Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor Rob Barnett Editor in Chief
John Quinn Contributing Editor Ralph Moore Webmaster
David Barker Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf MusicWeb Founder Len Mullenger
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
(a) Symphony No 38 in D major K504 'Prague' [23:26] (b)
Flute Concerto No 2 in D major K314 [19:12] (c) Motet 'Exultate,
jubilate' K165 [14:54] (d) Serenade in B flat major K361 'Gran
Partita' [38:03] Leopold MOZART (1719-1787) (e)
Trumpet Concerto in D major [8:53]
André Pepin
(flute) (b); Janine Micheau (soprano) (c); Michel Cuvit (trumpet)
(e); L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (a,b,d,e); Paris Conservatoire
Orchestra (c); Ernest Ansermet (conductor) (a-e)
rec. Radio Hall, Geneva July 1947 (a), Maison de la Mutualité,
Paris, May 1948 (c), Victoria Hall, Geneva November 1957 (b), May
1955 (d), March 1968 (e) DECCA ELOQUENCE
480 0379 [57:54 + 47:06]
Decca Eloquence are doing Ansermet proud in reissuing so many
of his recordings. It's only just given the amount and quality
of work that he undertook for Decca from after the War until his
retirement in 1968. This covered a wide variety of music, not
merely the French classics and Stravinsky for which he was probably
best known at the time.
Listening to these discs now I regret having somewhat taken him
for granted at the time and having taken the lazy view then that
the great German classics were best left to the great German conductors.
Just how wrong that view was became obvious when his Brahms recordings
were recently reissued, and is emphasized by the present set.
Admittedly where the Brahms recordings were clearly something
very special, these Mozart recordings are at a somewhat lower
level, but they are all worth hearing and do have something worthwhile
to say about the music.
The performance of the Gran Partita is perhaps the pick of the
set. It has an individuality and feeling of understated understanding
of the music that is very winning. Admittedly the sounds of some
of the instruments, especially the first oboe, takes a little
getting used to - this is not the kind of almost organ-like sonority
that some conductors favoured at that time, but this kind of disparate
texture does help the listener to perceive the intricacies of
the music. This is a wonderful work and this is a comfortably
musical version that I suspect I will return to often in preference
to more obviously showy accounts.
The timing given above for the 'Prague' Symphony - under
24 minutes - is not a typing error. Ansermet ignores the long
repeat of the second half of the first movement which has become
common for many conductors today, and elsewhere he only makes
those repeats that are absolutely necessary. Whilst there is a
very good general case for making all repeats requested by the
composer this work does then seem very long with the first movement
out of scale with the rest. What we get in those 24 minutes here
is a clear headed and affectionate performance without obvious
mannerisms but with a careful recognition of the changing character
of the music. The recording is perhaps somewhat primitive compared
with the rest of the programme but not to the extent of spoiling
enjoyment.
The two Concertos are both well characterised, and it is good
to hear a French flautist with such individual phrasing but without
too excessive a vibrato. The rarity is the recording of the Motet
which has not been issued previously. Janine Micheau was a delightful
light soprano. She sings here with a very French lightness and
forward quality. Maybe the first section is at times a little
strained but the final Alleluia has real joy. Overall it is hard
to understand why it was not issued earlier.
There is much to enjoy here, and even collectors who normally
avoid Mozart performances from times before Historically Informed
Performance became obligatory are likely to find pleasure in performances
which often combine the lightness of HIP with something of the
gravity of an older generation. My only complaint is about the
playing time. Normally Eloquence have been able to find apt fillers
to ensure a generous mix, but presumably this is the sum total
of Ansermet's Mozart recordings. A pity, but the set is still
worth having for the quality of what is there.
Reviews
from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.