Klaus Tennstedt (conductor)
Live Volume 4
Boris Blacher (1903-1975)
Concertante Music, Op. 10 (1937)
Paganini Variations, Op. 26 (1947)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Symphony No 4 in B-flat Major, Op.60 (1808)
Symphony No 5 in C Minor, Op.67 (1808)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Don Quixote, Op, 35 (1897)
Paul Neuhauer (viola), Lorne Munroe (cello)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Concertante)
rec. 1976-1985
Doremi DHR8247/8 [2 CDs: 146]

This is Doremi’s fourth release of six, so far, containing live relays documenting Klaus Tennstedt conducting repertoire much of which he did not record commercially. I believe I’m right in saying that virtually all of this material has been released on unofficial labels before, but it is good now to have it more widely available via this series. Furthermore, while the scanty documentation details the exact concert dates and claims that the sound has been “newly remastered”, nothing is mentioned about the provenance of these radio transmissions which, judging from the variable sound and radio announcers, suggests that these are probably not recordings from original sources, either. That said, I am especially gratified to see the live radio recording of Tennstedt conducting Mahler’s First Symphony with the NDR Symphony Orchestra included on volume 1 in this series, since I consider it to be his finest account of all (see review, also Volume 2 and Volume 3), while Volume 4, under consideration here, contains live performances across a number of years featuring Beethoven symphonies, a Richard Strauss tone poem, as well as rarities by Boris Blacher.

Blacher was, for a while, a major presence in contemporary German music. Herbert von Karajan often programmed several of his pieces from his Aachen years onwards, even including one of the works on this disc, the Konzertante Musik, to be representative of contemporary German music; he included it in his programmes at many prestigious events such as the Brussels World Fair in 1958 and when he took the Berlin Philharmonic on their first tour of the USA in 1955. There also exists a live performance of Furtwängler conducting the same piece the previous year, which occasionally does the rounds on unofficial labels, too, while Hans Rosbaud recorded it with the Berlin Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon in the late 1950s. Blacher’s musical style is quite accessible and is characterized by rhythmic vitality and clarity, often incorporating jazz and neoclassical influences too. Where perhaps he fails, is that none of his music is especially memorable and that point, coupled with the fascination with atonalism and serialism in music which emerged during the 1960s, meant his music slowly slipped off the cultural radar and out of concert halls thereafter. Along with the Konzertante Musik op 10, the Paganini Variations op, 26 (based upon, yes, that melody) is probably his best-known work and both are featured in this disc to reveal that, clearly, Klaus Tennstedt was also an admirer. In turn, he inspires enthusiastic performances from the New York Philharmonic in the Paganini Variations (from 1985), as well as the Chicago Symphony some ten years prior for the Konzertante Musik, in sonics that are perfectly clear, if slightly compressed in their sound-width, suggesting that they were both recorded off the radio onto a cassette tape. That said, there are not many recordings available of either work, so since these two performances can hold their own against any, their release on this album is invaluable.

On the other hand, with the Beethoven symphonies the field could not be any more crowded, yet Klaus Tennstedt can easily hold his own against the very greatest here, too. The aforementioned Volume 1 of this series contained performances of the Triple Concerto and Seventh Symphony, where I described Tennstedt’s way with Beethoven as: “….  predictably big of heart and can trace its lineage directly from the mainstream German kapellmeister style, which readers will be familiar with in recordings by conductors like Schmidt-Isserstedt (especially his cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic for Decca), as well as Karl Böhm, with the shade of Furtwängler always hovering in the background, as opposed to the more ‘driven’ school of interpretations as exemplified by Toscanini.” It is the same in this 1985 performance of the Fifth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic, where the drama is seemingly played out upon the grandest of stages with the full range of human emotions mercilessly exposed; with Tennstedt, what seems to be at stake appears to be humanity itself which, on this occasion, is exultantly triumphant. This is one of a number of live performances available of Tennstedt conducting this symphony, with others from Chicago, Washington, Kiel and London, the latter enjoying a mainstream issue on the LPO Live label (see review). All are virtually the same in outline and are wonderful performances, except the pick of the bunch is the later London reading with the LPO from 1990. Slightly broader than the other interpretations, largely as a result of the second movement where, perhaps taking advantage of the Royal Albert Hall’s huge acoustic, the LPO horns are allowed to ring out majestically, this is the performance that carries the greatest impact, largely due to the magnificent sound obtained by the BBC radio engineers. It is the trump card that aces this 1985 New York account, as well as that from Chicago which is featured in Volume 2 in this series.

By rights, the accompanying Fourth Symphony, also with the New Yorkers, from five years previously, should have made this release even more desirable, not least since I am only aware of one other recorded account of Tennstedt conducting this work, from a concert with the Minnesota Orchestra; that may still see the light of day on Doremi since their release of Volume 5 is devoted to other Beethoven symphonies the conductor performed with that orchestra. This New York account immediately evokes the influence of Furtwängler at the outset, with the Adagio introduction taken very slowly indeed, full of mystery and foreboding, before erupting into a joyous account of main allegro. The second movement is warm and leisurely, loving and romantic even, while the scherzo bounces along with much good humour, before the finale scampers away with real fire in its belly, the New York players pushed to be their very best. A distinguished performance, then, but one that is rather ruled out by its sound, which is thick in the tuttis, close and boomy elsewhere, that on no account does the performance justice and probably confirms my suspicions that these Doremi transfers are not from original source material.

Happily, the sonics are much better in the final item on this twofer, Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, which was the first half of the concert that concluded with the Beethoven Fifth Symphony discussed above. With a larger orchestra, albeit one treated by the composer as a huge chamber ensemble, and without the relentless tuttis of Beethoven hammering on Fate’s door, the performance emerges more gratefully upon the ears. Richard Strauss often appeared in Tennstedt’s concert and recording schedule, his way with the composer resembling more the warmth and wit of Rudolf Kempe, rather than the glittering dynamism of a Reiner or Karajan, which makes him an ideal interpreter of Strauss’s musical homage to Cervantes’ literary knight. On this occasion he is joined by the New York Philharmonic’s distinguished principals, Paul Neubauer as Sancho Panza and Lorne Munroe as the Knight, in a work he did not record commercially. I am aware of another live radio relay of Tennstedt in this work available on unofficial labels, with the NDR Symphony Orchestra in 1979, but this New York concert has the greater sense of occasion; it is a winning performance, shaped with much affection and if the two soloists perhaps do not erase memories of the greatest on disc from the past, it is all, ultimately, hugely satisfying.

In the end, this double CD, that is also available as a download, represents Tennstedt in repertoire he did not record commercially and as such, devotees of this conductor should not hesitate, unless they already have these performances on other unofficial labels, in which case I am not sure the remastered sound by Doremi is good enough to justify additional outlay. Others may need to be more circumspect, not least since Tennstedt at his greatest can be heard in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with the London Philharmonic on the orchestra’s own label.

Lee Denham

Recording details
rec. 29 May 1980 (Symphony 4); 17 January 1985 (Don Quixote; Symphony 5); 11 April 1985 (Paganini Variations), Avery Fisher Hall, New York; 9 December 1976 (Concertante Music), Chicago

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