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Hans Knappertsbusch (conductor)
The Orchestral Edition
rec. 1927-1962
ELOQUENCE 484 1824 [18 CDs: 857]

Hot on the heels of the complete opera box set I recently reviewed comes Decca Eloquence’s release of the Hans Knappertsbusch Complete Orchestral Edition. His reputation rests primarily upon his eminence as an opera conductor, especially at Bayreuth, but he was also a Bruckner, Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert specialist with a penchant for all three Strausses (Johann I and II, and Richard). His dedication to Wagner’s operas is also apparent in the number of concert items of the orchestral music here; indeed, no fewer than six CDs are devoted to those, recorded over the years between 1927, for Polydor, and 1963 in the stereo recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. Earlier in his career he held directorial positions in Munich; post-war, he mostly freelanced and guest-conducted so was never officially attached to any one orchestra but obviously had a long association with Bayreuth and the VPO.

An entertaining and informative essay by Peter Quantrill succinctly sets out the paradox regarding Knappertsbusch’s stature and status a great conductor: his aversion to rehearsal and detail, and to gramophone recordings in general; his mesmeric use of his eyes and minimal gestures in directing orchestras; the devotion and contempt he aroused in equal measure – yet the balance clearly tips towards the former when one takes into account the reactions and memories of those artists who collaborated with him, as opposed to the jealousy of his rivals and detractors – not to mention the usual contingent of mealy-mouthed, know-nothing critics (to whose noble band I belong).

The essay contains some diverting anecdotes. Knappertsbusch “had a profound devotion” to Strauss’ music but in reply to John Culshaw’s question regarding what sort of a man he was, Kna replied, “I played cards with [him]* every day for years…and he was a pig” (* there is a typo in the booklet here).

Almost half the music here is in mono sound; especially disappointing is the fact that the collaborations between Knappertsbusch and Sir Clifford Curzon (the “great English gentleman”, as Kna called him) were recorded in mono even though the stereo revolution was already well under way – but there are compensations in the form of the many other stereo recordings.

Curzon’s leonine touch – strong, yet gentle – is immediately in evidence in the first disc of the two Beethoven piano concertos and Knappertsbusch’s accompaniment is similarly majestic and assured. The muffled sound remains a matter of regret but the excellence of the playing shines through the murk. I refer you to Christopher Howell’s admiring review written back in 2000 as I completely endorse his findings. The Brahms No. 2 on CD 3 is, if anything, even more impressive and the orchestra is on slightly better form, as there are indeed moments of raggedness in the Beethoven concertos.

CD 2 gives us a warm, released performance of Brahms’ Second Symphony from 1947 and CD 4 presents three famous Brahms orchestral works and the Alto Rhapsody, the first lifted from 78s in sharp, very hissy mono but the second in excellent stereo sound. Knappertsbusch’s approach throughout is often grand, even monumental, but there is still plenty of momentum. Lucretia West has a dark, vibrant sound but she is not always ideally steady. On first playing the symphony, I did not check which orchestra was playing and was surprised to discover that it was not the VPO but the Suisse Romande, such is the depth of their sound – although the grainier woodwinds should have tipped me off. Predominately relaxed it might be, but the finale is energised at a swift tempo, belying the conductor’s supposed propensity – further promulgated by Hitler’s antipathy to him – for a beat that was invariably too slow.

I reviewed in 2020 the four Bruckner symphonies here on CDs 5 through 9 when they were first separately issued on the same label as per here, and I refer you to that review for my fairly detailed appraisal and comments on the editions used. Every true Brucknerian will want to own and hear these recordings for the manner in which Kna handles the now superseded Schalk and Loewe versions, demonstrating his natural affinity for Bruckner. However, the Bruckner discs here in this new box also contain three Wagner excerpts as fillers: the Siegfried Idyll and two classic orchestral arrangements of favourite scenes from Götterdämmerung: Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and the Funeral March.

It has to be said that while they are decent enough performances, the two Strauss Tondichtungen on CD 10 have nothing like the snap and sheen of Karajan and the BPO; the sound of the Parisian orchestra is a bit blowsy and watery to ears spoiled by German “Vorsprung durch Technik”. There is little sense of coiled tension in Don Juan but the bevy of horns nine minutes in and again at 14:25 is very good and there are some imposing moments; the finale narrating the fatal thrust is highly atmospheric. Tod und Verklärung is the more convincing; perhaps its mood and theme better suited the conductor’s temperament but again, it doesn’t have the drive or depth of recordings by Karajan and Celibidache, nor is the orchestra always entirely crisp and precise in ensemble. Despite that, there is a real sense of sweep and grandeur to the final pages, and the humanity of Kna’s conducting comes through, too.

Which leaves all the Wagner and the two discs of bonbons. CD 11 collects all the 1927-28 recordings of Wagnerian “bleeding chunks” with the Berlin Philharmonic and although they might be thought to be of interest purely to the historic buff, they carry great clarity and immediacy – and the sheer elan of Knappertsbusch’s pacing is striking; the Prelude to Die Meistersinger is positively perky. On CD 12 are more 78 transfers but from twenty years later (1947-49) – and there is not that much difference between them either in regard to sound quality or interpretative stance. Inevitably, there is fair amount of duplication of numbers over those years, such as the three Rienzi overtures, three Act I Preludes from Die Meistersinger and four overtures and three Venusberg music tracks from Tannhäuser. While Kna’s way with the noble and imposing aspect of Wagner’s music is universally acknowledged, it is noticeable how often he brings out its charm, too, as in the skipping Dance of the Apprentices. CD 13 hails from the dawn of mono LP recording made in 1950 and contains excerpts from the one opera which was above all his calling card: Parsifal, featuring in the Flower Maidens’ Scene his favourite tenor, Günther Treptow, who was such a fine Tristan in their live recording of the same year (and there is a reminder of that excellence in the overture on CD 15 – see below - in stereo, too, rather than the mono of the complete recording). Bearing in mind that the maidens themselves are cast here from the ranks of the chorus of the Vienna State Opera, their quality is remarkably fine. Another less celebrated tenor, Franz Lechleitner, sings a poetic narrative in the Forest Murmurs from Siegfried, delicately negotiated by Knappertsbusch conducting the VPO. Nothing much more needs to be said about his pre-eminence as an interpreter of Parsifal.

The short (38 minutes) CD 14 contains yet another trio of excerpts, also from early mono tapes and of noticeably better sound quality, but the next two CDs are in stereo and of course infinitely better, as we enter a new sonic and acoustic world. Previously obscured details such as the harp strummings in the Die Meistersinger overture leap into the left ear. In truth, I don’t think even the hardiest Kna-enthusiast and aficionado of historic recordings will often turn to the older recordings when we are blessed by his having lived long enough to leave a legacy in good stereo – the Rienzi overture is incomparably superior in 1962 stereo, for example; likewise the stereo Siegfried Idyll compared with that in mono from 1955, being almost identically paced and performed - beautifully, too - even if the VPO uses a little more portamento - but such is the way with these “completist” box sets. (Having said that, the Tannhäuser overture on CD 15 is pretty staid compared with Solti’s; compensation is at hand in the glowing account of the Tristan overture.)

The final, two “light music” discs are delightful and a million miles away from the solemnity of Wagner – perhaps, too, an index to the impish side of Kna’s personality, despite his fearsome temper (especially if you were an errant singer). The Nutcracker is not perhaps the first music you would associate with our craggy Dirigent but it is thistledown light here and he frequently included it in pops concerts.

The 18 CDs here are housed in cardboard slipcases reproducing the “Original Jackets” (mostly hideous but nostalgia-inducing) covers of the original LP issues.

Ralph Moore

Contents:
CD 1
BEETHOVEN
Piano Concertos No. 4*; Piano Concerto No. 5°
Sir Clifford Curzon
Mono *, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11–14
Stereo °, 4, 7–10, 15–18
CD 2
BRAHMS
Symphony No. 2
Mono
CD 3
BRAHMS
Piano Concerto No. 2
Sir Clifford Curzon
Mono
CD 4
BRAHMS
Academic Festival Overture; Tragic Overture; Haydn Variations; Alto Rhapsody
Lucretia West
Stereo
CD 5
BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 3
Mono
CD 6
BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 4
WAGNER
Siegfried Idyll
Mono
CD 7
BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 5
WAGNER
Götterdämmerung (excerpts)
Stereo
CDs 8–9
BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 8
Stereo
CD 10
RICHARD STRAUSS
Don Juan; Tod und Verklärung
Stereo
CD 11
WAGNER – The Polydor Recordings
Mono
CD 12
WAGNER – The Decca 78s
Mono
CD 13
WAGNER
Rienzi · Siegfried · Parsifal (excerpts)
Mono
CD 14
WAGNER
Der fliegende Holländer; Die Walküre · Tannhäuser (orchestral music)
Mono
CD 15
WAGNER
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Tannhäuser; Tristan und Isolde; Parsifal (orchestral music)
Stereo
CD 16
WAGNER
Rienzi; Der fliegende Holländer; Lohengrin (orchestral music); Siegfried Idyll
Stereo
CD 17
VIENNA HOLIDAY
Johann Strauss I; Johann Strauss II; Karel Komzák II; Ziehrer
Stereo
CD 18
ALL-TIME POPULAR FAVOURITES
Tchaikovsky; Schubert; Weber; Nicolai
Stereo

Artists:
Clifford Curzon (piano)
Lucretia West (contralto)
Wiener Akademie-Chor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Munchner Philharmoniker
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich
Wiener Philharmoniker