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[导读] RCA的汪德录音精粹(GÜNTER WAND: The Essential Record)

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发表于 2004-5-14 20:32:20 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式

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GÜNTER WAND: The Essential Recordings

Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896):

Symphony No 5 in B flat (original version, ed. Haas)* [74.33]
Symphony No 4 in E flat major, Romantic (Original version, 1878/1880) *** [68.40]
Symphony No 9 in D minor *** [61.59]

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791):

Symphony No 39 in E flat, K 543 ** [25.30]
Symphony No 40 in G Minor, K550 ** [25.29]
Symphony No 41 in C major, K551 Jupiter ** [29.09]
Serenade No 7 in D major, K250 Haffner ** [51.30] (with Roland Greutter, violin)

Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971):

Suite Pulcinella ** [21.15]

Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827):

Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op. 125**# [66.23]
Leonore Overture No 3, Op. 72a ** [14.19]

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828):

Symphony No 9 in C major, D 944 Great *** [54.51]
Rosamunde, excerpts * [20.17]
Symphony No 4 in C minor, D417 Tragic * [28.12]

Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856):

Symphony No 3 in E flat major, Op. 97 Rhenische ** [30 59]
Symphony No 4 in D minor, Op. 120** [28.24]

Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897):

Symphony No 1 in C minor, Op. 68 **** [46.12]

Peter Ilych TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893):

Symphony No 6 in B minor, Op. 74 Pathétique ** [44.05]


*Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra
** North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
*** Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
**** Chicago Symphony Orchestra

#Edith Wiens (sop); Hildegard Hartwig (alto); Keith Lewis (ten); Roland Hermann (bass)
Hamburg State Opera Chorus; Chorus of North German Radio

Conducted by Günter Wand

BMG RCA RED SEAL 74321 90114 2 [11hrs, 31?5"]



约翰•奎因/朱墨青  译

作曲家        作品        乐队        录音时间        录音地点
布鲁克纳        :第五交响曲(哈斯编订原始版,)        科隆广播交响乐团        1974年          
      降E大调第四交响曲“浪漫”(原始版,1878/1880)        柏林爱乐乐团        1998年1-2月        录于柏林爱乐大厅
      第九交响曲        科隆广播交响乐团        1998年          
莫扎特        第39交响曲        北德广播交响乐团        1990年5月        录于汉堡音乐厅
      第40交响曲        北德广播交响乐团        1994年3月        录于汉堡音乐厅
      第41交响曲“朱庇特”        北德广播交响乐团        1990年5月        录于汉堡音乐厅
      第七小夜曲“哈夫纳”        北德广播交响乐团        1989年          
斯特拉文斯基        《普尔钦内拉》组曲        北德广播交响乐团        1991年12月        录于汉堡音乐厅
贝多芬        第九交响曲“合唱”        北德广播交响乐团,女高音:埃迪特•维恩斯;女低音:希尔德嘉•哈特维希;男高音:基思•刘易斯;男低音:罗兰德•赫尔曼;汉堡国家歌剧院合唱团、北德广播合唱团        1986年          
      《莱奥诺拉》序曲第三号        北德广播交响乐团        1990年          
舒伯特        第九交响曲“伟大”        柏林爱乐乐团        1995年3月        柏林爱乐大厅
      《罗莎蒙德》戏剧配乐选段        科隆广播交响乐团        1984年          
      第四交响曲“悲剧”        科隆广播交响乐团        1980年          
舒曼        第三交响曲“莱茵”        北德广播交响乐团        1991年9月        汉堡音乐厅
      第四交响曲        北德广播交响乐团        1991年4月        汉堡音乐厅
勃拉姆斯        第一交响曲        芝加哥交响乐团        1989年1月        芝加哥管弦乐大厅
柴可夫斯基        第六交响曲“悲怆”        北德广播交响乐团        1991年12月        录于汉堡音乐厅

指挥:君特•汪德

唱片编号:BMG/RCA RED SEAL 74321 90114 2
总播放时间:11小时31分钟5秒


这套10张CD的唱片集原是BMG集团准备于2002年1月献给指挥大师君特•汪德90寿辰的厚礼。但令人悲痛的是汪德在跨入他生命第91个年头一个月都不到的2月14日去世了,这套CD于是成了真正的悼念品。
虽然本套唱片无法涵盖君特•汪德(1912—2002)的整个指挥生涯,但这也不能怪BMG集团。纵观汪德的一生,我们发现他早年指挥过大量歌剧,音乐会的曲目范围也比本套唱片所展示的要宽得多。然而,当他在20世纪70年代开始为BMG旗下的RCA公司灌录唱片时,他指挥的曲目范围已变得十分狭窄。在其晚年,他基本只是集中于指挥德奥作曲大师的作品:贝多芬、勃拉姆斯、布鲁克纳、莫扎特、舒伯特和舒曼,在此范围以外的曲目他涉及得越来越少。此外,他还尽量避免与独奏家合作演出协奏曲。因此本套CD十分全面地体现了汪德的晚年成就。
汪德直到70年代末期才为德国以外的人们所知,因此在这里简要地回顾一下他的生涯还是有必要的。汪德1912年生于埃尔伯费尔特,他接受音乐教育主要是在科隆音乐学院。其指挥生涯的最初几年是在德国的一些小歌剧院渡过的,在此之后的1939年,他开始担任科隆歌剧院的指挥,直到1944年该歌剧院被战火摧毁他才离开。随后他在萨尔兹堡逗留了一段时间,指挥当地的莫扎特乐团。1945年,他回到科隆,重新担任科隆歌剧院的音乐总监。次年他又开始担任科隆戈尔策尼希音乐厅系列音乐会的指挥。从此他成为了科隆音乐界的领头人物,直到1974年辞职为止,据说他是因为觉得科隆市政府可能会寻找一位年轻人来接替他的位置而自动退出的。在其后的几年里,汪德作为一名自由指挥家指挥各地乐团,其中之一就是位于汉堡的北德广播交响乐团。1982年他成为了这个乐团的首席指挥。在一年前,他成功地指挥了与英国BBC交响乐团合作的首场音乐会,该乐团立即委任他作为首席客座指挥。虽然他后来放弃了这个职位,但他每年还是定期与BBC交响乐团合作,而且他一直是伦敦漫步音乐会和爱丁堡音乐节的贵宾。在其生命的最后几年,汪德指挥音乐会的机会不可避免地减少了,但无论他到哪里,他指挥的音乐会都是极其受欢迎的。
这套唱片总的来说是十分令人满意的,但有一个地方却让我发牢骚。这套唱片附赠的厚达248页小册子中有汪德的传记作者沃尔夫冈•塞弗尔特精彩的评论,而且还有所收录的每部作品的解说,其文字说明十分详尽的。不幸的是英语翻译水平太差了(文字说明只有德文版和英文版),很大一部分文字读起来简直不知所云,而且还有一些细节谬误。这一遗憾使这套本来很有价值的唱片美中不足。
不过,这套唱片的音乐着实让人过瘾,其演绎绝对是可圈可点。
CD1:布鲁克纳第五交响曲
小册子中标明该录音是1971年的一场音乐会实况,可后面又说汪德1974年才第一次指挥这部作品。(后者是正确的,我估计这个录音就是出自1974年的演出)后来汪德又两次录制过这部作品,都是现场录音,一个是1989年指挥北德广播交响乐团的录音,另一个就是几年前与柏林爱乐合作的版本。这套唱片之所以选用1974年版本原因是很明显的,因为这是汪德第一次录制布鲁克纳的作品。
第一乐章,在慢引子过后(这在布鲁克纳的交响曲中很少见),快板的主部主题在汪德棒下如暴风骤雨般出现。当到达第一个高潮时,我的顾虑也不禁产生,乐队的铜管声部尤其是小号过于明亮,甚至有些刺耳,这一现象在整个录音中都一直出现。不久前我刚写过汪德指挥布鲁克纳第八交响曲的评论,该录音并未有这种铜管过度明亮的情况,因此我估计这里可能是演奏员过于激情了吧。1989年北德广播交响乐团的版本在这方面也比这1974年版要好。但不可否认的是,在1974年的这个录音中,汪德对音乐的把握是极其平衡的。布鲁克纳着重突出交响曲中乐段与乐段间的过渡,甚至像在说“下面就是新的一段”,这使整部作品听起来断断续续。然而,汪德指挥的布鲁克纳却没有这种情况,所有乐段间的过渡都是那样自然,不留任何痕迹。
虽然1974年汪德还是演绎布鲁克纳的新手,但是他塑造的第五交响曲的柔板乐章却是异常出色,不仅给音乐带来必要的庄严感,同时又使其流淌不息。这是该柔板乐章的最佳演绎,该版本的谐谑曲乐章也同样精彩。1989年北德广播交响乐团的版本在这两个乐章中就相形见绌了。
庞大的末乐章无疑是四个乐章中最长的,而且也是最复杂的,包括了两个赋格段,在此之前还有一个重复前三个乐章主题材料的引子(就像贝多芬第九那样)。汪德对这个乐章呈示部的演释是无与伦比的。他使所有声音都有机地统一起来,在赋格段中,相互对比的每一条旋律线都是那样井然有序,因为在汪德的指挥棒下,音乐的织体是极为平衡的。结尾的圣咏壮丽辉煌,但对我来说,铜管的过度明亮再次使效果打了折扣。在这方面,1989年北德广播交响乐团的版本又略胜一筹了,该乐团乐手演奏虽较收敛,却也未影响音乐的激动人心。
汪德的这两个版本很难说孰优孰劣,除了我对科隆乐团铜管声部的那点顾虑,这两个版本应该说同样出色。如果谁买了这套CD,而原来也买过北德乐团的那个版本,我认为抛弃两者中的任一者都是可惜的。
CD2:莫扎特第39—第41交响曲
因为这三部交响曲被挤在一张CD里,你可能会想汪德也许会省去一些呈示部的重复,而且这些录音又是“大乐团”版本。但无论如何,这些因素都影响不了该录音的魅力。
这个演绎没有任何拖沓冗长之处,第39交响曲和第41交响曲的小步舞曲乐章给人以庄严堂皇之感。我极为赞赏汪德的速度处理。实际上,我觉得汪德对速度的选择绝大多数情况下都是经过深思熟虑的。也许第40交响曲第一乐章速度稍快一些更好,但即使是汪德现在这样的处理也能极好地传达音乐的戏剧性,同时使乐曲各声部足够清晰。整张CD的录音清新而敏锐,乐句处理自然,节奏也始终明快如一。
我尤其欣赏“朱庇特”交响曲的演绎。第一乐章充满了华丽而喜庆的气氛。第二乐章标明是“如歌的行版”(注意:如歌的),在汪德的指挥棒下,这段音乐真的如同歌唱一般。而末乐章灿烂的复调和勃勃生机正是这张令人愉快的CD完美的尾声。
现在人们更习惯于听用古乐器或是由室内乐团演奏的莫扎特,我也十分喜欢这种演奏方式。但这使现代大乐团演奏的莫扎特濒临灭绝。汪德的录音极好地证明了当准备充分、演奏具有风格且指挥巧妙时,莫扎特的这些作品仍能通过现代大型交响乐团的演绎取得最好的效果。
CD3:莫扎特“哈夫纳”小夜曲、斯特拉文斯基《普尔钦内拉》
通过这张CD我们再次欣赏到了汪德的莫扎特,但这次的乐曲令人更为轻松。“哈夫纳”小夜曲谱写于1775—1776年,是为齐格蒙特•哈夫纳的妹妹的婚礼庆典而作。(后来齐格蒙特•哈夫纳被授爵时,莫扎特又将其第35交响曲献给了他。)
这首小夜曲有八个乐章,结构浩大(莫扎特的同类音乐中只有为13件管乐器而作的小夜曲“大组曲”,K361才能与之匹敌)。虽然这类音乐仅为娱乐而作且经常被作为背景音乐,但这首作品却颇具深度,不仅提供了娱乐的氛围,同时也是对哈夫纳家族最得体的致意。
同上面一张CD中的莫扎特交响曲一样,这个小夜曲的录音也是比较令人满意的,速度处理也较为适当。但随着音乐的进行,我越来越感觉到汪德过于注重这部作品严肃的一面,他就不能略微轻快一些吗?北德广播交响乐团这一大型乐团在前面三部交响曲中的演绎令人十分过瘾,但我认为这部小夜曲却并不太适合他们演奏。不过这个录音还是有许多值得欣赏的地方,比如小提琴独奏罗兰德•格罗伊特的高超技艺和甜美音色。
唱片的另一半录的是斯特拉文斯基的《普尔钦内拉》组曲,这显然不是汪德的保留曲目(至少不是他晚年的保留曲目),但这也提醒了我们汪德在早年曾指挥过大量20世纪音乐。
这个《普尔钦内拉》组曲的录音采用的8个乐章的1949年修订版,而不是13个乐章的1921年初稿版。虽然这个录音标明是北德广播交响乐团演奏,但说明书告诉我们汪德采用的是来自北德广播交响乐团的一些独奏家组成的室内乐编制。很明显,弦乐声部在这个录音中比起“哈夫纳”小夜曲的录音大有缩减,但我认为这样效果更好。
这个组曲的录音干净而轻快,虽然我注意到几处乐团的演奏并非整齐划一,但我认为这丝毫不影响作品的整体效果。听听汪德的这一“打破陈规”却取得相当出色的效果的录音是十分有趣的。  
CD4:贝多芬“合唱”交响曲
很显然,这是汪德最重要的录音之一,他首次指挥这部交响曲是在1947年1月,乐队是他早期的合作伙伴——科隆戈尔策尼希音乐厅管弦乐团。CD说明书中引用了汪德对这部交响曲的评价,尤其对首末两个乐章有详细分析。由此可见,汪德很早就对贝多芬第九的总谱有了十分透彻的研究——但这套唱片收录的版本却绝不带有学究气。
在那段引语中,汪德又说道:“今天当我们谈到贝多芬第九,一般都是关于它带有合唱的末乐章的,然而,这部交响曲第一乐章博大的交响理念却最使我着迷。”我想即使事先没有读过这些评论,仅听一下这个录音版本也能明显发现汪德的这种偏好,因为这个录音的第一乐章实在太具有权威性了,紧凑而充满激情,它充满戏剧性,从乐章一开始,听者的注意力就被紧紧地抓住了,并一直保持到乐章结束。
第二乐章的谐谑曲节奏铿锵有力,速度十分平滑自然;三声中段也同样灵活,且毫无匆忙之感。圣洁的柔板乐章充满了宁静、庄严和高贵的气质。在所有这个乐章的录音中,汪德的版本是朴素的,他并没有刻意强调音乐的某些部分,而是让音乐本身自然地流淌出来。我们再一次看到汪德指挥慢板乐章的造诣,他注意到了贝多芬用于这一乐章的表情术语“如歌的”并让乐队演奏时真的如同歌唱一般,木管声部尤为动人。
末乐章开头弦乐的宣叙调显得有些松散,似乎缺乏一种活力和紧张度。然而,当“欢乐颂”主题第一次在弦乐声部出现时,汪德则采用了十分恰当的速度,音乐流淌不息。(这段的速度标记是“很快的快板”,不是所有的指挥家都能处理得那么自然流畅的。)音色华丽的男低音歌唱家罗兰德•赫尔曼引出了音乐的声乐部分,合唱团的水准很高,音质丰满。所有独唱家都给人留下很深印象,基思•刘易斯在他那段很长的独唱中显得极为豪迈,只是他与合唱团在单词“Elysium”的读音上有些不统一,虽然是小问题,但当这个词唱出来的时候的确有些唐突。合唱团与乐团间的平衡在录音师的高超技术下显得十分完美,一方的音量从未淹没过另一方,就连合唱团内部之间也达到了相当的平衡。
这就是我所谓的“重要录音”。虽然我听过同一曲目的其它许多版本,有的可与之匹敌,有的在某些方面更甚一筹,但从总体来看这个版本是最匀称的,最成熟的,没有任何古怪的地方,充满宽容和远见。这是一个值得珍藏一生的版本。
CD5:舒伯特第九交响曲和戏剧配乐《罗莎蒙德》
这张CD的主打曲目是汪德与柏林爱乐合作的又一个成就。2001年12月,我曾就汪德指挥北德广播交响乐团录制于1984年的舒伯特第九写过评论。而这个柏林爱乐的版本则继承了1984年版本的所有优点,精致、统一、乐句规整、节奏活泼。汪德对作品结构的把握十分中肯,虽然首末两个乐章的呈示部均未重复,但我觉得没有任何影响。
除了音质更加,这一版本比前一版本更出色的地方在于演奏的乐团——柏林爱乐——是世界首屈一指的乐团。演奏中到处可见精妙的处理,如第一乐章8分06秒至9分钟处弦乐与管乐精彩的表演。
汪德与乐手们的合作的确令人满意。行板乐章中重要的双簧管独奏具有惊人的平衡感,实在令人过瘾,紧接着,其它管乐乐手们也用同样高超的技艺梳理着舒伯特绵长而充满气息的旋律。这部交响曲柏林爱乐的乐手们一定演奏过无数次了,但整个录音听上去鲜活无比、沁人心脾。汪德将音乐的优雅和戏剧性的平衡处理的恰如其分,正如舒伯特预想的那样。这是一个充满洞察力并使人难以忘怀的演奏版本。
这张唱片中作为补白的曲目是舒伯特的戏剧配乐《罗莎蒙德》中的三段音乐,但这并非是与前面那部交响曲同时录制的,这是汪德80年代早期指挥科隆广播交响乐团的录音,不过效果也十分不错,只是缺乏像柏林爱乐这样的世界级乐团特别精湛的技巧和特有的活力。(这一科隆乐团的录音是录音室版本,柏林爱乐的录音是现场版。)而且,这些音乐的水准也无法与第九交响曲相提并论。如果这张CD仅有那个出色的第九交响曲的录音,我也觉得没有什么不合算。不过,《罗莎蒙德》的录音确实值得一听,这张CD也显示出了汪德不愧为演绎舒伯特的专家。  
CD6:舒曼第三和第四交响曲
这是舒曼最出色的两部交响乐作品。据我所知,汪得很少指挥舒曼的作品,但就这张CD来看汪德对舒曼的演绎是极具说服力的。
第三“莱茵”交响曲快速的第一乐章展现出了极大的活力和气势。热情洋溢、充满英雄气概的第一主题威风凛凛地出现了,尤其是圆号声部特别辉煌。整个乐章都是如此充满活力,令人振奋。舒曼的配器一直被评论家们认为“过于厚重浑浊”,但汪德对谐谑曲乐章轻盈的处理使听者可以完全打消这种顾虑。光和影在音乐中交织着,这证明了一位优秀的指挥家完全能使厚重而浑浊的配器变得清澈透明。第三乐章的演奏尤为优雅,特别是木管声部。描绘科隆大教堂的第四乐章在汪德的棒下熠熠生辉,他使音乐从深沉中慢慢发展到耀眼的高潮,感人至深。生机勃勃的末乐章也同样的成功。总之,这是这部令人愉悦的交响曲最出色的演绎之一。
舒曼第四交响曲较之第三交响曲气氛阴暗且更具戏剧性,汪德对第四交响曲的演绎可以说是毫不逊色。唱片说明书中提到了贝多芬对这部交响曲的影响,而在汪德的棒下,这一点尤为明显,特别是第一乐章的引子部分,汪德的处理给人以强烈的紧张感。其后,整个第一乐章的主体部分释放出无比激情,酣畅至极。第二乐章的浪漫曲使这种激情得到了一定的节制,而谐谑曲乐章再次充满壮丽,抒情而休闲的三声中段也处理得恰到好处。
过渡到终曲的那一段特别出色,音乐散发出一种神秘、一种被压抑了的力量,这使人想起汪德在布鲁克纳交响曲中的处理。紧接着充满活力的终曲出现了,最后音乐在万马奔腾之势中划上了句号。
同时对这两部交响曲有如此出色的演绎是十分少见的,由此可见汪德的功力。这两个录音原本并不是在一张CD上的,我估计是分别与一部舒伯特的交响曲放在一张CD里。我希望BMG能在适当的时候单独再版这张CD,因为其价值和吸引力毋庸置疑。  
CD7:勃拉姆斯第一交响曲和贝多芬《莱奥诺拉》第三序曲
这一勃拉姆斯第一交响曲的录音除了演绎出色以外,也十分有趣,因为它不仅是汪德首次与芝加哥交响乐团合作演出,而且据我估计这也是汪德唯一一个与非德国乐团合作的商业录音。
这一演出是在1989年进行的,曲目是舒伯特“未完成”交响曲、还有就是这部勃拉姆斯第一交响曲。即便是如此通俗的曲目,汪德和乐团也进行了长达11小时的排练。这使正式演出时乐团达到了惊人的水准。
勃拉姆斯第一交响曲第一乐章的演绎极为有力且充满戏剧性,引子部分犹如心跳,迅速而坚定,汪德特别突出重音但又并不过分。整个第一乐章和其余的几个乐章都显得非常有条理,这在演奏勃拉姆斯的交响曲的极为重要。行板乐章十分可爱,在丰满的弦乐背景下出现了那段美丽凄切的双簧管独奏。在这个乐章的后半段,圆号和小提琴的独奏同样令人称赞。
第三乐章可能有些令人失望,给人印象好像过于严肃,缺乏勃拉姆斯所要求的优雅性。然而末乐章却是绝对成功的,在一个深沉而充满洞察力的引子过后,酣畅的圆号独奏出现,仿佛在宽广的阿尔卑斯山谷中回响。芝加哥交响乐团超水准的发挥使这一乐段特别令人难忘。当快板的主题出现时,汪德和芝加哥的乐手们给予音乐无比的活泼灵动,正如勃拉姆斯所期望的那样。乐章结尾时的铜管合奏雄伟壮丽,观众如雷的掌声似乎要把音乐厅房顶都震塌了。
   将这一录音同汪德1982年指挥北德广播交响乐团的(录音室?)录音相比是十分有趣的。我认为1982年版同样十分杰出,德国乐手的演奏同芝加哥交响乐团的演奏家相比毫不逊色。这两个演绎在风格上没有太大差别,只是芝加哥的版本总时间略长了2分半钟。北德广播交响乐团的版本听上去更柔美一些,这其中我认为有两个因素。其一,北德乐团那个版本的录音比较平实,没有凌厉的动态(有些人喜欢这样的音质);其二,芝加哥交响乐团在经过莱纳和索尔蒂的训练后已达到了世界数一数二的水准(但并非盛气凌人),其创造的音色明亮而充满激情。这两点使芝加哥的录音听上去更具感染力、更刺激。
CD8:柴可夫斯基第六交响曲和舒伯特第四交响曲
柴可夫斯基可不是能使人联想到汪德的作曲家。这是一个十分有趣的“悲怆”交响曲录音,但同这套唱片其它曲目的高水准演绎相比,这个录音可能是最不成功的。
虽然演奏充满音乐性的沉思,但我认为柴可夫斯基远不止这些。要表现柴可夫斯基的这部作品需要更强烈的感情,汪德在这方面是比较缺乏的,因此这个录音明显逊色于普列特涅夫指挥俄罗斯国家交响乐团的版本,更不用说1960年穆拉文斯基指挥列宁格勒爱乐乐团的经典版本。
这种疑虑从随着第一乐章展开部的开始而开始,弦乐没有像普列特涅夫的版本那样深入到音符中去,而比起穆拉文斯基的版本则更不如,穆拉文斯基能真正使人感觉到肾上腺素增高,感觉到一种传遍全身的激动,而汪德的演绎则完全背道而驰了。在穆拉文斯基指挥下乐队达到了白热化的激烈,其中弦乐声部尤为突出,而说实话,汪德的处理听上去平淡乏味得多。在乐章的最高潮处,穆拉文斯基的录音使人差点从座位上跳起来,弦乐的演奏好像到达了生命的边缘,铜管齐鸣更是像世界末日的号角声。相比之下,汪德的演绎远未达到这种地步。
第二乐章的演奏比较令人满意,只是速度有点迟钝。普列特涅夫在速度上并未快多少,但他给予了音乐一种微妙的轻盈。第三乐章的进行曲轻快活泼,不过我认为还是普列特涅夫更甚一筹。
末乐章汪德的处理较为内省,音乐充满纯洁而高尚的感觉。这是典型的汪德风格,但对这部作品来说似乎过于文雅了。穆拉文斯基再次展现了截然不同的理解,他的演绎在所有版本中是动态对比最强烈的,音乐的激烈使人震撼,听完他指挥的末乐章会感到筋疲力尽。汪德,虽然其音乐素养极其深厚,但他对这个乐章的演绎是无法同穆拉文斯基相比的。汪德的录音只是一个值得欣赏的版本,而普列特涅夫的录音是一个使人陶醉的版本,穆拉文斯基的录音更是一个令人敬畏的版本。我认为如果在音乐厅里听到汪德这样的演绎已经很令人欣喜了,但这样的演绎经不起反复聆听。
汪德指挥舒伯特第四交响曲则要“安全”得多,说明书中引用了汪德的话:“这部交响曲实际上并非悲剧性的,如果演奏得当,还相当优美。”我认为这个录音版本的确是“演奏得当”。这是一个迷人的演绎,科隆广播交响乐团的乐手们也展示出了极大的热情。这个录音无疑经过了精心的准备,但演奏中毫无不自然之处,给人以极佳的平衡感。我尤其喜爱末乐章的处理。  
CD9:布鲁克纳第四交响曲
我对汪德演绎的柴可夫斯基可能不太敢恭维,但对这张布鲁克纳第四则绝无保留之处。当1998年初版时我就买了这张CD,至今我还认为这是布鲁克纳第四的最佳录音版本之一。实际上我只找得出一个能与其媲美的版本,那就是1973年伯姆指挥维也纳爱乐乐团的录音,采用的是诺瓦克编订的总谱。
汪德的演绎庄严、崇高、从容不迫。出类拔萃的柏林爱乐乐手们是促成演奏成功的重要因素,弦乐声部光亮无比,黄金般的铜管声部充满英雄气概。在听这个录音版本时,汪德在慢乐章中对整齐划一的步调的控制令我赞叹不已,这也是典型的汪德风格。他十分了解在指挥这样的乐章时应给予多少庄严且不使感情泛滥。(正是这种理念,使汪德在指挥德奥系作曲家的作品时有极佳的发挥,而指挥柴可夫斯基时则趋于平淡。)
汪德不仅对节奏控制得当,而且对音乐的动态、结构也有很好的把握,若要寻找例证,就请看这个录音末乐章的头三分钟。这一乐段极好地证明了如何通过技巧和耐心来展现布鲁克纳层层递进的高潮。其后,汪德在这一庞大的乐章中充分展现了他的睿智和洞察力,最终引领柏林爱乐的乐手们到达结尾时的无比辉煌。
这是一个经典录音,即使在这套总体水平都甚高的唱片集中,这张CD的水准也是数一数二的。
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2003-8-16
 楼主| 发表于 2004-5-14 20:34:36 | 显示全部楼层
This 10-CD box was originally planned by BMG as a handsome tribute to mark the 90th birthday of Günter Wand in January 2002. Sadly, Wand died on 14 February 2002, barely a month into his 91st year and the set thus becomes a very fitting tribute.


Though it is not BMG’s fault, the set cannot give us a full picture of the career of Günter Wand (1912-2002). As the comprehensive notes make clear, during his earlier career he conducted a great deal of opera and also a much wider repertoire of concert music than is represented here. However, he only began to record for BMG/RCA in the 1970s by which time he had narrowed the focus of his work. In his later years he preferred to concentrate largely on the music of the great Austro-German masters: Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann and his forays outside this core repertoire were increasingly rare. Furthermore, he increasingly eschewed working with soloists in the concerto repertoire. Accordingly what we have here is a pretty fair representation of his later years.


Wand only came to any real prominence outside Germany in the late 1970s and so it may be worthwhile reprising his career briefly. Born in Elberfeld in 1912 his principal musical studies were at the Cologne Conservatoire. After spending his first years as a conductor working in some of the smaller German opera houses (a classic training at that time) he joined the Cologne Opera in 1939 until the opera-house was destroyed in the war in 1944. After a brief sojourn in Salzburg, conducting the Mozarteum orchestra, he returned to Cologne in 1945 as Musical Director of the Opera. In the following year he assumed the direction of the Cologne Gürzenich concerts and he remained at the head of Cologne’s musical life until resigning in 1974, perhaps prompted by speculation that the city authorities were looking for a younger man to lead the city’s music-making. In the following years he worked as a freelance and one of the orchestras he directed was the NDR Symphony Orchestra based in Hamburg. In 1982 he became that orchestra’s chief conductor. In the previous year he had made a most auspicious debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra which led to an appointment as Chief Guest Conductor there. Even after relinquishing that post he continued to make annual visits to the BBC and was an honoured guest at the Proms as well as at the Edinburgh Festival. In his last years his concert appearances were inevitably reduced but became a "hot ticket" wherever he appeared.


This issue from BMG is most welcome. However, let me get my one complaint out of the way at once. The set comes with a booklet of no less than 248 pages containing comprehensive notes on Wand by Wolfgang Seifert, the conductor’s biographer. There are also notes on the individual works. The notes are extremely thorough (if tending too much towards hagiography at times). Unfortunately the English translation (the text is only in German and English) is a very poor affair indeed and much of it is extremely difficult to read sensibly. There are also a number of small factual slips. A pity that this otherwise worthy project is compromised in this way.


However, the music is the main attraction here and this box contains some riches.


Disc 1: BRUCKNER: Symphony No 5


The notes state that this is a concert performance from 1971 but then go on to say that Wand first conducted the work in 1974 (the latter date is correct, I believe and it is from 1974 performances that this recording derives). Wand recorded the piece on two subsequent occasions, both ‘live’ recordings, firstly with the NDR Symphony Orchestra in 1989 and subsequently with the Berlin Philharmonic (a version which I have not heard.). The present performance is presumably preferred here because it is, apparently, Wand’s first Bruckner recording.


In the first movement, after the slow introduction (unique in Bruckner) Wand directs an urgent account of the main allegro. It is when the first climax is reached that my chief reservation arises. The brass, and the trumpets in particular, are bright almost to the point of stridency and this is a recurring feature throughout the recording. It was only in March that I reviewed Wand’s recording of the Bruckner 8th where there were no such excesses from the brass; I suspect that here the players were simply too enthusiastic. Comparisons with the 1989 NDR recording showed that in this respect at least the later account is much preferable. What cannot be doubted, however, is Wand’s mastery of the score in this 1974 account. Bruckner is one of those composers who signposts transitions almost to the point of saying "here is a new paragraph". This can make his music sound episodic but there is no such danger when Wand is on the podium. All transitions are negotiated smoothly and without attracting attention.


On the evidence here, even as a "newcomer" to Bruckner in 1974, Wand was exceptionally good at sculpting a Bruckner adagio, giving the music the necessary gravitas while allowing it to flow. This is a most satisfying performance of the slow movement. So, too is the account of the scherzo though here I felt that in the 1989 performance Wand’s touch seemed just a shade lighter.


The massive finale is easily the longest of the four movements. It is also extremely complex, incorporating a double fugue after an introduction in which, in the manner of Beethoven’s 9th, earlier thematic material is recalled. I think that Wand’s is as fine an exposition of this demanding movement as you are likely to hear. He makes everything hang together and in the fugal passages all the strands of the argument register because he balances the textures so well. The final peroration is imposing but once again is slightly marred for me by the dominance of the brass. Again, the 1989 recording is to be preferred and the greater restraint of the NDR players does not result in reduced excitement.


Interpretatively, there is little to choose between these two Wand recordings. Other than my reservations about the Cologne brass both accounts are well played. Anyone investing in this box who already owns the NDR recording should not discard it. Nonetheless, this performance by the "young" Günter Wand (he was 62 at the time) is an imposing one and makes an auspicious start to this collection.


Disc 2: MOZART Symphonies 39-41


As you may guess from the fact that all these three symphonies are fitted onto one CD, Wand is selective in the observation of repeats. These performances are also "big band" readings. However, neither factor should diminish admiration for the contents of this disc.


There is absolutely nothing sluggish about any of the performances. The minuets of Nos. 39 and 41 may strike some listeners as stately (though that in No 40 trips along delightfully); however, I rather like these speeds. In fact, it seems to me that most of Wand’s tempi are judiciously chosen. Perhaps the speed for the first movement of No 40 would have benefited from a bit more ‘lift’ but even there I must admit that the pace which Wand sets conveys the dramatic pull of the music very well and it allows plenty of clarity in the part writing. Throughout the disc the playing itself is alert and spruce, phrases are well turned and the rhythms are consistently well articulated.


I particularly enjoyed the performance of the ‘Jupiter’. The first movement has an exuberant, festive air. The second movement is marked andante cantabile (my emphasis) and under Wand’s direction the music really does sing. The effervescent counterpoint and sheer brio of the finale are brought out to the full, concluding a most enjoyable CD.


These days we are much more accustomed to hearing Mozart played on period instruments or by chamber orchestras. I much enjoy such accounts. However, there is a danger that performances by full symphony orchestras will become an endangered species. These readings by Günter Wand demonstrate that with proper preparation, stylish playing and skilful, idiomatic conducting these works can still be played most effectively by a modern symphony orchestra.


These are winning performances, which I enjoyed enormously.


Disc 3: MOZART: Haffner Serenade; STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella


Here is another chance to hear Wand in Mozart but this time in a slightly lighter vein. The so-called ‘Haffner’ Serenade was composed in 1775/6 to a commission for music for the eve-of-wedding festivities of the sister of Sigmund Haffner (whose subsequent ennoblement was the occasion for the composition of Mozart’s 35th Symphony.)


The resulting Serenade, in eight movements is on a grand scale (rivalled in Mozart’s output in this genre only by the ‘Gran Partita’ serenade for 13 wind instruments, K361). Though such pieces were designed to provide pure entertainment (and often were heard as background music) here Mozart provided entertainment while paying the Haffner family the compliment of doing it through music which has genuine depth.


As with the symphonies reviewed above, Wand directs well-shaped performances and generally chooses appropriate tempi. However, as the performance progressed I did wonder if perhaps he had focused just a little too much on the more serious side of the music. Could he not, with advantage, have lightened up just a little? The full toned orchestra which I enjoyed so much in the symphonies is, I feel, somewhat less appropriate on this occasion. In the notes we read that Wand "understands – as hardly any other conductor - how to bring this music to life, with loving and detailed perfection, and to reveal its charm." Well, leaving aside the rather absurd comparison with other conductors (what about Beecham and Mackerras to name but two stylish rivals?) it seems to me that this particular performance does little to reveal Wand as a conductor of charm. One has only to revisit the previous CD (the finale of the ‘Jupiter’, for instance) to appreciate that he did have the ability to conduct with a twinkle in his eye. However, here I think the impression which is conveyed is that of entertainers on their collective best behaviour at a party.


There is much to enjoy and admire in this performance, not least the sweet-toned playing of Roland Greutter in his substantial concertante role. However, in the last analysis I feel that this is one of the few items in the collection which does not quite merit the accolade "essential".


The coupling finds Wand outside what many would regard as his core repertoire (at least in his last couple of decades). The inclusion of ‘Pulcinella’ is, however, a reminder that in his earlier years he programmed a good deal of twentieth century music.


The suite recorded here is the later, 1949, version in eight movements rather than the original 1921 suite, which had thirteen movements. Although the recording is billed as being by the NDR Symphony Orchestra the notes tell us that Wand uses "chamber music instrumentation and soloists of the NDR Symphony Orchestra." Certainly, the string section sounds to be considerably slimmed-down by comparison with the forces deployed in the ‘Haffner’ Serenade, with consequent benefit, I feel.


This seems to me to be a trim, buoyant account of the suite. I did notice a few occasions where ensemble did appear not to be entirely unanimous but I really don’t think such minor matters detract from the overall success of the enterprise. It’s most interesting to hear Wand "off the beaten track" and to such good effect.


  

Disc 4. BEETHOVEN: ‘Choral’ Symphony.


This is a work which has clearly been of central importance to Günter Wand. He first directed it in January 1947, early in his association with the Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra, in arctic conditions which are graphically described in the notes. Remarks by Wand are quoted at some length, in the course of which he discusses one point of detail in each of the first and last movements. From this alone it is evident that he studied the score (as usual) in minute detail over many years - yet this performance sounds anything but studied.


In that same quote he writes: "When we talk about Beethoven’s 9th Symphony today, then it is almost always about the choral finale. In contrast. the enormous symphonic conception of the first movement has always fascinated me." Even if one had not read these remarks beforehand I think Wand’s approach would still be obvious from the performance itself for here the first movement has real authority, grip and fire. It is a dramatic reading which commands the listener’s attention right from the outset and which retains that attention throughout the quarter-hour span of the movement.


The scherzo bowls along on crisply articulated rhythms; the trio is equally fleet-footed but never sounds rushed. The luminous adagio is presented with serene gravitas and nobility. This is an essentially simple account of that movement for Wand has the confidence not to get in the way of the music and he just lets it unfold. (Time and again in this set one realizes that Wand is especially masterful in slow movements.) Wand has noticed Beethoven’s direction ‘cantabile’ and encourages his orchestra to play with singing tone. In particular, there are some nicely burnished contributions from the woodwind principals to savour.


I felt the opening instrumental recitatives of the finale sounded a bit slack. There seems to be an absence of electricity and tension. However, Wand presents the ‘Ode to Joy’ at its first appearance on the strings at an appropriately flowing tempo (it is marked Allegro assai and not all conductors have the wisdom to play the passage without portentousness). The bass soloist, Roland Hermann opens the vocal part of the proceedings splendidly and the choir is a good, full-throated body of singers (I suspect they are professionals). All the soloists impress, Keith Lewis giving a forthright account of his big solo, although I did wish they had agreed on the pronunciation of the word ‘Elysium’ – a small point, perhaps, but the word does crop up quite a bit. The balance between the chorus and orchestra is nicely judged by the engineers, with neither allowed to submerge the other. The choir itself is also well balanced internally.


This is what I would term a ‘central’ performance. I have heard others which equal it or which surpass it in some way or other. However, this is a rounded, well-considered and mature traversal and one which is, unsurprisingly and thankfully, shorn of any eccentricities. It is a performance of understanding and insight: one to live with.


  

Disc 5. SCHUBERT Ninth Symphony and ‘Rosamunde’ music


The main item on this disc is another of the fruits of Günter Wand’s relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic. In December 2001 I reviewed an earlier recording by Wand (with the NDR Symphony from 1984). This Berlin recording has all the virtues of its predecessor. It is well shaped, caringly phrased and the rhythms are lively. The structure is cogently held together, as one would expect from a conductor who handles the Bruckner symphonies with such mastery. Repeats are not made in the outer movements but, personally, I can live with this.


The one clear advantage which this performance enjoys over its predecessor (apart from better sound) is that whereas previously Wand had at his disposal a very good orchestra, here he is working with a world-class band. This shows in countless felicitous touches (sample, for instance, the wonderfully delicate string and wind playing in the first movement between 8’26" and 9’10")


Really, Wand and his players are masterly throughout. The vital oboe solo in the andante has marvellous poise and piquancy but, then, all the other wind principals pick up that particular gauntlet from their colleague and caress Schubert’s long-breathed phrases. This is a symphony which the Berliners must have played countless times but the whole performance sounds fresh and new-minted.


Wand himself mixes elegance and drama in just the proportions that Schubert requires. This is a reading of great insight and – a word I keep coming back to – experience. Yet Wand’s art is one which conceals art and one is conscious only of the music being laid before us in an absolutely natural way. This is, quite simply, a magnificent, burnished recording, one which is full of incidental delights but which never loses sight of the "big picture". I bought this recording when it first appeared and rehearing it now has only increased my admiration for it. This is one of the key performances in this set.


The fill-up consists of three movements form Schubert’s incidental music for ‘Rosamunde’. I don’t wish to sound dismissive but, good as it is, this Cologne performance from the early 1970s is not in the same league as the performance of the symphony. The orchestral playing is perfectly acceptable but it lacks the spark and distinction of the BPO (the Cologne recording is a studio account whereas the Berlin performance is ‘live’). Furthermore, to be frank the music is pretty run of the mill. I would not have felt short changed if the towering performance of the symphony had been the sole item on this CD. Nonetheless, the ‘Rosamunde’ performance is a good one and Wand’s credentials as a Schubertian are very well served by this disc.


Disc 6. SCHUMANN: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4


This CD contains what are probably Schumann’s two finest orchestral works. So far as I know Wand recorded little of his music (I am not aware of any other Schumann recordings in the catalogue) but this disc suggests he was a pretty formidable interpreter of this composer.


In the ‘Rhenische’ the opening lebhaft movement is delivered with tremendous sweep and energy. The ebullient, heroic main theme rings out commandingly (splendidly imperious horns!). The whole movement is full of verve and I found it bracing. Schumann’s allegedly "thick" orchestration has often been criticised but Wand’s airy account of the scherzo ought to lay that particular charge to rest. There is light and shade a-plenty here to prove that a master conductor can easily clarify "thick" orchestration. Some most decorous and refined playing, especially from the woodwind, graces the third movement. Wand handles the ‘Cologne Cathedral’ fourth movement splendidly. He imparts an intense glow to the music and builds it to an impressive central climax. The joyful, open-air exuberance of the finale is caught most successfully. Altogether, this is a most distinguished rendition of this delightful symphony.


Its companion, the more dark and dramatic Fourth strikes me as no less successful. The booklet notes refer to the influence of Beethoven and in Wand’s hands this is particularly pronounced in the introduction to the first movement, which he lays out with fine intensity. After this the main body of the movement is unleashed with potent energy. A simple restraint characterizes the performance of the romanza while the scherzo is splendidly alive, with just the right degree of lyrical relaxation for the trio.


The pregnant transition to the finale is superbly realized. There is real mystery and pent-up energy here. Again, as this passage builds one is conscious that the conductor excels in Bruckner. Then comes the moment of release and the vigorous finale erupts, carrying all before it.


This, then, is an exceptionally fine coupling of masterful accounts of both symphonies. The recordings were originally issued separately, each coupled, I believe, with a Schubert symphony. I hope that in due course BMG will release this present CD separately for it would be a most attractive and self-recommending issue.


  

Disc 7. BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1; BEETHOVEN: ‘Leonore’ Overture No. 3


This recording of the Brahms symphony is of especial interest, apart from its musical merits. Not only does it preserve Günter Wand’s debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra but also I believe it is his only commercial recording with a non-German orchestra.


The performance took place in 1989. Wand programmed the Brahms symphony and Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony. Even for such staple repertory he demanded, and got, no less than eleven hours of rehearsal! That the time was put to good use is readily apparent.


The reading of the symphony’s first movement is powerful and dramatic, with a purposeful, quite swift pulse for the introduction. Accents are sharply pointed and rhythmic points are pressed home (though never excessively) The whole movement and, indeed, its successors, is underpinned by a strong sense of line, so crucial in Brahms. The andante is lovingly shaped; a rich carpet of strings prepares the way for a beautifully plangent oboe solo. Later in the same movement there are contributions of equal distinction from the solo horn and violin.


The third movement may disappoint slightly. It strikes me as a little too serious in tone, lacking the grazioso element requested by Brahms. The finale, however, is an unqualified success. After a searching introduction the solo horn rings out as though across a great alpine valley. In this passage the Chicagoans, excellent throughout, surpass themselves in terms of eloquence and responsive playing. The great string tune is given out with noble dignity and wondrous depth of tone. When the main allegro s reached Wand and his players attack it with all the ‘brio’ Brahms could have desired. This is a blazing, surging account of the finale.


It is interesting to compare this performance with Wand’s 1982 (studio?) recording with the NDR Symphony Orchestra. That too is deeply satisfying and the German players are by no means disadvantaged by comparisons with their illustrious American colleagues. I noticed no significant differences of interpretation though the Chicago performance is some two and a half minutes longer overall. The NDR performance sounds a bit more mellow but that, I think, is due to a combination of two factors. Firstly, the sound of the NDR recording is a touch more recessed, less closely balanced (which some listeners may well prefer). Secondly, there is no doubt that the Chicago ensemble, largely the product of training by Reiner and Solti, was then a more "up front" band (by which I do not mean "aggressive"), producing a bright, forwardly-projected sound. These two factors, I think, combine to give this Chicago recording more bite and drive than its NDR predecessor.


This Chicago performance is powerful and trenchant. It is also superbly played and the majestic final brass peroration, followed by the "dash for home" must have brought the house down at the concerts from which this recording derives.


The disc is completed by a strongly characterized, weighty performance of the ‘Leonore’ No 3 Overture.


Disc 8. TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6; SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 4


Tchaikovsky is not a composer with whom one would readily associate Günter Wand. This recording of the Pathétique is interesting but by the high standards of this boxed set it struck me as probably the least successful of the performances gathered here.


Throughout the playing and interpretation are musical and thoughtful but I think one wants something more in Tchaikovsky. That "something" is intensity and, often, heart-on-sleeve emotion and it is in these crucial areas that Wand is lacking when compared, say, to the recording by Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra or, even more so, to the classic 1960 Leningrad Philharmonic performance under Evgeny Mravinsky.


It is really at the start of the first movement development (8’56") that doubts begin. The strings don’t dig into the notes in the way that Pletnev’s players do. Turn to the Mravinsky version, however, and one is in a different world again. The adrenalin really pumps and there is a visceral excitement which is quite alien to Wand’s perception of the piece (or his player’s execution of it). Furthermore, Mravinsky’s white-hot intensity stems as much from the phenomenal articulation of his string section as from anything else. Frankly, the Wand performance sounds pretty tame beside this. Again, when the cathartic climax of the movement is reached, Mravinsky’s recording has one on the edge of one’s seat; the strings play as if their very lives depended on it while the brass sound like harbingers of doom. Wand’s performance is nowhere near this level. An unfair comparison? Perhaps, but commercial recordings have to be judged against the rest of the field.


The second movement is nicely played thought I thought the tempo was just a mite sluggish. Pletnev is scarcely faster but he imparts more lift and delicacy. The subsequent march is alert and crisp, though once again I felt Pletnev has the edge.


In the finale Wand refuses to wear his heart on his sleeve and his performance has a purity and nobility. This is impressive in its own way but I think it’s perhaps a bit too cultured and civilized. Once again Mravinsky is in a different league. His is a performance of shattering intensity, not least because he makes more of the dynamic contrasts than any other conductor I have heard. By the end of his account of the finale the listener is drained. Wand, for all his fine musicianship, can’t match this. His is a performance to respect whereas Pletnev’s is a performance to be thrilled by and Mravinsky’s is awe-inspiring. I suspect that, heard once in the concert hall, the Wand performance would be stimulating and refreshing but it is not one that really bears up well under the scrutiny of repeated listening.


He is on much "safer" ground with Schubert’s ‘Tragic’ Symphony. He is quoted thus in the booklet: "This symphony is really not tragic, but very beautiful – when it’s played correctly." Well, in my view it is indeed played "correctly" here. This is a charming, engaging performance in which the Cologne players respond enthusiastically. Everything about this lithe reading seems ‘right’ and though it was undoubtedly prepared scrupulously it sounds wonderfully spontaneous. I particularly enjoyed the irresistible finale.


Disc 9. BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4


I may have reservations about Wand’s Tchaikovsky but none whatsoever about this account of Bruckner’s Fourth. I bought this recording when it first appeared in 1998 and still believe that it is, quite simply, one of the finest, if not the finest version ever committed to disc. In fact, I can only think of one other reading which matches it: Böhm’s 1973 recording, with the VPO, of the Nowak edition of the score.


Wand’s performance is exalted. Majestic and unhurried, it is underpinned by playing of peerless virtuosity from the BPO. The luminous quality of the strings and the heroic, golden brass are wondrous to hear. As so often in listening to this set I was struck here by the exemplary pace and control Wand brings to the slow movement. He really does understand how to give such movements the right amount of gravitas without over-doing the emotion. (It is precisely this approach, I think, which, while it enriches his performances of the Austro-German repertoire, undermined his Tchaikovsky.)


If anyone seeks an example of Wand’s control of pace, dynamics and structure they need look no further than the first three minutes of the finale of this symphony. This passage is an object lesson in how to build Bruckner’s terraced climaxes through skill and patience. Thereafter, Wand charts an unfailingly wise and perceptive course through the long paragraphs of the finale until he and the Berliners reach the goal of the final peroration, which is delivered with matchless grandeur.


This is a classic performance. Even in this box of top quality performances it is one of the highlights.


Disc 10. BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9


Fittingly, the set ends, as it began, with Bruckner. The first CD contained what can seem to be Bruckner’s most intractable symphony; the last disc contains his most visionary, questing utterance. Both symphonies are difficult nuts to crack but in this set they both benefit from conducting of the utmost distinction and understanding.


Like that of the Fourth Symphony, this recording derives from concerts given in Berlin’s Philharmonie in 1998. This performance shares all the same interpretative virtues and it too is graced by playing of aristocratic refinement.


After listening to nine CDs, this tenth disc seems to me to offer a most appropriate summary of Günter Wand’s great strengths. Here once again we find consummate pacing; an acute sensitivity to dynamics and balance; a mastery of all the detail of the score; above all, a vision of the work as an entity and an absolute command of its structure. Like all the other performances in this set, this is a reading of certainty and conviction. All Wand’s musicianship is put firmly and exclusively at the service of the composer and his music. There is nothing flashy or attention seeking here; all that matters is the music itself. And how necessary is such an approach if a conductor is to bring off a successful performance of Bruckner’s last symphony.


The Ninth is Bruckner’s most intellectually challenging score. Suffice to say that Wand rises to and meets every challenge and, with the outstanding players of the Berlin Philharmonic attentive to every nuance, he lays before us a reading which is compelling, lucid and magnificent. How appropriate that this marvellous collection of recordings should end with the incomplete completeness of Bruckner’s last symphony under the baton of one of that composer’s most doughty and effective champions.


  

So, how does one sum up this collection? It cannot give us a full picture of the career of Günter Wand because, unlike several of his peers such as Böhm and Karajan, he did not make significant numbers of commercial recordings throughout his career. Consequently, BMG are unable to illustrate his career in the opera house, nor do they have available much material outside of his core Austro-German symphonic repertoire. (The booklet tells us that earlier in his career he made some 30 recordings in Cologne for a French label; it would be interesting to have some of these recordings and perhaps a selection of his German radio recordings available.)


However, BMG have given us here a very full and generous view of Wand’s recorded legacy from the last three decades of his career. All the performances are fine ones, even if one or two are a little less successful than the rest. Several of the recordings are absolute winners. Wand obtains magnificent playing from the virtuoso ensembles of Berlin and Chicago, as one might expect. What is also noticeable, however, is that by dint of scrupulous preparation he draws fine playing from his two German radio orchestras. This, surely, is a testament to the fruits of long term conductor-orchestra partnerships of a kind we too rarely encounter any more.


This box contains music making of great intelligence, depth and insight. You may not agree with all the interpretations and, according to taste, you may find some performances less compelling than others. However, it seems to me that what is on offer here is a collection of the highest distinction. I have not said much about the recorded sound. Partly that omission speaks for itself since it is the music making rather than the engineering which calls attention to itself and that, surely, is as it should be. However, listeners can be sure that the sound quality throughout is very good.


BMG are to be congratulated on a fine tribute to a conductor of the first rank. We are unlikely to see again the likes of Günter Wand so savour these fine recordings.
John Quinn


Work Location Date
Bruckner; Symphony No 5 1974
Mozart: Symphony No 39 Musikhalle, Hamburg May 1990
Mozart: Symphony No 40 Musikhalle, Hambug March 1994
Mozart: Symphony No 41 Musikhalle, Hamburg May 1990
Mozart: ‘Haffner’ Serenade 1989
Stravinsky: Suite: ‘Pulcinella’ Musikhalle, Hamburg December 1991
Beethoven: Symphony No 9 1986
Schubert: Symphony No 9 Philharmonie, Berlin March 1995
Schubert: ‘Rosamunde’ excerpts 1984
Schumann: Symphony No 3 Musikhalle, Hamburg September 1991
Schumann: Symphony No 4 Musikhalle, Hamburg April 1991
Brahms: Symphony No 1 Orchestra Hall, Chicago January 1989
Beethoven: ‘Leonore’ Overture No 3 1990
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 6 Musikhalle, Hamburg December 1991
Schubert: Symphony No 4 1980
Bruckner: Symphony No 4 Philharmonie, Berlin January/February 1998
Bruckner: Symphony No 9 1998
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发表于 2004-5-14 21:01:31 | 显示全部楼层
Vivking版,悄悄问一声,您淘到了?
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 楼主| 发表于 2004-5-14 21:09:04 | 显示全部楼层
最初由 紫玉寒烟 发表
[B]Vivking版,悄悄问一声,您淘到了? [/B]

我没买到,去年还是前年我的一位朋友在YLJ里面淘到了,好象不到三百元就买下来了。:mad: :mad:
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发表于 2004-5-14 22:02:22 | 显示全部楼层
这套万德大师的集粹我有,至今是我认为最值得骄傲的收藏
不知道这个评论者约翰•奎因是谁?
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 楼主| 发表于 2004-5-15 13:50:49 | 显示全部楼层
最初由 walky 发表
[B]这套万德大师的集粹我有,至今是我认为最值得骄傲的收藏
不知道这个评论者约翰•奎因是谁? [/B]

是一位网络上的乐评家。
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发表于 2004-5-15 21:13:16 | 显示全部楼层
越来越喜欢汪德的风格,这个套装没有收录他和柏林爱乐的布鲁克纳第八真是太可惜了。
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发表于 2004-5-15 23:06:56 | 显示全部楼层
我分析了一下这个套装的选择,RCA选的好象都是那种比较有代表性但是世面上又不好找的一些录音,相当超值~
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