Customer Reviews

Bruno Walter Edition - Mozart: Symphony no.36 (Rehearsal and Performance) and Symphony no. 38

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Although he is far better known as being a champion of Mahler's music (and not all of it, by the way), Bruno Walter also carried on Mahler's tradition of conducting Mozart as a mature, substantial composer. This was not always the case at the start of the 20th Century, and along with Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Karl Bohn, Walter helped bring Mozart into the modern era untouched and untarnished. The rehersal record is OK, although somewhat boring after a while unless you are a musician or a musicologist. But the performances of the symphonies themselves are beyond reproach. Walter puts into every downbeat every sinew of his 60 years of experience into every bar. The result of which we can still marvel at nearly 50 years later. Beauty, depth, precision, rhythm and even Mozart's humor are knitted together flawlessly by Walter's gifted hands and the responsive playing of the best recording studio band ever -- the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. I can't listen to Walter conduct these symphonies too much or else I find his interpretations so true, I can't listen to other recordings of two of my favorite symphonies. Those studio orchestra strings can get shrill at times and tubbiness from the American Legion Hall can creep in now and then, but man, these performances makes those things seem trivial. How lucky we are in this age of disposable music that Walter was kind enough to leave us his legacy of Mozart on record. How I hope I can thank Mozart and Walter one day in heaven.

I eagerly awaited the release of this famous recording,sometimes known as "The Birth of a Performance", on CD,and I was not disappointed. I first heard it at the tender age of nine on LP,when I was a budding classical music buff,and although,naturally,I didn't really appreciate it then the way I do now, I knew that this was something special and fascinating.

Along with containing what is perhaps the finest performance of Mozart's "Linz" Symphony ever recorded,it contains Bruno Walter's rehearsals of each of the four movements,as well as the finished performance.(As a filler,Mozart's Symphony no.38--finished performance only,no rehearsal-- has been included in this edition.) The rehearsals are an illuminating glimpse of how a conductor coaxes--Dr. Walter never throws tantrums or loses his temper,unlike Toscanini-- exactly the kind of performance he wants out of an orchestra. Walter's attention to tiny details is absolutely mind-boggling,and what is even more astonishing is that one can easily hear the difference before and after he explains to the players exactly how he wants a passage played.We are made to realize just how carefully everything in an orchestral performance is determined,guided,or controlled by the conductor. As an example,the individual notes of the introduction are at first dragged out too long by the orchestra,and we hear how Walter has his musicians play it over and over,the notes shortening bit by bit, slowly,until they finally get it right.On other passages,he has the orchestra play delicately when they tend to play rather roughly,or he asks some of the soloists to play more softly at certain precise moments.

This album isn't for a casual classical music lover who only wants the music. There is almost more instruction and correction from Bruno Walter on this 2-CD set---not 1 CD,as Amazon states-- than there is music,and those who aren't into the tiny details of music-making might be bored after a while. Dr. Walter's thick,but beautiful German accent sometimes demands careful attention. But,devoted classical music buffs,Mozart lovers,music students,and professional musicians will find this one of the greatest classical recordings ever made. The sound,although 1956 mono,is excellent; however, the microphone setup for the rehearsal and the finished performance was different. While several microphones,placed at different sections of the recording studio, were used for the finished performances, only one,placed directly in front of Bruno Walter,was used for the rehearsals. The orchestra (the excellent Columbia Symphony Orchestra) therefore sounds much more full-bodied in the actual performances.