Mengelberg Conducts Wagner, R. Strauss, Humperdinck, Mahler

Wagner: Tannhaeuser Overture; Lohengrin Prelude to Act I; Meistersinger
Prelude; *Forest Murmurs (from Siegfried)
Humperdinck: *Overture to Haensel und Gretel
R. Strauss: Don Juan
Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

Willem Mengelberg, conducting Amsterdam Concertgebouw, *New York
Philharmonic-Symphony

Naxos 8.110855

Marvelous Performances in Refurbished Sound

Dyed-in-the-wool Mahlerians revere Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951),
long-time conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, as the
first major conductor, other than the composer himself, to take up and
champion the music of Gustav Mahler.  He conducted a complete series of
the symphonies as early as 1920.  Unfortunately, because the length of
Mahler symphonies made them unlikely candidates for recordings in the
early years, the only music of Mahler that he recorded commercially was
the "Adagietto" from the Fifth Symphony.  Those who don't already possess
that recording need look no further.  In spite of its being recorded in
relatively primitive sound, and in spite of the initial recording being
somewhat dim and with some pitch instability, it has been refurbished
brilliantly by the recording transfer engineer and producer, Mark
Obert-Thorn.  I'd heard a previous issue of this performance and this
one on Naxos sounds markedly fresher and truer.

And that's not the only treasure on this release of late Romantic
music conducted by Mengelberg.  For instance, the first track is an
exciting "Tannhauser Overture" that is notable for its almost Mahlerian
phrase-molding and split-second tempo modulations.  It adds up to an
exhilarating performance.

Add to that two recordings of Mengelberg leading the New York
Philharmonic-Symphony (as it was then called and whose music-director
he was briefly) in the "Forest Murmurs" (from Wagner's "Siegfried")
and and a lovely "Hansel und Gretel Overture" and you realize that
this CD is a real keeper. For one thing, as amazing as the sheen of the
Concertgebouw was, it is apparent that Mengelberg also worked his magic
with the New York orchestra, brief and troubled as his tenure with them
was.

One interesting thing to note: In the earliest recordings (and
particularly in the Mahler) one hears fairly routinely applied string
portamenti, but by the time of the last Concertgebouw recordings (the
1940 "Meistersinger Prelude") the portamenti have pretty much disappeared.
Thus, these recordings trace a change in orchestral style over a fairly
brief time span of fourteen years.  Indeed, in the New York recordings
(which are from 1928 and 1930) the portamenti are much less in evidence
than in contemporaneous performances by the Concertgebouw, suggesting
that American style was already discernibly different from that of a
European group.

Although it is in the "Adagietto" that these portamenti are most in
evidence, one needs to listen only briefly before one adjusts to them.
And then one can hear what has always been noted about Mahler's intention
for the "Adagietto," namely that it was a love-song, not an elegy.  The
timing of this performance is only a little more than seven minutes,
considerably faster than most modern performances.  And it benefits from
Mengelberg's almost supernatural ability to mould phrases carefully and
yet move the music forward with urgency and passion.

These will obviously not be your only recordings of these works; you
will want some in modern sound.  But they are not to be missed, either.

Thank you, Naxos, for continuing this series of historic recordings by
great conductors.

Scott Morrison