Sir Landon Ronald – Volume 2
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841–1904)
Symphony No.9 in E minor, From the New World, Op.95 (1893) [36:27]
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Symphony No.4 in F minor Op.36 (1877) [39:01]
Royal Albert Hall Orchestra/Sir Landon Ronald
rec. January 1927 (Dvorák) and September 1925 (Tchaikovsky), London
HISTORIC RECORDINGS HRMP00040 [75:41]
I noted in my review of the first volume in this Landon Ronald series that
there was another fine example of the conductor’s Tchaikovskian credentials
in the next disc. It’s his 1925 early electric recording of the Fourth Symphony,
again with the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra. For the time this was a fine recording,
with good frequency response in all orchestral sections. Ronald was not as
incendiary a conductor in this repertoire as his colleague Albert Coates,
and he didn’t enjoy the reputation of Beecham or, from a later generation,
Constant Lambert in the Russian muse. But he did nevertheless possess significant
gifts of his own. The performance is taut, no-nonsense, and possesses some
highly personal touches, though they’re hardly Mengelbergian in their extremes.
There are some rather vitalising metrical moments, as well as decelerandos,
and a corpus of luscious portamenti, though quite discreetly employed – they’re
actually more pervasive in the New World Symphony which shares disc
space with the Tchaikovsky. The strings have to count hard in the pizzicato
passages but they emerge relatively unscathed. Some of the brass playing is
a bit sticky. The conclusion is powerful. It demonstrates again Ronald’s buoyant
strengths as a symphonic conductor. This is an important document for at least
one reason. There were no acoustic recordings of the symphony. Isolated movements,
yes – by Cuthbert Whitemore for Vocalion, Henry Wood for Columbia and Karl
Muck for Victor – but no complete recording, so this Ronald inscription is
the first ever set down. For many people this makes it a mere curiosity, but
for the archivally minded it’s rather more than that. As well as the two Symphonies
curated by Historic Recordings, Ronald recorded the Sixth in 1923 (acoustically),
the Piano Concerto No.1 with Mark Hambourg (now on Pristine Audio PASC223),
as well as other isolated movements and various smaller pieces.
Collectors of a serious bent – and I stress the seriousness of the obsession
– will know that Ronald recorded Dvořák’s Ninth on two occasions. The
first, with the RAHO once more, was recorded between 1919 and 1922. It was
the first complete recording of the symphony to be issued, though as with
the Tchaikovsky single movements of the Largo had appeared. In January 1927,
taking advantage of the new advances made in recording techniques, Ronald
set down his electric remake, again with the RAHO. In the meantime Hamilton
Harty had set down his very brisk Columbia version. Ronald’s approach is stern,
brusque in places, cultivating a stygian response from his quite Germanic
bass-up string sound. These he contrasts powerfully with the yielding wind
statements. The strings play with plenty of portamento – there’s one passage
in the first movement, and another in the finale, where the sliding in a single
phrase is fantastically co-ordinated – though occasionally they could be tidier.
The brass playing is rugged and strong, the whole ethos dramatic. This is
a far graver, more measured and sepulchral interpretation than Harty’s.
The Tchaikovsky transfer is excellent. There’s one evident side join (it’s
at 4:03 in the finale) but otherwise it preserves the fine sound of the HMV
electric, and though it’s hissy with one or two clicks it’s very listenable
indeed. It demonstrates just how good electric recording could be, even at
this early date. I was disappointed however with the Dvořák which has
utilised a very different transfer technique. HMV shellac hiss has been computer-curtailed
but a steely swish has replaced it. It’s a torrid sound.
There are no notes, as usual from this source. Acknowledging the caveat about
the New World, this disc conjoins two historically important recordings,
very well worthy of investigation.
Jonathan Woolf
Historically important recordings … very well worthy of investigation