Philip’s Demo at Sound Sanctuary, Austin (Part I of III)

Philip’s Demo at Sound Sanctuary, Austin was diverse by design

This is a 3-part series highlighting 11 albums with curator’s notes for an event in Austin early April.  The event was well attended with music lovers (male and female) from a diverse age group and with diverse music tastes.  This playlist was curated to demonstrate Midrange Magic in a well-presented sound system and there is something for everyone.

 

 

 Stravinsky composed Petrushka as his second ballet for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe. This came after the spectacular success of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. Petrushka premiered in Paris on 13 June 1911.   In 1947, Stravinsky revised Petrushka to secure new copyright protection. As the original 1911 version had fallen into the public domain, in many countries, including the USA.   Abbado used the 1947 Boosey and Hawks rescored version for a smaller orchestra.

  

Petrushka tells the story of a love triangle among three puppets.

 

The ballet begins at the Admiralty Square in St. Petersburg during the 1830s at the Shrovetide fair; our hero Petruška, is in love with the ballerina, who, in turn, is enchanted by the Moor.  A crowd gathers around the magician who presents the three puppets in a small theatre. He charms them into life with his flute,  and to the audience’s delight and surprise,  the puppets come down from the stage and dance amongst the crowd.

  

In the second Tableau, Petrushka is dejected, as he has failed to win over the beautiful ballerina;  he is sad and rues the fact that he was given life,  only to find that the Ballerina has fallen for another.

  

In the third Tableau, Petrushka enters the Moor’s room and interrupts the Moor and the ballerina,  but the Moor casts Petruška out. 

 

In the fourth Tableau, we return to the main Square,  where an altercation ensues between the Moor and Petrushka.  The Moor strikes Petrushka down with his scimitar.  The crowd is horrified, so the Magician is summoned to the scene, as well as a police officer. The Magician reminds everyone that Petrushka is nothing but a puppet made of straw and cloth, and so cannot have either real emotion or ‘life’. As the crowd disperses, the showman is left alone onstage. 

Petrushka’s ghost rises above the puppet theatre as night falls. He shakes his fist and thumbs his nose at the Magician, making the Magician flee in terror. Petrushka then collapses to a second death.

 

Nikolai Myaskovsky, acclaimed Russian composer and a friend of Stravinsky’s, wrote in his review of the work, “Is Stravinsky’s Petrushka a work of art? I don’t know. Can one call life a work of art? That very life that roars all around us, that calls forth our wrath and our joy, that weeps, that rages, that flows in a swift, broad current? For Petrushka is life itself. All the music in it is full of such energy, such freshness and wit, such healthy, incorruptible merriment, such reckless abandon, that all its deliberate banalities and trivialities, its constant background of accordions not only fail to repel but, quite the contrary, carry us away all the more…The music of this extraordinary ballet has such integrity, energy, and such inexhaustible humor, that one positively loses all desire to attempt a more detailed analysis – it would be like a vivisection.”

  

When they originally recorded Abbado & the LSO in 1976, they were unsure of the new digital format, so they also recorded the performance on an 8-track analogue tape recorder. The original LP and cassette were made from the digital recording.  In 2025,  DG’s Original Source Series remixed & remastered the same performance from the 8-track tape analogue recording. We have compared many of the first pressings on LP to the recent Original Source reissues and can confidently state that the analogue reissues are superior  to the their digital counterparts.  The aAnalogue reissues are not only more resolute, but offer a fuller, richer midrange, with greater tonal colour.

 

Want to share Mark Ward’s Notes on this album:  Stravinsky was unusual in that he composed at the piano, and the two chords that drive the work from the outset are in harmonic opposition, with one being on white notes, one all on black notes. Would he have come up with this if he hadn’t been sitting at the piano? This idea of chords in opposing keys sounding together is something taken up in earnest by the minimalists. His use of orchestration harkens back to 19th century, especially Russians like Rimsky Korsakov, even more than Firebird. As with harmonic blocks in opposition, so he uses opposing washes of sound to create dramatic contrasts, especially in Fair scenes.

 

The trumpet is mainly associated with the Petrushka puppet, although the ballerina dances to it in the Moor’s room. When the Moor tries to join her on low wind (including on cor anglais) his time doesn’t mesh with hers – a lovely effect. In the second tableau, when the ballerina comes in I think I remember that Petrushka dances with the flute, not the trumpet. Stravinsky made extensive use of genuine folk songs in the Fair scenes, which many Russians would have recognized. I believe the work started out as a concertante piece for piano and orchestra, but when Diaghilev recognized its potential as a ballet, Stravinsky retained the piano to help tell the story – very unusual to have the piano play such a prominent role in an orchestral work at the time. Of course, this idea is taken up by Bartok, Prokofiev, and others very effectively.

 

Another thought. It’s very cinematic in how the drama is presented, less linear than Firebird or Tchaikovsky. Especially in fair scenes where you “cut” from one zone of action to another without warning. You can literally hear what would be cuts to different scenes in a movie. It’s all quite brilliant on every level and very modern.

 

~ “Let Me Touch You For A While” ~

~ “Everytime You Say Goodbye” ~

I can clearly remember when this album was first released on the SACD format. Not only is Alison Krauss found here in fine voice, not to mention a fine violinist, but she blends pristine bluegrass, country, and folk with impeccable instrumental skill and beautiful vocal harmonies. She is surrounded by terrific musicians, such as Dan Tyminski on guitar & vocals,  who sang  “I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow”, in the movie “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”   as well as virtuoso dobro player Jerry Douglas.

 

Krauss’ unexpected breakthrough into mainstream pop with “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” is blissful, and her vocal pitch is unwavering. I am sure even the angels have taken note of her vocal talent. 

The album opens with “Let Me Touch You For Awhile.” Ms Krauss immediately wins you over; the emotion is heartfelt, while she is accompanied by the immaculate dobro picking of Jerry Douglas. She makes full use of the beautiful harmonies of the backing musicians.

 

The second song, “Choctaw Hayride”, “ is an instrumental, while Krauss is on violin,  it’s the ideal vehicle for Jerry Douglas to showcase his virtuosic skills on dobro.

There isn’t enough space to cover every song here, but some personal favourites:

“Ghost in This House” – Krauss’ singing is sublime, accompanied by Douglas’ picking on his dobro, while Barry Bales (bass), Dan Tyminski & Ron Block (guitar) sing in perfect unison. Perfection.

 

“Forget About It” starts out with a sparse accompaniment of dobro and Dan Tyminski on mandolin. Before the band slips into gear, these are all highly skilled musicians who give each other enough space to shine.

 

Tyminski’s rendition of “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” ( traditional ) is bluegrass at its finest.  In the video, he earns a well-deserved standing ovation.  This is clearly a band with all members embracing the group concept while Alison Krauss’ voice soars & shimmers over “Maybe” and “When You Say Nothing At All”. 

 

Originally released in 2002 on SACD,  it was first released on LP by Mobile Fidelity in 2006. That 3 x LP set is expensive these days, around $500.  Craft reissued this album last year, it’s a stunning reissue on vinyl and considerably more affordable at $80.  BTW, it’s worth seeing the video. The album cuts out most of the between-song banter. It’s worth hearing, however, as Alison Krauss is really funny and charming.  Not to mention, you get to see detail, that you might have missed while listening only to the album. https://youtu.be/3_UCz_qaqGk?si=5vT3USRupdE_u0cC  Highly recommended.

 

 ~ A Nice Day ~

~ My Funny Valentine ~

Where classical chamber music tastefully meets jazz. The album was recorded in 1955, with side one recorded in the studio and the second side recorded live.

Chico Hamilton started out as a subtle and tasteful drummer in Gerry Mulligan’s first quartet. He later became a terrific bandleader, attracting wonderful musicians to his side. On this album, Chico Hamilton’s extraordinary quintet features Buddy Collette on woodwinds, Jim Hall on guitar, Fred Katz on cello, and Carson Smith on bass.

On the opening track, “A Nice Day.” Fred Katz plays cello, with Jim Hall on guitar, then Buddy Colette enters on flute, while Carson Smith plays a bowed acoustic bass. The last musician to enter is Chico Hamilton himself; only then do you realise that you are about to enjoy a delicious slice of Jazz.

The second song is “My Funny Valentine,” is no less impressive, originally composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Again, we are treated to a beautiful interplay between cello & guitar, with the rhythm section laying down the foundation. Buddy Colette on flute is stunning, soaring into the heavens, and we lucky listeners are transported on a magic carpet.
We are fortunate that  Blue Note’s Tone Poets Vinyl Edition can dip into Pacific Jazz’s library for this oft-ignored jazz classic, remastered from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI.

>> Go to Philip’s Demo at Sound Sanctuary, Austin (Part II)

>> Go to Philip’s Demo at Sound Sanctuary, Austin (Part III)