Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphonien 5 & 8; Mozart: Adagio & Fugue; Divertimento 17 - Adagio

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Karajan made a number of recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic in the late 1940s before Furtwangler rode gunslinger-like into town and smoked him out - the orchestra also sided with the older conductor. Thereafter until the death of his nemesis in 1954, Karajan worked with the Philharmonia and the Vienna Symphoniker.

This is a cherishable CD. True, the two Mozart works (the Adagio & Fugue, K 546, and the Adagio from K 334) sound so aged as to warrant euthanasia on the spot. But they are entrees at best. Clearly the mastertapes of the Beethoven are in much better shape. As soon as the famous motif launches the Fifth, it is so much easier on the ear. Indeed, they are very listenable.

To the performances themselves. Karajan was well known for arriving at a certain interpretative position and then setting it in cement for the remainder of his life. By the time he came to these performances, he was a mature conductor. These readings are aligned with his later recordings in Berlin.

Even so, there is a leonine fire here that is astounding. One can understand why Walter Legge was floored by Karajan's "hair-raising vitality" or why Tietjen described him as a comet. The terracing in the slow movement of the Fifth is masterly as is the articulation of the strings in the Scherzo. One senses an elation on Karajan's part: a resurrection is nigh. Throughout, the Vienna Philharmonic play like men possessed - cash-strapped as they were, they must have been eager to please their new paymasters - they almost sound like the Berlin Philharmonic from the 1960s in their torque.

Mono though they be, if these are your sole performances of Five & Eight in your collection, you could hold your head high.

Of the five recordings of Beethoven's 5th Symphony made by Herbert von Karajan available on CD, this is the earliest. And recorded in 1948, in only decent sounding mono, it is probably the worst of the lot. Some early mono performances don't bother me as long as the performance is first rate, but unfortunately this one is uneven. My biggest problem is with the tempo. Karajan starts the first movement very briskly, but seems to slow his pace for the quieter parts. In too stark a contrast, the second movement is painfully slow. And then, like a chapter from Goldilocks and the Three Bears (this movement's too fast, this one's too slow, this one's just right), he finally settles on the perfect pace for the final movement -- but it's too little too late. The 8th Symphony, his first recording for Walter Legge and EMI, is a better performance overall but this 1946 recording sounds even worse than the 5th. The Mozart pieces are released on CD for the first time, but are quite honestly just filler. After that critique, you must be wondering why I am awarding this title four stars, and not less. Well despite the CD's shortcomings, this is an immensely important historical document for anyone interested in von Karajan's music. In some ways I'm glad it is not that good because it shows that even Olympian figures can have humble beginnings.