the duo Mundis Canis (1998) with guitarist David Starobin. Lastly, he is the pianist on his Three Early Songs (1947) with his daughter (and Broadway star), soprano Ann Crumb.

Paul Hindemith

Deutsche Grammophon’s 3 CD box set “Hindemith Conducts Hindemith” (474 770-2) and EMI’s 2 CD Set of Hindemith’s performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra feature some of the best and most energetic performances of Hindemith’s music as well as an interview (in German).

There is an incredibly exciting performance of Hindemith’s Symphony in B-Flat with the composer conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on the Orfeo label (Orfeo C 197 891 B). It is not the most technically accurate performance, but the energy is astounding. This disc also includes performances of the Four Temperaments and Berg’s Chamber Concerto (cool!) under Hindemith’s baton.

Dutton Labs released a great cd called Paul Hindemith Performs Hindemith featuring a 1939 performance of Der Schwanendreher with Hindemith leading Arthur Fiedler’ Sinfonietta from the viola!

Q Disc’s 13 CD collection Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Volume I (1935-1950) appears to be out of print (Q DISC 97017), but I have heard an astounding performance of Hindemith conducting his Symphony in E-flat from this set at a friend’s house. This is a live broadcast from 1947.

Witold Lutoslawski

Lutoslawski was a great conductor of his own works. Philips has released a collection on their Duo series a budget-priced two cd set entitled The Essential Lutoslawski which contains several works performed under his baton (Philips 289 464 043-2). The performance of his groundbreaking Third Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic is remarkable. I also recommend the recording of his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Krystian Zimerman (for whom the work was composed) and the BBC Symphony (Deutsche Grammophon D101229).

Krzyzstof Penderecki

Penderecki’s recordings of his own works are the definitive performances. The most important of these is his 1989 recording of his ground breaking St. Luke Passion (Argo 403 328-2) with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Chorus and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. EMI has released 2 budget priced 2 CD sets of Penderecki’s performances of his works from the 60s through the 80s on their Double Fforte series: The first includes the Cello Concerto, Partita, and Threnody and the second contains The Christmas Symphony and other works.

My favorite recent recording of Penderecki as a conductor is his Concerto for Violin & Orchestra No. 2 with Anne Sophie Mutter and the London Symphony Orchestra (DG 289 453 507-2).

I would be remiss if I did not include a couple of fantastic DVDs of Maestro Penderecki conducting and coaching: Penderecki - A Celebration contains beautiful performances of various concerti. The DVD featuring his Seven Gates of Jerusalem (Symphony No. 7) / Penderecki, Penderecki Festival Orchestra also features a nice little self-directed and self-indulgent documentary of Penderecki. The Scherzo of the Seventh Symphony, by the way, is the highlight of the DVD!

Serge Prokofiev

Dutton Labs released Prokofiev's June 28, 1932 performance of his Third Piano Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Piero Coppola. Not only is this a definitive performance, but it is in surrisingly good sound.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

I must admit that during my younger years as a student composer who pretentiously and unabashedly rejected anything that wasn’t (in my mind) raucous, heavy, crunchy, and discordant, Rachmaninoff as a composer entered my life only recently. As a masters student at Florida State University, my Fragments and Developments was programmed on the same concert as Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. I was still nonplussed, but I think it was largely due to the fact that I wasn’t really there to listen to anything other than my own piece.

Sometime later, I heard The Isle of the Dead for the first time at a Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra concert and was blown away, particularly by his colorful orchestration. This sparked my interest in other works of his - and I was delighted to find that there were plenty of recordings of him performing as a conductor and a pianist. He is arguably the best pianist I have ever experienced via recordings.

NAXOS Historical series has released his piano concerti with Sergei himself as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the batons of Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy (NAXOS: 8.110601, 8.110602). The NAXOS recordings are in much better sound (and much cheaper!) than the recordings of the same performances released by RCA Victor in 1993. Unfortunately, because of our stupid copyright laws, they are not available in the United States. I shot across the border and grabbed them in Canada. In addition to these performances, check out RCA's Box Set Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Complete Recordings. My favorite on this set is his performance of Schumann’s Carnaval. As far as I am concerned, he owns that piece! I also highly recommend his recording of The Isle of the Dead with The Philadelphia Orchestra in this set. While there are a couple of cuts in the score (perhaps to fit on particular sides of a 78 rpm set) it is a chilling performance.

Dmitri Shostakovich

Two recordings immediately come to mind with Shostakovich as a pianist. The first was originally released on cd by EMI in 1993 on their Composers in Person series and features the composer as piano soloist in his two Piano Concertos under the baton of André Cluytens in 1958.

The performance of his Piano Quintet, Op. 57 on Vanguard (OVC 8077) with the Beethoven Quartet is a real treat. The fugue in the second movement is hauntingly beautiful. The communication between Shostakovich and the rest of the ensemble is clearly evident when listening to the elasticity of each phrase in performance. This is a must have.

Richard Strauss

My favorite recording of Richard Strauss conducting his own music is his 1941 Munich recording of his Alpine Symphony on Dutton (CDBP 9720). This disc also contains good performances of Waltzes from Act III of Der Rosenkavelier and his tone poem Don Juan.

Igor Stravinsky

We have been lucky in recent months to have a HUGE, yet inexpensive box set of Stravinsky conducting Stravinsky released by SONY. It is all but out of print. Let's hope that SONY will print up another batch!

Heitor Villa-Lobos

Four of his Bachianas Brasileiras under the composer's baton, including the fifth with soprano Victoria de los Angeles, are included on this 1998 release by EMI: Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 1, 2, 5 & 9 / ORTF National Orchestra, De Los Angeles.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

There are a few recordings of Ralph Vaughan Williams conducting many of his symphonic works. My favorite is the 1937 recording of his Fourth Symphony on Dutton’s Vaughan Williams conducts Vaughan Williams (CDBP 9731). It is an excellent remastering of an energetic performance of his most exciting symphony.

Anton Webern

Webern's May 1, 1936 performance of Alban Berg's Violin Concerto was the great work’s second performance. It was released on the Continuum label (SBT 1004) in 1991. I recently bought this incredible performace featuring violinist Louis Krasner (for whom Berg’ was composed) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It is as close to a definitive performance as we can find today. It is also in surprisingly good sound.