Search - Brahms, Haydn, Strauss :: 450th Annniversary Recording: Dresden

Knappertsbusch and the Dresden Staatskapelle

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 07/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 2-disc Tahra CD set is comprised entirely of live concert performances by Knappertsbusch with the Dresden Staatskapelle: Haydn's 88th (1959), Brahms 2nd (1959), Brahms 3rd (1956), and Richard Strauss' Death and Transfiguration (1959). The only Kna Dresden reading that is missing from this set is the superb Schumann 4th Symphony (1956). That can be heard on deleted Arkadia 724.1 (coupled with this same Dresden Brahms 3rd in sound that is inferior to what Tahra gives us here).



I feel that this set is a must-have for Kna collectors - the sound is some of the finest of all Kna's live concert material. The general listener should perhaps be warned: most of these performances (especially the Brahms symphonies) are of the VERY leisurely variety. However, for those willing to slow down their metabolisms a bit and really listen, there is some truly wonderful music making on display here.



The Haydn 88 is a weighty, highly-inflected reading that is somewhat remniscient of Scherchen's . Those looking for a mercurial, scaled-down account should look elsewhere. But for those willing to accept some unusually firm rhythmic articulation and some highly detailed accenting, this reading offers a wealth of contrapuntal insights, and in its slow but inexorable fashion it is really quite exciting. To my ears, Kna is far more illuminating and committed here than in his 1958 Vienna Phil. reading on Golden Melodram 4.0064, which I have already reviewed here at Amazon.



The Brahms 2nd may take more than one listening to appreciate. Frankly, I found the snail-like pace of the first movement almost unbearably ponderous the first time around. But on second listen, Kna's nuanced phrasing and occasional tempo variations made more sense, and in its inexorable way the music gathers tension and starts to take flight. The 2nd mvt. is very eloquent, while the 3rd mvt. reveals all kinds of subtle rhythmic details that simply go by the boards in faster readings. I still find the last mvt. just a bit TOO stately - here I think both his 1944 Berlin Phil. (Tahra 320-322) and 1956 Munich Phil. (Ermitage 157) readings are far more persuasive.



The Brahms 3rd gets off to a weak start with two sloppily articulated opening chords, but after that things go much better. The middle movements are very expressive and lovingly phrased. The last mvt. is a trifle heavy and square. For Kna's best account of this score - a great account indeed - I would recommend the 1944 Brahms 3rd with the Berlin Philharmonic (Tahra 320-322). It's in lesser sound, but it pretty much outclasses this one across the board.



The Strauss is beautifully played and effectively combines both lyricism and drama. I marginally prefer the mellower, more moving 1964 Munich Phil. account on Golden Melodram 4.0041 (see my review), but both share great commitment and fine sound.



Recommended to the already converted, and to those willing to slow down and smell the roses.



Addendum: I recently stumbled across a Japanese LP (Seven Seas K20C-76) in a used record shop. It purports to be a Beethoven 6th Symphony with Kna conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle (no date is given). I have listened to this 43 minute reading four times and am convinced that it is NOT Kna. Having heard some 90% of Kna's known discography, I can't think of anything by him that is so relentlessly metronomic, uninflected and bland as what is heard on this LP. No foot stomping, not a single slowdown, no instances of imprecise articulation, no massive chordal weightings -none of the hallmarks that signify a Kna reading. This sounds more like the pedestrian routine of a Keilberth or perhaps a Schmidt-Isserstedt. I might add that this same LP label once released a supposed Kna/Dresden Brahms 1st that was later proved to be by Klemperer. Caveat emptor!



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