Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
BBC Symphony Pre-War Recordings, Volume 1
BBC Symphony Orchestra
rec. 1932-1937, Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC670 [2 CDs: 154]
This is the first in a series of Boult’s recordings from 1932, two years after he formed the BBC Symphony Orchestra having been Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra between 1924 and 1930. Boult’s ensemble caused a remarkable transformation in London’s musical scene, matched only by Sir Thomas Beecham’s London Philharmonic. It is true to say that Boult and the BBC Symphony Orchestra dominated British music until Boult’s retirement in 1950. Most of these recordings here appear for the first time since the 1930s.
These discs offer the opportunity to judge the standard of music-making against the European and American orchestras of the period. Most significantly, we can compare Boult’s interpretations against those by Furtwängler and Toscanini in a similar repertoire. In Boult’s handling of the Bach Orchestral Suite, for instance, he adopts a quicker tempo against the slower and more weighty approach by Furtwängler. So quick is Boult’s direction of the famous ‘Air’ that it fitted onto one side of the original 78 rpm record.
In Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ symphony and the Beethoven Eighth symphony, Boult takes a more leisurely pace in the Minuet – different from other versions except that of Weingartner, where he splits the movement at the end of the Trio. In the finale of the ‘Jupiter’, Boult matches Beecham’s exciting rush to the culmination. In Beethoven’s Eighth symphony, Boult reveals his affinity for Toscanini’s approach to Beethoven with a dynamic and hard-driven interpretation, and the first movement repeat is one of the few to appear on recordings of the period. This 1932 recording shows how accomplished is the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Boult.
The Bach suite and transcription, the Gluck and Mozart overtures and the Beethoven Eighth Symphony are the only ones he set down in the studio, and only the Beethoven and Schubert symphonies were reissued. Boult made another two recordings of the Schubert’s ‘Great’ C major Symphony. Interestingly, when making this recording, Boult recorded the finale first (as was his practice with the Bach suite) leading to an exciting climax in this very satisfying performance.
The Bach recordings are amazingly clear for their age, and the brass groups are excellent. Boult’s tempos allow more enjoyment and the resonance of the strings creates a distinctly noble sound. The Gavottes are vibrant, and colourful. The trumpet solo is virtuosic and the swift pace continues in the Bourrée and the Gigue. The Preludio was recorded at the same sessions and one can clearly hear the virtuosic intensity of the BBC strings. In the Alceste overture, recorded four years later, Boult takes a stirringly dynamic tempo.
Boult handles the ‘Jupiter’ symphony subtly; from the opening bars he conjures a dynamic lively playing with lovely woodwind intonation. The Andante is graceful and there is a splendidly energetic finale. The overture to The Impresario is striking and powerful, and the first of the two Beethoven overtures demonstrates that Boult was an outstanding interpreter of this composer; the Coriolan overture is strikingly dramatic and, despite some sound interference, Boult gives a stirring performance of the Egmont. The overture to Così fan tutte is impressive and once again we can hear the brilliance of the woodwind; there is some hum, but not enough to disturb one’s enjoyment.
I had not heard Boult’s Beethoven symphonies before, and it is clear from this Eighth that he is a great interpreter of the Vienna school, in the mould of Weingartner, generating robust, well-developed performances. We can hear how good the strings of the BBC Symphony Orchestra are in this impressive, dynamic performance. I find in it a kinship to Toscanini’s recordings set down with this orchestra in the 1930s, as he brings out the eloquence in the symphony. This exciting, powerful performance makes one want to hear more of his Beethoven recordings.
The Schubert C Major Symphony for me is the pearl of this release. Despite all the gems among the other tracks and the fact that I have long treasured Boult’s 1972 recording of this work on EMI, this first recording shows that Boult was already a superb interpreter of this symphony. That is evident in the Andante’s opening horn entry – despite a little hum, which does not spoil one’s enjoyment. The sound is vibrant with a mighty chorale from the brass group and, crucially, Boult adopts the precise tempo of Andante con moto in the second movement, which is adorned by a lovely oboe solo, and the tragic note before the close is marvellously expressed. The Scherzo is full of sparkling, Schubertian energy with beautiful playing from the woodwind and strings, and the playing of the Finale is magnificent, as Boult adopts a quick tempo leading to the stirring climax.
The discs are in an attractive gate-fold cardboard package adorned by colour-enhanced photos of Boult and both discs bearing images of the conductor. The informative notes on the recordings and the conductor are by Mark Obert-Thorn who has restored these invaluable recordings to a state-of-the-art sound. This is an essential purchase for those interested in this great English conductor and in this period in recording.
Gregor Tassie
Previous review: Jonathan Woolf
Availability: Pristine Classical
Contents
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Orchestral Suite No 3 in D major, BWV 1068, (1730, orch. Pick-Mangiagalli)
Preludio from Violin Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 (1729-1921)
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)
Alceste – Overture, Wq. 37 (1767)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No 41 in C major, KV. 551 “Jupiter” (1788)
The Impresario, KV. 486 – Overture, (1786)
Così fan tutte, KV. 588 – Overture (1790)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Coriolan, Op. 62 – Overture, (1808)
Egmont, Op. 84 – Overture, (1810)
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 (1812)
Franz Schubert (1799-1828)
Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944 “The Great” (1828)
