I
have always had fond memories of the name of Carl Schuricht
as the conductor from whom I learnt “Fingal’s Cave” – on an
EP in the school music room. Later he became the conductor of
what remains a favourite record of mine – his Bruckner 9, which
I had on a Classics for Pleasure LP. More recently interest
in his art has increased. I found plenty to enjoy in a coupling
of Brahms 2 and Strauss’s “Domestic Symphony” which I reviewed
a few years ago. I say all this because my reactions here are
fairly negative and I wish to show that I came to the disc,
if anything, prejudiced in his favour.
In
1964 Schuricht came to London for a performance of Beethoven’s
9th Symphony with the LSO. At the same time the BBC
booked him and the orchestra to record – without an audience
– the two works we have here. The recording is good enough for
the date.
At
14:15 Schuricht’s “Tragic Overture” is not only a long way from
the urgency of Klemperer (12:58) but even exceeds the breadth
of Ančerl (13:42) who gives the most powerfully concentrated
performance known to me. But with these conductors, and other
traversals such as Boult or Kempe, it is possible to speak of
“their” tempi. Schuricht, really, just doesn’t have one. After
an energetic, if beefy, opening, the tempo simply drops and
drops. Here and there it picks up but all too often it gets
merely becalmed. With Furtwängler the approach might have worked,
maybe with Schuricht too a few years earlier. He was then 84
and conducted his last concert the following year. He clearly
hasn’t got the attention of the orchestra, with ragged playing
just about everywhere and horn bloopers more the rule than the
exception. It’s hard to believe that the ropy provincial band
that seems to be playing here was making such memorable recordings
with Monteux not long before, and shortly afterwards embarked
on the orchestrally sizzling Dvořák cycle with Kertesz.
But these names, with Previn and Abbado to come, remind us that
the LSO has never been particularly close to the older Kapellmeister
tradition, This emerged again when Jochum was engaged to record
a Beethoven cycle with them, to the increasing disenchantment
of both parties and Jochum’s irritated declaration that “they
are not a Beethoven orchestra”. This in turn angered their then
principal conductor Abbado, and in fact they were an excellent
orchestra for his type of Beethoven.
Under
the circumstances the fact that Schuricht had been a pupil of
Reger makes the present offering doubtfully definitive. It is
to be hoped that some European radio station has an alternative
Hiller Variations set down a bit earlier. This one lumbers,
playing into the old prejudice that Reger himself wrote with
a heavy hand. Sometimes the performance seems to be picking
up, but then comes another blooper and one’s heart sinks. The
penultimate variation actually goes rather well. The final fugue
is quite impressive, but loud things usually are impressive
if they’re noisy enough and more or less together. A pity.
Boult’s
“Grosse Fuge” is not overwhelming in its initial attack but
grows in strength and authority. Well before the half-way mark
Boult is achieving playing of the utmost conviction and his
structural command is well in evidence. The recording is a little
strange, rather diffuse and with a sort of metallic sheen. The
audience makes itself felt at the beginning but Boult soon gets
their attention.
Recently
I said
that Klemperer seemed “born to conduct this work”. Boult is
mighty impressive too. The main difference is that Klemperer
takes the contrasting, more legato material faster, giving it
a parenthetical feeling. This enables him to present the structure
as a seamless flow. His timing is 16:31. Boult gives this material
more space, presenting a structure which, rather than a seamless
flow, consists of the alternation, and eventual conciliation,
of the different ideas. Just for curiosity I got out an off-the-air
version under Hindemith (Rome 1962). He goes even further down
this road, with the contrasting material going at about half
Klemperer’s speed. His timing is 21:35. Rather to my surprise
I find I prefer this to either of the others. The structure
does not suffer and the slower sections achieve their full sublimity.
The Rome orchestra acquits itself at least as well as the NPO.
Maybe Arts Archive should take a look at RAI’s Hindemith recordings.
The
Klemperer is an essential recording, but it comes with some
Mozart and Handel that represent the gruffer side of his art.
The Boult is a valuable addition to his discography, but look
what it comes saddled with. Couldn’t BBC Legends re-couple it
with some more Boult?
Christopher
Howell
London Symphony Orchestra*,
New Philharmonia Orchestra**/Carl Schuricht*, Sir Adrian Boult**
