Louis Lane (December 25, 1923 – February 15, 2016)

[jserraglio]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Lane

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news ... -at-age-92

A great conductor. Heard him many times.

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QTD from YT:

An Idaho child prodigy, Arthur Shepherd entered the New England Conservatory when he was only twelve years old. By 1920 Shepherd had become the Assistant Director of the Cleveland Orchestra. Through the years he composed various works including symphonies, string quartets, works for piano, and songs.
His Symphony No. 1 "Horizons," composed in1927, became his most frequently performed work on a world-wide basis. The large-scale symphony incorporates cowboy tunes and paints a tone poem of the grand American Western landscape.
The movements:
1. "Westward."
2. "The Lone Prairie."
3. "The Old Chisholm Trail."
4. "Canyons."

Shepherd is another forgotten and badly neglected American composer. His music is virtually unheard of in the concert hall today although his list includes over 100 compositions. Very little of his music has ever been commercially recorded, and what is available consists of primarily piano and vocal music. (See CRI and New World Recordings.)

This undated recording of the symphony is taken from a broadcast concert by Louis Lane and the Cleveland Orchestra.

BTW, I understand that Dr. Karl Miller has the original transcription disks of this particular symphony and will be
putting out the recording in much better quality maybe as a CD through his own record label, the Pierian Recording Society. When I am apprized of its existence, I will promote? it and delete this upload.?

[stenka razin]

When George Szell was ill in 1969, I saw Louis Lane replace him as maestro for the Cleveland Orchestra concert in NYC. I do not remember the program, but, I must say Szell was sorely missed that evening.

Regards,
Mel

[jserraglio]

Szell was unique, but Lane should have been named Szell's successor. His recording of Creatures of Prometheus on the Szell OJ LvB set is the equal of anything else in the set. I heard him conduct magnificent versions of Mahler 5 and Nielsen 4, among other works, not exactly Szell fare. Also, unlike Szell, Lane was a nice person.

Plain Dealer obit
http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/ind ... iver_index

[jserraglio]

Dallas Morning News obit

http://www.dallasnews.com/obituary-head ... e-dies.ece

[John F]

Lane was certainly a capable conductor and served George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra well for 18 years. I didn't know about his role at the Dallas Symphony, where according to Wikipedia his title was principal guest conductor; they never made him music director (the Wikipedia article on the orchestra shows that position vacant from 1974 to 1977). Indeed, the only orchestra of which he actually was the music director was the Akron Symphony, 30 miles from Cleveland, from 1959 to 1983. This is not the résumé of a major conductor, and I'm surprised at the fulsome praise he's been getting here. But the Cleveland broadcasts I heard all those years ago made no impression on me, and if I ever heard any of his recordings, I don't remember, so I have no personal opinion of his music-making, and will leave it that.

[Lance]

Oddly, I can't see where I have anything conducted by Louis Lane on CD, but somehow, I recall seeing his name. His discography is more lent to LPs. Too bad he didn't have a greater career. But then who would when Szell is primary conductor. Hard shoes to fill, Mr. Szell's. Nonethless, Lane did some good things to all I read. RIP. 92 is a ripe old age!

[John F]

Nothing prevented Lane from seeking a music directorship elsewhere, or accepting it when it came to him. He didn't. Maybe he was comfortable in a secondary role and chose to stay out of the kitchen; maybe he didn't make enough of a name for himself for other orchestras to seek him as their leader. Whatever, it didn't happen. Musical life depends on accomplished, reliable conductors who get the job done; they are often called by the German term, Kapellmeister.

A German example would be Heinrich Hollreiser. His one music directorship was at the second-rate Dusseldorf Opera from 1945 to 1952, a period in which conductors untainted by Nazi membership or sympathies were in very short supply. After deNazification cleared many of his betters, he never again held the top job anywhere. A loyal servant of the Vienna State Opera for many decades and honored for it with honorary membership in the State Opera, a rare distinction, but never for a moment a candidate to run it.

[jserraglio]

Oddly, I can't see where I have anything conducted by Louis Lane on CD,

Check out the Divertimento 17 in the Szell OJC Mozart box. Also Creatures of Prometheus in the Szell LvB OJC box. And ..


Respighi
http://www.amazon.com/Respighi-Pines-Ro ... e+Respighi

Scarlatti/Tommasini
http://www.amazon.com/Respighi-Scarlatt ... B0000062DS

Copland
http://www.amazon.com/Copland-Appalachi ... 330&sr=1-4

Rorem
http://www.amazon.com/Rorem-String-Symp ... 30&sr=1-10

[jserraglio]

Nothing prevented Lane from seeking a music directorship elsewhere, or accepting it when it came to him. He didn't. Maybe he was comfortable in a secondary role and chose to stay out of the kitchen; maybe he didn't make enough of a name for himself for other orchestras to seek him as their leader. Whatever, it didn't happen. Musical life depends on accomplished, reliable conductors who get the job done; they are often called by the German term, Kapellmeister.

Pleasing the finicky George Szell for over two decades should earn Lane the title Kapellmeister of all Kapellmeisters.

Besides Dallas, Lane served as co-conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 1977-83 and recorded a couple excellent discs for Telarc, still available. He was an imaginative conductor of Mahler and Nielsen, I heard him in both. Also of Bruckner: recipient of the Mahler medal from the Bruckner Society. There are excellent recorded broadcasts of Mahler 7 and 8 with the Cleveland. In Cleveland the persnickety Glenn Gould specifically requested Lane as his accompanist.

[John F]

In Cleveland the persnickety Glenn Gould specifically requested Lane as his accompanist.

I thought it was George Szell, a superb partner in concertos, who nonetheless wanted nothing to do with the eccentric Gould, and delegated his appearances to Louis Lane. Can you imagine Szell putting up with Gould's tempos in the Brahms 1st concerto, as Leonard Bernstein did (under protest)? If Gould did request Lane, I should think it was because he thought he could have his way, while with Szell he rightly anticipated trouble. But of course that's just guessing.

[jserraglio]

Szell to Rubinstein: Arthur {Schnabel} played it this way
Rubinstein to Szell: But this Arthur plays it this way.

[John F]

[jserraglio]

It may have been Lane who reported Szell's famous behind-the-back verdict on Gould after Szell attended the concert he refused to conduct: "That nut is a genius". It's too good not to be true, as is the "shaving a sixteenth of an inch off your derrière" remark Szell supposedly made to GG in rehearsal. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

[jserraglio]

Posted on another board, a tribute to Lane from Dr. Karl Miller, curator & lecturer ret., U. Texas Austin, who knew Lane personally.

Perhaps a word or two about the Louis I knew. For two years he was the conductor of the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra. I got to know Louis because he was a friend and a former student of my friend Kent Kennan, who was also on the faculty. We all enjoyed many meals together. His stories about Szell and many others were wonderful. Louis' sense of humor was, often times, off the wall, but always terrific.

Kent told me that when Szell died, some in the orchestra put together a petition to have Louis take over. Unfortunately (from my perspective), they ended up with Maazel.

I still listen to that wonderful record Louis made of the Walton/Tommasini pieces.

I have some of his broadcast[s], but no time, at the moment to digitize them. I also have some recordings of his own music. Perhaps you all know the story that his name was really Gardner Lane. He changed his first name due to the success of Gardner Read. Seems funny at this point.

He was an amazing and very talented guy. He might have had a gruff exterior towards some at times, but he was always very kind and generous to me.

Popular Videos - Louis Lane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRvWupr ... 69ltwzIRop