BEETHOVEN:
Symphony No 3 in E Flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica'
Staatskapelle Dresden/Franz
Konwitschny
Recorded in 1954
BERLIN CLASSICS 0090412BC
[52.08]
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Franz Konwitschny may have been eclipsed by other great Beethoven interpreters
of the mid last century (his Leipzig cycle of the 1950s/1960s has never quite
been given the attention it deserves) but returning to this 1954 Eroica
with the great Dresden orchestra has been a revelatory experience. This
is an extremely fine Eroica and one that can sit in only the most
distinguished company.
This is a slow performance (made slower by the first movement exposition
repeat) but it nevertheless has a towering strength and nobility so
characteristic of performances preserved on record by Klemperer and
Furtwängler. It is a performance fully idiomatic of its period, particularly
in this conductor's use of rubato which in the second movement funeral march
comes dangerously close to bringing the performance to a standstill. One
can also criticise the tempi Konwitschny brings to the scherzo - certainly
more languid than we are used to with exaggerated lines and heavy textures
adding to a density of expressiveness. Furtwängler (Vienna 1944) is
even slower than Konwitschny in this movement but the difference is entirely
in the intensity the former brings to this movement's development: where
Konwitschny's scherzo is heavy Furtwängler's pulsates with energy, perhaps
being more Haydnesque than Beethoven intended.
These are minor criticisms in a performance that scales dramatic heights
- listen to the recapitulation in the first movement. How Konwitschny gets
the orchestra to phrase the ascending bass notes in the opening of the funeral
march (and how the mournfulness of the trio is characterised), and how he
gets superlative articulation in the fugue of the finale! These are all notable
achievements in an Eroica that places nobility to the forefront. Add to this
playing of precision and intensity (the Dresden orchestra are certainly a
better orchestra than the Leipzig orchestra Konwitschny used for his complete
cycle) and the end result is an Eroica that demands to be heard. Although
recorded in 1954, the recording is very fine. Hearing this performance through
headphones brought the separation of woodwind lines and string syncopations
into instant clarity and focus. If the sound is rather on the bass heavy
side it more than equals the majesty of the conception. It remains a fine
performance.
Marc Bridle
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