BRAHMS: Symphony 1
ELGAR: Enigma Variations
London Symphony, Czech Philharmonic/Leopold Stokowski
Cala 524 (Bayside) 76 minutes

I was bitterly disappointed when this Brahms First originally appeared
as part of a two LP set on London Phase Four.  My hope for a remake of
Stoki's virile, heaven-storming 1927 recording were utterly dashed by this
gentle, understated reading.  It should have come as no surprise that this
mercurial conductor's interpretation had changed in the intervening 55
years.  Indeed hearing this performance again after nearly three decades,
I find that my own view of the score and this performance has altered.
Now the finale of that 1927 recording sounds driven.  This newer version
unfolds with more appropriate majesty and grandeur.  I is still a letdown.
The violent, fist-shaking defiance of youth is gone.  The tempo is
unhurried-14:01 compared to 12:36 in '27.  Indeed, Stokowski's muted
attacks and relentless restraint suggest an old man wistfully recalling
past struggles.  But what a magical web of song Stoki weaves in II!
Each phrase flows seamlessly into the next, giving the music a poignant,
timeless quality.  Meanwhile, III is quick, joyous, and full of life--the
old man of the opening movement has finally been banished for good.

Through it all, the orchestra members play their hearts out for Stokowski.
This performance was, after all, given in honor of the 60th anniversary of
the conductor's London Symphony debut.  The winds are remarkably refined
and gentle, while the basses produce a robust and luxuriously rich tone.
The recording represents London's much maligned Phase Four process at its
absolute best:  clean, clear, and honest.  There's a tactile quality to
the sound that's ideally suited to conveying Stokowski's deeply personal
interpretation.  And for once the Phase Four engineers have given us the
orchestra pretty much in its natural state, minus the constant manipulation
of levels and balances that plague other recordings in this series.

Shortly after his triumphal anniversary concerts in London, Stoki left for
a guest engagement in Prague.  His concerts there were nearly cancelled,
however, when he sprained a ligament in transit.  Characteristically, the
90-year-old maestro insisted that the show must go on, so he limped to
the podium on crutches.  And we're fortunate that he did, as his heartfelt
reading of Elgar's Enigma Variations is one of the greatest accomplishments
in the history of the gramophone.  The theme has never been stated more
poignantly.  Like a nervous speaker who can blurt out only one or two words
at a time, the strings phrase their entrance hesitantly, tentatively.  But
then come the radiant winds, whose gently flowing line is a perfect foil to
the unrest and uncertainty of the strings.  Tempos are relaxed here; even
the more exuberant variations (like VII, 'Troyte') never seem rushed,
though the playing is so precise that they often seem faster than they
really are.  And the beauty and serenity of the slow variations--such as
the lovely 'C.A.E', inspired by the composer's wife, or the majestic
'Nimrod' which surpasses even Bernstein in its heartbreaking intensity--are
simply unmatched in my experience.  Stokowski's uncanny ability to bring
out a statement of the theme here (listen to the double basses in II) or
highlight an unexpected countersubject there (note the winds at 2:02 in
'Nimrod') is uncanny.

Listeners familiar with the recordings of Talich and Ancerl may not
recognize the Czech Philharmonic--Stokowski has miraculously transformed it
into yet another of "his" symphony orchestras.  I must report a tiny amount
of tape hiss.  However, Stokowski's performance is so compelling that it
took me over 20 minutes to notice this minor flaw.

"Tom J. Godell" <[log in to unmask]>