Alexander Scriabin 1 The Poem of Ecstasy („Le Poem d‘Extase“), 19:16 Op. 54 Houston Symphony Orchestra /, Conductor Fikret Amirov 2 Azerbaijan Mugam („Kyurdi Ovshari“) 13:40 Houston Symphony Orchestra /Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SCRIABIN: The Poem of Ecstasy (Le Some of Scriabin’s new ideas, to which of thought. There are three divisions in his Poème d’extase), Op. 54 he attributed mystical significance, were Poem: 1. His soul in the orgy of love; 2. The incorporated into Le Poème d’extase, a big realization of a fantastical dream; 3. The AMIROV: Azerbaijan Mugam one-movement work in sonata form which glory of his own art.” (“Kyurdi Ovshari”) combines the elements of a symphony and a tone poem. It was begun in 1907, while In his biography of the composer, A. Leopold Stokowski the the composer was living at Beatenberg in Eaglefield Hull writes of The Poem of Ecstasy, Houston Symphony Orchestra Switzerland, and was completed in January, “The basic idea of this, the fourth chief 1908. It received its initial performance orchestral work of Scriabin, is the Ecstasy On this disc are two richly colored Russian on December 10, 1908, at a concert of the of untrammeled action, the Joy in Creative symphonic works. Interpreting them is Russian Symphony Orchestra of New York, Activity.” Basing his comments upon the Leopold Stokowski, one of the most brilliant Modest Altschuler conducting. The following composer’s own annotations in the score, he conductors of our day. This combination of year, it was played several times in Scriabin’s assigns to the Prologue “human striving after colorful music and brilliant interpretation native Russia, where it brought forth cri- the ideal” and “the Ego theme gradually has been reproduced by Everest Records tiques both of praise and condemnation. But realizing itself.” The principal theme of the with a fidelity of sound that has to be heard it succeeded in winning second prize in the main section he associates with “the soaring to be believed. annual competition in honor of Glinka; the flight of the spirit;” the second theme, a vio- first prize went to Rachmaninoff’s Second lin solo, with “Human Love,” and the third, Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915) lived Symphony. It might be noted, parentheti- an important passage for solo trumpet, with and composed in a transitional period in cally, that the Glinka Prize was founded by “the Will to rise up.” In the Development musical history, when Romanticism was the rich timber merchant and music pub- and Recapitulation, the music passes uttering its last dying gasp and Modernism lisher, M. P. Belaieff, who was an ardent through moments of tragedy, stress, defi- was forging to the front. This was also a supporter of Scriabin and whose subsidies ance, charm, pleasure and ecstasy. Finally, period of mysticism and Nietzschian philos- enabled him to devote his entire energies to the work reaches “an Allegro molto Coda of ophy. For some, including Scriabin, it was a giving piano recitals and composing. the swiftest and lightest flight imaginable. time for the expression of the ego in music. The Trumpet subject becomes broader, and Altschuler, who was a friend of Scriabin’s assumes great majesty, until it finally unrolls Scriabin himself was a mystic with many and who had brought out several of his other itself in a rugged and diatonic Epilogue of strange ideas about living, philosophy and symphonic works in New York, wrote this immense power and triumphant grandeur.” music. His chief loves were the piano and note in 1910 for Philip Hale’s annotation In the end, however, the author sums it up composing. More often than not, he com- on The Poem of Ecstasy in the program book with these words: “But Scriabin, notwith- bined the two; nearly all of his works were of the Boston Symphony Orchestra: “While standing all his explainers and annotators written for solo piano, but there were also I was in Switzerland during the summer of (blessed word!), is the champion of absolute a handful of large-scale orchestral composi- 1907 at Scriabin’s villa, he was all taken up music – music pure and simple – read what tions and: a concerto for piano and orches- with the work, and I watched its progress you like into it.” tra. In many of these works, he exploited with keen interest. The composer of the new harmonic ideas. Most striking of these Poème d’extase has sought to express therein Amirov: Azerbaijan Mugam (“Kyurdi was a system of chords constructed on inter- something of the emotional (and therefore Ovshari”) vals of a fourth instead of a third. musically communicable) side of his philoso- phy of life. Scriabin is neither a pantheist nor The only available information on the a theosophist, yet his creed includes ideas Azerbaijan composer, Fikret Dzhamil Amirov, somewhat related to each of these schools comes from the 1958 edition of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, which Azerbaijan Mugam, which bears the states that he was born in Kirovabad on Identifying subtitle Kyurdi Ovshari was com- November 22, 1922. In his youth, he played posed, like its predecessor, in 1948, and some of the native instruments and studied was first performed that same year in Baku. composition. His music reflects the influence The following year, it received the Stalin of Azerbaijan folk music and folk dances, Prize. Leopold Stokowski and the Houston and he has made many arrangements of Symphony Orchestra introduced the work to native folk songs. His list of compositions America on March 16, 1959. includes a double concerto for violin, piano and orchestra; variations for piano; a sym- The present suite is in six movements: phonic poem To the Memory of the Heroes 1. Introduction; 2. Ovshari; 3. Tesnif; 4. of the Greek National War; The Pledge of the Shakhanaz;·5. Kyurdi, and 6. Mani. The Korean Guerilla Fighter for voice and orches- titles refer to various Azerbaijan folk songs tra, and several suites based on mugama, or and folk dances. national modes. Original Liner Notes by PAUL AFFELDER Azerbaijan S. S. R. was one of the first Soviet states. It is a province on the south- western shore of the Caspian Sea and faces Daghestan and Georgia on the north, Armenia on the west and Iranian Azerbaijan on the south. The people who, until recently, were nomadic, have a language and cul- ture that show strong influences of Turkish, Persian and Armenian, although their offi- cial language is now Russian.

As is the case with so much of the music of the East, that of Azerbaijan is governed by complicated systems of modes, scales and fixed melodic patterns, which are described by the word mugam. Actually, the mugam is associated with an ancient form of Azerbaijan music. In 1948, Amirov composed two sym- phonic suites based on two different types of mugam. As the basis for these works he used melodies which he had written down from the best authorities on Azerbaijan folklore. He tried to retain the originality and wealth of the musical creativity of the Azerbaijan people and enrich it by means of his sym- phonic arrangements. Some notes on the history of Everest Below is a graphic representation of this new sprocket gears engage these sprocket holes BELOCK Recording studios is utilized for Records and the digital remastering material. What you see here, your ears will affording a smoothness of motion that reduces recordings made anywhere in the world. By quickly verify when you listen to an EVER- “wow and flutter” to an absolute minimum. utilizing specially designed portable versions When Everest Records was founded by Harry EST recording. The film has another advantage in its great of EVEREST 35 mm equipment, EVEREST Belock in 1958 as a division of Belock Instru- tensile strength which effectively eliminates engineers are able to make recordings and ment Corp., the aim was to produce a cata- Notice that now EVEREST engineers have pitch changes due to “tape stretch”, a condi- maintain the rigid standards and excellence logue of stereo recordings of the highest pos- over 3 times the normal space available tion heretofore almost impossible to control. of quality available in the Studios. sible technical standard, with interesting and [than] on ¼” tape. This means distortion free, innovative classical repertoire played by some perfect sound. 35 mm magnetic film allows Drawing on the extensive experience in the The advanced engineering and special equip- of the best artists and orchestras. EVEREST engineers to make recordings with motion picture sound field BELOCK INSTRU- ment, in addition to meticulous attention MENT (of which EVEREST is a division), to detail, results in the EVEREST sound, a For the first Everest recording sessions in • No distortion from print through requested Westrex Corporation to build spe- sound that has been acclaimed as superb by 1958, an Ampex 300-3 half-inch three- • No distortion from lack of channel width cial equipment to EVEREST’S exacting critics and record enthusiasts throughout the channel recorder was used. Later on the label • Absolute minimum of “wow or flutter” specifications in order to accomplish these world. moved to use a Westrex 35 mm 3-track mag- • Highest possible signal to noise ratio advantages. This equipment includes the use netic film recorder, which had a wider possible • Greatest quality and dynamic range ever of special recording heads which afford com- Executive Producer: Mark Jenkins for Countdown dynamic range, less print-through, less tape recorded plete wide band frequency response beyond Media/Everest • Digital Remastering: Bernie stretch and less ‘wow and flutter’, and which that normally specified in any present-day Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, was the basis for the highly acclaimed typical motion picture recording. It is of interest to Hollywood, CA, from the original analog tapes “Everest-sound”. With 35 mm magnetic film, the base mate- note, that when soundtracks of great motion • Digital Transfers: Scott Sedillo for Bernie rial on which the magnetic oxide is coated pictures originally recorded on 35 mm mag- Grundman Mastering and Len Horowitz for History of Recorded Sound • Additional Restoration Work For the process of digital remastering of the is five times thicker than conventional tape netic film are released as phonograph records, and Re-Release Mastering Engineer: Lutz Rippe at 35 mm master tapes the original Westrex and is similar to the film used for motion pic- that normal technique is to re-record the Countdown Media • Artwork preparation: Eckhard 1551 machine was used for analog playback tures. This thickness permits the recording of sound from 35 mm magnetic film to conven- Volk at Countdown Media • Digital Booklet: Dirk using modified new playback electronics and extremely high sound intensities without the tional tape. EVEREST, through its advanced Böing, Martina Grüthling • Original Producer: Bert fitted with new playback heads. The output danger of layer-to-layer “print-through”. The processes and equipment, is the only record Whyte for Everest Records • Original Recording was captured in highest digital resolution width of 35 mm magnetic film is such that company able to transfer all Master Records Engineer: Aaron Nathanson • Original Recording of 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bit word it can accommodate three channels, each of directly from the 35 mm magnetic film to the Director: Raoul Poliakin • Original Technical Director: Robert Engler • Recording Location and length using state-of-the-art converters. which is as wide as the standard ¼” record- recording heads. Date: Houston (March 1959) • Original Recording ing tape. Because of this great channel width, on 35 mm 3-track magnetic film, released in …from the original LP release: it is possible to produce stereo recordings in To assure maintaining the high quality of 1959 as SDBR 3032 • Analog playback of which the usual background noise is inaudi- EVEREST sound on every EVEREST record- original master tapes on a modified Westrex-1551 “The remarkable EVEREST sound on this ble. Another similarity of magnetic film to ing, the same equipment that is used in the ℗ & © Countdown Media GmbH record is the result of a revolutionary new motion picture is that it has sprocket holes method of magnetic recording developed by cut along each edge. The drive mechanism is EVEREST utilizing 35 mm magnetic film. also similar to motion picture cameras in that

EVEREST is recorded on tape 35 mm wide

½” Tape used for Conventional stereo recording Standard ¼” Recording Tape 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

SDBR-3003 Antill: Corroboree - Ginastera: Panambi SDBR-3034 Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir , Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3005 Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major “Titan” SDBR-3037 Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique London Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir , London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3006 A Memorial Tribute to : Symphony SDBR-3038 Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben No. 9 in E Minor London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir Adrian Boult, Conductor SDBR-3039 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Major, Op. 64 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, SDBR-3009 Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto & Symphony in 3 Movements Conductor Woody Herman and his Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor SDBR-3040 Hindemith: Violin Concerto & Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Eugene Goossens, SDBR-3018 Copland: Symphony No. 3 Conductor & Joseph Fuchs, Violin London Symphony Orchestra & , Conductor SDBR-3041 Villa-Lobos: The Little Train of the Caipira (from Bachianas SDBR-3022 Kodály: Psalmus Hungaricus - Bartók: Dance Suite Brasileiras No. 2) London Philharmonic Orchestra & János Ferencsik, Ginastera: Estancia & Panambi (Ballet Suites) Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor SDBR-3025 Waltz Masterpieces Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York & Raoul SDBR-3044 Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite & Concerto for Piano and Poliakin, Conductor Orchestra in D Minor Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra & , SDBR-3026 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor SDBR-3045 Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor & Tapiola, Tone Poem, Op. 112 SDBR-3027 Raymond Paige’s Classical Spice Shelf London Symphony Orchestra, Tauno Hannikainen, Conductor Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York & Raymond & Tossy Spivakovsky, Violin Paige, Conductor SDBR-3046 Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D 759 “Unfinished” SDBR-3031 Wagner: Parsifal - Good Friday Spell “Karfreitagszauber” - Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550 & Symphonic Synthesis Act 3 London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, Conductor Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SDBR-3047 Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (“Le Sacre du Printemps”) London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, SDBR-3032 Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy - Amirov: Azerbaijan Mugam Conductor Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SDBR-3049 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 & Melody, Op. 42/3 SDBR-3033 Stravinsky: Petrouchka London Symphony Orchestra, Walter Goehr, Conductor & London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Tossy Spivakovsky, Violin Conductor SDBR-3050 Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, Conductor SDBR-3051 Respighi: The Fountains of Rome & The Pines of Rome SDBR-3064 A Liszt Recital: Piano Sonata in B Minor / Funerailles / London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Mephisto Waltz No. 1 Conductor Jorge Bolet, Piano

SDBR-3052 Khatchaturian: Gayne (Ballet Suite) SDBR-3067 Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue & An American in Paris London Symphony Orchestra & Anatole Fistoulari, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, , Conductor Conductor & Jesus Maria Sanroma, Piano

SDBR-3053 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Night on Bald SDBR-3068 Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82 & Mountain Finlandia, Op. 26 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra & , Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3054 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 / Lieutenant Kijé Suite SDBR-3069 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3055 Khatchaturian: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D-flat SDBR-3070 Wagner: Magic Fire Music & Wotan’s Farewell – Chopin: Major Mazurka, Op. 17/4, Prelude, Op. 28/24 & Waltz, Op. 64/2 London Symphony Orchestra, Hugo Rignold, Conductor & – Canning: Fantasy on a Hymn Tune by Justin Morgan Peter Katin, Piano Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SDBR-3056 Dvoˇrák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World” SDBR-3074 Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, “Pastorale” Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor

SDBR-3057 De Falla: The Three Cornered Hat (Complete Ballet) SDBR-3086 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 London Symphony Orchestra & Enrique Jordá, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor

SDBR-3058 Irving Berlin: Great Man of American Music - A New SDBR-3087 Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 Interpretation London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor Raoul Poliakin and his orchestra SDBR-3088 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 SDBR-3059 Works of Lili Boulanger: Du fond de l’abîme (Psaume London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor 130), Psaume 24, Psaume 129 & Vieille Prière Bouddhique SDBR-3089 Beethoven: Symphonies No. 1 & 8 Lamoureux Concert Association Orchestra, Elisabeth London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor Brasseur Choir & Igor Markevtich, Conductor SDBR-3110 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 “Choral” SDBR-3060 Debussy: Iberia - Ravel: La Valse & Rhapsodie Espagnol London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra & Theodore Bloomfield, Conductor SDBR-3113 Beethoven: Symphonies No. 2 & 4 London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor SDBR-3061 A Memorial Album: Ernst von Dohnányi Plays His Own Music for Piano Ernst von Dohnányi, Piano

SDBR-3062 Jorge Bolet playing the music of Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major & Mephisto Waltz No. 1 Jorge Bolet, Piano

SDBR-3063 Bennett: A Commemoration Symphony to Stephen Foster & A Symphonic Story of Jerome Kern Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh & William Steinberg, Conductor