Search - Alan Hovhaness, Igor Stravinsky, Sergey Prokofiev :: Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain

TOUCHING ETERNITY

Melvyn M. Sobel | Freeport (Long Island), New York | 07/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a defining moment, I think, when we first hear a piece of music and a unique nexus occurs, instantaneous and infinite, that forever both transforms and transcends us. Indeed, it is just this rare relationship we have with music that enables it to reach the very core of our being or catapult us to a new emotional plane. It is a wondrous thing.



Such was my experience with Alan Hovhaness's Symphony No. 2, or simply, "Mysterious Mountain." Something deep within me was enlightened and moved by this all-embracing, mystically serene and ultimately ravishing and majestic music.



"Mysterious Mountain" is a four movement work lasting a mere nineteen minutes. Yet, if you surrender yourself to its bottomless spirituality and humanity, if you allow yourself to be "taken" to wherever it will, you will be transformed in the process. You may even touch eternity. Within this music lies the innate experience of what it really means to be human.



I truly wish I could peel away the years and return to the time I first heard this glorious symphony.



[Running time: 63:36]"

A Glorious Recording Gloriously Re-Mastered

Mr. F. E. Perry | 11/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is arguably one of the finest symphonic recordings made of any piece by anyone, anywhere. Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's rendition of Hovhaness's Symphony No. 2 is a worthy companion to their recordings of Strauss and Bartok - recordings that belong in the library of anyone who loves great music.What's equally worth noting is the care that RCA took in transferring it to compact disk. They recruited John Pfeiffer, the engineer who made the original recordings, to do the re-mastering. Further, they rebuilt the original analogue recording equipment to transfer the tape master to digital format. Then, they made the brave decision to avoid all noise reduction post-processing, in order to preserve as much of the original performance as possible. As a result, you do hear tape hiss on this disk, as well as other extremely slight noise; but you also hear a beautifully detailed recording. For example, on one of the pianissimo trumpet passages, you can hear a very slight blurring of the trumpet tone, as Bud Herseth tightens his emboucher - a sound that contributes to the performance, but would have been scrubbed out by most noise-reduction systems.If you love great music, buy this disk. And play it loud!"

Mountaintop Experience

Robert E. Nylund | Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States | 04/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For many, climbing a mountain (or a hill) is more than a physical exercise. Amercian composer Alan Hovhaness recognized that there is a spiritual quality to being on top of a mountain, perhaps going back to the Biblical example of the three disciples who joined Jesus Christ on a mountain. Simon Peter said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Mountains can be a place for meditation and reflection.



In his second symphony, which he called "Mysterious Mountain," Alan Hovhaness imagined a mountain where one could indeed have a spiritual experience. Perhaps this was his vision of an IDEAL mountain, certainly a place to get away from things and spend time in contemplation. There's no doubt that the symphony, which was premiered by Leopold Stokowski and the Houston Symphony in 1955 (on NBC television), is an uplifting piece. It is also very majestic and profound at times, setting a pattern for Hovhaness in the numerous symphonies he wrote in the years after 1955.



Fritz Reiner's remarkable recording of "Mysterious Mountain" was one of a series of incredible stereophonic recordings that RCA Victor made in Chicago's Orchestra Hall between 1954 and 1962. Using just three microphones and a triple-track tape recorder, RCA achieved outstanding results with a greater clarity than had been accomplished in earlier recordings. This particular recording remains a "high water" mark and is probably the definitive version of a magnificent work that can be quite inspirational. Yes, Hovhaness does represent a mountaintop experience and, some years later, he celebrated yet another mountain in his "Mount Saint Helens" symphony, recorded by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the volcano's violent 1980 eruption.



The lighter work on this disc is a top-notch performance of Igor Stravinsky's tribute to Peter Tchaikovsky, a divertimento drawn from the ballet "The Fairy's Kiss." Much in the same vein as Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty," this is magical, delightful, and enchanting music that is given a very fine interpretation by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony. Although there are a few obvious quotes from the music of Tchaikovsky, much of the score is a homage to the earlier composer that represents his considerable imagination and musical abilities.



Stravinsky (1882-1971) once said, "Of all of us, Tchaikovksy was the most Russian." Stravinsky once glimpsed Tchaikovsky, just before the premiere of the sixth symphony in 1893, and was left forever with an image of a tragic but very gifted composer/conductor. Reiner's recording is a very good representation of this musical tribute.



One of the first recordings this writer ever heard by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony was their performance of the orchestral suite that Sergei Prokofiev prepared from his film score for "Lt. Kije," based on a classic Russian tale of a mythical Russian Army officer created by a bureaucratic error. The satirical qualities of the story were not lost on Prokofiev, who readily composed music that suited the various episodes of the lieutenant's supposed life.



Reiner's interepretation of this delightful music was thoroughly enjoyable, even if it omits the baritone solo in the original score (included in Seiji Ozawa's Deutsche Grammophon recording with the Boston Symphony).



The score begins with a mysterious, haunting theme representing the birth of Kije; this music is later repeated, in a somewhat altered version, for Kije's death. Along the way, we hear a delightful, appropriately martial, march; an exquisite and intense love theme; a grandiose, pompous wedding celebration; and a furious sleigh ride. All of this is played extremely well by the Chicago musicians and, once again, the ground-breaking stereophonic recording still has a remarkably modern sound."