Schubert was only 19 years old when he composed his Symphony No. 4, to which he himself appended the name “Tragic.” The slow introduction is pervaded by a powerful feeling of melancholy, which gives way to the storminess of the Allegro vivace. Schubert scholars, who find the shadow of Beethoven throughout the “Tragic” Symphony, compare this theme to Beethoven’s C minor String Quartet Op. 18 and the Coriolanus Overture in the same key. A typically Schubertian, lyrical theme dominates the Andante movement. After a Menuetto and Trio, the closing Allegro presents a main theme, a stormy development and a resplendent conclusion that are related to the first movement. Nikolaus Harnoncourt was born in Berlin in 1929. His dissatisfaction with conventional interpretations of early music led him to found the Concentus Musicus with his wife Alice in 1953. The unusual, radically different musical style of the ensemble, combined with its insistence on using only historical instruments, quickly earned it a prominent reputation. Its international concert tours met with triumphal acclaim. In addition to leading his ensemble, Harnoncourt regularly conducts such prestigious orchestras as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and others. In contrast to the convention of playing the romanticised versions of Franz Schubert’s symphonies edited by Johannes Brahms, Harnoncourt seeks to revive the original character of the music as Schubert intended it. He goes back to Schubert’s original manuscripts, comparing and readjusting, ridding the score of all disfiguring changes made since it was written. The results of this restoration are striking: music that is full of drama and a dynamic range much broader than we are familiar with – Schubert in his purest form.
Weber, Overture to “Euryanthe”
Among the operas composed by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), only “Der Freischütz” still enjoys unbroken popularity on the world’s stages today. Other operas, such as “Euryanthe,” which he worked on for about two years in the early 1820s, were popular in their day but did not establish themselves in the repertoires of major opera houses. Although the opera “Euryanthe” contains many musical gems, it is its overture that is most often played today, a rousing work with gallant tunes, lyrical melodies and even some early-Romantic ghost music. Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in this recording produced at the Grosser Musikvereinssaal in Vienna in 1983.
Haydn, Symphony No.92 in G major “Oxford”
Having decided to award Haydn an honorary doctorate, the University of Oxford announced the performance of a new symphony as the highlight of the degree ceremony. However, the Oxford Symphony was in fact far from new: Haydn had already sold it to two other patrons. One of the previous customers was the Comte d’Ogny, a prominent Paris music lover who had included it in one of his own concerts; the other was the German aristocrat Prince von Oettingen-Wallerstein, who had been asking Haydn to write him a symphony for some time. The original manuscript of the work, which was only rediscovered in 1956, is now in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Leonard Bernstein began conducting Haydn’s orchestral works when he was still Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, his interpretations of the symphonies have consistently met with unreserved critical acclaim. He, of all conductors, possessed precisely the qualities which Haydn’s music requires: grace, charm and a generous measure of wit. This production with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was recorded in 1984.
Symphony No. 4 in F minor Op. 36
Sir Georg Solti conducts the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra in a performance of extracts from Prokofiev’s music for the ballet Romeo and Juliet, recorded live from the Herkulessaal, Munich.
Mendelssohn, Piano Concerto No.2 in D minor, op.40
Recorded in 1982, this performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor features the Uruguayan pianist Homero Francesch along with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner. Born in 1947, Francesch studied in Munich and won the Prix Italia in 1973. He achieved particular prominence the following year for his participation in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s “Tristan” in London. Sir Neville Marriner founded the now internationally celebrated Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1959. Though the majority of his opera and concert performances and recordings are with the Academy, Marriner also works consistently with all major orchestras worldwide.
Brahms, Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor, op. 102
Between 1981 and 1984, Leonard Bernstein recorded nearly all of Brahms’s orchestral works with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to honor the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 1983. Today, the cycle is considered as a landmark in the interpretation of Brahms’ music. For Bernstein, Brahms was “a true Romantic, containing his passions in classical garb”, but also a “North-German classicist swept away to Vienna, and fired by Danubian, Carpathian and gypsy passions”. Bearing this dualism in mind, Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic have underscored both the classicism and romanticism, the dramatic intensity and the sober restraint of Brahms’s music. The venue was Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal, where two of Brahms’s symphonies were premiered and where Brahms himself conducted. For the concertos, Bernstein enlisted the services of some of the finest Brahms interpreters of the time: the violinist Gidon Kremer, the cellist Misha Maisky and the pianist Krystian Zimerman.
Brahms, Serenade No.2 in A major, op.16
Between 1981 and 1984, Leonard Bernstein recorded nearly all of Brahms’s orchestral works with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to honor the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 1983. Today, the cycle is considered as a landmark in the interpretation of Brahms’ music. For Bernstein, Brahms was “a true Romantic, containing his passions in classical garb”, but also a “North-German classicist swept away to Vienna, and fired by Danubian, Carpathian and gypsy passions”. Bearing this dualism in mind, Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic have underscored both the classicism and romanticism, the dramatic intensity and the sober restraint of Brahms’s music. The venue was Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal, where two of Brahms’s symphonies were premiered and where Brahms himself conducted. For the concertos, Bernstein enlisted the services of some of the finest Brahms interpreters of the time: the violinist Gidon Kremer, the cellist Misha Maisky and the pianist Krystian Zimerman.
Haydn, Piano Concerto in D major, Hob.XVIII:11
Mozart, Violin Concerto No. 1 in B flat major, K. 207
Mozart was never taught to play the violin; he just seemed to know how. On his concerto tours throughout Europe, little Wolfgang would play not only the harpsichord, but also the violin, and developed quite a brilliant style in France. He lost interest in the instrument, however, perhaps because he was forced to play it in the orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Mozart composed his only five violin concertos all in Salzburg in 1775, most probably for his own use. They are a highly personal amalgam of all the styles he had absorbed during his travels. They are a musical reflection of early Classical and Rococo Europe: aristocratic, graceful, humorous and marvelously melodious. The last two concertos, K. 218 and 219, are characterized by finales in a variety of tempos and meters. Particularly notable is K. 219, in which a poetic Adagio episode introduces the soloist in the first movement and a Turkish episode infuses the minuet finale with a rousing spirit. After having devoted himself to Baroque music for many years, Nikolaus Harnoncourt began turning increasingly to the orchestral works of Mozart in the 1980s. Here, too, Harnoncourt’s views differed radically from those of traditional Mozart reception. For him, Mozart is “the most romantic composer of all”, his music “dramatic, dynamic, often strikingly and exceedingly emotional”. In Gidon Kremer, Harnoncourt found a partner who shared his views. The German-Russian violin virtuoso has also sought his own path in his Mozart interpretations. In 1970 the then 23-year-old virtuoso attained the first peak of his career by winning the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has since become one of the most sought-after violinists in the world. It should also be noted that the Vienna Philharmonic, celebrated for its natural and graceful Mozart style, initially opposed Harnoncourt’s unconventional concepts. However, the orchestra was soon won over by the unusual stylistic approach often concertizes with Harnoncourt today.
Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E flat major, K. 364
A musician’s musician, an occasional firebrand and a constant paradox – Nikolaus Harnoncourt (born in 1929) is one of the most profound and intriguing conductors of our time. Considered one of the world’s leading specialists of Baroque music, he has long since turned his attention to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and even to Jacques Offenbach and Johann Strauss. He spent many years as a cellist with the Wiener Symphoniker before founding the “Concentus Musicus Wien” with his wife Alice in 1953. It soon became one of the world’s most respected ensembles specializing in the performance of early music on original instruments. In the 1970s, Harnoncourt joined forces with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle to stage a series of Monteverdi operas at the Zurich Opera House. This universally acclaimed cycle contributed to a renaissance of Monteverdi’s music and set standards for early Baroque performance practice. Harnoncourt later began to turn his attention more and more to the music of Mozart, whom he considers “the most romantic of all composers”. His concept of Mozart’s music ran counter to the prevailing 20th-century views, however. He sees Mozart’s music as “dramatic, dynamic, often directly and highly emotional.” The Vienna Philharmonic, known for its suave and gracious Mozartian interpretations, initially rebelled against Harnoncourt’s unconventional approach. Yet the compellingness of his vision soon came to be accepted and shared by all members of the orchestra.