Sunday Classics preview: A taste of Old Vienna

Plus: Watch for another big contest giveaway Sunday!

Can we visit Old Vienna without Richard Tauber? On our Gypsy Baron night, the incomparable tenor sings Barinkay's Act I entrance couplet, "Als flotter Geist."

[English translation based on Gery Bramall's for Teldec. The choral cues indicate where the chorus would join in if there were one.]

A bright spark, though orphaned early in life,
I roamed all over the world.
I was the factotum
of a big circus.
I ruled the whole animal kingdom
from whale to golden pheasant.
The rattlesnake petted me,
the rhinoceros stroked my cheek,
the lion crawled on the ground before me,
the tiger fed from my hand.
I was on the best of terms with the hyena,
I showed my teeth to the crocodile.
The elephant used his trunk
to dress my salad in the bowl.

Yes, all of that, on my honor,
I can do that and still more.
If it can be done somehow,
it's not hard, it's not hard.
[CHORUS joins in as BARINKAY repeats.]

Then I traveled with rare specimens,
as an acrobat and medicine man,
and at the end I was assistant
to a sorcerer!
I called ghosts by the dozen
into my black magic circle.
I was an ardent fire-eater,
and swallowed knives to aid my digestion.
A high-wire artist like the Japanese,
an incomparable quick-change artist.
I can perform splendid card tricks
and am even better as a card-sharp.
I am a magician of importance,
and all without training. Indeed!

Yes, dancer and juggler,
prestidigitator.
If it can be done somehow,
it's not hard, it's not hard.
[CHORUS joins in as BARINKAY repeats.]

by Ken

In the days after Daniel Barenboim's invigorating debut appearance conducting the Vienna New Year's Concert in 2009, including the noteworthy New Year's wish "We hope 2009 will be a year of peace in the world, and of human justice in the Middle East," we took note of the event in a Sunday Classics post on the Strausses of Vienna, "There are good reasons why great conductors bring their 'A' game when they play the music of Johann Strauss II and his family."

My immediate impression, even from watching the concert casually, was that it had been unsually auspicious New Year's Concert in both programming and execution. And that impression was confirmed when the CD version came out. One nice programming point -- not revolutionary, exactly, but felicitous nevertheless -- was the cluster of from and related to Johann II's second-best-loved operetta, The Gypsy Baron," and in tonight's Viennese preview we're going to hear all three pieces in question: the Overture, of course (a fairly standard concert piece), the "Entrance March" from Act III, and the Treasure Waltz created out of Gypsy Baron material.

Naturally along with Daniel B's performances we're going to hear some interesting (I hope!) complements and alternatives.

J. STRAUSS II: Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron): Overture

Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. Decca, recorded 1959

Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond. Teldec, recorded live, April 1994

Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Barenboim, cond. Decca, recorded live at the 2009 Vienna New Year's Concert


J. STRAUSS II: Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron):

Act III, Entrance March

orchestra only
Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Barenboim, cond. Decca, recorded live at the 2009 Vienna New Year's Concert

Vienna Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons, cond. DG, recorded live at the 2006 Vienna New Year's Concert

with chorus: "Hurrah, die Schlacht mitgemacht hab'n wir" ("Hurrah, we've fought the battle")
Arnold Schoenberg Chorus, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond. Teldec, recorded live, April 1994


J. STRAUSS II: Treasure Waltz, Op. 418

Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Barenboim, cond. Decca, recorded live at the 2009 Vienna New Year's Concert

Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. RCA, recorded Apr. 25-26, 1960

(arr. Webern -- yes, that Webern!)
Alban Berg Quartet; Alfred Mitterhofer, harmonium; Heinz Medjimorec, piano. EMI, recorded June 1992


A BONUS PREVIEW OF TOMORROW NIGHT'S PREVIEW

I already did these audio files, which wound up being surplus from tomorrow night's preview. It seems a shame to waste them, so why don't we use them as a preview of tomorrow night's preview?

J. STRAUSS II: Die Fledermaus (The Bat)

Overture

Act I trio, "So muss allein ich bleiben"
("So I must remain alone")

Gerda Scheyrer (s), Rosalinde; Wilma Lipp (s), Adele; Karl Terkal (t), Eisenstein; Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Ackermann, cond. EMI, recorded June 1959


AND THEN ON SUNDAY . . .

We're going to hear a whole bunch of overtures, including a set of the most wonderful performances ever recorded.


AS FOR THAT BIG CONTEST GIVEAWAY . . .

As it happens I have an extra copy of the precious CD we're going to be featuring, and I'm prepared to give it away. But my attempts at contests have been such a uniform bust that all I can think of is to offer this precious CD to someone who does something to earn it. For starters, maybe somebody could guess just what we're going to be hearing Sunday?


SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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