Lorin Hollander - the perception?
Bob Lombard
came across one of his recordings. I have 2 or 3 LPs now, and the
jacket notes describe what seems to have been a successful concert
pianist, with a following.
I'm asking rmcr's old geezers who were 'in the flow, in the know' back
then: What was the public perception of this pianist as performer and
artist? Was the glowing praise on the LP jackets (always suspect) any
indication of his stature?
CD reissues seem to be thin on the ground, but it's hard to read any
significance into that. The music he made for those LPs is good enough
- not necessarily well recorded, but remastering could probably fix
those problems.
??
bl
maddawg
news:94484c0b3e67092c...@news.teranews.com:
> When Lorin Hollander's performing career was at it's zenith, I never
> came across one of his recordings. I have 2 or 3 LPs now, and the
> jacket notes describe what seems to have been a successful concert
> pianist, with a following.
>
> I'm asking rmcr's old geezers who were 'in the flow, in the know' back
> then: What was the public perception of this pianist as performer and
> artist? Was the glowing praise on the LP jackets (always suspect) any
> indication of his stature?
Well, this "old geezer" fondly remembers attending a BSO concert
(Leinsdorf conducting) circa 1964, in which Hollander was soloist in the
Prokofiev Pf Concerto #5. A friend of mine and I were in the front row of
Symphony Hall, several seats to the right of center. We both had an
excellent view of Hollander's feet playing the pedals, and nothing else.
As for the performance, it was certainly quite good and a lot of fun! It
was my first exposure to the 5th, and I liked its humor immediately! The
LP of Hollander's performance was release in (ugh!) Dynagroove several
months later.
The last I read about Hollander (who dropped off the map by the 70s) was
a few years back in the Boston Globe, and the story was quite sad. He
suffers from a form of epilepsy, and this plagued his playing for years
before he called it quits. The photograph showed a much older and beaten
Hollander than I remembered from his glory day. A real pity!
--
Aarf!
Aaron Z Snyder, a.k.a. maddawg
Alan Cooper
wrote:
An exciting player with a big technique, but not much in the subtlety
department. Excellent in stuff like the Khachaturian and Prokofiev
Concerti. While his early RCA recordings have not been reissued
officially, you can obtain Russ Oppenheim's fine transfers from LP to
CD. Btw, Hollander's debut recording (Khachaturian Concerto + the
wonderful and rarely-performed Bloch Scherzo fantasque) also was Andre
Previn's recording debut as a conductor.
AC
Frank Berger
"Bob Lombard" <mai...@sover.net> wrote in message
news:94484c0b3e67092c...@news.teranews.com...
Speaking of Hollander, see the "CSO from the Archives" thread!
Terrymelin
>Speaking of Hollander, see the "CSO from the Archives" thread!
Yes, and the Gershwin is an outstanding performance and an example of this
pianist at his best. One must hear it. It's terrific.
Terry Ellsworth
Sol L. Siegel
>Well, this "old geezer" fondly remembers attending a BSO concert
>(Leinsdorf conducting) circa 1964, in which Hollander was soloist
>in the Prokofiev Pf Concerto #5...
>As for the performance, it was certainly quite good and a lot of fun! It
>was my first exposure to the 5th, and I liked its humor immediately!
I recall fine renditions of Pictures and of the Saint-Saens PC5.
Oh yes, and the Gershwin PC.
-Sol Siegel, Philadelphia, PA
--------------------
"I really liked it. Even the music was good." - Yogi Berra, after seeing
"Tosca"
--------------------
(Remove "exitspam" from the end of my e-mail address to respond.)
deac...@yahoo.com
<amco...@nospamoptonline.net> wrote:
Btw, Hollander's debut recording (Khachaturian Concerto + the
>wonderful and rarely-performed Bloch Scherzo fantasque) also was Andre
>Previn's recording debut as a conductor.
This was NOT Hollander's debut recording.
He made a couple for a cheapie RCA label before this.
TD
Eric Grunin
>The last I read about Hollander (who dropped off the map by the 70s) was
>a few years back in the Boston Globe, and the story was quite sad. He
>suffers from a form of epilepsy, and this plagued his playing for years
>before he called it quits. The photograph showed a much older and beaten
>Hollander than I remembered from his glory day. A real pity!
Hollander has not retired, though he apparently spends most of his
time on the lecture circuit rather than concertizing. An example:
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m2493/1_52/90307698/p1/article.jhtml?term=
A quick look around the web showed him playing Rhapsody in Blue in
Reading PA last month, and the Khachaturian Concerto in Springfield MA
the month before
(http://www.inthespotlightinc.org/reviews/scheherazade.html).
Also Saint-Saens #5 last August in Chautauqua
http://daily.ciweb.org/august7.html
His most recent recording seems to be the Copland Concerto (1995).
He has a website (http://www.lorinhollander.com), but it combines
pretty good graphics with pretty embarrassing content. Hopefully not
his fault.
Regards,
Eric Grunin
www.grunin.com/eroica
John Oster
station. He played the Saint-Saens 5th with tremendous power. Unfortunately,
he was quite a "grunter," so there were a number of unpleasant vocal
contributions. At times it sounded as if he were an Olympic weight lifter!
Martha & Russ Oppenheim
IIRC it was for RCA Camden when he was still in his teens.
barney.ohara
"Alan Cooper" <amco...@nospamoptonline.net> wrote in message
news:05u050pecvmtehms9...@4ax.com...
before porgy and bess soundtrack?
Matthew B. Tepper
typed in news:2di1509vbbcjebgqm...@4ax.com:
> He has a website (http://www.lorinhollander.com), but it combines pretty
> good graphics with pretty embarrassing content.
Such is the way of the world these days. The people who were design majors
in high school have taken over high culture, and we are the worse for it.
> Hopefully not his fault.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
War is Peace. ** Freedom is Slavery. ** It's all Napster's fault!
deac...@yahoo.com
I would have provided the references, but thought that most people
wouldn't even know where Camden was!
TD
Martha & Russ Oppenheim
I imagine that it betrays the superannuation of any of us who remember
the RCA Camden label and its (for a time) pseudonymous performers and
ensembles. Does the controversy still rage as to the identity of the
"Claridge" Symphony Orchestra? ;o)
Ramon Khalona
> He has a website (http://www.lorinhollander.com), but it combines
> pretty good graphics with pretty embarrassing content. Hopefully not
> his fault.
What's embarrassing about it? He seems to be a pretty busy fellow
(despite his difficulties) who cares about people. I find that
admirable.
RK
Eric Grunin
wrote:
I agree about Mr. Hollander's activities, but the site overreaches
badly a few times:
> In part, these Institutes will research and illuminate in the greatest depth
> possible the underlying causes of the personal dysfunctions of addiction,
> violence, and emotional/spiritual disturbance which are destroying so
> many in our society, including young children (witness Columbine High).
I'm sure the work is great, but promoting it with phrases like
"greatest depth possible" and the reference to Columbine come across
as pretentious and grandiose. Later on in the same page:
>The primary focus of the Institutes will be integral healing and wellness,
> creating a prevention for the addictive, suicidal and violent dysfunctions
> in children (Columbine High), the study of creativity, training of mentors
> for basic education, preparation of guides, mentors and counselors for
> the highly gifted, convening congresses of indigenous peoples for comparative
> evaluation of healing practice, art and spiritual experience in education,
> and the implementation of transformative programs and curricula for the
> fifty United States.
Again a reference to Columbine -- this comes of as immodest at best.
I realize that condensing a genuinely profound into a brief statement
can make it sound merely pompous, but this it's the writer's task to
know when they've gone too far.
Regards,
Eric Grunin
www.grunin.com/eroica
Bob Lombard
>
>I realize that condensing a genuinely profound into a brief statement
>can make it sound merely pompous, but this it's the writer's task to
>know when they've gone too far.
>
The writer here is another victim, drawn by pernicious influences into
a writing style closely related to that commonly found in brochures
extolling the qualities of a 'new' herbal based dietary supplement.
That's not counting "convening congresses of indigenous peoples".
bl
Ramon Khalona
Columbine High was an immensely disturbing event that, IMO, is just
one manifestation of things that have gone awry in our society. I can
forgive a little overreaching if the efforts to mitigate them are
sincere.
RK
Matthew B. Tepper
> Again a reference to Columbine -- this comes of as immodest at best.
>
> I realize that condensing a genuinely profound into a brief statement
> can make it sound merely pompous, but this it's the writer's task to
> know when they've gone too far.
Perhaps he was so deeply shocked by that tragedy that he felt he had to do
something about it. Maybe he had a relative at the school; you never know.
Eric Grunin
<oy兀earthlink.net> wrote:
>Eric Grunin <a@b.c> appears to have caused the following letters to be
>typed in news:s2n5501vujjnlik3k...@4ax.com:
>
>> Again a reference to Columbine -- this comes of as immodest at best.
>>
>> I realize that condensing a genuinely profound into a brief statement
>> can make it sound merely pompous, but this it's the writer's task to
>> know when they've gone too far.
>
>Perhaps he was so deeply shocked by that tragedy that he felt he had to do
>something about it. Maybe he had a relative at the school; you never know.
I believe they are sincere, but this is what editors are for: seeing
the gap between intention and execution.
Regards,
Eric Grunin
www.grunin.com/eroica
Eric Grunin
wrote:
>> I realize that condensing a genuinely profound into a brief statement
>> can make it sound merely pompous, but this it's the writer's task to
>> know when they've gone too far.
>
>Columbine High was an immensely disturbing event that, IMO, is just
>one manifestation of things that have gone awry in our society. I can
>forgive a little overreaching if the efforts to mitigate them are
>sincere.
I agree; but I personally found it glib, and therefore a little
offensive, to invoke a great tragedy so casually.
I'm willing to believe that what is being advertised is worthwhile, at
least until proven otherwise.
Regards,
Eric Grunin
www.grunin.com/eroica
John Wiser
>
> ......the Gershwin is an outstanding performance and an example of this
> pianist at his best. One must hear it. It's terrific.
OTOH, he composed and recorded in the late 1960s
a Horowitzian toccara-fantasy evocatively titled
"Up Against the Wall." Impressive in its way, but not
a piece for the ages....it surely wowed the Fillmore East
crowd at its premiere.
--
John Wiser
cee...@frontiernet.not
Eric Grunin
I was resisting mentioning that LP -- issued around 1972, I think,
pressed in large quantities in hope of a crossover hit; remaindered
almost immediately.
Regards,
Eric Grunin
www.grunin.com/eroica
Wayne Reimer <wrdsl
even suspect that LH's big beard is a takeoff on Dr. Weil. On the other hand,
LH always was about more than just playing the piano - I remember a him wanting
to be a concert hall protester with his "Up Against the Wall" toccata, which to
me even at the time seemed clearly not thought out very well and smelled
somewhat opportunistic.
wr
Eric Grunin
<wrdsl<delete>@pacbell.net> wrote:
>> In article <8p2750daago1bpju6...@4ax.com>, a@b.c says...
>> On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 18:55:13 GMT, "Matthew B. Tepper"
>> <oy兀earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>> >Eric Grunin <a@b.c> appears to have caused the following letters to be
>> >typed in news:s2n5501vujjnlik3k...@4ax.com:
>> >
>> >> Again a reference to Columbine -- this comes of as immodest at best.
>> >>
>> >> I realize that condensing a genuinely profound into a brief statement
>> >> can make it sound merely pompous, but this it's the writer's task to
>> >> know when they've gone too far.
>> >
>> >Perhaps he was so deeply shocked by that tragedy that he felt he had to do
>> >something about it. Maybe he had a relative at the school; you never know.
>>
>> I believe they are sincere, but this is what editors are for: seeing
>> the gap between intention and execution.
>>
>I don't even believe they are sincere - I think it's marketing claptrap.
That's exactly the problem with the website -- it makes you wonder,
and it shouldn't.
Regards,
Eric Grunin
www.grunin.com/eroica