War-Time Wilhelm Furtwängler: Questionable Greatness

The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler’s art has so imbued itself into the collective conscious of the music-loving public that, to this day, 65 years after his death, the name still evokes greatness. Sure, there are factions – especially the Arturo Toscanini-loving types – that dispute Furtwängler’s greatness. Or those who suggest that for every moment of incandescence there were two of crud. And a modern listener might hear scratchy old recordings that are a far cry from today’s technical standards in terms of sound and performance and wonder what the big deal is. But even for those who cannot ascertain his dare-not-be-questioned ‘wondrous amazingness’ (and if you admit as much, be ready to be painted an ignoramus), the point is probably not to determine Furtwängler’s greatness in terms of what we can glean today from his art but by how lasting a legacy he has left. In fact, it’s perhaps even more amazing for that reputation to be so lasting in face of evidence that doesn’t always support it in ‘conventional ways’.

For decades this mythical reputation has lived off relatively few official releases (which weren’t always the best ones) and an enormous amount of semi-pirated gray-market imprints (which were often of disastrous technical quality). Eventually the Audite label took its painstaking restoration process and has opened much of the Furtwängler vault to potential listeners with their standard-setting releases and sets (especially notable the Complete RIAS recordings box). Now the Berlin Philharmonic, Furtwängler’s own band, gets in on it, too, and delivers what might be reasonably considered the definitive collection of the wartime recordings.

The set of 22 hybrid SACDs, striking a less marshal tone, is actually titled “The Radio Recordings 1939-1945” – and collects every surviving broadcast recording from that time – covering 21 concerts (partially, some) that Furtwängler gave in those years. The relatively good 77cm/s magnetic tape reels, which had been in Soviet custody until after the Cold War, were newly digitized on a custom tape machine of Radio Berlin-Brandenburg’s.

On paper, some of the most interesting ingredients are of course Furtwängler war time Beethoven symphonies: Complete performances of the Fourth (once with and once without an audience present), Fifth (twice), Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Symphonies. (There are also the Coriolan Overture and the Violin and Fourth Piano Concertos with longtime Berlin Philharmonic concert master Erich Röhn and Conrad Hansen as soloists, respectively.) There is some repertoire that has since fallen by the wayside, like Heinz Schubert’s Hymnic Concerto, Furtwängler’s own Symphonic Concerto (with Edwin Fischer as the pianist!), or Ernst Pepping’s Second Symphony. A complete Fifth and Ninth lure the Bruckner lover and Richard Strauss is well presented with tone poems and orchestrated songs. It’s also a pretty one-sided slice of the repertoire that the listener gets: Short pieces by Handel, Gluck and Mozart’s Symphony No.39 are the only earlier-than-romantic works and Ravel and Sibelius are the only non-Germanic entries.

As is typical of the coffee-table vanity sets of the Berlin Philharmonic’s own label, they are luxuriously packaged and shaped exactly so that they won’t fit into a single shelf – CD or book – of human devising. Previously, the CD/Blu-ray releases in that format have, after some time, been re-issued slightly less luxuriously but in conventionally shaped SACD boxes. Given the commemorative nature of this set, that might be less likely. The 180 page bilingual book is terrific, brimming with great photos and many excerpts from Furtwängler’s letters… especially to his record producers, which are telling especially when the conductor talks about his dissatisfaction with the end results.

Also among these excerpts is one snippet that shows that the Toscanini-Furtwängler rivalry was not just a figment of their respective follower’s imagination. Decrying to EMI their lack of interest in recording his performances, Furtwängler wrote them in May of 1953: “While in the past you had mentioned from time to time that I should record the IX. [Beethoven] symphony, I haven’t heard anything about that as of late. Instead I see the IX. Symphony of Toscanini’s praised beyond all measure (even in Germany) in a propagandistic way that stands in gross contrast to the quality of that record.” Furtwängler would be happy to know that he’s been the beneficiary of nearly as much propagandistic praise, since. Whether in gross contrast to the quality of the record, that is yours to decide.

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(More pictures below.)

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New Mahler Cycle from Frankfurt

G.Mahler, Symphonies 1 & 2, P.Järvi / Frankfurt RSO Unitel / c-major

Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (in Germany the hr-Sinfonieorchesters, "hr" standing for "Hesse Radio"), performed and recorded the Mahler Symphonies at the Rheingau Musik Festival between 2007 and 2013. They were recorded in three different venues, the Basilika of the Eberbach Abbey, the concert hall of the Kurhaus (now named Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal) and the Old Opera, the home of the Frankfurt RSO.

The orchestra isn't new to recording Mahler; it has recorded the complete works (but with a performing version of the 10th, whereas this set will only include the Adagio) for Denon in the 80s under Eliahu Inbal. (Now on Brilliant.) Three releases of five are now out in Europe, in the US, only the first DVD/Blu-ray seems out at this point.

Paavo Järvi’s previously recorded Mahler includes SymphonyNo.2 and Four Short Movements. (Review here). His father, Neeme Järvi, of course, has recorded most (but not all) of Mahler. Here are these recordings (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 on Chandos, 8 on BIS, 2 and Das Lied von der Erde on DVD/Vai) collected in one place. (Not that they ever made much of a splash, except perhaps the oddly wonderful Eighth, which we have reviewed here.

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Briefly Noted: Mourning Michael Howells

H. Howells, Requiem (inter alia), Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, S. Layton (released on April 10, 2012) Hyperion CDA67914 | 64'09"

Most of the people who love the music of Herbert Howells (1892-1983) are those who have performed it. The music on this disc has already been recorded many times, often pairing the English composer's setting of the Requiem Mass with some of his other service music or with another composer's Mass or Requiem setting. The theme of tragic personal loss unites this movingly programmed disc, devoted entirely to the music of Howells. Howells was diagnosed early in life with Graves Disease, a misfortune that spared him from military service in World War I, although he was not left untouched by that conflict, as indeed was no one in Great Britain at that time. Devastation came to Howells later, in 1935, when his son, Michael, then only nine years old, died of polio. (His daughter, Ursula, became an actress and promoter of her father's music.) Howells composed his Requiem Mass, for unaccompanied voices, in 1932, but it soon became the basis for his expanded Hymnus Paradisi, a work dedicated to Michael's memory. It is also likely, as argued in fine liner notes by Paul Andrews, that Howells had the text Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing -- an English translation by Helen Waddell of a Latin hymn by Prudentius -- in mind for a memorial to Michael when he used it instead for his contribution to a memorial service for President Kennedy. The disc closes with the Howells hymn All My Hope on God Is Founded, again composed before Michael's death but given the tender name MICHAEL when Howells published it in 1936. (The only regret here is a tacky descant, by John Rutter, of course, added to the final verse.)

The disc is rounded out by the Hymn for Saint Cecilia, on an ecstatic text by Ursula Vaughan Williams, a poet who was the second wife of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams; two settings of the Evensong canticles, the Gloucester Service and the St. Paul's Service; and the popish Salve regina, which is a gem in Howells output. The last of these dates from his student days at the Royal College of Music, where Charles Stanford, one of his teachers, recommended that Howells and his other students go to hear the outpouring of Catholic liturgical music then being revived at London's new Westminster Cathedral under that notorious Catholic convert, R. R. Terry. The performances here are all top-notch, from the mixed undergraduate choir (women instead of boys, that is) of Trinity College, Cambridge, under Stephen Layton, with blistering contributions by organ scholars Simon Bland and Jeremy Cole. The generally excellent Hyperion sound (engineering by David Hinitt) captures all of the dynamic range, subtlety, and acoustical reverberation of the rooms in Ely and Lincoln Cathedrals where the tracks were recorded. The next person who raves to me about the pedestrian music of Eric Whitacre will be assigned Herbert Howells for correction.

Classical:NEXT, Classical Music's new MIDEM

The Story of Naxos, Nicolas Soames Piatkus Books Chopin, PC No.1, Polish Airs, E.Nebolsin / A.Wit / Warsaw PO Naxos Dohnanyi, Nursery Variations, E.Nebolsin / J.Falletta / Buffalo PO Naxos Sarasate, Spanish Dances, T.Yang / M.Hadulla Naxos Beethoven, Variations, F.Uhlig hänssler Classic Schumann, "Young Virtuoso", F.Uhlig hänssler Classic Bach, Goldberg Variations, F.Haas la dolce volta Walter Arlen, Songs, R.Nelsen, C.Immler, D.Driver Gramola N.Rakov, Violin Sonatas, D.Frühwirth / M.Chernyavska Crystal Purcell et al., Love's Madness, D.Mields / Lautten Compagney Berlin carus Bruckner, Cello Suites, C.Abbado / Lucerne FO Accent DVD

The Event

What’s “Classical:NEXT”? In short: it’s the independent classical music label’s MIDEM. It’s the outgrowth of collective disgruntlement with the music industry’s dominant trade fair where classical music had become a tolerated afterthought. CLASS, the association for classical independent labels in Germany (read: Musikproduktion Dabringhaus & Grimm), banked on the dissatisfaction of Cannes in February, crowded expensive hotels, and increasingly high participation fees and opted instead for Munich in May (May 30 – June 2), a winning proposition right there.

With the experienced WOMEX team behind them, Munich’s accessibility, the Gasteig (Munich’s ugly and convenient behemoth cultural center) at their hands, and a little official city funding garnered by making sufficiently believable the whole thing was a partly public affair, Classical:NEXT was off to a promising start. The real stroke of genius was to have Naxos’ 25^th anniversary celebration take place as part of it. Naxos’s Global Logistics arm and Naxos Germany are headquartered in Kirchheim just north-east of Munich (Martin Anderson, critic and head of Toccata Classics suggests that “stepping into [NGL’s] warehouse is barely less breath-taking than entering Chartres Cathedral”), which made it sensible to have the main bash for Klaus Heymann’s 75^th and Naxos 25^th birthday held there. Conveniently Nicolas Soames’ impeccably researched label-hagiography was released just in time by Piatkus Books to be presented alongside the birthday cake.

Naxos’ invitation ensured that Classical:NEXT’s “start-up edition” (as the American expat Jennifer Dautermann – project manager and platitudinist-in-chief – did not tire to call it every opportunity given) had the critical mass of visitors its first year that instant success was a given. Seven hundred registered delegates, well over a third from abroad, made absence from Classical:NEXT look conspicuous. It led Richard Winter – proprietor of continental Europe’s oldest record shop, head of the clever Gramola label, and one of the very first distributors of Naxos – to suggest that after its first year Classical:NEXT had already passed the MIDEM in importance for classical labels.

Based on quantity alone, the future of the fair is ensured for at least a few years to come, which gives time and a little peace of mind to work out the organizational kinks that will take it from an unmissable networking event to something more pertinent yet… Something with better and more focused panel discussions (nods to Carnegie Hall and the Bavarian State Opera who stood out positively with their presentation on the use of new media and social networking), a greater variety of better integrated, briefer artists’ concerts (“showcases”), and actual utilizations of the public – the alleged, but ultimately ignored object of everyone’s desire in reaching.

Presuming the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich plays ball, the dates Classical:NEXT 2013 will be announced soon, which would be good news for me, too, because it would mean I could get another Classical:WEISSWURST gathering next year, the informal Bavarian breakfast-gathering of dear friends and acquaintances that I could otherwise never all find in one place at a time.

The Music

Dotted throughout the three days were recitals and “artists’ showcases” and Naxos 25^th Anniversary Concert. Attempting to emphasize the “Classical” but of the fair’s name, the opening concert featured Eldar Nebolsin, a Naxos artist (with a foray to Oehms and an ancient debut disc on Decca) with an Antonio Soler Sonata (I wrote down “#78”, but it was more likely the Scarlattiesque Sonata No.87 in g-minor) and sewing-machine Bach. Tianwa Yang, Naxos’ violinist for all things Sarasate, showed her chops in the Jacques Thibaud-dedicated Second Ysaÿe Sonata for Solo Violin. Unfortunately she butchered the opening pauses, as if they weren’t an essential part of the music, and the pizzicatos were awfully unimaginative. Toward the end did she forced the work off her instrument with aggressive approximation that hinted at something titillating to come.

If Barbara Kozelj were as good an instrumentalist as she is a mezzo soprano, everyone would have admired her skill and choice of repertoire in those six, seven Joseph Joachim Raff songs. But unfortunately Lied-singing is tough and often unrewarding and a very good, achingly sincere, stilted rendition just doesn’t cut the mustard. Florian Uhlig, the young pianist that hänssler Classic is currently unleashing on Schumann, finally made an instant impression of total professionalism. Schumann’s Abegg Variations were pretty good already, but the Jubilee-appropriate “Rule Britannia Variations” by Beethoven, played to the hilt, wowed everyone in the crowd of professional listeners.

For the Naxos Anniversary Concert, Nebolsin found himself more at home in deliberate, well articulated, very decent Rachmaninoff (D-major Prelude op.23/4) and Chopin. Thomas E. Bauer’s seven songs from Schumann’s Dichterliebe – accompanied by Uta Hielscher – were a different caliber than Miss Kozelj’s go at Lied repertoire, but the baritone didn’t knock one out of the park until the very well mastered, perilous “Ich grolle nicht”. Miss Yang was back and now she continued on the good note where she had left off the day before, getting a movement from Ysaÿe’s Third Sonata (the one dedicated to George Enescu) plenty right and dazzling with great tone, plenty character, rock-solid intonation, and virtuosity in her home-field, Sarasate.

The closing concert, in symmetry to the opening recital, meant to suggest the “NEXT” bit and programmed new music. First a selection of John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes put together and performed by composer-pianist Moritz Eggert. What a treat, these endlessly fascinating witty spunky little creatures. If Scarlatti’s sonatas were “Happy Freaks” in Charles Burney’s time, Cages’ deserve the coy title today. Perfectly enjoyable, perfectly sensical they splendidly undermined the stereotype of Cage, so often dismissed in a quip about silence. You can hear that for Cage, as every honest composer, the impulse for composition is primarily a communicative and musical one. Eggert dipped the ears, who had just listened to James Jolly give a heartening and compassionately brief closing address, right into the midst of this joyous music.

Joyous is decidedly not the primary quality of Ernst Krenek’s Symphonic Music op.11, but as performed by the Munich’s Orchestra Jakobsplatz – a lively, craggy ensemble that excels in its director Daniel Grossmann’s clever programming – it conveyed musical joy via a sense of the uninhibited. It nearly cloaked the delicious irony that the “NEXT” of classical music apparently consists of composers who have been decomposing for an average of 20.5 years. Classical Music. Up next: Death!

Then again, in a environment where audiences still think of 140-year-old Schoenberg as modern, the charitable response is “We know what you mean!” So why not Cage and Krenek, who combine for a mere 202 years.*


Edit 6/11/12: Jennifer Dautermann feels compelled to point out that the final, third part of the closing concert with the Quartet New Generation (QNG) featured works by Moritz Eggert, Michiel Mensingh, Fulvio Caldini, and Wojciech Blecharz. Recent works and by composers she (rightly) "suspect[s] ... are still very much alive and kicking."

Listen What the Cat Dragged In: The Nightingale & The Well Tempered Clavier

J.S.Bach, WTC Books 1 & 2, Christine Schornsheim Capriccio 7115

The atmosphere was Germanic-proper, cordial, and perhaps a touch cool when I met harpsichordist, fortepianist, continuo player Christine Schornsheim in her practice room at the Gasteig (Munich) some time mid-2010. It was just after she had finished recording the first book of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier—her most important musical tonic, and she complained that she hadn’t been able to get in touch with the head of her record label, Capriccio, to see when or how the project would proceed. The project did proceed, since: Mme. Schornsheim has recorded the second book, too, and the complete four CD set will be available later this month.

Considerable enthusiasm was—at last—notable, when she talked about the instrument on which she was and would be recording the Well-Tempered Clavier::

Yes, a harpsichord: all on one instrument, although there would have been a lot of possibilities to mix and match, too. Several Préludes, I think, would fit the clavichord very nicely, some very neatly the organ. And some could even be played on a very early fortepiano. So in theory one could have used several instruments for that project, too. [As she did for her complete Haydn Sonata recording.] But it wouldn’t do justice to the reality of listening habits. With Haydn I was able to arrange them in such a way as to have any one CD contain only sonatas performed on one particular instrument. That wouldn’t have been possible here and I think it’s problematic to have more than one instrument on one CD. The different levels of loudness and dynamics would have meant that you either have to manipulate on the technical side or else be thrown about constantly, neither of which I think is a good solution. And that’s not even considering whether the pitch is exactly identical … nah. Aside, the instrument I got to use is every harpsichordist’s dream: an original, exceptionally well restored, rightly very popular Ruckers in Colmar. Black, almost nondescript looking, but with an unbelievably singing tone that has you addicted as soon as you touch it. I liken it to a nightingale. Not the prettiest bird around, but the most beautiful sounding.

Here is an excerpt

J.S.Bach, Prélude no.3 in C sharp Major, BWV 872 (excerpt), Christine Schornsheim, Capriccio 7115

Listen What the Cat Dragged In: Thielemann's Vienna Beethoven

L.v.Beethoven, The 9 Symphonies, C.Thielemann / WPh / A.Dasch, M.Fujimura, P.Beczala, G.Zappenfeld Sony

Christian Thielemann's Beethoven set first came out on Blu-ray and DVD (C major / Unitel) which was, along with Weinberg's "The Passenger", reason enough to finally get into Blu-ray. The picture of the Blu-ray set does look fantastic, indeed so much that it is almost worth watching the performances, rather than (just) listening to them.

Still, I generally prefer pure audio listening (and many homes are set up with better audio-only equipment, relying on perfectly inadequate TV speakers for sound that accompanies pictures), and so I'm very happy to see the cycle out on CD. Thanks to their new-found relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, Sony jumped to the occasion and issued the set as a belated Christmas present to Beethoven-lovers on December 27th.

The first impression: The packaging is marvelous. Similar to the Chailly Beethoven-set on Decca, it's a thick book with page-sleeves... generous with pictures and text. Better yet, it is bound in white cloth and—this distinguishes it from the Decca release which comes in a comparatively flimsy paper slipcase—the slipcase is also bound in white cloth with bold magenta, gold, and white-on-white lettering. Minor, superficial details, perhaps, but all the same an asset for those who cherish haptic pleasures. Handling the set is a joy. The symphonies are spread over six CDs (no overtures included) and one 45-minute "Making van Beethoven" German/English documentary that strikes me like a luxury trailer for the DVD/Blu-ray set.

L.v.Beethoven, Symphony No.4, 4th Movement (excerpt), Christian Thielemann, WPh, Sony 7927172

I am still going through the performances to gather more definite impressions, but I have already come across several gorgeous highlights on the Blu-ray that I am looking forward to re-encountering on CD. What is evident throughout is that the Vienna Philharmonic plays for "CT" like they do for no other conductor.

Listen What the Cat Dragged In: Grieg's Symphonic Works

E.Grieg, Complete Symphonic Works v.1, E.Aadland / WDRSO Cologne audite SACD E.Grieg, Complete Symphonic Works v.2, E.Aadland / WDRSO Cologne audite SACD

The first thing that strikes one about these first two volumes of Edvard Grieg’s “Complete Symphonic Works” is how lovely they are packaged: Each (multichannel hybrid) SACD is contained in a three-way folding digipack graced by a very smart design: The oil painting “The Enchanted Forest” by Edvard Munch, Grieg’s namesake and compatriot, is reproduced on each cover. On itself, the coupling of Munch visual with Grieg audio isn’t very novel. But the five children in the foreground (they are taken out on a trip by their teacher—the latter’s hat is visible on the actual painting though not here—when they stop and gaze in amazement at the forest that comes into view) remain half transparent while only one child is, in turn, projected in full color and twice the normal size. That will do for five volumes—which, in a roundabout way, begs the question: What constitutes the “Complete Symphonic Works” of Grieg?

E.Grieg, Symphonic Dances, op.64 No. 1, Allegro moderato e marcato (excerpt)

Five discs might seem a good deal of music, given that the generally known orchestral music by Grieg is limited to the Peer Gynt Suites, the Piano Concerto, and the neo-baroque suite “From Holberg’s Time”. But the Swedish label BIS (in charge of pan-Nordic musical matters) has a set of Grieg’s “Complete Orchestral Works” (with Ole Kristian Ruud and Grieg’s home-town orchestra, the superb Bergen Philharmonic) that contains eight discs. And Naxos, another label strong on Scandinavian music, extends its Grieg series (under Bjarte Engeset) over seven discs. Something has to go… something that is apparently ‘orchestral’, but not ‘symphonic’. The answer is that “Symphonic” does not include works ncluded with voice whereas “orchestral” can include these works, too, as it is the case in other Grieg editions.

The complete incidental music for Peer Gynt is also missing, although it might not be missed. The core works, including the Piano Concerto (under the above definition not just ‘orchestral’ but also ‘symphonic’), are all included, which means you'll find the Lyric Suite for Orchestra op. 54, Grieg’s Symphony (there is one), the Norwegian Dances, the three Sigurd Jorsalfar Pieces op.56, and then plenty more you might not even have known existed. (A more detailed list on audite’s release notes, here.) The musical results with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne under Evind Aadland are wonderful in the first two volumes. The former concert master of the Bergen Philharmonic (a violin student of Menuhin) and current music director of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (a conducting student of the legendary Jorma Panula) makes much of this music with lively, never hackneyed, very well played, and—being live performances—very atmospheric performances. Aadland’s focus on the folk elements in Grieg’s music—based on extant Norwegian folk bits rather than faux-folk of his own creation à la Dvořák or Brahms—seems to show.

E.Grieg, Nordic Melodies, op.63 Kulokk, Andantino (excerpt)

How the Norwegian-German set, once it is a finished, compares to Ruud’s and Engeset’s will have to be heard. On individual discs, BIS also offers gorgeously designed SACDs and Norway’s finest orchestra, recorded in the splendid acoustic of Grieg Hallen in Bergen, but is quite expensive. (As a set it comes in conventional ‘Red Book’ CD stereo and very reasonably priced.) Naxos isn’t as cheap anymore as it once was, but it’s still ugly. The performances under Engeset are splendid, though. Only Norwegian purists will object, if jokingly, that five of the discs are performed with the Swedish (!) Malmö Symphony Orchestra.