For today I listened to two outstanding recordings, one uneven recording, and one recording that should be burned in the fires of Mt. Doom. Sounds like a great Sunday afternoon to me!
Beethoven: Consecration of the House Overture - December 16th, 1947
It is fascinating that Toscanini performed this wonderful and little-heard overture, while other noted Beethoven conductors such as Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler never did. Even now this overture is played quite infrequently, which is unfortunate, as it possesses a remarkable, spirited dignity that is an ideal showcase for an obliging orchestra. Toscanini fully exploits all of the neo-baroque elements of this piece (Beethoven wrote Consecration of the House following an extended period of study of Handelian counterpoint) while never losing sight of the breadth that is requisite to its regal sonorities. To dismiss this music as trivial is an easy and unfortunate trap to fall into, and it is to the listener's benefit that Toscanini saw this music for what it was.
Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante - March 6th, 1948
I don't know exactly why Toscanini programmed this curious piece. I assume he performed it to showcase some of the finer principal players in the NBC Symphony: concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff, cellist Frank Miller, oboist Paolo Renzi, and bassoonist Leonard Sharrow. Although Toscanini's accompaniment is suitably spirited (the first movement of this piece reminds me a bit of the Leopold Mozart Toy Symphony), this recording serves as evidence that Renzi was not of the same level as his predecessor, Robert Bloom.
As the NBC Symphony's founding principal oboist, Bloom's rich tone and steady intonation were among the highlights of the early Toscanini recordings with this orchestra. Renzi replaced him in 1945 due to a contract dispute between Bloom and the network. Though a competent performer, Renzi sometimes displayed poor intonation and did not possess a world-class tone. The prominence of his solo lines in this Haydn recording puts these unfortunate traits onto broad display. Mischakoff's playing is solid technically, but a bit overly intense for this whimsical music. Miller and Sharrow are outstanding as always.
Mozart: Symphony No. 39 - March 6th, 1948
Wow. Just…wow. I don't really know what to make of this. The level of incompetence from both Toscanini and the NBC Symphony in this recording is both staggering and utterly bizarre. This Mozart symphony ranks at the very bottom of Toscanini's legacy, along with the Jupiter Symphony, the Blue Danube waltz, and the 1942 recording of the Liebestod from Tristan. But these other performances at least have a steady continuity to them, while this Mozart symphony has such a shaky rhythmic foundation that the overall result is simply a grand mess. Meanwhile, the solo clarinet clarinet in the Minuet is so out of tune that it can't really be considered to be part of the Western tuning system at all (a similarly strange concept of pitch I witnessed at one concert prompted my seat-mate to say "Take that clarinet back to Egypt!"). Toscanini was never considered a first-rate Mozart interpreter, but I would have hoped for something better than this. Wow. Just…wow.
Verdi: Ballabili from Otello - March 13th, 1948
Verdi wrote this music for the first Parisian performance of Otello in 1894. The French have always felt the need for their operas to be performed with ballets, and Verdi was happy to oblige them with this energetic and exotic dance. Though the tune is less catchy than the ballet music from Aida, the composition as a whole is more mature and perfectly suits the character of the opera. Toscanini, however, chose to not insert this ballet into his recording of Otello from four months earlier. Whether this had to do with concerns about the dramatic continuity of the opera or with the timing requirements of the broadcast I do not know, but the issue is irrelevant as listeners can easily enough insert this later recording of the Ballabili if they so wish.
This performance shows the same committed brilliance of the complete Otello recording. The NBC Symphony is immaculate, and Toscanini seems rejuvenated with his spirited musical leadership.
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That's it for Day 46!
Check back tomorrow for the three Bs: Brahms, Brahms, Brahms.
Happy Sunday!
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