Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Wozzeck (1914-1922)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Capriccio for piano and orchestra (1926-1929)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Symphony no.4 in F minor (1934)
Sir Adrian Boult recalls his years with the BBC with Bernard Keefe
Noel Mewton-Wood (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Berg, Stravinsky), Royal Opera House Orchestra (Vaughan Williams)
rec. live, RAH London, 16 March 1949 (Berg); BBC Studios, 22 May 1948 (Stravinsky); RAH London, 21 July 1965 (Vaughan Williams); 7 November 1965 (Interview)
SOMM Recordings ARIADNE5024-2 [2 CDs: 146]
2023 marked the 40th anniversary of the death of Sir Adrian Boult, and Somm are paying tribute to this occasion with the release for the first time of three live recordings the conductor made between 1948 and 1965. Two of the works included in this compilation, those by Berg and Stravinsky, bear witness to the fact that the conductor not only championed, but also gave the UK premieres of many 20th century compositions. I was very fortunate to have heard Boult on one occasion, live in London in 1972 when he conducted a Prom concert featuring Yehudi Menuhin in the Elgar Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 6.
The Royal Albert Hall in London was the venue of the concert performance of Berg’s Wozzeck on 16 March 1949. It was the second time Boult had conducted the work in the UK. He’d given the UK premiere fifteen years earlier in 1934. By all accounts, the composer was highly impressed by this performance. Sadly only Act 11 of the performance is extant, so we must be thankful that this 1949 airing is complete. The line-up of singers, including Heinrich Nillius, Walter Widdop and Suzanne Danco, is very impressive indeed. The orchestra is the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It’s a thrilling account, and there’s a favorable balance between orchestra and soloists, though the recording, in all fairness, does show its age. The orchestra meets all the demanding technical challenges with aplomb, and Sir Adrian’s direction is both high-voltage and inspirational.
Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and orchestra in three movements is a light and charming work in which the piano assumes a concertante role. It certainly lives up to its title, being capricious, irreverent and soused with jazzy abandon. The central Andante rapsodico offers a sombre contrast to the spirited outer movements. In the Andante capriccioso finale Boult keeps the rhythms tight and generates a powerful sense of momentum. Mewton-Wood’s sparkling virtuosity generates sheer excitement. This, the earliest recording in the collection, set down in in the BBC studios on 22 May 1948, is in the least satisfactory sound. Dim and distant with acetate scuffs, the presence of Australian pianist Noel Mewton-Wood, a wonderful pianist, more than compensates and makes this a valuable aural document to be treasured.
Finally, from a BBC 1965 Promenade Concert, we have a stirring rendition of Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 4 in F minor. Boult will be remembered as a superb interpreter of British music, so he is well and truly in his comfort zone here. In fact, he premiered the work in 1935. Here, unusually, he directs the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Jon Tolansky, referring to that premiere, pertinently remarks in the booklet that “….the symphony’s predominantly dissonant and often fiercely explosive character was something of a bolt out of the blue to a 1930s Britain that had never imagined a Ralph Vaughan Williams of such turbulent vehemence”. Boult fully captures the sense of loss and grief embedded in the score. Acerbic dissonances are strongly projected in the opening movement. There’s a distant chill and feeling of isolation in the slow movement. Inelegant galumphing is a feature of the Scherzo, whilst the finale is buoyant and forthright.
There’s a ten minute interview that Sir Adrian gave to Bernard Keefe on 7 November 1965. In it the conductor discusses his nineteen-year tenure at the head of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1930. It’s a welcome bonus.
This is a release that will be of great interest to admirers of Sir Adrian Boult, and it constitutes a valuable addition to the conductor’s discographical legacy. Liner notes by Jon Tolansky, in addition to setting the context of this collection, provide a helpful synopsis of Berg’s Wozzeck. Allowances have to be made for the age of the recordings.
Stephen Greenbank
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Other performers
Heinrich Nillius (baritone)
Suzanne Danco (soprano)
Parry Jones (tenor)
Frans Vroons (tenor)
Mary Jarred (mezzo-soprano)
Otakar Kraus (baritone)
Walter Widdop (tenor)
Gordon Clinton (baritone)
Fabian Smith (baritone)
John Kentish (tenor)
Margaret Godley (soprano)
