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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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In Reply to: Herbert Von Karajah posted by Dave on August 22, 2002 at 07:12:52:
In an article I wrote a few years ago for ARIAS, the magazine of the Canadian Opera Women's Committee, in which I was asked to provide advice for readers who were building their collection of opera recordings, I recommended the late 1950s AIDA featuring Tebaldi and Bergonzi with the WP under von Karajan, noting that "nobody conveys a sense of grandeur like von Karajan." I still believe this to be true (though I felt then, and still feel, that Solti is similar in this respect--more on that below).Ignoring, for the moment, the many historico-political issues surrounding HvK (and if some cannot ignore them even for a moment, I can respect that), there is some music that seems to fit his innate "grandeur" better than others. His Bach Mass in b minor, for example, is soupy in the extreme, overly slow in tempi and overly thick in texture; but then, nowadays he would not even come close as a first choice for baroque repertoire. I still admire him for doing that rep at all.
My faves are:
AIDA, 1959, Decca, w/Tebaldi, Bergonzi, WP
OTELLO, 1960, Decca, w/Del Monaco, Tebaldi, Protti, WP
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, early 1960s, DG, w/Bergonzi, Cossotto (orch?)
1812 overture (yes, the one with the liberally-tuned Cossack choir singing the first section)
AN DIE SCHOENEN BLAUEN DONAU, DG, 1960s (?) collection of Strauss family waltzes (including the Blue Danube used in the film 2001)I also have the complete Bruckner symphony LP box set with the Berlin Philharmonic, some of which are digital recordings... seems this is the least-desirable HvK Bruckner, however, I'm just getting to know the music at this point, and now that I have tweaked my turntable a bit, it finally sounds like music.
Finally, one lister wrote:
>By the way, some of Karajan's early EMI mono recordings remain a model of outstanding sonics.
I would put the early 1950s MEISTERSINGER in this category, though perhaps most of the credit should go to Mr. Legge.
When I first started getting into opera, I would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between HvK and Solti (both of whom I like a great deal). I had a good opportunity last year, when the Canadian Opera Company was putting on Strauss's SALOME (I had to write a comparison of the available recording for their newsletter, PRELUDE). We always had the Solti/Nilsson recording and while I would still give it first place, I bought the HvK/Behrens version and if nothing else it highlighted, for my first time, a number of differences both in their approach to conducting in general and recording in particular. (I also liked the Leinsdorf/Caballé on RCA).
For example, with HvK the balance between singers and orchestra is definitely tipped in favour of the orchestra, and for the very large works, he often hired singers whose voices, while in the right fach for the roles, would still be considered on the light side of heavy (as with Tebaldi and Bergonzi for AIDA). Del Monaco was an exception, obviously!
djprobed
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Follow Ups
- My favorite Herbie, etc. - djprobed 11:34:19 08/22/02 (2)
- Re: My favorite Herbie, etc. - Magpie 18:59:15 08/22/02 (1)
- Re: Tebaldi, Wagner, etc. - djprobed 06:43:25 08/23/02 (0)
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