TDK does everyone
a favor by releasing their extensive series of filmed performances
by the late Günter Wand, one of the last “grand old men” of
the podium. Wand remained a modest and somewhat local figure
in the music world, preferring to maintain close relationships
with only a couple of orchestras and avoiding a larger limelight.
Just from watching his podium demeanor, it is obvious that
this was a man for whom the music was paramount, and to whom
garish displays of egotism were utterly foreign. This calm
and gentle man could, through minimal exertion, bring forth
glorious results, and the respect in which he was held by
his players is palpable.
Beethoven’s opera Fidelio was
perhaps the composer’s biggest problem child. It took several
years, dozens of revisions and no fewer than three overtures
before the opera was to be finished, and for it to find a
place in the repertoire. Of the four overtures, it is perhaps
the Leonora No. 3, performed here, that deserves the highest
pride of place. Remarkable both for its solemnity, as best
represented by the motif quote from the second act and its
breathtaking off-stage trumpet call, and for its triumphant
ending, Wand performed this work more often than practically
any other piece in his wide repertoire. The performance here
is completely under control, finely and carefully paced and
played at a tempo that well suits the reverberant space in
which it was recorded.
The same qualities
make the Bruckner, performed here in its original 1878-80
version, a memorable and earnest listening experience. What
I found most remarkable in this reading was the care that
Wand takes to keep the energy of the music intact without
ever allowing it to be overblown. Yes, the brass fanfares
are solid and thrilling, but there is ever the hint of restraint
and of calm collected good taste. Soft passages are beautifully
balanced against the more boisterous ones so that there is
a natural ebb and flow of volume. No need to constantly readjust
the controls.
The Dom is certainly
a beautiful and stately building, and its reverberant acoustic
is well suited to this lush music. There is some lovely multi-image
camera work on display here with scenes that show the conductor
and a couple of players all superimposed. I would have liked
to have seen the church itself better lighted. A few more
shots of the exterior of the building would have added further
interest. The audience for this festival concert was rather
sedate throughout, a trait which I found frankly refreshing
in comparison to the dime-a-dozen standing ovations that
prevail in the U.S.
This is a disc
that merits repeated viewing, and stands as a fine testament
to the work of a great master conductor at the height of
his powers and in the core of his literature.
Kevin Sutton
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NDR Sinfonieorchester/Günter
Wand 
[87:00] 
