This release 'Bernstein Conducts Schubert, Mendelssohn and
Schumann' forms part of the Deutsche Grammophon 'Leonard Bernstein
Collectors Edition'. It says on the front of the six disc box set,
'Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon'. This could prove
rather confusing for some, as this particular box contains only
Bernstein's recordings of thirteen key Schubert, Mendelssohn and
Schumann scores. The other DG recordings he made are in other box
sets in the same series. The blurb in the booklet states that in
this edition, "for the first time, all the recordings of a
particular composer or group of composers that Leonard Bernstein
made for Deutsche Grammophon have been brought together in a single
compact edition, with new liner notes and documentation."
Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 - October 14, 1990) was
unquestionably a musician of unparalleled versatility. He achieved
worldwide renown throughout a career spanning nearly five decades.
He was an inspiring teacher, a wide-ranging composer, author, media
broadcaster, musicologist and a gifted concert pianist. However it
is as a conductor that Bernstein will be best remembered. With his
death aged 72, I believe that the music world was deprived of one
of the greatest musical talents of the twentieth century and it is
no exaggeration to say that that millions throughout the world felt
a profound and irreplaceable loss. The adoration of Bernstein as a
conductor was not always exclusive as his often idiosyncratic
interpretations of the standard repertoire frequently attracted
detractors. For example, the composer and critic Virgil Thomson,
perhaps the most influential American music critic of the 20th
century, was highly disparaging of Bernstein's conducting prowess.
Music writer and Bernstein biographer Peter Gutmann in his
excellent on-line essay entitled, 'Leonard Bernstein A Total
Embrace of Music' provides a fascinating insight into Bernstein's
conducting style. Viewing early documentary film footage of
Bernstein conducting, "show him to have been mostly wild and
uninhibited on the podium. Interestingly, for Mozart and Beethoven
he lapsed into a chaste, traditional function of time-beating with
expressive accents, much as other conductors did for all music. For
overtly emotional music, though, Bernstein flung himself at the
orchestra, making desperate, clutching gestures with his bare
hands, as if trying to wrest music out of the very air before him.
Only after 1957, in order to compensate for back problems, did
Bernstein resort to using a baton. Even then, his face continued to
reflect a full gamut of extreme emotion, from excruciating pain to
overwhelming bliss. No musician could possibly play routinely when
the leader was so overtly involved and enthused."
Signing for Deutsche Grammophon, in 1976, Bernstein's collaboration
with the distinguished German affiliate of the huge Philips/Polydor
organisation was a fruitful one; in effect launching the final
phase of his conducting career. Bernstein was a conductor then at
the heights of his powers and his partnership with the German
'yellow label' allowed him freshly and eagerly to re-assess and
re-create the music that he had been conducting since his
spectacular big-break debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1943.
The start of Bernstein's recording career in 1944 was as a
freelance but exclusive RCA Victor artist. Bernstein's RCA series
of recordings are now largely forgotten, eclipsed by his huge
output for the Columbia and Deutsche Grammophon catalogues.
Bernstein's appointment with the New York Philharmonic, in 1958,
neatly coincided with the beginning of the stereo era. In that year
Stravinsky's ballet Rite of Spring effectively launched
Bernstein's stereo recordings with the Columbia label and the New
York Philharmonic. This Columbia alliance would ultimately boast
over 500 works to become the largest discography of any classical
artist at that time. In fact, Bernstein made so many recordings
that I have yet to see a definitive listing of all the recordings
that the maestro made throughout his career. By the early 1970s
Bernstein's output for the Columbia label had dwindled to only a
handful of recordings. Deutsche Grammophon was however eager to
replicate Bernstein's earlier successes with new recordings,
encouraging Bernstein to record new repertoire and with a wide
range of orchestras.
Within the first two years of their association, an ambitious pace
was set in the Deutsche Grammophon recording studio. Commencing
with the Liszt Faust Symphony with the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, Stravinsky's Mass and Les Noces with the
English Bach Festival Orchestra, Boito and Strauss opera scenes
with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven's Missa
Solemnis with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bernstein's own
Songfest with the National Symphony of Washington, DC and
the Symphonies 1, 2 and Chichester Psalms with the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra. The alliance continued to flourish up to
Bernstein's final live performance at the Tanglewood festival, in
1990.
Inspection of Deutsche Gramophone's sizeable Bernstein catalogue
reflects the richness and breadth of his recording experience. The
thirteen scores contained on this release were made over a nine
year period between 1978 to 1987. Bernstein used the forces of the
Amsterdam Concertgebouw in Holland for Schubert, the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra in both Tel Aviv and Munich for Mendelssohn
and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Austria for Schumann. It
is stated that all the recordings were all made under 'live'
conditions, which actually means that in the production process
Deutsche Grammophon captured not only actual performances in front
of live audiences but also utilised dress rehearsals and some
subsequent 'repair sessions'. This process, although not fully
authentically live, thankfully preserves the genius of Bernstein;
then in his prime.
The first scores contained on this set are Schubert masterworks;
the 'Unfinished' Symphony, the Symphony No. 9'The
Great' and the Symphony No.5 with the Concertgebouw
Orchestra and recorded at their Amsterdam stronghold. With the
Concertgebouw, Bernstein makes no concessions to the 'authentic
performance' movement, providing interpretations that are deeply
Romantic in style; whilst respecting the greatness of the music in
a completely traditional and a profoundly fulfilling way. Bernstein
is clearly in his element with the music of Schubert, especially in
the Unfinished Symphony which has been described as the
first true Romantic symphony. The highly popular work is lovingly
played by the Concertgebouw and with considerable intensity
Bernstein emphasises the wonderful sweeping themes, especially in
the sweetness and suffering of the allegro moderato
movement. Few conductors can secure the mood of radiant optimism
that Bernstein is able to achieve in the andante con moto
from his Concertgebouw players. In the opening movement of the
Symphony No. 9 'The Great', Bernstein provides swift and
intensely urgent playing and I especially enjoyed the dancing
allegro section. The playing of the blissfully ardent
andante con moto movement is I feel very special.
Bernstein's Amsterdam orchestra provide a lusty reading of the
scherzo and the final movement given a performance of
exceptional rhythmic energy.
The set includes four of Mendelssohn's best known works; the
Symphony No.3 'Scottish', Symphony No.4 'Italian',
Symphony No.5 'Reformation' and the 'The
Hebrides'('Fingal's Cave') Overture. In these Mendelssohn
scores Bernstein conducts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and
made the recordings in Tel Aviv and in Munich. The booklet notes
explain how performing the music of this profoundly gifted
descendant of German Rabbis, with a Jewish orchestra, the cultural
pride of Israel, would have undoubtedly appealed to Bernstein on
many counts. Bernstein's achievement was particularly impressive,
since on purely artistic grounds the Israel Philharmonic was not
considered to be of the same standard as other world-class
orchestras in much of the repertoire that he insisted that they
record with him. Bernstein's readings do not strictly adhere to the
letter of Mendelssohn's written instructions, yet remain deeply
faithful to the inherent spirit of his scores. I especially enjoyed
Bernstein's reading of the Symphony No.3 'Scottish' and the
conductor's unbridled enthusiasm for this score soon becomes
apparent in the impassioned opening movement. Bernstein takes the
Israel Philharmonic along at a fair pace in the joyous
scherzo, offering Mendelssohnian high spirits and
youthful abandon. The prevailing gentle mood of the adagio
is successfully conveyed by Bernstein and his Israeli players. In
the closing movement they blend nobility with an impressive growing
power.
Bernstein's collaboration with the great Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra filled the majority of his Deutsche Grammophon years, yet
it was a puzzling alliance on the face of it for observers. From
now on the centre of focus for the ardent Zionist Bernstein moved
increasingly from New York to Vienna, a city viewed by many as one
of the most anti-Semitic in Europe. Furthermore, Bernstein's
association with the VPO actively contributed to the profits of a
record company that had been firmly rooted in the fortunes of the
Third Reich. William Lincer, a principal violinist of the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra, summarized the apparent contradiction
stating, "They gave flowers to Mr. Bernstein today. Twenty-five
years ago, they probably killed fifty of his relatives."
Bernstein's earlier experiences conducting in Vienna had been most
dispiriting as the players were openly hostile, even disparaging
his new Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'. Quite possibly, as
a matter of ego and possibly with an element of revenge, Bernstein
could not resist the thought of moulding this recalcitrant group
around to his will. Perhaps it was inevitable that Bernstein's
overwhelming love of music would eventually find its home with the
superb VPO who were steeped in the Austro-Germanic symphonic
performance tradition that he loved so much.
The set concludes with six of Schumann's finest scores; the
Symphony No. 1 'Spring', Symphony No. 4, Symphony
No. 2, Cello Concerto, Symphony No. 3 'Rhenish'
and the Piano Concerto. Bernstein had the services of the
VPO, who were generally considered to be the finest orchestra in
the world, recording the works in their Musikverein home in Vienna.
Bernstein was to champion the music of Schumann throughout his
career and always insisted in using the composers own
orchestrations, rather than utilise the so-called 'improved'
orchestrations that other composers, notably Mahler, had had
created. Bernstein's music making is fresh and detailed, often
slow, frequently freer in tempo and magnificently performed. I feel
that Bernstein's approach is admirably suited to these highly
Romantic Schumann scores which have been the undoing of many
prominent conductors over the years. Schumann wrote the Symphony
No. 1 'Spring' in a outbreak of red-hot activity, a disposition
that Bernstein and his Vienna players so expertly portray. In the
opening movement Bernstein captures Schumann's confidence and
innocent joy. I especially loved the interpretation of the
scherzo's demonic fun and in the final movement Bernstein
and the VPO are superb with Schumann's rich orchestration where
they emphasise so many lovely details. Bernstein and his Vienna
players are also most impressive in the Symphony No. 3
'Rhenish' where their interpretation is one of innate
spontaneity and joyousness, right from the thrilling syncopated
opening to the stately polyphonic finale. In the Cello
Concerto Mischa Maisky proves himself to be a bold and
expressive soloist. Maisky profitably demonstrates his technical
prowess with the required virtuosity in the passages of brilliant
pyrotechnics of the opening movement. The soloist blends admirably
with Bernstein and his Vienna players, especially in the heavenly
slow movement. Under Bernstein's direction the performers are quite
superb and convey marvellously the troubled spirit of Schumann's
fragile masterpiece. Schumann's Piano Concerto is not a
vehicle for hair-raising virtuosity but the score is supremely
eloquent. Pianist Justus Frantz is splendidly supported by
Leonard Bernstein and the VPO, yet is only able to offer a rather
standard interpretation. Compared to many of my favoured
interpreters of this score, such as Kovacevich, Vogt, Perahia,
Argerich, Lupu, Kempff et al, Frantz does not balance the
score's blazing drama and inherent poetry with the same
proficiency.
I was highly impressed with the warm and well balanced sound
quality provided by the Deutsche Grammophon engineers. The
annotation is decent enough and focuses mainly on Bernstein and his
relationship with Deutsche Grammophon. Little is said about the
works themselves which was rather disappointing..
Leonard Bernstein was unquestionably a twentieth century musician
of unparalleled talents. This six disc set showcases the mature
Bernstein at his finest with these Romantic interpretations of
undoubted masterworks from Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann. A
superb testament to Bernstein's art.
Michael Cookson
Mischa Maisky, celloa
