Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Unheard Recordings
Pelleas und Melisande, Op 5 (1902/03)
Verklärte Nacht, Op 4 (1899)
NBC Symphony Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski (Pelleas)
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Erich Leinsdorf (Verklärte Nacht)
rec. live, 4 November, 1941, Cosmopolitan Opera House, New York (Pelleas); 24 November 1962, Symphony Hall, Boston (Verklärte Nacht)
Pristine Audio PASC724 [67]

Several composers, including Bruckner, Fauré, Holst, Puccini and Schoenberg, have anniversaries in 2024. Of these, Bruckner and Fauré seems to have fared best, both in terms of live performances and on disc; it does not appear that Schoenberg’s 150^th anniversary has been as widely marked as, arguably, it should have been. Some compensation now comes in the shape of two extremely interesting archive recordings of American performances of his music, neither of which has previously been published on disc, it seems.

The Stokowski performance of Pelleas und Melisande came about in remarkable circumstances. As Andrew Rose explains, in 1941 Toscanini had resigned (temporarily, as it turned out) from the NBC Symphony Orchestra and Stokowski was among the conductors engaged to fill the gap. Around the same time the orchestra’s performances were relocated from Studio 8H to the Cosmopolitan Opera House.

I confess I’d not heard of this venue but my colleague Ralph Moore kindly came to my rescue. I learned from him that this was a theatre located at 5 Columbus Circle, built in 1903. Initially named the Majestic Theatre, the venue seated about 1,355 and originally hosted musicals and operettas. In 1923, it was purchased by William Randolph Hearst and renamed the Cosmopolitan Theatre. The theatre was demolished in 1954.  As part of NBC’s change of venue, the concert broadcasts moved from Saturday evenings to Tuesdays and were limited to one hour in duration.  Andrew Rose tells us that Stokowski extended his concerts beyond the length of the broadcast in order to give patrons better value for money. I can do no better than to quote his account of how this Schoenberg performance came about. “At the end of a broadcast that had featured one of Stokowski’s Bach Prelude orchestrations, a Sinfonietta by someone called Warner, and Brahms’ Third Symphony, the radio announcer signed off and transmission ended. Stokowski then invited those in the audience who wanted to hear more to stay on while he conducted a “rehearsal” performance of the Schoenberg. According to the following day’s New York Times, far from being a mere rehearsal, this was possibly the best performance of the night! The disc recorders kept turning, the performance was captured on reference discs, and promptly shelved to gather dust for the next 83 years.”

Stokowski had “form” when it came to championing Schoenberg’s music in the USA. He gave the US premiere of Variation for Orchestra Op 31 in 1929 and three years later he did something more – and typically – audacious, giving the first US performances of the massive Gurrelieder in Philadelphia (he also gave the work in New York a few days later). With astonishing enterprise, Victor recorded the Philadelphia performances and Pristine have already issued that recording. It’s disappointing to read in Paul Steinson’s very thorough review of that release that Schoenberg felt slighted that he had not been invited to unveil Gurrelieder in the USA himself; as a result, he disparaged Stokowski for the rest of his life. As Paul observes, “Stokowski, however, continued his advocacy of Schoenberg’s music and made no response”. This 1941 performance of Pelleas und Melisande offers an example of the conductor’s magnanimous approach.

When I did my listening to this recording it was 83 years almost to the day since the performance took place. Naturally, one has to make some allowances for the sound, despite Andrew Rose’s best efforts. For example, the sound of the oboes – and, to a lesser extent, the cor anglais – is somewhat vinegary, as is usual when one listens to recordings of this vintage. Furthermore, Schoenberg’s mighty climaxes for full orchestra do tend to stretch the tolerances of the original recording. In addition, the sound is somewhat lacking in bass richness. However, I found that my ears quickly adjusted. The orchestra is rather closely recorded; that brings gains and losses. On the debit side, there’s not much sense of space around the orchestra. On the plus side, though, one can hear an awful lot of detail. I mention all this so as to give readers some idea of what they may experience. But leaving those caveats to one side, the audio results are really quite astonishing. That the recording should have survived for over 80 years is remarkable in itself but even more remarkable is the quality of the sound as remastered by Andrew Rose. Listening to this CD one gets an excellent impression of the performance that the audience in the Cosmopolitan Opera House experienced.

Stokowski leads a very fine performance of Schoenberg’s complex score. As I listened, I reflected that I’m certain the NBC Symphony would not have played the piece before; indeed, I wonder how many – if any – of the players might have encountered it previously in other orchestras. The assurance of the performance bears testimony both to the quality of the NBCSO and also to the way Stokowski had prepared them. He conducts the score magnificently, bringing out the sweep and the romantic ardour of the music. He also ensures the observance of subtle details. I bet this was an astonishing experience for the audience. Despite any sonic limitations, the recording is a remarkable document. The performance is presented in Pristine’s Ambient Stereo. Incidentally, Andrew Rose tells us that the recording hadn’t survived completely intact; right at the start a few bars were missing. Rose has patched in the bars in question from another recording. To be honest, I couldn’t tell; the patching is seamless.      

The other item on the disc is offered in genuine stereo. Leinsdorf’s performance of Verklärte Nacht was given in more conventional circumstances. It was part of a broadcast subscription concert which formed part of the conductor’s first full season as the Boston Symphony’s Music Director; the programme also included Beethoven’s Fifth and a recent piece by the American composer, Alvin Etler (1913-1973).  

One notices a difference, of course, in the sound quality; after all, the recording is 21 years younger than the recording of Pelleas. For me, the two interrelated differences are, firstly, that the orchestra isn’t as closely recorded and, secondly, that there’s a genuine sense of space around the orchestra. I guess the latter is due not only to microphone placing but also to the much kindlier acoustic of Symphony Hall, Boston which, unlike the New York venue, had been built specifically for orchestral concerts. Happily, there’s a much firmer bass sound which means that the BSO’s double basses and celli register properly.

Leinsdorf leads a fine performance. He conducts the music very well indeed; the passion in Schoenberg’s writing comes across really well. The Boston Symphony’s strings are on excellent form; there’s all the ardour you could wish for in some episodes while elsewhere there’s plenty of refinement in the passages which require sensitivity. This is an eloquent, distinguished performance. I understand that, like the Stokowski performance, Leinsdorf’s Verklärte Nacht has never been commercially released before; the fact that it’s now available and in excellent sound is a cause for some celebration.

Verklärte Nacht is followed by warm applause – and rightly so – but there’s none after Pelleas.

This is an important archive release.

John Quinn

Previous review: Ralph Moore (October 2024)