Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hot Messe!

I've been on a "Sacred" music kick lately. Maybe it's Eschatological.

I really like John Eliot Gardiner's recording of Bach's Mass in B minor. I'm wondering if I should be satisfied with it?

I'm hardly an expert on Fauré (and French music in general) but Herreweghe's reading of the Requiem is superb, and I'm thinking about laying down the big bucks for his Matthäuspassion. Even though I couldn't live without my Furtwängler, it's incomplete and with less-than-decent mono sound. Actually I wouldn't mind having all of Bernstein's, even though it's in English; Donaldson Bell's rendition of "Make Thee Clean" still moves me to tears and beyond.

In both cases: what about Klemperer?

Bernstein seems to be a controversial top choice for Mozart's C Minor, and while I don't hate it, I'm eager to hear Gardiner's. Get this: since it's on period instruments, the tuning is different (baroque A 415 vs. modern A 440). By our standards, C minor was actually B minor. Amazing!

I'm fine with my Klemperer/Schwarzkopf/Fischer-Dieskau Brahms, but (of course) I'd like to hear the Kempe/Grümmer (also with Fidi). Recommendations?

Sunday, February 17, 2008

(Pretty) Good Friday Music

I'm exploring the varied output of live recordings from Hans Knappertsbusch's thirteen-year stint with Parsifal at Bayreuth. My digital Barenboim is first-rate , but after listening to an old LP of the 1951 Kna, I'm craving more. My question is: how could it get any better?

Apparently it does. The standout seems to be the 1962, which is now part of the excellent Philips 50 series. It's got a great cast, and I'm sure it's worth the hype. I can predict, though, that the cast is just as good (or better!) on the 1964. Is the 1962 better because Philips says so? And again, how can you beat the 1951 cast? I'll find out for myself. When I get around to it.

Also, I'm quasi-obsessed with Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's visionary 1982 film version, despite some head-scratching shifts in Act II. The Flower Maidens' scene is overwhelming, and the Clever/Minton combo for Kundry is perfection. Minton reminds me (yet again) to seek out more contributions from Kubelik. Man, I'm an uncultured hack.

This is 'bout as geeky as I get.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Did Rudolf Schock ruin the greatest opera set of all time? Not really, but yeah, kind of.

EMI, please re-issue this. I recently purchased the complete 5LP set on eBay, and it has changed my life. Kempe's 1956 Die Meistersinger might be the all-time best recording in the catalog -- maybe of any opera ever captured in the studio.

I'm not sure yet. Here's what I do know: Kempe was a consummate Wagnerian in every way. He's full of warmth and charm, of spirit and occasion, of clearly communicated theatricality -- the whole nine yards -- without blurring into exaggerated sentimentality. The late '50s BPO is flexible, firm, authoritative, and yet refined. When I was first getting to know this opera, Karajan's second recording really hit the spot; it's still satisfactory, especially in its fine choral work and exquisite pair of lovers in young Donath and Kollo. But Karajan's overbright, overly polished and at times turgid reading can be pretty dull. Kempe's so-called "conversational" approach (I like to call it "no-nonsense") allows for all of Wagner's varied changes of mood, thought and tone to unfold so beautifully, so specifically, that I'm able to enter into the human experience of it all. And hear it for what it's really worth.

The jewel of Kempe's set is, of course, Elisabeth Grümmer as Eva. In a lot of ways she was the Maria Callas of the lyric German soprano roles: she sings and acts with spontaneity and forward motion, clarity of phrasing, an inherent sense of overall structure and timing -- it's unbelievable. I can't say enough about her. She's the real deal. The rest of the cast is (mostly) stunning: Unger, Höffgen, Frick, Neidlinger, Clam, & Co. provide superior support, and Frantz delivers an interpretively competent, well-sung Sachs.

I haven't heard all of the highly praised Kubelik (now on a new Arts Archive release), so I won't get ahead of myself. I anticipate that Kubelik's greatest strength, however, is Kempe's biggest setback: Walther. And Sandor Konya's Walther, specifically. Rudolf Schock is merely passable on the Kempe; he doesn't ruin the set by any means, but he lacks passion and spontaneity (alongside Grümmer it's doubly painful), and his singing in the Prize Song leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, he has his moments, especially early on, but I prefer even Kollo's more impetuous and athletic style to Schock's general and unfocused characterization. What's infuriating is that Konya worked with Grümmer just THREE years after Kempe's Meistersinger, at Bayreuth in 1959! I know, I know: record label politics are tough. But, wow, here I sit, fully half-a-century later, wondering what could have been. In any case, it's a pity that Konya didn't receive more studio attention.

But none of this matters at all. Why? Because the Kempe is OUT OF PRINT. Other listeners will want to own Karajan's 1951 (beware of Hans Hopf), Solti's first and possibly second, and maybe even the Jochum (which I can't stand, even with a great supporting cast and fabulous conducting). That's all fine. I MUST hear the Kubelik and then I'll know for sure. Right now Kempe is my fav. Have I said enough? Yes. Happy Valentine's.