Testament are to be
congratulated for bringing back to the
catalogues, these two classic recordings
made in the acclaimed acoustic of London’s
Kingsway Hall by the renowned Philharmonia,
on top form, in 1954.
The opening Allegro
of the characterful Kletzki’s reading
of the Borodin symphony crackles with
vitality and there is an atmosphere
of enticing mystery in its darker corners.
The Scherzo, with those memorable,
dotted-rhythm, ‘spinning’ figures, also
has plenty of energy and bounce in its
outer sections and diaphanous beauty
in its romantic centre. The lovely Andante
is distinguished by the virtuoso playing
of piccolo player, Arthur Ackroyd, trumpeter
Harold Jackson, clarinettist Bernard
Walton and the legendary horn player
Dennis Brain. Kletzki’s finale sizzles,
dancing breathlessly and hedonistically
to its thrilling conclusion.
But the main draw of
this concert is Kletzki’s classic 1954
Mono recording of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Manfred’
Symphony - written between the composer’s
4th and 5th Symphonies
- or to give the work its full name:
Manfred Symphony in Four Scenes
after Byron’s Dramatic Poem, Op. 58.
This full title does
not appear in the Testament notes neither
does any information about the symphony
which has a complex and detailed programme
after Byron’s poem. I would have thought
that this would be essential to fully
understand and appreciate the work.
Tully Potter’s notes, written in 1994,
when this recording was issued by Testament
concentrates on the career of Kletzki,
no room is left, in the 8-page booklet,
for notes on either of the two symphonies.
How well I remember
the original LP with this striking picture
on its front sleeve:-
Ford
Maddox Brown’s ‘Manfred on the Jungfrau’
- Manchester City Art Galleries, Manchester,
England
This inspired recording,
still recommended in the catalogues,
is a pared down version of the work.
The cuts, in my opinion are fully justified:
the main deletions, from the finale,
being lugubrious material that adds
little and loosens the tension.
Just released is a new uncut recording
which will be compared in this review
of the Kletzki. The differences in the
timings of the four movements are shown
below:-
|
Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony
- Timings |
Kletzki
|
Jurowski
|
|
1st Movement – Lento lugubre- Moderato
con moto-Andante |
17:03
|
17:37
|
|
2nd Movement – Vivace
con spirito |
8:37
|
8:32
|
|
3rd Movement – Andante
con moto |
9:26
|
11:38
|
|
4th Movement – Allegro con fuoco |
16:00
|
20:21
|
Taking the first movement,
its programme, quoting from the 12-page
LPO booklet (in English and German)
"…introduces the central figure
of [Byron’s] poem, Manfred who lives
in an alpine castle and recklessly roams
the peaks, shunning the company of men
and communing with the spirit world,
in an attempt to expiate his guilt over
his illicit love for his sister Astarte.’
Kletzki immediately presents Manfred
as a three-dimensional character, you
sense his feelings of guilt and fell
despair, his furious railings against
fate. Contrastingly, sweet innocence
and poignancy characterises Astarte.
Jurowski also brings the Astarte music
to life but until she appears his interpretation
lacks the depth of character and the
thrilling attack and bite of Kletzki’s
reading. Jurowski may have the advantage
of modern hi-fi sound and wide stereo
perspectives but Testament’s, digital
remastering of Columbia’s 1954 sound
is nothing to be sniffed at – you hardly
notice the lack of stereo and the fidelity
and dynamic range is very good.
‘The second movement
was suggested by an episode in the poem
in which ‘The Alpine Fairy appears to
Manfred beneath the rainbow of the waterfall’.
Jurowski’s vision of the opening music
is very ballet-like, pure and dainty;
Kletzki is more mercurial, water and
sprites seemingly truer to life and
myth. His central Fairy Song is deliciously
romantic, while Manfred’s sudden presence
is sinister indeed. The Third movement
is a Pastorale subtitled: ‘The simple,
free peaceful life of the mountain folk’.
Jurowski and Kletzki score equally well
here in their sunny peaceful evocations
with another dark appearance by Manfred
to blight the serenity.
"The finale which
departs substantially from Byron’s narrative,
depicts a subterranean bacchanal; the
spirit of Astarte appears, and pardons
Manfred for his earthly sins before
his death." Jurowski is wild and
exciting enough and the entry of the
organ is clearer and firmer than the
old recording but, in comparison, Kletzki’s
punchy, dynamic reading is delivered
in white heat, so thrilling it has you
‘sitting on the edge of your seat’.
I well recall how the closing pages
of this recording shook the floorboards
of the Peterborough Recorded Music Society’s
venue where I first heard this glorious
work.
Recorded in 1954, Kletzki’s
reading, delivered in white heat, still
remains supreme, easily eclipsing the
new Jurowski/LPO recording despite excellent
sound engineering.
Ian Lace
Philharmonia Orchestra/Paul Kletzki 
