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Author: duxburyclarinetguy
Date: 2009-09-04 22:21
Does anyone know where I might be able to get a recording of Robert Marcellus performing the Schubert Octet? Thanks
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-09-04 22:36
Greg Smith will have it. And if I remember correctly, it is with full orchestra strings but one on a part with winds (as Szell liked to do).
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2009-09-05 02:35
The live performance by Cleveland/Szell is on a multi-disk 75th Szell anniversary/retrospective that was specially issued by them over a decade ago. Perhaps you can locate a used set by googling or visiting Cleveland's website to determine whether it has been reissued.
I would differ (not surprisingly) with the prior assessment of Marcellus' playing style from this live recording. The interpretation seems appropriately intimate and brilliant as the style of this music suggests.
Perhaps the innate presence and size of the Marcellus "sound" (along with the characteristically "hot" miking of that period by WCLV radio), would lead one to believe that the volume of sound was too much for Schubertian chamber music.
(However, the horn playing of Myron Bloom and bassoon playing of George Goslee seem appropriately in balance and voicing when compared along side Marcellus - thus all seems in perfect balance for this recording.)
I know that Szell was a fanatic about solo voices being projected and present at all times and that there were many "spot" mics for solo players in all performances both live and on record.
Szell wanted every voice clearly etched in the fabric of the performance hence the incredible clarity of texture that is well known from that period in Cleveland. One can hear that on any Szell recording whether with the Cleveland or other orchestras such as the LSO or the Concertgebouw. Additionally, the unmatched clarity of Severance Hall's acoustics was a definite enhancement.
I was not at the performances of this work given in December of 1965, but after having heard Marcellus in all settings - orchestral, chamber, and solo - it would seem that additionally, Marcellus' sound transferred beautifully to recording and therefore the volume or intensity might seem too much *when compared to all other performances*.
Marcellus had said many times that this was a favorite, if not the favorite performance of his - that he felt completely at ease in this setting. So at any rate, I doubt that he intentionally over-performed it in any way.
He told me that he played on a Cicero Kaspar that was "a little too small and French sounding" as he put it. But who would have known that from this recording? He sounded more Viennese to me - and indeed, that quality could have been Schubert speaking more than anything else.
The only other recording that I would put in the Szell/Cleveland class is the classic 1977 version by the Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields - Tony Pay clarinet. It's some of the finest chamber music on record - if one can still find it in print. On edit - available: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001GAS50/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
Gregory Smith
Post Edited (2009-09-05 03:39)
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Author: duxburyclarinetguy
Date: 2009-09-05 15:28
Greg-
Thanks so much for your insightful commentary regarding Robert Marcellus, the Cleveland Orchestra under Szell and the piece itself.
I am curious of your thoughts on the Harold Wright recording of the Schubert Octet, size of the ensemble notwithstanding.
Rick
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2009-09-05 16:52
Rick -
Having been a great admirer of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for many years, not to mention Harold Wright, perhaps my expectations were a little too high to begin with. The recording is excellent in many ways and has many beautiful moments - but in the end, it came up a little short for me.
Whether this was due to the musical interpretation, the blend or sonority of the ensemble, the quality of the engineering, I can't say for sure. Perhaps I was spoiled by the admirable qualities heard in the Cleveland Orchestra performance - a crucial component being that it was a live recording.
After having played and heard thousands of pieces both in studio and live, almost without exception, live recordings seem preferable to studio recordings. There's just too much tinkering with the organic qualities of a piece of music in studio when one plays for a microphone with no audience, splices are made, etc. There's something crucial missing.
Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two recordings for that reason. If there were a live recording of the BSO Players, it might be a different story. I have many live recordings of our orchestra and of Cleveland, warts and all, that were made the same week of the commercially released studio recordings and can't think of a single instance in which I preferred the studio recording.
Gregory Smith
Post Edited (2009-09-05 16:53)
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Author: duxburyclarinetguy
Date: 2009-09-05 17:54
Greg-
I agree, I have always preferred live to studio recordings. Thanks again, I will see if I can obtain a copy of the Marcellus recording.
I studied 5 years with Harold Wright and always found listening live, either sitting next to him or in the hall was preferable to recordings wherein one was subject to the engineering whether it was Phillips, DG or whomever.
Rick
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Author: Ed
Date: 2009-09-06 15:38
The Szell Schubert Octet was issued on The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Compact Disc Edition, which was issued in 1997 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Szell.
The Cleveland Orchestra 75th anniversary collection contains many great recordings, but the Schubert is not included in that collection.
While I love this recording, I have to admit that I also love the Boston Chamber Players recording. It has always been one of my favorites. They are quite different in many ways, and I enjoy them both for different reasons.
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