Word: celesta
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...just been appointed co-conductor of the New York Philharmonic (with Dimitri Mitropoulos, who is very likely to quit soon). This week he wound up a six-week conducting stint with the Philharmonic that was notable for his unhackneyed programing, e.g., Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Vivaldi's rarely heard Concerto for Strings, Cembalo and Two Mandolins. As always, the critics found fault here and there?his extraordinary gyrations have earned him, in some quarters, a reputation as the Presley of the Podium?but no one could deny Conductor Bernstein's virtuosity. He is the first...
...Pont was fond of organ music but was also hard of hearing, so he built one of the most formidable organs on earth, incorporating a percussion division, harps, celesta, drums, xylophone, tympani, tambourine, tom-tom. Chinese gong and 11,000 pipes, ranging from pencil size (8,000 vibrations a second) to one 34 feet tall and weighing a long ton (13 vibrations a second). Mrs. du Pont could hear...
After Mozart's aerial melodies, the concert came heavily back to earth with Charles Loeffler's Canticle of the Sun. It resembles the sound track of a Disney True Life Adventure. Augmented by two harps, celesta, and piano, the orchestra plays swooping glissandos and tortured Puccini-like harmonies; the soprano soloist must remain throughout in a palpitating ecstasy totally incongruous with St. Francis' humble text. At least Canticle had the benefit of Janet Wheeler's lovely voice and inspired instrumental work under conductor Kalman Novak...
...Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, its famous strains sometimes soaring, sometimes buzzing like bumblebees in a sewer pipe...
Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (the Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan conducting; Columbia, 2 sides LP). Bartok's best work attains one of the marks of a classic: varying interpretations. Karajan distorts the slow movement; in another performance Rafael Kubelik, conducting the Chicago Symphony (Mercury, 1 side LP), is overly fussy with the dynamics. The first recording by Harold Byrns and the Los Angeles Chamber Symphony (Capitol) is still the best. All recordings are good...