Igor Stravinsky Ebony Concerto Woody Herman and his Orchestra

1 I. Moderato 03:28

2 II. Andante 02:07

3 III. Moderato 03:38

Igor Stravinsky Symphony in 3 movements London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor

4 I. Overture – Allegro 10:24

5 II. Andante 06:27

6 III. Con moto 06:44 STRAVINSKY: Symphony in Three Those who find themselves out of sym- Symphony in Three Movements. Be that as Movements (1945) pathy with the more hieratic aspects of Igor it may, this is music with considerable aural Sir Eugene Goossens conducting the Stravinsky’s “neoclassic” post-Sacre style, or excitement and no little intellectual fascina- London Symphony Orchestra who are baffled by the explorations of serial tion. technique displayed in the works written Ebony Concerto (1945) Dedicated to after 1950 will find the Symphony in Three It was written for the New York Woody Herman Movements something of a “haven of ref- Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and it Woody Herman and His Orchestra uge.” For there are a number of works in was with that ensemble in Carnegie Hall that Stravinsky’s output which represent a genu- Stravinsky conducted the world premiere on ine creative synthesis of certain styles and January 24, 1936. Stravinsky’s orchestra techniques that he would seem to have been might be described as the “enlarged clas- pursuing virtually as ends in themselves. sical” type, with the enlargements mostly The Symphony in Three Movements, like in the percussion and plectral department the Symphony of Psalms, can be said to rep- - bass drum, piano, harp. The latter two resent one of these “way stations,” wherein instruments play prominent and interesting the perceptive listener can establish a frame roles throughout. of reference in relation to the familiar work of the youthful Stravinsky (in particular Le The first movement has been styled Sacie du Printemps) and that of the “middle Overture (Allegro). The composer’s friend, period” Stravinsky of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Ingolf Dahl, writing in the Summer 1946 It is even possible to “read into” the chro- issue of the League of Composers publica- matic elements exhibited in the Symphony in tion, Modern Music, tells us: “The over-all Three Movements the first hints of the road plan of the first movement is one of two that would lead the composer to explore the outer ‘tutti’ sections framing a central ‘solo’ seemingly (for him) alien world of 12-tone part. The approximate time proportion of and serial music. The fugato subject in the those three sections is 2 : 3 : 1. The third finale provides an instance in point. section brings a modified return of some of the motivic material of the first and second The most immediately striking aspect in reverse order.” The Andante second move- of the Symphony in Three Movements on ment serves as an intermezzo, serenely clas- first hearing is the wealth of coloristic and sic in mien, wherein flute and harp are the harmonic dynamism found in the first and chief protagonists. Without pause we are last movements, together with the pat- plunged into the turbulent opening pages of terns of rhythmic tension we have so long the Con moto third movement. “The move- regarded as Stravinsky trademarks. There ment,” asserts Dahl, “opens with stamp- is no stage or programmatic text implied in ing beats in luminous C Major, as if in affir- this score. Yet it is “gesture music” par excel- mation of the chord which closed the first lence. Having witnessed what dance treat- movement. The following parts are organ- ment has done for the so-called “absolute” ized in free sectional arrangement which at music of the Basle Concerto for strings via first impression seems to give the movement Jerome Robbins’ The Cage, it is fascinating to a somewhat episodic character. But closer speculate on the balletic possibilities for this hearing reveals how neatly these sections are balanced. In discussing their relation- piece is of course expertly contrived for the ships we should remember that Stravinsky group; the sonority is delicate yet full and calculated his works in terms of time-units, varied. Stravinsky has succeeded amazingly and thus we find, in spite of shifting tempi, in combining jazz elements with the lighter più mosso sections, etc., the astonishingly side of his late neo-classical manner. The gay simple proportions (in minutes) of 1 : 2 : 1 but restrained first movement wavers insidi- : 1 : 1. A chart could clarify most easily how ously between styles, seems often about to in these five sections motion and rest, loud- become out-and-out jazz yet remains some- ness and softness, polyphony and chordal thing completely itself. The slow move- structure, repetition and non-repetition are ment, like a reconsidered blues, ponders its weighed against each other and brought into unhappiness with gentle concern. I should, equilibrium.” however, have liked more excitement in the finale, where a bit of sound and fury would Regarding the expressive aspects of the have been effective. The Concerto seems a Symphony in Three Movements, Stravinsky touching yet very wide-awake rumination - an avowed and unrelenting enemy of pro- on what once gave Stravinsky material for a grams as applied to absolute music - has very rowdy Ragtime.” said: “But during the process of creation in this our arduous time of sharp and shifting It is interesting to observe, in conclu- events, of despair and hope, of continual tor- sion, how Stravinsky in 1945 so brilliantly ments, of tension, and at last, cessation and anticipated the “chamber concert jazz” com- relief, it may be that all those repercussions positional experiments being pursued by have left traces in this Symphony. It is not I Macero, Mingus, Guiffre and others a dozen to judge.” years later!

*** Original Liner Notes by DAVID HALL

Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto, composed for Woody Herman’s Band, would seem in some respects to be a chip from the floor of the workshop that produced the Symphony in Three Movements. Yet, in its brief span - also three movements - it has quite a special identity of its own. Scoring is for 6 saxes, 5 trumpets, 3 trombones, guitar, harp, piano, bass, and percussion. The first performance by Woody Herman’s Band was at a New York Carnegie Hall Concert on March 25, 1946. The three movements are Moderato, Andante, Moderato. The Spring 1946 issue of Modern Music offers a delightful summation of Ebony Concerto by Dinald Fuller: “The Some notes on the history of Everest …from the original LP release: system, but naturally will be most appreci- Records and the digital remastering ated by the audiophile with the very finest hi-fi “This Everest Recording is a Product of equipment. When EVEREST recordings are When Everest Records was founded by Harry Belock Recording, a division of the Belock played in the Belock studio through top quality Belock in 1958 as a division of Belock Instru- Instrument Corp. An EVEREST recording hi-fi equipment similar to that found in home ment Corp., the aim was to produce a cata- represents a new peak of achievement in the use, the resulting sound is indistinguishable logue of stereo recordings of the highest pos- recording art. As a product of Belock Instru- from the master tape. Since Belock Record- sible technical standard, with interesting and ment Corp. this recording enjoys unique advan- ing unconditionally guarantees that their tapes innovative classical repertoire played by some tages shared by few, if any other record com- and stereo disks are genuine stereophonic of the best artists and orchestras. pany. The parent company is considered one of recordings, they are designated as CERTI- the world’s finest precision electronic facilities FIED STEREO-MASTER RECORDINGS. The For the first Everest recording sessions in and is engaged chiefly in the development and frequency range of EVEREST recordings is 1958, an Ampex 300-3 half-inch three-chan- production of ultra-secret military devices. 20 to 20,000 cycles. It is important to note, nel recorder was used. Later on the label The company was one of the earliest involved that many companies specify wide frequency moved to use a Westrex 35mm 3-track mag- in the electronics aspects of ballistic missiles response, and while this is an important part netic film recorder, which had a wider possible and is pre-eminent in the fields of radar, and of hi-fi recording, the distortion content of the dynamic range, less print-through, less tape fire-power computers and stabilization- sys recording is, if anything, even more important. stretch and less ‘wow and flutter’, and which tems. Harry Belock, founder of the company, All EVEREST recordings are free of audible was the basis for the highly acclaimed typical is an international authority on sound, and distortion throughout the entire frequency “Everest-sound”. has designed magnetic film recorders which range. Carefully wipe surface with soft damp are in use throughout the world. To EVEREST cloth. Return to wrapper after each play.” For the process of digital remastering of the ½ he brings all his talents and the vast techni- inch master tapes an Otari MX-5050 machine cal resources of his company. This recording was used for analog playback. The output was was made in the new Belock Recording studio, captured in highest digital resolution of 192 which is constructed along the most advanced kHz sampling rate and 24 bit word length ideas in acoustics for recording. The very latest using state-of-the-art converters. In the digital Telefunken, AKG and Neumann microphones domain the recording was carefully restored were utilized, feeding into the new Ampex 300 Executive Producer: Mark Jenkins for Countdown and remastered using top-quality mastering self-sync stereo recorders on half inch tape. Media/Everest • Digital Transfers and Remastering: and restoration equipment. A specially-designed Ampex with low-noise Lutz Rippe at Countdown Media using the original master tapes • Artwork preparation: Eckhard Volk amplifiers is used to produce the dubbing mas- at Countdown Media • Digital Booklet: Dirk Böing, ter. Tape duplication is accomplished on modi- Martina Grüthling • Original Producer: Bert Whyte fied Ampex machines in the Belock studios, so for Everest Records • Original Recording Engineer: that maximum quality control is exercised at Aaron Nathanson • Album Design: Alex Steinweiss all times. For stereo disc, the tape is fed into • Recording Location and Date: Symphony in 3 modified Westrex stereo cutterhead, mounted Movements - Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London on Scully lathes. A former Westrex design engi- (August 1958); Ebony Concerto - Belock Recording Studios (Bayside New York, 1958) • Original Recording neer is on the Belock Recording stuff to insure on 3-track ½ inch tape, released in December 1958 optimum quality in stereo disc operations. The as SDBR 3009 • Analog playback of original master results of all this painstaking care are to be tapes on an Otari MX5050 • Digital restoration and heard on any EVEREST recording. The record- remastering using Algorithmix software products ings will give superb sound on any playback ℗ & © Countdown Media GmbH Below is a listing of the currently available Everest albums in this series. For more information and an updated listing please visit www.evereststereo.com

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