This timely reissue reminds us what a fine conductor Rudolf Kempe
was. He seems to be particularly associated with Richard Strauss.
In fact his repertoire was wider than maybe thought, and would have
widened further but for his death at 65, as the contents of the excellent
EMI Icon box
reviewed
by my colleague Jonathan Woolf show. There is also a box, which I
also own, from Testament (SBT12 1281), very reasonably priced (between
£46 and £85 on Amazon) which has 12 CDs covering a broad
repertoire. This includes a thrilling
Scheherazade. The aforementioned
budget Icon includes Beethoven 1, 3, 5 and 6 so this disc avoids duplication.
The Munich cycle was the first to be recorded in quadraphonic which
shared the same fate as DVD audio. It was available in a super budget
box about 12 years ago. Now EMI are releasing them all on separate
discs, which makes them more expensive than Rattle, Barenboim or Chailly.
The Second Symphony has been much played by me over the past 25 years
since I heard Sir Thomas Beecham’s version (EMI) now on an excellent
compilation
The
Later Tradition. However I remember, when at school, loving the
finale when I heard it on the BBC’s Third Programme, unaware
of the composer! Kempe is a sheer joy from start to finish with great
shaping of lines and wonderful playing and recording. Prior to playing
this for the third time I played Celibidache (EMI 0 85566 2) from
a 14 CD super budget set, conducting the same Orchestra in 1996 from
his last concert. He takes 39:18 (not including applause track) compared
to Kempe’s 32:54! Great playing and worth hearing but not for
everyday although I agree with Colin Anderson
reviewing
an earlier set “The music speaks, suspirates, and has a vital
inner life”. I will certainly return to Kempe’s 2 often
and will explore the symphonies I haven’t heard yet. The extended
recording dates have no detrimental effect on the recording.
Symphony 4 can too easily be overlooked, coming as it does between
the
Eroica and the Fifth. I’ve always loved it since
I played my grandfather’s LP of it over forty years ago. I heard
a wonderful performance three years ago at the Proms by the Berlin
Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Kempe’s recording is in
the same class, right from the first chords. Berlioz claimed that
the second movement was the work of the Archangel Michael and not
that of a human. Listening to the wonderful playing of the Munich
Philharmonic, with superb strings, woodwinds and horns it’s
easy to agree. Kempe’s tempo in the third movement strikes me
as ideal. I will be reviewing Klemperer on Pristine Audio soon, so
it will be interesting to compare. The symphony comes to a triumphant
conclusion in the finale with all the excitement and spontaneity of
a live performance.
I got much pleasure from playing this disc; it will please everyone
who isn’t already overdosed on Beethoven and perhaps those as
well! I’m not even going to compare the hordes of alternatives
but at this price it’s a bargain!
A superb performance of much performed repertory that deserves to
be heard.
David R Dunsmore
Masterwork Index: Symphony
2 ~~ Symphony
4
