Live in Leningrad 1963
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony No 88 in G major, I/88
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony No 9 in C major, D944 ‘The Great’
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Der Freischütz: Overture
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg: Overture (Prelude to Act 1)
Staatskapelle Dresden/Otmar Suitner
rec. live, 25th January 1963, Great Hall of the Philharmonic, Leningrad
Edition Staatskapelle Dresden, Vol. 47
Hänssler Profil PH19042 [2 CDs: 107]
In the winter of 1963, the Staatskapelle Dresden and its chief conductor Otmar Suitner flew to Soviet Russia for a concert tour taking in six cities: Moscow, Riga, Vilnius, Kaunas, Minsk and Leningrad.
After WW2, Dresden was in the Soviet occupation zone, which became part of the German Democratic Republic, commonly called East Germany. The booklet notes by orchestra manager Arthur Tröber point out what a significant event it was for the Staatskapelle Dresden – founded in 1548 and one of the oldest and most respected orchestras in the world – to tour the Soviet Union. He remarks upon the “fraternal solidarity” between the people of Dresden and the Soviet cites where the Staatskapelle were to perform, describing the orchestra as “a unique orchestral collective”. These concerts were acclaimed by the Soviet audiences. The Radio Leningrad broadcast on 25th January 1963 of one of the two different concert programmes given there was recorded on magnetic tape; it is thus now over 60-years-old, but still in impressive condition. (Some of the rehearsals and concert given on the 22nd January 1963 were actually recorded by Soviet Central TV.)
The first CD comprises live concert performances of the Haydn Symphony No 88 and the main work, Schubert’s Symphony No 9 in C major ‘The Great’. The recording retains the original Russian radio announcements, described in the booklet notes as being a “Documentary archive treasure” of the time.
The second CD contains the planned encore works from the same concert: the overtures from Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz and Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger. Also included is “bonus” material, part of a magazine programme recorded for radio broadcast using extracts from the live concert: an interview held with Suitner relating to his interpretation of the Mozart Symphony No 39, K543 that the Staatskapelle played at other concert programmes. There is also a recording of Suitner rehearsing the short Menuetto movement and another of the actual performance of the complete symphony.
All four works were part of the Staatskapelle Dresden’s performing tradition, but it didn’t take me long to form the opinion that these are lacklustre, lifeless accounts by orchestral players probably wearied by the taxing tour schedule. Three of the four works have often been recorded by them and several of those accounts outshine these Leningrad recordings.
Haydn’s music doesn’t feature too frequently on the Staatskapelle’s recorded legacy. A popular work of character, the Symphony No 88 in G major from 1787 has charm and style with some contrasting complexities suggesting music yet to come. I find this account by Suitner to be just plain ordinary, as the charm and exuberance are absent. The only other Staatskapelle account of the work that I know is conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch; sadly, it is an uninspiring live 1959 performance on Tahra. Likewise, the performance of Schubert’s grand and ambitious Symphony No 9 in C major, D944 ‘The Great’, is a dull and rather colourless performance that lessens the jubilant character the score requires.
There are many first-rate accounts of Schubert’s ‘Great’ C major in the record catalogues. My first choice is the live 2011 recording with Claudio Abbado conducting Orchestra Mozart, a composite of performances at two separate locations Bologna and Bolzano on Deutsche Grammophon. In my review, I wrote, “I don’t think Schubert’s Ninth has ever been more beautifully played and recorded.” I am aware of at least six Dresden Staatskapelle recordings of the ‘Great’ C major Symphony and the one I single out for praise is Karl Böhm’s live 1979 account recorded by Rundfunk der DDR at Kulturpalast, Dresden. In my review, I wrote that “Böhm’s interpretation has unerring focus and urgent forward momentum throughout this symphony of heroic proportions; everything is so well moulded together.”
Weber’s Der Freischütz is regularly played in Dresden, as is its overture as a stand-alone work. The overture can be an exciting work; unfortunately, this live performance under Suitner never excites. Representing good and evil, the contrasting music of light and dark feels a dreary grey. My recommendations for it are the exuberant account of the complete opera from Carlos Kleiber conducting the Staatskapelle in 1973 at Lukaskirche, Dresden on Deutsche Grammophon. Also the DVD of Axel Köhler’s captivating production from the Semperoper conducted by Thielemann, which is both dramatic and enchanting by turns.
The overture from Die Meistersinger has maintained considerable popularity as a concert opener. Once again, Suitner and the Staatskapelle give a standard performance which lacks exuberance and does not inspire. My preferred recording is a rousing account, part of a collection of preludes and orchestral music with Christian Thielemann conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon 453 485-2 recorded in 1997.
These performances by the touring Staatskapelle under Suitner were recorded under live concert conditions in the large auditorium of the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic. According to Tröber in the booklet notes, the Soviet technicians were working in a “consummate acoustic.” Despite it having been remastered, I’m not enthusiastic about the recorded sound. It is by no means terrible, yet it comes across as consistently dull and lacking in orchestral colour. The booklet notes and articles are as informative as expected from this label and included are numerous black and white, and colour photographs taken on the tour.
Overall, these are rather routine performances, and the recordings lack bloom. Unless one is a completist desiring everything by the Staatskapelle or have a special interest in these live Leningrad recordings, there is no good reason to acquire this 2 CD set. Numerous volumes in this ongoing Edition Staatskapelle Dresden series on Profil Hänssler have proved rewarding, but it is hard to make a convincing case for this one.
Michael Cookson
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