Strolling Violins - Frank York

 

Stella By Starlight

Strolling Violins

Frank York and His Orchestra

Coral Records CRL 57294

1960

From the back cover: Ideally attended, the violin tells a secret. Whether that secret be told in joy or sadness, intimately or impersonally is entirely dictated by the listener.

Atainst a boarding sound of many stirngs then, here is Frank York's violin revealing his artistry in the musical secret os many peoples. The York sound is multi-colored as are the orchestral backgrounds employing every musical device down to strings. Stirring in his Italian flavor; exciting in his German gayeties; disquieting in his French love themes, York warms at the home fires of American standards, his virtuosity superbly showcased. 

Lifting the Russian folk song, "Kirpitchki," from a hand-me-down gypsy air, "Love Gone Astray" has been adapted with no compromise to its halting, lovely story; yet "Play Gypsies, Dance Gypsies" captures the fire and fury of the wonders who music is both means and end. The night's nuances are veiled in the blue smoke of "Stella By Starlight" only to disappear in the robust delights of "Wunderbar." Culled from a love-lorn Paris, "autumn Leaves" and "La Vie en Rose" take their charm from many violins, violas, celli and a rhythm section with a regard for the lover.

The artist pulls deeply from a rich Ukranian-Russian heritage, enriched by classic schooling at Juilliard and Eastman. In a frenzied, modern technique or in a plaintive, lonely treatment of a gypsy fiddle, he is forceful and arresting. Frank York was erred in the red cast of Pittsburgh's steel mills, and traditionally taught by his father, a violin maker. That he has been – for a near decade – the personable young maestro of the Strolling Violins featured in the Hotel Sherman's College Inn Porterhouse in Chicago attests to his bow-ing to the public's taste and its bow to a unique talent.

From Billboard - February 15, 1960: York has long been the featured maestro of Strolling Violins at the Hotel Sherman's College Inn Porterhouse in Chicago. The performances are lush, evoking a continental atmosphere. There are individual songs and medleys, including "Sorrento," "Fascination," "Autumn Leaves," "Wunderbarl," etc.

Medley: Come Back To Sorrento, Arrivederci Roma (Good Bye To Rome)

Intermezzo

Medley: Vienna, City Of My Dreams, Wunderbar

Belle Of The Ball

Medley: Play Gypsies, Dance Gypsies, Chardas

Silent Mood

Medley: Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes), La Vie En Rose

Stella By Starlight

Medley: Fascination, Love Gone Astray, Around The World

Misrtey Ole Smokey