Ludwig van Beethoven

The Salzburg Festival has always been diverse in its repertoire, and this is also reflected in these Salzburger Festspiel Dokumente 2010. Dominated by birthday boys, among both the composers and the interpreters, Gustav Mahler’s works naturally have to be represented here, as the Salzburg Festival played a major role in his rediscovery soon after the Second World War.

Thus it was in 1950 that Bruno Walter returned to Salzburg with the Fourth Symphony. Mahler was the man who had discovered Walter and furthered his career and Walter had a quarter of a century earlier given the Fourth Symphony’s Salzburg première with the Vienna Philharmonic. He returned to conduct the symphony with the same orchestra in 1950, and as his soloist he brought Irmgard Seefried, whose voice was suitably joyful, yet also sounded as if lost in reverie. The symphony was followed by a gripping performance of Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

Less emotional in his choice of works, but more virtuosic and full of spirit was the young Lorin Maazel, who four years later jumped in to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic. Maazel proved his touch with the sentimental and grotesque contrasts of the High and Late Romantics by presenting an unusual programme that featured Berlioz and Strauss as its cornerstones. The Beethoven concerto formed a moment of repose in the centre of the programme, a work that Maazel, the orchestra and the soloist Géza Anda savoured in the loveliest spirit of unanimity. As an outstanding concert partner for the great orchestras and in his own solo recitals, Anda demonstrated a flexibility that was already a tradition in Salzburg, one founded anew by the instrumentalists of the early post-War years.

Edwin Fischer was undoubtedly at the forefront here. He displayed his brilliant, infallible musicality in his trio performances with Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Enrico Mainardi; in solo recitals; and not least in the piano concertos that he performed as soloist-cum-conductor with the Vienna Philharmonic (he was one of the founding fathers of this particular interpretive art and possessed the authority that comes with it). All this is to be heard in Orfeo's new collection in memory of Fischer, with recordings from the years 1946–54. There are piano concertos by Mozart, piano trios by the same composer, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms, and then in Fischer’s final, gripping concert for the Salzburg public, we hear Beethoven’s Sonatas opp. 28, 53 and 111.

Exclusive 5 CD hardcover box with Knappertsbusch’s signature in gold foil imprint.

This production is of high documentary value and definitely one of Audite's priority productions for 2010. During the early 1950s, before the Karajan era, the conductor Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965) worked intensively with the Berlin Philharmonic. The core-period of this cooperation from 1950 until 1952 in particular is documented by high-quality recordings made by RIAS Berlin, both of live concerts and of studio productions. For the first time, the original tapes from the RIAS archives have been made available, which means that these CDs offer the highest possible technical quality. This 5-CD set includes on the one hand a variety of symphonic works and on the other ‘light music’: two differing facets of Hans Knappertsbusch’s repertoire. The recordings of this edition convey a fascinating view on Knappertsbusch’s art. This comparison of live and studio recordings illustrates the influence of medium on Kna’s interpretational aesthetic: in concert, he takes greater liberties in tempi and dynamics than in the more objective studio location. This is also shown by the comparison of concert and studio recordings of Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony and Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, two key-works in this edition. At the same time, the recordings disprove the one-sided view of Knappertsbusch as a master of slow tempi. Whereas he has a more expansive take on time in Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, he tends to choose even more fluid tempi in his interpretations of the great Bruckner symphonies than Bruckner specialists such as Gunter Wand.

These are never-before-released Monteux live performances in state of the art digital restorations. The set includes works by Beethoven, Brahms, Glinka, Hindemith, Mendelssohn, Milhaud, Schumann, R. Strauss of which there are no studio recordings with Monteux. Soloists include Stern and Serkin.

Called by Wilhelm Furtwängler the “blackest bass” of his generation, Frick had no competitors capable of surpassing or even matching his powerful voice in either force or range. As an actor, Frick could be extremely convincing when the role suited his mentality and he was wise enough to limit his repertoire to this type of character. His performances could be overwhelming, given the power of his voice.

Among masterpieces of music literature particular place is taken by the compositions on this disc, which certainly don’t lose their value due to time and repeated performances. The three piano sonatas which are recorded on this CD date between 1798 & 1804, a period of Beethoven’s life when health issues through deafness were paramount and yet his creativity was incredibly prolific. Award winning pianist Olga Rusina brings intensity along with artistic understanding to these fine works.