Karl Bohm Late Recordings 23cd Booklets Download UPDATED

Karl Bohm Late Recordings 23cd Booklets Download

Jeremy Lee writes

The circumstances for the reissue of these "late recordings" in a box set is rather curious.  Normally when a box gear up documenting the artistry of a legendary artist (in whole or in part) surfaces, its release date coincides with the anniversary yr of that artist'south nascence or expiry or other meaningful anniversaries.  Released in 2015, the nowadays set seems to have nothing to practise with the anniversaries of Karl Böhm (1894-1981).  Even more curious is the choice of recordings that qualify to be included in this "late recordings" set.  The earliest selections from the box date from 1971, and so why not include his 1970s VPO Beethoven and Brahms cycles?  Or some of the early symphonies from his Schubert cycle with the BPO, dating from 1971?  It may be that DG left the aforementioned recordings out because they were released previously in the class of various Collectors' Edition box sets, but that would make the title of this box set a scrap misleading.  It should have been called "Karl Böhm:  The Late Recordings That We Haven't Already Reissued In Collectors' Edition Box Sets".  Oh well.

At whatever rate, it'southward good to meet these recordings dorsum into apportionment over again, especially since the bulk of them have gone out of print.  A glance at the track listing at the back of the box confirms Böhm as an Austro-Germanic repertoire specialist:  the overwhelming majority of the pieces are from composers of that heritage, while the remaining not-Germanic pieces are by Dvorak and Tchaikovsky, whose symphonies were heavily influenced by the Austro-Germanic symphonic tradition.  Certainly these works were Böhm'southward forte:  Böhm's gravely serious approach to music-making, oftentimes striving for directness and emphasizing musical structure and integrity at the expense of surface dazzler and thrills, suited the music he chose to carry to the hilt.  And of course he had some of the greatest orchestras in the Austro-Germanic repertoire at his disposal:  virtually of these pieces were recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic, with the Tchaikovsky delegated to the London Symphony Orchestra and the Schubert ninth and some Beethoven overtures to the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Beethoven (CDs 1-4)

Disc i opens with Böhm's last official recording, his digital Beethoven 9th from November 1980.  And it gives me no pleasance to say that it isn't a very good performance.  At 79 minutes this is certainly 1 of the longest recordings of the work, but slowness is, as always, never a problem per se.  The trouble lies in the lack of the imaginativeness of the whole performance, with ponderous and slack phrasing, little cumulative tension or impact in the climaxes of the start movement, and some surprisingly imprecise playing (the Maestoso 3/iv department in the finale's coda).  Böhm may have ane of the starriest quadrumvirates in the solo voices, but they seem to be hampered by Böhm's grim and unfocused conducting–notice how Berry and Böhm tin can't agree on each other's tempo as Berry delivers his first "Freude, schöner Götterfunken" line with a vivacity and speed that Böhm didn't bother to grab up with.  Fifty-fifty the sonics are awry, with a burnished (at times shrill) string tone and an under-prominent chorus (thanks to early digital recording engineering science).  Thankfully admirers of Böhm accept the 1970 recording to fall dorsum to.  Recorded as office of his integral Beethoven cycle, the basic estimation is pretty much identical (Böhm was zilch if not consequent), but the playing is much more precise and beautiful, the conducting at a marginally faster tempo and then much more invigorating and fiery, and the sonics more truthful and comfortable to listen to.

The remaining three Beethoven CDs reveal Böhm as a much greater Beethoven conductor than the digital Ninth suggests.  The overtures that half-fill Disc two are splendidly done, with conducting high on drama and vigor and gritty, weighty playing from the Vienna Philharmonic and (in Fidelio and Leonore Iii) the Staatskapelle Dresden.  [Note: These Dresden performances are also included in the Collectors' Edition box of the 1970s Böhm Beethoven cycle; they were miscredited as the Vienna Philharmonic in that box despite the booklet mentioning that they were recorded in the Lukaskirche in Dresden.  A quick listen of the orchestral sonority, with dark strings, biting trumpets and thunderous timpani, reveals it to be, unquestionably, the Staatskapelle.]  Böhm recorded a mono Missa Solemnis with the Berlin Philharmonic before; I have non heard it but I must say that this stereo performance from 1974 with the Vienna Philharmonic is ane of the greatest (and underrated) performances that the work has ever received.  Nevertheless again it'south on the slow side (89 minutes) but the faster sections are certainly brisk and impactful enough; the tiresome tempo taken for the Sanctus and Benedictus adds a dimension of tenderness and spirituality that is instantly affecting.  In fact one of the strongest points almost this operation is the unusual clarity of textures despite the massive sonority of the choir and orchestra.  Notice, for example, the clean rhythms of the timpani and strings in the Gloria:  every note is clearly and effortlessly discernible.  Some other stiff point concerns the splendid quartet of soloists, with Margaret Price a focused, creamy soprano that rivals Gundula Janowitz in Karajan's 1960s recording, though less inhumanely perfect.

Bruckner (CDs 5-six)

It is a matter of regret that Böhm did non record the 9th to complete his Late Bruckner Triumvirate, for the 7th and the 8th are undoubtedly great performances.  The 7th was in fact i of the outset 7ths I bought, and I especially enjoyed comparison information technology to Giulini's and Karajan'southward Vienna recordings (which I obtained shortly subsequently), due to the huge divergence between the sonorities that the three conductors cultivated from the same orchestra at around the same time period.  Böhm's gruff, unvarnished string and brass sound (with specially prominent horns) and edgy timpani was in stark dissimilarity to Karajan'due south undeniably beautiful sonority, 1 that was highly polished, burnished and smoothed-out, while Giulini's sound sat squarely at the middle of the spectrum and combined the best of both worlds.

If some may feel that the orchestral sound in Böhm's 7th is a bit also crude-hewn for their taste, his 8th is noticeably more than refined and polished, with silky strings and sonorous brass that don't turn fibroid like they sometimes exercise in the seventh.  (This is surprising since both symphonies were recorded by a fundamentally aforementioned recording team but a few months betwixt each other.)  Hither the Böhm-Karajan spectrum of Vienna Combo Orchestral Sonority Smoothness is narrowed considerably, with Böhm's sound quite similar to what Giulini obtained, though Karajan's sound is every bit gilded and glossy as e'er.

Interpretation-wise, Böhm's tempi are generally center-of-the-road, except in the kickoff motion of the 8th which is around 2 minutes faster than both Giulini and Karajan.  Böhm's approach to both of the symphonies is unsentimental, unfussy and utterly natural.  With a laser-like focus and powerful volition, Böhm straight reveals the gravitas, darkness and inner strength of the work to a greater degree than the two other conductors mentioned above, though Giulini and Karajan may be preferred by those seeking a mystically spiritual arroyo.

Haydn (CDs seven-8)

Karl Böhm's approach to these 5 Haydn symphonies (88-92) is, as with his approach to the music of other composers, gravely serious and unsmiling, which might not exist to one's taste in an exuberant composer like Haydn whose musical voice was distinctive for, amongst other things, his humor.  Bernstein with this very aforementioned orchestra reveals this bubbly humour and joie de vivre in a much more idiomatic style, non to mention Jochum's wildly exciting recordings with the sometime second-charge per unit London Philharmonic (and the first-charge per unit BPO in 88), and even Klemperer (who most of the fourth dimension is temperamentally like to Böhm) injects the music with energy, colour, charm and (deadpan) humour that is almost infectious.  A comparison between the four conductors' Haydn 88 finales will instantly bear witness this deviation.

There are redeeming features, however.  Monochrome and charmless his Haydn may be, but it certainly is graceful, and his treatment of the minuets are in this regard inimitably idiomatic.  But the main allure of these performances is the immaculate playing of the Vienna Combo, which thanks to Böhm (probably) is technically assured and meticulously counterbalanced.  Meanwhile, the Sinfonia Concertante suffers from the aforementioned problems to a lesser degree.  Elegance abounds in this performance, which is beautifully and characterfully played by the four soloists (the whiny oboe sound is a detail please).  The sonics are all extremely fine with the soloists in the Sinfonia Concertante standing out more than Bernstein's.

Mozart (CDs 9-13)

Böhm'southward 1960s consummate Mozart wheel with the Berlin Philharmonic (the start of its kind) was and has remained 1 of the great achievements in classical music recordings equally well equally a perennially top recommendation for those seeking for a complete cycle of the Mozart symphonies; indeed the belatedly symphonies culled from this ready, at present on DG Originals, has long been touted as legendary.  The present box set contains the (less famous) Vienna Philharmonic remakes of symphonies 29, 35 and 38-41 from the 1970s, and the main divergence is the tempi:  already a bit ponderous in the Berlin performances, Böhm slows the music further, resulting in some of the slowest Mozart always recorded.

Partly because of this, and partly because of Böhm's unyieldingly strict and grim interpretations, most of the symphonies but fall flat, specially those begetting Haydnesque influence (my criticisms of Böhm'southward approach on this kind of music has been documented in the to a higher place section then I shall not further elaborate).  In fact, the finales of the 29th and 35th symphonies are singularly depressing, such is their bromidic dullness (the 29th finale should be called "Allegro non spirito"!).  Hearing Böhm's before recordings of the same music after hearing this (especially the thrilling 1972 live performance of the 29th with the Staatskapelle Dresden on Orfeo), not to mention those past conductors every bit various as Bernstein, Karajan, Marriner and Levine, is a boom of fresh air.  Probably the simply exception to this stodginess is the surprisingly brisk and spirited Jupiter symphony.

Yet these same attributes, when practical to some of Mozart's almost tragic music, resulted in performances of uncommon depth and terribilità–I am of course referring to the 40th symphony and the Requiem.  Böhm'south arroyo in the former work near resembles Fricsay (though Fricsay is even slower), but with predominantly fabled playing from the Vienna Philharmonic strings (as opposed to occasionally sour Vienna Symphony strings).  While Giulini's late Berlin Philharmonic recording on Sony also sported similarly slow tempos, Böhm (and Fricsay) doesn't smooth out the restless rhythms that open up the showtime motion, nor does he underplay the sudden dynamic contrasts throughout the music.  The latter work under Böhm's baton is probably the darkest and bleakest I've heard.  Tempi are, as expected, very deadening (probably the only slower recording is Celibidache'southward), simply this allows Böhm's grim determination to polish through.  The Kyrie fugue and Confutatis are cases in betoken:  despite the slow speeds the listener is fatigued into the music with a powerfully compelling force and guided inexorably through each bar–in short, this is a functioning of unprecedented magnetism, 1 that reminds me of "the oppressive, terrible brutality of ancient Mexican monuments which has ever evoked dread" (to quote, oddly, Messiaen).  The soloists are all exemplary, with Karl Ridderbusch delivering probably the most commanding and sonorous Tuba Mirum ever recorded, and the choir massive in tone and stone-solid in technique.  There are other means to present this music, merely Böhm's vision is uniquely ominous and imposing, and for that reason one of the greats.

Schubert and Schumann (CDs fourteen-16)

Similar the Mozart, these Schubert items with the Vienna Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Dresden are remakes over a complete bicycle with the Berlin Combo in the 1960s, a set that I treasure and respect but find difficult to love, again largely because of Böhm'due south no-nonsense take on the music bordering on stodginess.  I'm afraid it's the same story with the Schubert 5th, an unsmiling reading of music that should exude youthful charm, with an Andante con moto that'southward hardly "con moto" at this tempo.  The Unfinished, however, is a spectacular functioning.  Information technology's very deadening (almost 26 minutes and without the exposition echo), even slower than Sinopoli's famous Philharmonia recording in the first motility, just Böhm, like in his Mozart Requiem, presents a reading unprecedented in the manner information technology mesmerises and pulls the listener through the symphony'south architectural and emotional trajectory.  Climaxes are thunderous and towering; pianissimi are ethereal and luminous.  Böhm likewise extracts some unbelievably cute playing from the Viennese strings, especially the cellos in the second subject of the first motility and the unbelievably clear pizzicato lower strings, gilt horns counterbalanced just atop them, that opens the second movement.

And then we come to the 9th with the Staatskapelle Dresden, a live performance from 1979 and apparently recorded for radio circulate.  The sonics, therefore, are not as good, though still more than than listenable (if you can afford a piddling duplication attempt obtaining the Japanese individual issue for significantly better sound quality).  Böhm presents a conception largely similar to his famous BPO 9th, with slightly faster tempi all circular, only this functioning is remarkable for the livelier playing and rut-of-the-moment excitement, besides as the coarser and darker string tone of the Dresden orchestra and "air-siren" (read: in-your-confront) brass playing from the trombones and trumpets that reminds me of sometime Russian orchestras.  The way they blare out in the chorale at the end of the commencement motility is what i would call a "naughty thrill", though information technology may strike some every bit slightly vulgar.

A few recordings of Böhm's view of Schumann's 4th exists:  this studio recording, a live Salzburg Festival performance from 1972 also with the Vienna Combo, and yet another live Salzburg Festival performance from 1975, this time with the London Symphony Orchestra.  I have withal to hear the LSO operation, but I have heard and compared both VPO recordings.  The e'er consistent and reliable Böhm withal once more presents a similar interpretation, but I prefer the studio recording for its better ensemble rest and playing as well as the absolutely gorgeous sonics, notwithstanding a tad more inspiration in the live operation.  At any rate, the studio operation is already clogged with and then much spirit, elegance, power and gravitas that a little more surface excitement is rendered picayune.  What'southward then special virtually this Schumann 4 is the massiveness of the whole conception, be it in terms of orchestral sonority (which is admittedly colossal), or the pacing and shaping of the entire symphony.  However, information technology is clear in Böhm's performance that such massiveness does not forbid ii things:  clarity and excitement.  Mind to the way the orchestra negotiates the scurrying blitz to the end (Presto):  taken at a slightly slower tempo than what we are accustomed to, such is the precision of the playing and clarity of texture that every unmarried note in the strings can exist discerned with absolutely no difficulty at all, nonetheless the fashion they dig into their notes and tear their mode through the terminate line is a uniquely thrilling experience.  Undoubtedly a great Schumann Fourth.

The Strausses (CDs 17-18)

Stodgy though some of his Haydn and Mozart may be, it'south good to note that the tardily Böhm hadn't lost touch with the Viennese bonbons of the J. Strauss family.  These may not be the well-nigh thrilling renditions out there, simply information technology's still performed with panache, color, daintiness, grace and charm.  The Vienna Philharmonic of class know these works backward, blindfolded and bound to a tree.  Information technology'due south simply lovely Strauss, idiomatically and authentically played.

With Richard it'due south another story.  There exists a few early on documents of Böhm's R. Strauss, most notably the collection of orchestral works on Collectors' Edition with the Berlin Combo and Staatskapelle Dresden.  Of those works Böhm but returned to Ein Heldenleben in his later on years, and that's the performance nosotros get here, recorded in 1976 with the Vienna Philharmonic.  Böhm'due south view of the music is quite clear afterward you hear the opening cello and horn melody:  unforced and lyrical instead of thrusting and angular, Böhm's hero is a wizened, old hero rather than a hedonistic, adrenalin-pumping young ane similar we become with Reiner or Solti.  This full general absence of overt physicality is as well manifest in the less-than-impressive battle scene, an heady affair under the ii conductors previously mentioned.  Moreover, compared to Haitink/RCO, Maazel/Cleveland or fifty-fifty Böhm'southward old Staatskapelle Dresden recording, the Viennese woodwinds lack sheer acerbity and character.  However, some slower sections (such as the Hero'due south Companion and the Retreat from the World) are imbued with a sense of gentle, long-lined lyricism that is deeply fulfilling.  The violin solos are played with the utmost technical assuredness and flair by Gerhart Hetzel.  However this lack of visceral impact may be a detriment to most listeners, and then if you want a Böhm Heldenleben may I propose the 1973 BRSO live recording on Orfeo.  Böhm is in utmost inspired form here, and he is uncharacteristically unbuttoned in the battle scene while retaining that attracting melodiousness in the slower sections.

Dvorak and Tchaikovsky (CDs 15, 19-21)

With these discs we come to a subfusc corner of Böhm's repertoire.  The Vienna Philharmonic has to date recorded Dvorak'south 9th at to the lowest degree eight times (chronologically Kubelik, Kertesz, Böhm, Kondrashin, Maazel, Karajan, Ozawa, Muti), just conception-wise none are as rough-hewn and granitic, nor equally directly.  If yous have heard Klemperer'due south Philharmonia recording you will know what to expect hither for it is a similarly terse, no-nonsense interpretation, low on sentimentality and high on solidity.  Böhm's advantage, nevertheless, is the pellucid and distinctive timbre of the Vienna Philharmonic, and the sheer songfulness of the soli:  the celli at the very opening of the first movement is phrased with a lyrical communicativeness normally only heard in string quartets, while the (rather slow) second motility sports a mesmerisingly dignified cor anglais solo.  Elsewhere Böhm is suitably energised and he permits the orchestra to produce some surprisingly trenchant sonorities, a sonority that fits very well with Böhm's rugged view.

Then nosotros come to the Tchaikovsky with the London Symphony Orchestra.  The LSO plain knows the music very well, having presented us with a spectacularly well-played cycle with Markevitch, and this spotless playing is also one of the good points in Böhm's Tchaikovsky, if without that stunning pilus-trigger precision with Markevitch.  Böhm, like in the Dvorak, gives united states an admirably straight and honest arroyo to the music, never once succumbing to mere showmanship, overt displays of passion, or sugary sentimentality.  As you would probably accept guessed, tempi are boring merely non perversely and so (unlike Celibidache or at times Klemperer).  This gives usa ii unpretentious, chaste and ultimately indistinctive performances in the 5th and 6th symphonies.  The 4th, however, is marginally more interesting since Böhm introduces various sudden (and unmarked) subito piano/sforzando-piano/forte-piano effects, effects that are complimentary and cheesy in my opinion.  Otherwise this quaternary is pretty standard, with a less than dazzling, if uncommonly clean and articulate, finale.  In fact in 1971 Böhm performed this piece of work with the Czech Combo in Salzburg, and that performance (now on Orfeo in very good sound) is much more exciting and characterfully played, capturing Böhm in a surprisingly uninhibited mood.  (The lightheaded effects, while detectable, are played much less obtrusively–the Czech wouldn't take whatever of that.)

Wagner(CDs 22-23)

Böhm was of course a supreme Wagner usher, and these two discs of orchestral snippets from diverse operas perfectly shows that affinity.  These are effortlessly noble and idiomatic performances, with their grandiose and lyrical elements particularly highlighted, probably due to the slower than usual tempo Böhm adopts.  The Isoldes Liebestod in particular is the slowest I've heard (slower than Celibidache!), and Böhm coaxes inhumanly beautiful playing from the orchestra while leading us, equally if in a passionate dream, through every ebb and flow–it's an immensely moving and cathartic experience.  Yet Böhm also does rise to the occasion during the more loftier-octane moments, such equally in the Meistersinger Prelude, delivering a viscerally impactful operation with brass at full tilt.  Great Wagner by whatsoever measure.

Conclusion

These 23 discs may only consist of a fraction of Böhm's large discography, simply they are plenty to show Böhm'southward strengths and weaknesses every bit an interpreter, and indeed the strengths and weaknesses of whatever musician applying the same personal interpretative way on almost every piece of music they perform.  What I take established throughout my review is that Böhm was able to deliver performances of unparalleled gravity and visionary depth in the more serious music, while turning dull and pedantic during those works that cry out for freshness and spiritedness.  These unabashedly old-school interpretations have all but vanished from the modern globe of music, and similar I have said I don't warm to all of them, just how yous as a listener value them is of course down to the matter of taste.

A word on the presentation:  these 23 discs are housed in a sturdy, glossy box with a lift-off lid.  For once DG'due south old-schoolhouse yellow banner is dorsum (possibly reflecting the erstwhile-schoolness of the performances) simply I notice it slightly incongruous with the rest of the presentation.  The cardboard sleeves of the discs and the booklet are awash of photos of Böhm, mostly unsmiling (there is a photo of him wearing a hideous grin).  I bought my copy for HKD$450 which is an extremely reasonable price.  Böhm fans will take obtained this prepare as a matter of course; listeners unfamiliar with his output should commencement with the Bruckner, Schubert, Wagner and Mozart Requiem included in this ready, also as his Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart symphony cycles.  In these performances Böhm's distinctive and considerably valuable artistry is represented in the all-time light.

Details

• Album name:  Karl Böhm:  Late Recordings
• Performers:  Karl Böhm (conductor);  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra;  London Symphony Orchestra;  Staatskapelle Dresden
• Works included:
  • Beethoven:  Symphony No. nine;  Overtures;  Missa Solemnis
  • Bruckner:  Symphonies Nos. 7 & eight
  • Dvorak:  Symphony No. 9
  • Haydn:  Symphonies Nos. 88-92;  Sinfonia Concertante
  • Mozart:  Symphonies Nos. 29, 35, 38-41;  Maurerische Trauermusik;  Eine kleine Nachtmusik;  Sinfonia concertante;  Requiem
  • Schubert:  Symphonies Nos. 5, 8, nine
  • Schumann:  Symphony No. 4
  • Tchaikovsky:  Symphonies Nos. 4-half-dozen
  • Wagner:  Overtures and Preludes from Rienzi, Tannhäuster, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde;  Isoldes Liebestod
• Characterization:  DG 479 4371
• No. of discs:  23
• Sonics:  Stereo Add together/DDD

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