Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Franz [Vienna] Schubert :: Complete Early Berlin Philharmonic Recordings, 1957-1962 [Box Set]

Was the young Maazel also the best one?

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I started listening to this box set of recordings from 1957-62, the years when Maazel skyrockted in Europe as an American wunderkind, with low expectations. For me, Maazel joins Mehta and Ozawa as great young promises that were never fulfilled. Thoroughly disliked by orchestral musicians (a condition that seems to have changed now with the NY Phil.), eccentric in his phrasing, often too brash but alternating with dull slackness, he has noticeably declined over the decades. Hardly a single NY Phil. concert earns high praise from the city's major critics.



With all this in mind, I was amazed at the beauty of certain recordings here. First of all, DG's transfers of the old LPs are crystal clear, and secondly, the Berlin Phil. was coming into its own under Karajan at this time and plays with great impact and excitement. But there's good news in the conducting as well. Listen to this lively Beethoven Pastorale, full of good humor and sparkling detail, then compare it to Maazel's half-dead Beethoven Ninth on BMG. Or this ebulient Tchaikovsky Fourth, which is dynamic, balanced, and, once again, full of life. These two performances rank among the best I've heard in the modern era.



Mr. Richman covers the whole box in some detail below, and I generally agree that Maazel's flaw is rushing the music and sounding too brusque. His Beethoven Fifth suffers from those faults in the first and last movements. The Brahms Third, after a terrific start and two good inner movements, turns rushed and business-like in the finale. The accompanying Tragic Over. is back in form, however. And so is the highly individual Beethoven Consecration of the House Over., which emerges as a newly dramatic piece in Maazel's hands.



We move on to almost a complete Schubert symphony cycle (minus the First and Ninth), rare repertoire from a major conductor in the late Fifties and early Sixties. Treading into prime Beecham territory, Maazel turns out to be terrific, full of energy and force but also delicate when called for, only lacking Beecham's unique affability in this music. The Berliners play much better than Beecham's post-war Royal Phil., however, Where Mr. Richman hears rushing, I hear spontaneity and verve (admittedly, some movements, like the finale of the Fourth Sym., go at a breathless Presto). If Maazel had kept evolving, he would have replaced Guido Cantelli, whose propulsive neo-Tosanini style was close to this.



Next we get three Mozart symphonies, the Jupiter plus two miniatures, Sym. 1 and 28. Maazel's Mozart is considerably more forceful than his Schubert, and for me it crosses the line (as Toscanini did) into being charmless and sharply attacked. There's no doubting the skill and ensemble of the orhcestra, however, which is crisp and starched, but not to the degree that Szell, for example, demanded.



The Mendelssohn Italian Sym. is miked very closely, with lots of attention to the woodwinds. It sounds a treat, as British critics say, and Maazel isn't driven. There are dozens of excellent readings of this symphony, and his ranks among them. I am of two minds about the Reformation, however, which has been available paired with the Franck D minor on a DG Originals disc. In the past I've found its briskness and lack of religiosity refreshing, but I can see why others find it emotionally pinched. As alternatives, Munch is more buoyant on RCA, and Karajan offers more grandeur on DG.



We get three versions of Romeo and Juliet, from Berlioz (43 min. of orchestral excerpts), Prokofiev (Suite #2 and one number from Suite #1), and Tchaikovsky. The Berlioz is supply phrased and played with intensity--it's worthy to stand beside Giulini on EMI and Bernstein on Sony, but of course one wants the whole work. Maazel wnet on to record the whole Prokofiev ballet with the Cleveland Orch. on Decca, but these few excerpts sound fresher to me, less studied. I've already enthused over the Tchaikovsky Fourth, and Romeo and Juliet is similarly tangy and alert, no dawdling or swooning. However, the world has many fine recordings of R & J compared to Tchaikovsky Fourths.



The remainder of the set consists of light classics: a vigorous, detailed Rimsky Capriccio Espagnole that works well enough, a Pines of Rome that does the same (this piece, however, requires blockbuster sonics to even remotely catch my attention), a Mussorgksy Night on Bald Mountain that's viscerally excitimg in the extreme but a bit lacking in atmosphere. Finally we leave Berlin for Paris and Britten's Young Person's Guide, which seems thrown in for no particular reason except to acquaint us with Maazel's speaking voice as narrator. He's as clipped and efficient as his conducting style--and just as cool--lacking anything close to Bernstein's cozy warmth.



All told, you would have no doubt that a major conductor is at work here. Would that we could say the same for the older Maazel. I'd recommend this box set to anyone who wants to hear him at his best. It contains more good recordings than celebrated Original Masters sets devoted to Fricsay and Markevitch.



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