Search - Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Carl Maria von Weber, Otto Nicolai :: German Overtures

Polished, light Romantics that needn't be so cautious

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/13/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's become a hallmark of Thielemann's to offer something different in German classics. Here he gives us a tour of Overtures 101 from Weber to Wagner, including beloved works that will never go out of favor no matter how often they are repeated. His take is to bleach a good deal of the fervent, passionate feelings out of the music. Thus The Oberon and Euryanthe Over. of Weber become much closer to Mendelsoohn, and Mendelssohn lite at that. The Vienna Phil. follows his lead with exceptionally delicacy and elegance. After one or two selections I yearned for more thrust and weight, but of their kind these are lovely readings, and one piece unknown even to experienced listeners outside Germany, Marschner's Hans Heiling, comes as a nice surprise in the vein of Weber, at times suggesting the maghical Wolf's Glen music from Freischutz before flitting off in the direction of Nicolai's Merry Wives of Windsor.



To be candid, I'm running out of confidence that Thielemann has it in him to be a great conductor, but there's no doubt that he's a real musician in these works."