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Günter Wand's Recordings with the Deutsches-Symphonie-Orches

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 01/26/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Günter Wand had a special relationship with this Berlin orchestra that from 1993 was called the Deutsche-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (German Symphony Orchestra); the orchestra had started life in 1946 as the RIAS Symphony Orchestra (Radio in the American Sector), then changed its name in 1956 to Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (Radio Symphony Orchestra in Berlin) until 1993, when after the fall of the Wall -- there was an East German orchestra with a similar name -- it became the DSO, which it remains. This 8 CD set contains recordings made by the Sender Freies Berlin radio network, 1991-1996. As Amazon has not yet listed the contents of these CDs, I shall do so:



Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3 & 4

Beethoven: Coriolan and Egmont Overtures

Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9

Schumann: Symphony No. 4



Although five of the CDs have ordinary length, three others have notably short timings: Schubert's Unfinished is by itself on a CD with a timing of 28:10; Brahms's Symphony No. 4, 42:26; and Schubert's Great C Major Symphony, 53:26. One might want to take these timings into account when figuring the relative cost of this set. It's still a pretty good bargain, but I suspect some might be upset if they ordered it and then discovered these timings.



As for the performances, they are generally mainstream interpretations. Wand was, of course, a famous Bruckner conductor. His performance of the Ninth is superb, but probably not quite as good as the one he made just before his death with the Berlin Philharmonic. The same could be said for this recording of the Bruckner Fifth. However, I found the Brahms symphonies here to be better played than any competing recordings by him with other orchestras. The Schubert Ninth is excellent, not quite on a level with his competing recording with the Cologne Radio Symphony, but is better than the one with the Berlin Philharmonic. The Schubert Unfinished is about equal with others of his. For me the best performances in this box set are the Beethovens and the Schumann Fourth. Superb! Make no mistake, although he worked primarily as a provincial conductor most of his career, Wand was a marvelous conductor, a perfectionist who could get orchestras to play above themselves. The Deutsches-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, always fated to be Berlin's second orchestra, was nonetheless a magnificent group, having been directed by Fricsay, Chailly and Ashkenazy over the years leading up to the time when Wand's recordings were made.



I believe that this is a fine set, but I suspect it will be bought primarily by Wand completists (and there do seem to be a number of them) and people attracted by the reasonably good price.



Scott Morrison"