Recording contracts cause as many problems as
they try to solve. It is reasonably well known to older collectors
that Eduard van Beinum was contracted first to Decca and then
to Philips. This prevented him from recording for EMI. When in
1958 the ill-fated Klemperer Beethoven cycle came to a premature
end with the older conductor’s stroke, van Beinum was asked by
Walter Legge to step in and take over. As the whole cycle was
to have been recorded by EMI, van Beinum was unable for contractual
reasons to take over the recordings. We can only bemoan this fact,
as the relays from the RFH are models of Beethoven interpretation
and it would have been very good to have had more Beethoven from
van Beinum.
This conductor has been out of fashion for a
number of years. It is only by releases such as this that we are
able to understand why, like his successor in Amsterdam, Bernard
Haitink, he was loved by the ensembles he conducted. This showed
through in the performances. Decca have recently released a five
disc boxed set of van Beinum’s early Decca recordings and I understand
that there is in preparation another box which concentrates on
his later Philips recordings. This is a time for rejoicing. I
can only hope that these sets enjoy healthy sales to encourage
the record companies to realise just what gold they are sitting
on which should be made available to us.
As far as Beethoven is concerned, van Beinum
recorded a superb version of the 2nd Symphony with
the Concertgebouw on Philips and some overtures and incidental
music from Prometheus with the LPO when he was its music director.
The latter has been released on the five disc Decca box mentioned
above. Both of these are, like the current issue, in mono, although
this will not be a significant shortcoming for fans of this conductor.
There is also a live DVD performance of the Eroica (mono again
and in black and white), available as part of a Q Box set of van
Beinum’s radio performances. This box also has a performance of
a Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 4.
Walter Legge’s Philharmonia Orchestra was the
pre-eminent orchestra in England at the time these recordings
were made. Their expertise is clearly evident judged by the almost
complete lack of fluffs and insecurities in the playing. In addition,
there is a clear sense of line with phrasing made to sound so
natural. It is difficult to believe that these performances were
a result of a last minute substitution, rather than the work of
a conductor who had worked extensively with the orchestra over
a long period. Indeed among the orchestral members there grew
a common opinion that van Beinum was one of the finest conductors
they had ever worked with. At the time of his first appearance
with the orchestra, Moscow Carner wrote in the London Evening
News "What makes his performance so satisfying is his ability
to steep himself body and soul in the music under his (batonless)
hands and compel his players to do the same."
This attitude comes over in these recordings
extremely well. Although these performances will not displace
other great performances in the catalogue, they are particularly
notable for the sense of rightness throughout. I enjoyed these
immensely, as did the fairly quiet RFH audience. I am sure that
anyone who is prepared to take a risk with a relatively unknown
(today) conductor will feel rewarded by these performances. Van
Beinum was the Bernard Haitink of the day.
Very informative notes about the history around
these two marvellous performances by Alan Sanders. One can only
hope that more of these concert recordings will become available
with time.
John Phillips
Philharmonia Orchestra/Eduard
van Beinum.