There are already countless recordings of Johann
Strauss to suit all tastes; even those with very little are well catered
for, as the current phenomenal success of André Rieu's Johann
Strauss Orchestra testifies. Historically informed performances like
these, from Belgium's excellent Anima Eterna under Jos van Immerseel,
are much rarer. With over 25 years experience together, Immerseel and
his ensemble are better known for more 'serious' repertoire, like their
numerous period-instrument recordings for ZigZag of French composers,
such as Debussy (ZZT313), Poulenc (ZZT110403), Berlioz (ZZT100101) or
Ravel (ZZT060901). This is not to forget their core Austro-German repertory,
such as complete symphony cycles of Beethoven (ZZT0804026) and Schubert
(ZZT308) and numerous discs of Haydn and Mozart. By coincidence, incidentally,
ZigZag (actually part of the Outhere stable) have just released a 6-CD
box set of a selection of those Mozart recordings, including several
of the violin sonatas where Immerseel is pianist.
Immerseel does not hold with the common prejudice against Johann Strauss's
music, a perception only aggravated by the candy-floss/hum-along renditions
of André Rieu. Brahms, Richard Strauss and Schoenberg all held
Strauss's music in high regard, and whilst it would be wrong to ascribe
any great profundity to it, it is also reasonable to argue that subsequent
snobbishness is based on 20th-century interpretation, itself arising
from the misrepresentation of Strauss by various publishers. A perusal
of a random selection of the massive available discography confirms
this: a morass of turgid, syrupy renditions that pay little heed to
Strauss's original ideals or even scores.
For this recording Anima Eterna makes use of a recent critical edition
of the composer's works published by Bärenreiter. The resultant
sound, whilst obviously still retaining Strauss's inherent terpsichorean
mellifluousness, has less of the Photoshopped Viennese cake-emporium
about it. Immerseel instead comes up with a more low-fat, raw-ingredient
recipe - most significantly a reduced string section - that allows the
individual flavours to be savoured. This is self-evident in the csárdás
from
Die Fledermaus, with its genuine Hungarian folk-coloured
introduction and ending. It can also be heard in the heightened atmospherics
of the
Egyptian March, which, if it came from many another's
pen, would surely feature regularly on more serious bills.
The programme would need the
Emperor Waltz and
Vienna Blood
at least to be considered a 'best of' selection, but the several works
that will be familiar to most listeners - the
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka,
Frühlingsstimmen ('Voices of Spring') and especially the
Blue Danube waltz and
Fledermaus overture - all come across
as fresh and vivid, rather than the knackered warhorses the New Year's
Day concert at Vienna threatens to turn them into. The
Perpetuum
Mobile and
Furioso Polka can be heard for what they are -
models for the next generation of 'light music' classics by Eric Coates,
Ronald Binge, Vivian Ellis and others.
No one can accuse Outhere, incidentally, of not making an effort to
sell this recording: the present disc was released previously on ZigZag
in 2006 and 2002, each time with a different cover. Aside from the sheer
quality of the music-making, the audio is very good - a recorded sound
from fourteen years ago that knocks spots off many recent releases.
Engineering as it should be! The French-English booklet notes are also
valuable, giving not just Immerseel's account of the development of
this Strauss project, and a description of the origins of the individual
works, but an interesting discussion of the facts and fiction of nineteenth
century dance music by Edith Lalonger and Patrick Nollio, dancers with
whom Immerseel collaborated to get the rhythms of Strauss's music as
authentic as possible.
In sum, this is one of the finest recordings of Johann Strauss ever
made, a worthy tribute to a superb melodist and an inspired orchestrator.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
