Hey everyone! Welcome to Day 63!
Today I listened to the recording that started it all, plus two Wagner excerpts. I also watched some television. I don't see why I can't do both.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 - December 21st, 1951
In a way, this recording was the one that started this project.
About a year ago, in keeping with my habit of coming up with borderline OCD pastimes, I had the idea to listen to the nine Beethoven symphonies over the course of nine days, and comparing the Toscanini and Furtwängler recordings of each of them back to back. The two conductors were bitter rivals in their own time, and continue to inspire legions of cultish supporters who view the other's work with suspicion. I thought it would be interesting to compare their respective Beethoven interpretations, although this was originally meant entirely for the edification of my wife and I. Some months later I decided to turn this into a blog, but with the expanded focus of listening to the entire recorded legacy of one of the two conductors. Some day I hope to complete the project with a corresponding blog on Wilhelm Furtwängler, but for now I'm perfectly content with just writing about Toscanini.
The original listening project started out with this fabulous recording of Beethoven's First Symphony. I had long had a basic familiarity with Toscanini's work, but the explosive energy of this recording had me hooked, and determined to hear as much as I could. Re-listening to it today, I was no less struck by its visceral power, but it is all the more impressive in the context of the conductor's chronology. Many of Toscanini's recordings from this period began to exhibit sagging energy and loss of control, but not this time. Beethoven's first symphony may be close to the 18th century in its thematic orientation, but it is still Beethoven, and full-blooded readings like Toscanini's are much more effective than the more delicate interpretations that try to turn this work into "super-Mozart."
The opposite extreme can be found in recordings like those of Furtwängler, who gave the work an unnatural weight more appropriate for Bruckner than Beethoven. In its own way, I actually find this to be very compelling listening, but I don't feel it is an accurate portrayal of Beethoven's intentions (does it have to be?).
Not all of Toscanini's Beethoven recordings are equal successful, but this is one of his most effective, combining biting energy with superb precision and control. I found it to be inspiring one year ago, and still do.
Wagner: Siegfried's Funeral Music from Götterdämmerung - January 3rd, 1952
This is some of the most heart-rending and tragic music in Wagner's massive Ring cycle, and Toscanini did not shy away from the emotionalism inherent in it. The conductor led this excerpt (in his own concert arrangement) seven times at NBC, and every one of these is a gem. This one, his penultimate, is my favorite of them all. It exhibits a stunning blend of orchestral sonorities that create a unified block of sound that envelops the listener with a palette of drama in music, just as Wagner intended. This recording is only marred by poor woodwind intonation in the opening bars, as Siegfried cries out for Brünnhilde with his dying breaths. I want to be moved by this music, but I'd prefer to not have my face moved into cringing position.
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries - January 3rd, 1952
In its overall sonority this is the better of Toscanini's two recordings of the Ride of the Valkyries. The earlier recording had a whirling, impetuous energy to it, but was lacking in nobility. This 1952 performance has it all: a youthful vigor in its depiction of the Valkyries that still acknowledges that they are immortals. There is, however, one peculiarity. The trombone section almost entirely drops the sixteenth notes from the main tune, taking away some of the rhythmic punch of the music. The effect is almost as if the brass were trying to literally emulate the syllables of Elmer Fudd singing "Kill the Wabbit!"
......................................................................................................................................
That's it for Day 63!
Check back tomorrow for music of mythological love and magic bullets.
Happy Wednesday!
No comments:
Post a Comment