Two Neighboring Notes Set the Tone for a Career

In the early 1930s, Engelbert Brenner was an oboist in the Cleveland Orchestra. While in rehearsal one fateful day, the Franck Symphony in d minor was up. In the 2^nd movement, after a short introduction, the English horn plays the main melody. Pitched in F, the opening two notes of this famous solo are a D flat and a C, which are neighboring notes. But the D flat is voiced through the entire instrument while the C is ‘below the break’, using far less of the instrument’s bore in producing the tone. Because of the physical differences of the instrument bore used for these two notes, their timbre can be completely different, making the notes sound as if they are not closely related, and disjointed. Brenner was not the English hornist for the Cleveland Orchestra – yet. The 2^nd movement was started in the rehearsal, but the conductor heard the tonal difference between the first two notes of the solo, stopped the orchestra, and asked the musician to play it so those two notes were more closely related in tone. But after several starts and stops, the conductor asked Brenner if he could play that solo with a less perceptible register break. Brenner played it to the conductor’s liking and was later assigned the English horn position of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Engelbert Brenner
Cleveland Orchestra 1931

The Cleveland Orchestra later traveled to New York to play Carnegie Hall.  On their program were two works that had prominent English horn parts – Debussy’s La Mer, and the César Franck Symphony.  After the performance, Brenner was approached backstage by a representative of the New York Philharmonic and told that Arturo Toscanini, the Philharmonic’s legendary conductor, would like to hear him play, and Brenner was instructed to travel by train to Philadelphia, where Maestro Toscanini would be available to hear the young Brenner play. This audition took place in a hotel room. Franck and Debussy were requested, along with other English horn excerpts. Toscanini conducted, and Brenner played. Brenner asked if he would like to hear the oboe as well. The maestro stated, in Italian, that with his intonation being so precise on English horn, he concluded that it would be just as great on oboe.

On Christmas Eve in 1931, Brenner received a telegram from the New York Philharmonic, inviting him to join that orchestra. His tenure lasted for 41 years. And without the two opening notes of the César Franck solo, might not ever have happened.

I met Engelbert Brenner after he retired from the New York Philharmonic. His playing was strong, accurate, and expressive beyond description. I was lucky enough to play many concerts as his 2^nd oboist and learned so much by observing his craft and art up close. But how must he have sounded as a younger man? I thought I would never know.  But a recording surfaced online recently that I was thrilled to find. Toscanini’s successor, Sir John Barbirolli, performed his arrangement of Dido & Aeneas, in which the aria “When I Am Laid In Earth” is played by none other than Engelbert Brenner on English horn. This is a recording from that live broadcast from 1938.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR BRENNER PLAY THIS ENGLISH HORN SOLO – 1938/NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC

Long before the time of solo microphones, you can hear Brenner sing, emote, and whisper his musical lines. His ability to project to the last row of the concert hall in both singing and whispering tones was a quality unique to his approach, craft, and artform. 

While his tenure and fame came from his time in the New York Philharmonic, he holds a little-known honor with the Cleveland Orchestra. The beautiful Severance Hall was opened in 1931. For the hall’s opening night, a piece was commissioned – Composer Charles Martin Loeffler wrote “Evocation, for Orchestra, Women’s Chorus, and a Speaking Voice”.  According to Brenner’s recollection, this piece began with English horn alone, making Engelbert Brenner’s playing the very first notes ever performed in Severance Hall.

Cleveland Orchestra 1931

Bernstein’s Apology

The year was 1953.  Leonard Bernstein was still a few years from becoming the New York Philharmonic’s music director.  But he was already working with the musicians of the Philharmonic as an assistant conductor under Artur Rodziński, and was on the podium for various performances and recordings.  Some may not know that the New York Philharmonic musicians performed as a group under varying names in order to avoid contractual issues with various recording contracts.  In the summers, the New York Philharmonic performed regularly at the Lewisohn Stadium on of the City College of New York.  The ensemble was called the “Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York”.  Leopold Stokowski made a series of recordings for Everest with the orchestra.

Leonard Bernstein and Engelbert Brenner

The young Bernstein recorded Robert Schumann’s 2^nd Symphony with this orchestra.  Engelbert Brenner, the Philharmonic’s 2^nd oboist at the time, was playing principle oboe for the recording session.  The 3^rd movement has a few expressive, beautiful oboe solos throughout.  After the recording session, Bernstein joined the engineers and producers in the booth to hear the playback of each take.  A few days later, when Bernstein and Brenner were together on another musical engagement, Bernstein found the oboist, and both apologized for the extremely slow and stretched tempi in the slow movement of the Schumann, and praised his playing of the beautiful oboe solos.

Brenner told me this story decades ago, but thanks to YouTube, I finally got to hear this recording and my teacher’s solo playing.

You can find the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFnEAtm2-q8&feature=youtu.be&t=1152

Or, the audio clip can alternately be heard here. http://davidmankin.com/misc/sch_2.mp3

The stretched tempi are apparent as the movement progresses, and the passionate Bernstein interpretation is gorgeous!  Enjoy.

Beethoven Oboe Trio, recorded by 3 New York oboe legends!

For over 14 years, I traveled to the town of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to study with the retired oboist and English horn player of the New York Philharmonic, Engelbert Brenner.  His oboe studio was at the very top of his house, and getting there required

Leonard Bernstein and Engelbert Brenner

some stair climbing.  Once arriving at the very top, one entered a studio, museum, and reed factory.  The walls were covered with autographed photos of the last century’s greatest conductors and players.  Arturo Toscanini’s baton was on a table.  It was truly awe inspiring.  When I met Mr. Brenner, he was already well into his 70s, yet he flew up and down those stairs like he was in his 30s.

Lois Wann

When you entered his studio, if you glanced immediately to your left, there was a table with a stack of phonograph records.  These were not the off-the-shelf type of disks, but I believed them to be masters cut on a record cutting machine.  There were no printed labels – just hand-written notes.  I asked about them once, and he told me that the top one was a recording of the Beethoven Oboe Trio that he recorded with Lois Wann.  Brenner’s studio contained no audio equipment at all.  If I were to ask to hear the Beethoven, there was no way to play it.

Fast forward 40+ years, and with the wonders of Google and YouTube, I have located this recording online.  It was recorded in 1939, presumably in New York, as the other two players featured on the recording were also legendary New York oboists – Lois Wann and Ferdinand Prior.

 

Beethoven: Variations on ‘La Ci Darem’
Lois Wann & Ferdinand Prior on oboes,
Engelbert Brenner on English horn.

What a thrill it is to finally hear this recording!  Here is the YouTube video that I located of the recording:   YouTube Link

Here is another sound-only file (I prefer this one, as I added a tiny bit of reverb to enhance the very old recording capabilities of the day):   Click here

Enjoy!

•  I was unable to find a photo of Mr. Prior.  Does anyone have one that I can include?

A famous oboe recording and its {likely} unknown story

Leopold Stokowski

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Leopold Stokowski would lead a symphony orchestra that was comprised of top classical musicians through some now-legendary recording sessions.  The ensemble never really existed to perform anywhere, but was put together with hand-picked musicians by Maestro Stokowski for the sole reason to produce records.  There were players from Philadelphia, The New York Philharmonic, the NBC

Robert Bloom

Symphony Orchestra, and so on.  Stokowski’s choice for principal oboe was always Robert Bloom.  My teacher, Engelbert Brenner was often present on these recordings as the English horn player.

Mr. Brenner was a great story teller, and would spell my embouchure during long lessons by telling stories from his long and illustrious career as oboist and English hornist of both the Cleveland Orchestra and later the New York Philharmonic.

Engelbert Brenner

On one particular recording session, the Jacques Ibert piece, “Escales” (Ports of Call) was recorded.  The 2^nd of the 3 movements is all oboe solo, playing an exotic, dance melody that stretches from the bottom to the top of the instrument’s range.  It is haunting to hear, and daunting to play.  Robert Bloom was a wonderful oboist, and his playing of this hallmark oboe solo would be one for generations to listen to, enjoy and learn from.

Unfortunately, the recording session was not going as smoothly as all musicians and technicians had hoped.  Mister Bloom’s oboe solo movement was not going well, and sessions back in the 1940s & 50s were not like those of today, where a missed note could be patched in, or dynamics could be digitally manipulated.  If a tape splice was required, it was nervously done with a razor blade and tape to reassemble the edit.

The oboe solo is loaded with low Ds, and the solo ends on an extended one that diminuendos from p to ppp.  It was becoming apparent to Brenner, as the takes started to mount up, that Bloom’s low Ds were becoming less and less stable, and they were dropping off abruptly and early.  Neither Bloom nor Stokowski was happy with any of the takes, and the tension in the room was mounting.  After a break, one more take was to be attempted.  The first portion of the solo was played beautifully.  The middle section, which extends the range up high, also went well, as did the small cadenza.  The final recap of the main melody was all that was left, but Bloom was exhausted, and his low Ds were on everyone in the room’s mind.  The repeated first low D didn’t speak – but it was there.  How?  Engelbert Brenner, playing English horn next to him, whispered the note out, covering up the note slip. The movement continued.  From that point out, Brenner played the Ds on his English horn, spelling the now exhausted Bloom.  When the movement ended,   Stokowski wrapped up the movement quickly, and moved on to the final movement.

At a gathering later, Robert Bloom received praise from either Stokowski or another musician in the orchestra (I don’t recall who Brenner said it was) on how he was finally able to make that last low D fade away to nothing after such a grueling and tense number of takes.  Mr. Bloom humbly acknowledged that the beautiful low Ds at the end were actually played by Engelbert Brenner.

Why am I telling this story now?  When Brenner relayed this story to me, there was no YouTube or Google in which one would research stories like this.  Brenner was one of the three musicians mentioned in this story, so he would know how things played out that day.  I always wanted to hear that recording, having been let in on its interesting back-story.  But before the internet, I would look in used record stores to see if I could locate a copy, and never did.  Over the decades, it eventually slipped my mind and I stopped searching.  The other day, I was reading an online article about Stokowski and His Orchestra.  It mentioned some of the players used for the recordings, and Mr. Bloom’s name was included.   This triggered the incident in my mind, and I went to work combing the internet for a copy of the recording.  FOUND IT!

Just as told to me, and over 30 years ago, you can hear the first repeated low D after the cadenza played by the oboe, but its re-attack has a different timbre, as the whole note is being played in the middle range of an English horn, not the bottom of the oboe’s range.  The 4 beat rest that Brenner offered Mr. Bloom made this important recording possible.  The assistance was not agreed upon in advance.  Brenner knew an esteemed colleague was having difficulty, and did what he could to help.  And after all these years, I have finally heard this story’s results.

Here is the original YouTube recording I located:

YouTube Excerpt

and here it is again in a different format.

Escales mvt.2

Mr. Bloom’s playing and interpretation is wonderful… and listen carefully for the moments mentioned in the last recap of the main melody.  ENJOY.

As a postscript, I met Robert Bloom in the repair shop of Hans Moennig.  Moennig introduced us, and told Bloom that I was a Bert Brenner student.  Bloom was extremely complementary about his working with Brenner over the years, and stated that his character and playing were of the highest standard.

Snoozing With the Masters

I love it when good things happen on their own. A few weeks ago, Peter asked me to identify a song. He hummed the iconic 4 note introduction to Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony. He knew it was Beethoven, but did not know the title of the piece. After I identified it, and explained that those are the opening notes of just the 1^st movement of the symphony, and that there were 3 other movements, he asked if I could make a CD of the piece so he could fall asleep to it at night. After a few evenings of listening, he then asked me for a recording of the Nutcracker. He didn’t receive the abbreviated concert suite, he fell asleep to the entire ballet. Next, he asked for more music by “real composers”. I have been burning CDs of movements from lots of masterworks, exposing him to Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Mozart, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. I even slipped in some Sibelius. His hunger is growing. He asked me this morning if I could include in the next disc this song (then he began humming Fur Elise).

With all the opportunities that today’s kids have to be bombarded with noise and audible trash, Peter is requesting the classics. He was humming Tchaikovsky at the school bus this morning. I would say that he falls asleep with good things in his ear, and he wakes up with it in his brain.

Peter and the Band

Last night, an event occurred that made me very proud, and frankly, amazed me.

Although I retired from the Washington, D.C. U.S. Navy Band in 1996, I did not become a dad until 1999 for the first time, and Peter came along in 2003.  I continue to perform professionally in many venues, but until last evening, Peter had never attended a live concert of any sort.  His inability to sit quietly for any length of time (when not engrossed in something) has mandated this.

Peter attends his first concert

The Navy band came to Lorton for a performance in our high school last evening.  In addition to getting to see a few old colleagues who are still playing in the band, I would have the chance to see someone that I haven’t seen since September of 1981.  He is Brian Walden, and he has become the leader and Officer in Charge of the DC Navy Band.  Brian and I were ‘roommates’ in 1981 – along with 78 others in a fun little thing called boot camp!  Brian a trumpet player and I play oboe – each heading to different assignments in the Navy music program.

OK, so the stage was set.  Many old friends have not seen Kathy since I retired from the band, and with very few exceptions, no Navy Band friends have ever met my kids.  We arrived in 2 cars – just in case Peter needed to be somewhere other than the auditorium before the concert ended.  We sat on an aisle for the same reason.  Headphones were in hand in case the music volume was too loud for Peter.  The concert began, and there was no immediate protest.  Overture… march… vocal soloist… piccolo solo… Strauss Serenade (!).  One after another.  And Peter (and his headphones & Nintendo DS after an hour had passed) sat quietly.  If he looked a bit antsy, I nudged him and gave him a thumbs-up – and he responded with the same.

After the great concert, I took my family up on the stage to see some old friends.  Peter was cordial and careful, and even insisted on singing a tune for Captain Walden.  It was so great to hear the band once again, and to see many talented and great friends that I don’t see very often anymore.  Perhaps most importantly, I finally got to share an integral part of what I am with my son.  And it went well… VERY well.  I was very proud of many people last night.  Bravo all!

Marian Anderson

Oboist Engelbert Brenner performed in recital with legendary contralto Marian Anderson.  Anderson’s voice was described as a rich, vibrant contralto of intrinsic beauty.  As an African-American artist, her role in the Civil Rights movement was monumental. Her legendary performance at the Lincoln Memorial (after having been denied the venue of D.A.R. Constitution Hall) will be forever part of American History.  Through her grace & talent, a blind American public was forced to see.

Anderson gave Brenner this autographed photo after one of their musical collaborations.  He prized it, as do I now that the photo has been left in my care.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2011

Bernstein Symphony Recordings Resurface

Over the years, I have bought hundreds of vinyl pressings and CDs of Bernstein/New York Philharmonic recordings.  As an oboist who grew up in the New York area, Harold Gomberg and Engelbert Brenner’s sound and playing styles were my earliest memories of the instruments, and are still the gold standard to me.

There is an exciting new release of symphony recordings on CD.  This is a SIXTY CD collection of nothing but symphonies.  Here is a list of the contents:

• Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 (Complete)
• Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique
• Bernstein: Symphonies 1-3 (Complete)
• Bizet: Symphony in C
• Blitzstein: The Airborne Symphony
• Brahms: Symphonies 1-4 (Complete)
• Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
• Copland: Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, 3
• Dvorak: Symphonies 7, 8, and 9
• Franck: Symphony in D Minor
• Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony
• Harris: Symphony No.3
• Haydn: Symphonies 82-88; 93-104
• Hindemith: Symphony in E-Flat
• Ives: Symphonies 2 and 3
• Liszt: Faust Symphony
• Mahler: Symphonies 1-9 (Complete)
• Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3, 4, and 5
• Mozart: Symphonies 35, 36, 39, 40, and 41
• Nielsen: Symphonies 2, 3, 4, and 5
• Prokofiev: Symphonies 1 and 5
• St. Saens: Symphony No. 3
• Schubert: Symphonies 5, 8, and 9
• Schumann: Symphonies 1-4 (Complete)
• Schuman: Symphonies 3, 5, and 8
• Shapero: Symphony for Classical Orchestra
• Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
• Shostakovich: Symphonies 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 14
• Sibelius: Symphonies 1-7 (Complete)
• Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 1-6 (Complete)
• Thompson: Symphony No. 2
• Vaughan-Williams: Symphony No. 4

Bernstein, Gomberg and Brenner are all now gone, but in this age of vanishing classical music ensembles and recordings, it’s heartening to see this release.  Lenny was largely responsible for a generation’s awareness of a symphony orchestra, and I’m glad to see that people can still experience those magical recordings today.

This set is available for around $100 – that’s pretty amazing when you consider its contents!

little feet – giant steps

We recently attended our annual Independent Educational Plan (IEP) meeting with Peter’s teachers, specialists and school administrators.  These meetings are where we learn, in great detail, how and what Peter is doing in school.  We are able to discuss how well he has met his goals, and plan any strategies for future goals in the coming school year.

Peter has had an awesome year as a first grader.  His progress from September to May has been remarkable.   He is reading and writing sentences and paragraphs!  His artwork is immediately recognizable.  He needs no help in P.E.  He converses with classmates, and is very popular.  Other students love to help him if he falls behind in a task.  Peter’s reading ability is about in the middle of the range of his mainstream 1st grade class, and his math may be a bit higher than that.  Peter is a leader on the playground, and other kids want to play with him – his basketball court “posse” is a very popular crowd.  Membership is exclusive, reportedly.

Both Peter’s Autism & mainstream teachers fully agree that he does NOT need to be in an Autism class for 2nd grade.  He still will receive services, and will have an aid for certain activities.  Starting immediately, he will be going directly to his mainstream 1st grade class to hang up his backpack and start his day.

We went into this IEP with a list of questions and concerns.  We did not have to voice a single one.  Peter’s success and progress is not anything that has come on suddenly.  He has been in the best hands since his 1st day of preschool over 4 years ago.  Peter’s teachers have all been exceptional and we credit them all every day for their skill and caring.  There will probably be some stumbles along the way.  We will, however,  do our best to take them in stride.  One thing’s for sure; Peter has his eyes focused forward and marches onward.  Stay tuned.  Peter’s on the move.

Today was our annual Independent Educational Plan (IEP) meeting with Peter’s teachers, specialists and school administrators.  These meetings are where we learn, in great detail, how and what Peter is doing in school.  We are able to discuss how well he has met his goals, and plan any strategies for future goals in the coming school year.

Peter has had an awesome year as a first grader.  His progress from September to May has been remarkable.   He is reading and writing sentences and paragraphs!  His artwork is immediately recognizable.  He needs no help in P.E.  He converses with classmates, and is very popular.  Other students love to help him if he falls behind in a task.  Peter’s reading ability is about in the middle of the range of his mainstream 1st grade class, and his math may be a bit higher than that.  Peter is a leader on the playground, and other kids want to play with him – his basketball court “posse” is a very popular crowd.  Membership is exclusive, reportedly.

Both Peter’s Autism & mainstream teachers fully agree that he does NOT need to be in an Autism class for 2nd grade.  He still will receive services, and will have an aid for certain activities.  Starting this coming Monday, he will be going directly to his mainstream 1st grade class to hang up his backpack and start his day.

We went into this IEP with a list of questions and concerns.  We did not have to voice a single one.  Teachers, Peter’s success and progress is not anything that has come on suddenly.  He has been in the best hands since Laura took him from our arms 4 1/2 years ago.  Laura, Christie, Heather, Andrew – you have all been exceptional and we credit you all every day for your skill and your caring.

Stay tuned.  Peter’s on the move.  Time for more tears of joy for Mom & Dad.

toscanini rarities

From 1926 to 1936, Arturo Toscanini was at the helm of the New York Philharmonic.  In 1931, Englebert Brenner became the 2nd oboist of that orchestra.  Toscanini was fiery and feared, yet revered as the best conductor, and many say he has never had an equal.

During a rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic, a photographer sneaked on to Carnegie Hall’s stage and took some photos while hiding behind the bass drum.  Had Toscanini known of this, the camera would surely have been smashed on the spot.  A few of these (perhaps never before seen) photos came into Brenner’s possession.  They were kept hidden away in his studio, and he treated them as if they were contraband.  He showed them to me on occasion, but mentioned each time that had Toscanini known these photos existed…

I proudly own many of Engelbert Brenner’s musical belongings.  While going through some boxes the other day, I found that mystical envelope.  I knew what was inside – the rare Toscanini photos!  Here are 4 of them.  You can see the emotion – the motion – the intensity.  Perhaps for the first time for the world to see – Arturo Toscanini rehearsing the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall, sometime between 1931 & 1936.

contraband