Customer Reviews

Hans Pfitzner: Von deutscher Seele

5 star:		(3)
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This is the first recording of the genial yet neglected Hans Pfitzner "Eichendorff Cantata" since Martin Sieghart's (Arte Nova) in 1999, only the sixth ever made of this hour and a half-plus oratorio, and only the third made in the last 50 years. The neglect has political reasons, not musical ones, because Pfitzner's high-romantic blend of Schumann and Wagner (the results occasionally reminiscent of Humperdinck, Schoeck, Schreker, and Schmidt) is here, as in his magnum opus, the opera "Palestrina", as good as it gets. Unfortunately this friend of Bruno Walter's was a rabid (though inconsistent) anti-Semite, and, in Thomas Mann's words, an "anti-democratic nationalist". Stubborn, naïve and ignorant, he uttered unambiguously racist phrases, was apologetic of Hitler, and blamed everyone but Germany for World War II. Yet he went to great lengths to help and save "good Jews" (as he thought of them) like director Otto Ehrhardt, Felix Wolfes (a student of his), or his friend Paul Crossmann for whom he went all the way to Reinhard Heydrich to save. In vain, in that case, Crossmann died in Theresienstadt. He didn't make friends with the Nazis, despite agreeing with much of their philosophy, either: Hitler derisively spoke of him as a "Jewish rabbi" and Pfitzner was ignored, if not shunned, by the officialdom of the Third Reich. Perhaps Bruno Walter put it best, writing to his publisher after Pfitzner's death: "Have we not found in [Pfitzner's] personality the strangest mix of true greatness and intolerance that has ever made the life of a musician of such a rank so problematic?"

In any case, the obnoxious political undertones of Pfitzner have made his music less played than it should be on account of its musical merit (if we can listen to the murderer Gesualdo, can we listen to Pfitzner?). When Ingo Metzmacher, a stalwart supporter of music suppressed by the Third Reich, performed the cantata in October of 2007 (from which this recording was taken), protests ensued, claiming that Metzmacher strengthened right-wing and nationalist activities by performing it on Germany's national holiday. (Apparently more skinheads listen to Pfitzner than I thought possible.) Yet there is not an objectionable line or thought in this cantata (which in German has the additionally unfortunate title "Of the German Soul"), written in 1921 and premiered in '22. Part one deals with "Man and Nature", part two with "Living and Singing", and Solveig Kringelborn (soprano), Nathalie Stutzmann (mezzo), Christopher Ventris (tenor) and Robert Holl (bass) do this as well and better (Stutzmann) than their predecessors from half a century ago. Phoenix Edition has superior sound to all previous releases, the finest mezzo along with Jochum (Christa Ludwig), a more engaged orchestra than all but Jochum (Orfeo, BRSO), and no intrusive audience noises. It's great that ArkivMusic has made available again the (stodgy but star-studded) Keilberth recording with the BRSO, Fritz Wunderlich, Hertha Töpper, Agnes Giebel, and Otto Wiener, but unless price is an overriding argument (in which case Arte Nova wins out), this is the Eichendorff Cantata recording of choice.

J.F. Laurson's excellent review presents a very comprehensive and insightful back drop (and caveat) as to the history of Pfitzner and this piece. I wanted only to add that this is not only the best of the available recordings, it is "by far" the best, being both five stars for performance and five stars for recorded sound. I own the previous five recordings and have finally, only now, been truly touched and inspired by this composition.

I am wondering if this is Pfitzner's best work. It is a magnificent, substancial and highly effective work of considerable interest that shows remarkable assurance in conveying transitions from one mood to another, moving back and forth between pools of grief to resolution, reflection, humour and joy. It is in two long tableaux consisting of settings of short texts by Eichendorf. The range of moods greatly helps the structure of the work.

The instrumental writing is also varied and imaginative. There are extended orchestral interludes such as the near atonal Death the Postillion and the dreamlike section for two harps and horn entitled Night. The work also makes stylistic reference to other composers, especially Bach, Mendelsohn, Brahms, Bruckner, Debussy, Delius, early Schoenberg as well as to German folk idioms but it is done in a way that is not hostile to other cultures. Despite so many sylistic allusions, the work comes over as well wrought and original. It is a heartfelt cantata in response to the First World War.

Many of the recordings of this work date from the 1950s but one really needs to hear all of Pfitzners outstanding orchestration, so a modern recording such as this is the one to start with. There is another fine modern recording with Vienna forces conducted by Martin Sieghert. It is interesting to compare the two recordings. In many ways they are very similar. They are both recorded live. The microphones pick up slightly different things in each case. The accoustics of the halls seem to differ. The Philharmonie seems to have drier accoustics than the Musikverein.

The Berlin recording is exceptionally good. It has been reissued on the Capriccio label if copies of the Phoenix Edition of this recording become hard to obtain.