Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
CD 1
Symphony No.3 in A minor Op.56 Scottish [32:42]
Symphony No.5 in D major Op.107 Reformation [26:51]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture Op.21 [11:42] Song and chorus Ye
spotted snakes [3:46]
CD 2
Overture The Hebrides Op.26 [9:19]
Overture The Fair Melusine Op.32 [8:50]
String Quintet No.2 in Bb major Op.87 Adagio e lento [7:54]
Violin Concerto in E minor Op.64 [23:39]
Symphony No.4 in A major Op.90 Italian [25:54]
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Edna Philips (soprano)
NBC Symphony Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini
rec. New York. 1941-54. ADD
GUILD GHCD 2358/9 [2 CDs: 74:58 + 75:43]
The first question that goes through my mind with Toscanini reissues concerns
the quality of the sound, or to be more accurate, how comfortable is it to
listen to at length. A warning on the outer cover states that “these are rare
live recordings from second generation transcriptions which have been re-mastered
to a high standard; however some patches of noise, dropouts and distortion
remain”. This is perhaps excessively fair to the listener as, taken as a whole,
the quality of the sound as re-mastered by Peter Reynolds is more than adequate
to appreciate the quality of the performances. There are a few uncomfortable
moments, chiefly in respect of distortion, but by the time these are reached
the performances had gripped to such an extent that these blemishes were of
no consequence to me. Curiously one of the least comfortable is the most recent
recording - the “Italian” Symphony, but even there the fierceness which once
seemed an inevitable part of Toscanini recordings has been substantially tamed.
It is however the performances that matter, and taken as a whole they more
than justify the care taken over the re-mastering. In brief, Toscanini manages
for the most part to combine urgency, clarity and eloquence in just the right
combination to bring out the character of the music. To be sure, it is not
the whole of that character – there is a lack of the kind of affectionate
and easeful approach that is certainly an important part of it – but it is
never merely comfortable or routine, a common danger in performances of these
works. What surprised me was how flexible Toscanini is in matters of rhythm
and phrasing. The “Scottish” Symphony is the best example of this, at such
moments as the introduction to the first movement, or the end of the third
movement. Not demonstrative flexibility certainly, but neither is it the kind
of bandmasterish approach of which critics used to accuse the conductor. Speeds
throughout tend to be fast, but no more so than many conductors employ nowadays,
and always within the bounds of legitimate interpretation of tempo directions
or metronome marks. These are exhilarating performances, full of energy and
eloquence.
The violins are directed to play staccato at the start of the “Midsummer Night’s
Dream” Overture, and usually this is interpreted to give a kind of feathery
lightness to the music, conjuring up pictures of the delicate fairies found
in many nineteenth century pictures. As heard here, however, the notes are
certainly short but also fierce, even threatening, more akin to the fairies
of Britten’s opera than those we are used to. This may be simply an effect
of the recording but it made me think again about the music and its character,
as indeed did the majority of these performances.
Helpful and interesting notes by Robert Matthew-Walker explain that the discs
contain concert recordings of virtually every work by the composer that Toscanini
conducted in the USA. Thus they supplement the commercial recordings, in particular
in respect of the Violin Concerto with Heifetz as a soloist unruffled by the
fast speeds and apparently using the same violin that David used at the work’s
first performance. It is however possible that Mr Matthew-Walker was not given
the final list of the contents of the discs as he explains both the importance
of the first movement repeat in the “Italian” Symphony and that Toscanini
included it only in his 1938 recorded concert which it is therefore of the
greatest interest to hear. I entirely share his view on the importance of
the repeat (which involves 23 bars of music not heard if it is omitted) and
would have loved to have heard the earlier performance, especially given the
poor recording quality on the 1954 performance that is included. Perhaps it
can be included on a later disc with the String Octet and the wind arrangement
of its Scherzo both of which are omitted from this set.
This is self-evidently not for those wanting well recorded modern versions
of these works, but it is a fascinating supplement to other versions of them.
The urgency and care of the performances helps us to understand more fully
Mendelssohn’s genius and a similar care over their restoration allow us to
hear them in acceptable sound.
John Sheppard