Artist Transcription

The art of transcription - of recasting music, more or less literally, from one performance medium into another - has been a common practice for a long time. A good transcription (or a paraphrase) tests the abilities and the imagination of the transcriber as much as the creation of an original composition. Trying to maintain the distinct characteristics of a given work, while meeting the demands of a new medium, are not always easily achieved. But in a world where the pursuit of stylistic authenticity has become the performance ideal, transcriptions and paraphrases have often been frowned upon by purists as tamperings or sacrilegious alterations with the purity of the composer’s original.

Claude Thornhill & His Orchestra - The 1948 Transcription Performances (1994) {Hep Records HEP CD 17, mono}
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© 1948, 1994 Hep Records | HEP CD 17
Jazz / Bebop / Big Band / Sweet Bands

This CD has the only existing performances of the Claude Thornhill Orchestra from 1948, a year when a recording strike kept most bands off of records. With many charts by Gil Evans or Gerry Mulligan, the Thornhill big band was often quite bop-oriented and featured fine solos from clarinetist Danny Polo, altoist Lee Konitz and the tenor of Mickey Folus; a few numbers also include Brew Moore on tenor, baritonist Gerry Mulligan and trumpeter Gene Roland. In addition there are some vocals from the Snowflakes (a vocal quintet) and Joe Derise. The highly enjoyable and somewhat historical CD is easily recommended to bop collectors and listeners who are interested in the later Claude Thornhill Orchestra.

This performance of the Horn Trio Op 40 is my favorite of the moment. It is so lively and engaging that I had to give it my full attention on the first hearing; no multitasking while these musicians are playing. The trio and the Serenade Op 11 - the Serenade is the original nonet version - are emotionally charged, gritty (but not ugly at all) tangy and deeply satisfying. Well balanced recording and great sound.

Peggy Lee & June Christy - The Complete Capitol Transcription Sessions 1945-1949 (1998) {5CD Set Mosaic MD5-184}
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© 1945-49, 1998 Mosaic Records / Capitol / EMI | MD5-184
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Swing / Straight-ahead Jazz / Mainstream Jazz

Mosaic, the Rolls-Royce of record companies, has produced another of its limited-edition gems (5,000 copies and no more). This five-CD boxed set highlights the early work of two of the more famous vocal graduates of the swing era – Peggy Lee and June Christy. Recently signed by Capitol, they were the company's attempt to break into the transcription business. Transcriptions were records provided to radio stations to fill a constant need for music that regular commercial releases were unable to meet. Most of the songs on this album, cuts from 1945 through 1949, were never before or since recorded by Lee and Christy, so they are a nice addition to their respective discographies.

This fine collection has a diverse range of well know piano repertoire from Bach to Gershwin and illustrates Weissenberg’s brilliance and his exciting lyrical playing. Including both orchestral and solo piano works this collection offers a magnificent range of repertoire for the piano enthusiast. Weissenberg is critically acclaimed for his interpretations of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1 and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No.2 both of which are included in this set. A pianist of virtuoso technique, with wide repertory but a particular interest in the Romantic period (especially the music of Chopin and Schumann), he can give in performance and recordings the impression of a forceful flamboyance of style.

Returning to the studio after a three-year pause, Igor Levit reflects on existence and loss—thoughts prompted by the death of a close friend. Tracing a journey from the music of Bach to that of Frederic Rzewski by way of Schumann, Wagner, Liszt, and others, he supports his intellectual and emotional concerns with playing of power and tenderness. Liszt’s “Ad nos” Fantasia and Fugue unfolds with solemn fervor and Wagner’s Liebestod seethes with passion, while Bill Evans’ “Peace Piece” disarms with its simple message, exquisitely colored by one of the major pianistic talents of our time.

Franz Liszt - Liszt at the Theatre - Leslie Howard (1992) {Hyperion CDA66575}
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© 1992 Hyperion Records | CDA66575
Classical / Solo Piano

Whilst Liszt’s piano music derived from music for plays is a much smaller body of work than his catalogue of operatic pieces, the approach in his methods of composition, elaboration and transcription remains broadly the same. As far as present Liszt scholarship permits one ever to be categorical, this recording contains all of Liszt’s works in this genre.