In the 1960s the Readers’
Digest corporation embarked on a quite
extensive programme of recordings of
mainly popular classical repertoire,
marketed in boxes with titles such as
"The Great Classics" and "The
Great Conductors". They were advertised
as exclusive products, a unique opportunity
for the purchaser since they would "never"
be sold to the general public. I had
better point out, in case any reader
has long memories, that the publicity
blurb came with a letter signed by one
Christopher Howell. He wasn’t me or
anybody to do with me.
In spite of the promises,
by the early 1970s RCA (who had actually
made the recordings) were marketing
a selection of these recordings on LP,
and indeed there were mouth-watering
items on offer, such as the Earl Wild/Jascha
Horenstein Rachmaninov cycle, various
other Horenstein recordings, a number
conducted by Kempe and the Boult recording
of the Franck Symphony. In the CD era
a fairly extensive selection of these
recordings has been made available by
Chesky.
The music room of the
school I attended as a teenager had
one of these boxes, and among other
things it contained the present recording
of the "Rhenish" Symphony.
I put the record on casually, "knowing"
that Schumann wasn’t at his best as
a symphonist, and was absolutely knocked
flat. It remained one of my favourite
symphonies for many years to come.
I didn’t particularly
attribute my enthusiasm to the performance,
since I "knew" that René
Leibowitz (whoever he was) wasn’t one
of the great names in contemporary conducting
and had no idea what the "International
Symphony Orchestra" might be (and
still haven’t – can’t we be told the
real identity of the orchestra 45 years
later?), and vaguely supposed that I
would hear greater performances of this
work in the years to come.
But I never did, though
I looked in all the approved places
and, despairing of ever hearing this
one again, tried to get used to some
of the others. Until, browsing in a
record shop, I discovered the present
album and took it home, fearing and
trembling lest my childish memories
should crumble to dust.
And lo and behold,
the first movement leapt out of my speakers
in all the refulgent glory I remembered;
Leibowitz finds a swift tempo and a
clear yet full orchestral texture (Schumann
appears a masterly orchestrator in his
hands) which carries one on in a tide
of exaltation and beside which every
other conductor I’ve heard sounds slow
and heavy – except Boult who, uncharacteristically,
is too fast, though better this than
the reverse and he would be my second
choice. And hear how Leibowitz finds
all the time in the world to shape the
lyrical second subject, yet when it
is combined with the first theme we
realize that he hasn’t actually slackened
the tempo, he has simply ceased to drive
forwards.
In the Ländler
he finds a tempo which accommodates
perfectly the very different thematic
elements, while never losing the spirit
of the dance. The next movement is marked
by Schumann "Nicht Schnell",
"Not fast"; it is often interpreted
as a kind of delicate intermezzo. Leibowitz
is more expansive, investing it with
a deep feeling that never degenerates
into heaviness. The organ evocations
of the next movement are majestic yet
onward-moving while the finale has a
wonderful liveliness. And I should emphasize
that, while Leibowitz keeps his textures
unclotted, there is always a Schumannesque
fullness to the sound, while the brass
have a golden quality which suggests
exactly the sun’s rays glinting on the
great river.
In short, my enthusiasm
for the Symphony has been rekindled
and I cannot see that this is other
than a great performance, one to set
alongside Furtwängler’s 4th
as the recording of this particular
symphony.
So who was René
Leibowitz (1913-1972)? If you visit
the site http://www.angelfire.com/music2/reneleibowitz/rl.html
you will find a biography and details
of all his known recordings. Briefly,
he was a Pole who made his home in Paris,
studied composition with Ravel, Schönberg
and Webern and conducting with Monteux.
He became a teacher (with Boulez among
his pupils) and a theorist – in his
many books he proselytized tirelessly
for the Second Viennese School – as
well as a composer. As a conductor his
range was wide; in the early 1950s he
recorded some imperishable sets of Offenbach
operettas (now on Regis) and the Reader’s
Digest project included a Beethoven
cycle. Like certain other modernists,
such as Hans Rosbaud, he approached
the classics with a clean-limbed brilliance
which anticipated later trends and which
was maybe not adequately appreciated
in his own day. Many commentators also
stress the sheer zest of his interpretations,
something which certainly comes across
in this Schumann.
That the "Rhenish"
was not a flash in the pan is demonstrated
by the volatile performance of "Manfred"
overture, on a different occasion and
with a different orchestra. He recorded
no other music by this composer. The
disc opens with a clean-textured "Tannhäuser"
overture in which the Venusberg music
sounds uncommonly joyful, the inner
parts taking on a life of their own.
This is at the opposite pole to the
seething textures normally preferred
in Wagner and while I am not going to
throw out my Furtwänglers and Knappertsbuschs
I shall keep this on hand as an antidote,
though I shall always wonder why Leibowitz
has the trombone separate each note
in the pilgrim’s chorus, rather than
play a long legato line. The Liszt is
thrilling, with Leibowitz stressing
the modern sound of the orchestration.
Compared with the famous old Koussevitzky
version, which practically alternates
between two quite different tempi, this
one is straight down the line and I
suppose you could find it brash. I think,
though, that Leibowitz’s zest saves
it from this – he is patently loving
every moment, not merely showing off.
It is very strange
that a conductor could record performances
such as these with a major London orchestra
(assuredly the "International SO"
is one of the London orchestras playing
out of contract) yet not be engaged
to conduct extensively in London or
to record regularly for a major label.
Especially when you think of some of
the people who did get to record
Schumann in those days …
Chesky lay great stress
on the quality of the recorded sound
and I must say it is quite stunning
for the date. I seem to remember it
sounded a bit crude and strident in
the old Readers’ Digest box, but it
has depth now as well as brilliance
and the brass are just magnificent.
Don’t miss this "Rhenish"
Christopher Howell
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1, 3), "International
Symphony Orchestra" (2, 4)/René
Leibowitz 
