#The Beecham Collection – Live Recordings
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40 (1898)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93 (1812)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham
rec. live, 17 October (Strauss) and 12 December 1956 (Beethoven), Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
SOMM Recordings SommBeecham33 [67]
These two Royal Festival Hall concerts from which these broadcasts derive were given a couple of months apart in the winter of 1956. The first part of the Strauss concert contained, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and the Dance of the Seven Veils and can be found on Somm Ariadne 5021. Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony prefaced a performance of the Ninth.
The Eighth was a work Beecham enjoyed. There’s a live Seattle Symphony survivor as well as his 1951 commercial mono recording with the RPO, marooned in Sony-land, and therefore one of the many items unavailable to Warner for their recent Beecham mono box. In almost every movement Beecham is faster in this live recording than he had been in his studio inscription five years earlier, sometimes significantly so, such as in the finale – the exception is the Minuetto third movement. The result is a performance of brio and animation, elegantly phrased in the Allegretto scherzando, full of vitality in the Minuet that scores via Beecham’s canny accenting, not necessary through the use of speed as such. The finale is dynamic, generating a motoric drive and excellent sonic breadth, though the mono recorded sound can be a little congested.
Beecham left two studio recordings of Ein Heldenleben, the 1947 mono and the 1958 stereo and of the two I slightly prefer the earlier version which has a more visceral quality despite the dusty sonics. Here is a live version with another violin soloist. In 1947 it was Oscar Lampe, in 1958 Steven Staryk and here, live, it’s Arthur Leavins of whom there’s a charming tribute to be found online. Nigel Simeone writes in his fine booklet notes, that Leavins’ performance was described by the unnamed critic of The Times as a ‘fairly tame portrait of the excitable Mrs. Strauss’ though Neville Cardus, no less, admired it. Perhaps I can add one small detail. According to Staryk’s memoirs, co-written with Thane Lewis, Staryk, who had already played concertos with Beecham, was sitting directly behind Leavins. In the first half of the concert Beecham had programmed, as noted above, two works, one of which has extensive, virtuosic solos for the leader. Staryk always suspected Beecham was piling pressure on Leavins, saying; ‘I think such unusual programming would serve one of two purposes. It would either give a brilliant concertmaster the opportunity to shine, or it would push a weaker player over the edge.’ In any case Leavins was soon replaced by Staryk, a brash but brilliant taskmaster.
Leavins’ solos are certainly softer-edged than Strayk’s more overtly and fearlessly virtuosic playing, even if Staryk had the advantage of a studio safety net, which Leavins did not. Leaving the question of violin soloists to one side, the winds perform admirably even if the brass are backwardly balanced. The mono broadcast is also rather foggy sonically despite Lani Spahr’s best efforts and all sections of the orchestra, inevitably, make much less impact than in the stereo recording.
However close the conception, and for all the intensity of a live performance, your best bet is the stereo studio recording if sonics are your primary consideration.
Jonathan Woolf
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