In 2011 Helicon Classics issued a 12 CD set of live recordings (1963-2006)
celebrating Zubin Mehta’s forty year association with the Israel
Philharmonic. I bought the box at the time and have enjoyed the superlative
recordings on offer ever since. Over the last few years they have been
issuing individual discs of live concerts. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard
any of these, so I was thrilled when this recent release came through the
post-box.
The Orchestra is one of Israel’s oldest cultural institutions. Founded by
the violinist Bronislaw Huberman in 1936 “to unite the desire of the country
for an orchestra with the desire of Jewish musicians for a country”, it was
originally made up of Jewish musicians who would have had an uncertain fate
at the hands of the Nazis, had they stayed put. Toscanini conducted the
orchestra’s first performance. The IPO appointed Mehta Music Advisor in
1969, Music Director in 1977, and Music Director for Life in 1981. He is now
an honorary citizen of Tel Aviv. He has built his reputation on a core
repertoire including Bruckner, Mahler, Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky. His
interpretations are marked by dynamism, vigour, passionate intensity and
potency. In fact, he’s one of the most charismatic maestros on the
podium.
Schoenberg completed Pelleas und Melisande in February 1903 and it was
premiered two years later at the Musikverein, Vienna with the composer
conducting. It came about following a suggestion from Richard Strauss, and
the work is based on Maeterlinck’s drama. Schoenberg dropped the accents in
the French title and named his tone poem in German. Little did the composer
know at the time, but Debussy was putting the final touches to his opera of
the same name, which was due to premiere in Paris. Fauré and Sibelius also
wrote incidental music on the same subject.
I haven’t heard this work for many years, and I didn’t realize what I was
missing; it is more than welcome back into my life. This is early
Schoenberg, hyper-romantic, pre-atonal and pre-dodecaphonic. It is a single
movement work, made up of several inter-connecting sections, and is scored
for a large orchestra. Whatever people’s preconceptions surrounding this
composer’s music, that it is austere and inaccessible,
Pelleas is
in the same camp as
Verklärte Nacht and
Gurrelieder – he could certainly pen a good tune.
Mehta’s qualities as a conductor, that I have already highlighted, seem
tailor-made for this score. Whilst he doesn’t allow the music to degenerate
into an emotional maelstrom, there is an inner fire and passion in his
reading. I admire the way he builds up the climaxes, and sustains the
narrative throughout in a logical and tightly-knit way. The IPO display
great virtuosity and Mehta draws myriad shadings, especially from their
woodwinds, to paint a rich vibrant tapestry of sound and colour. A studio
recording from the same year and with the same forces is available on Sony
(SK 45870), interpretively similar but in better sound.
The
Variations for Orchestra Op. 31 were completed in 1928, and
premiered the same year by the Berlin Philharmonic under their conductor
Wilhelm Furtwängler. It was Schoenberg’s first twelve-tone composition for
large orchestra. Whilst the
Variations present a technical
challenge to any orchestra, the IPO acquit themselves admirably. Mehta’s
intellectual grasp of this complex structure permits him to shape the
architectural layout of the piece logically, and realize his vision
admirably. This composition points the way to new horizons and possibilities
for those willing to persevere.
The mono recording has come up well in the re-mastering process. My only
grumble would be the booklet notes. These omit any mention of Op. 31, and
reproduce what looks like an excerpt from the original programme notes of
the 1988 (
Pelleas und Melisande) concert. I would have thought that
if any work needed a few words of explanation, the
Variations would
fit the bill. A portrait of the conductor is included. Notes are in English
only.
Stephen Greenbank
