Julius Prüwer (conductor)
The Forgotten Maestro
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenburg Opera Orchestra, Berlin State Opera Orchestra
rec. 1928-1933
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC674 [72 + 77]

Remarkably, we continue to see from Pristine Audio newly restored releases of musicians who in the early days of electrical recording played a role in popularising music by lesser-known composers. The Vienna-born pianist and conductor Julius Prüwer (1874-1943) made many recordings accompanying singers of the 1920s and 30s, among whom were Elizabeth Ohms, Gertrude Kappel, Felicie Hüni-Mihacsek, Willy Domgraf-Fassbaender, Helge Roswaenge, Tilly De Garmo, and Theodor Scheidl. These vocal recordings made up 100 of 200 sides for Grammophon/Polydor. His most celebrated recordings, however, were with Alexander Brailowsky in the Chopin and Liszt concertos. The orchestral recordings on these two discs are the first by Prüwer to be issued on CD.

An outstanding musical prodigy, Prüwer, enlisted at 12 years old in the Vienna Conservatory, studying with Arthur Freidheim and Moritz Rosenthal, theory with Robert Fuchs and Franz Krenn, and piano privately with Brahms. Prüwer was one of the few conductors who went on to record his music (the others being Mengelberg, Weingartner and Max Fiedler). He switched his interest to conducting and studied with Hans Richter after he heard the great conductor in concert. His conducting engagements were as an assistant to Richter at Bayreuth for several seasons at the turn of the century, most notably touring with Richter to Russia; he gave the Russian premiere of Tristan und Isolde at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1898.

Prüwer’s conducting career started at Bielitz Municipal Theatre (1892/3), and continued at Esseg Municipal Theatre (1893/4), and the Cologne Opera (1894-96). He enjoyed a prolonged period at Stadtheater Breslau (now Wrocław) between 1896 to 1923 where he premiered many operas, including the German premiere of Boris Godunov, after which he was appointed the General Music Director at the National Music Theatre and Staatskapelle at Weimar. In 1923, Prüwer was assigned to a professorship at the Berlin University for Arts, where he taught conducting; his pupils included Ferdinand Leitner, Franz Allers and Antonia Brico. 

He conducted the popular concert series at the Berlin Philharmonic until the Third Reich forced him out. After his dismissal, he became the music director of the Jewish Cultural Association in Frankfurt. He then moved to the USSR where he renewed his relationship with the Kirov Opera in Leningrad until 1939, when he moved to the United States. His last engagements were with the New York City Symphony Orchestra and he taught at the New York College of Music until he died in 1943.  

These are remastered studio recordings. The Egmont overture is energetically performed, very lean and direct in its expression, in an excellent recording from 1929. There is no distortion or interference in this or many of the other recordings on these discs. I like Prüwer’s expansive reading of the ‘Unfinished’ Symphony and how he allows his musicians freedom of expression. It is a very pleasurable performance and the sound has been expertly remastered by Mark Obert-Thorn – quite incredible for recordings made almost one hundred years ago.

The Hebrides overture is beautifully played, with no hint of exaggerated gravitas, and considering Prüwer’s work at Bayreuth, it is useful to hear the overture to Rienzi given a momentous and exciting reading aided by a truthfully clear recording. It is a magnificent performance and, regrettably, the only Wagner piece here.

Prüwer’s reading of the Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture is beautifully lyrical, allowing all its Romanticism to emerge and be expressed through magnificent playing and recording. That he was a pupil of Brahms is evident also in the two Hungarian Dances which bring out all the colour and joie de vivre of the music.

The second CD is a mixture of popular composers, and others who are almost completely forgotten today. Luigini’s Ballet égyptien is a delightfully exotic collection of dances with the Berlin Charlottenburg Opera Orchestra on top form, and is sadly the last recording of his career. It is amazing that this brightly colourful music is rarely performed today. Another genuine find on this release is Vladigerov’s Bulgarian Suite which ought to be heard regularly in our concert halls, for there is a rhapsodic brilliance in the orchestral colours, and it is clear that Prüwer has convinced his musicians at the Berlin State Opera to give of their best. 

The Charlottenburg musicians perform the Tales from the Vienna Woods beautifully, with a marvellous contribution from the zither of Ernst Rommel; this is only the second recording of the pre-war years to offer the repeats along with the zither solo. Anton Rubinstein’s Toreador et Andalouse is another gem of a ballet score impeccably performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This piece from Rubinstein’s Bal costumé deserves popularity for its exotically rich colours and harmonies. The overture from Benvenuto Cellini reveal Prüwer as a first-rate Berlioz interpreter, bringing out all the exciting harmonies in this glorious stage work. The rarely heard overtures from Donizetti and Thomas are also superbly performed in outstanding recordings from 1928 and 1929. 

This release is for those interested in the early period of electrical recording and want to explore the forgotten avenues of world music. The 2 CDs are blessed by outstanding remastering in an attractive gate-fold issue adorned by colour-enhanced photos of Julius Prüwer and enlightening English language texts about the conductor.

Gregor Tassie 

Contents
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Egmont, Op 84 – Overture (1810)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Symphony No 8 in B minor, D759 “Unfinished” (1822)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Hebrides Overture, Op 26 (1830-2)
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Rienzi – Overture (1838-40)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Academic Festival Overture, Op 80, (1880), Hungarian Dances, No 5 in G minor, No 6 in D major (1879)
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) Tales from the Vienna Woods, Waltz, Op 325 (1868)
Hector Berlioz  (1803-1869) Benvenuto Cellini, Op 23 – Overture (1834-7)
Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896) Raymond – Overture (1851)
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) The Daughter of the Regiment – Overture (1839)
Alexandre Luigini (1850-1906) Ballet égyptien, Op 12 (1875)
Anton Rubinstein (1829- 1894) Toréador et Andalouse, Op 103, No 7 (1880)
Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978) Bulgarian Suite, Op 21 (1926)