Recordings from the
high noon of Karajan’s reign with the
BPO. These are really thrilling ‘bleeding
chunks’ of Wagner, played by what was
surely the world’s finest orchestra
at the time, full of power and conviction.
These are not ‘comfortable’ Wagner performances;
rather, Karajan liked to emphasise the
Dionysian side of the composer, an approach
which would be a risky one with anything
other than a superb ensemble like the
BPO.
Nowhere is this more
apparent than in the brilliant ‘Venusberg’
music from the Paris version of Tannhäuser.
Listeners who know the more usual form
of the overture will be taken aback
by the sudden apparent ‘wrong turning’
in its central section, for the music
suddenly plunges off at a tangent into
a wild Bacchanale, with exotic percussion
adding to the decadent atmosphere. Then
follows a passage of unbridled sensuality,
complete with distant, beckoning women’s
voices. Don’t play this music to under-age
children.
Before this heady stuff,
the disc begins with a rousing and majestic
‘Meistersinger’ overture; then
comes Tannhäuser, followed
by the two famous Lohengrin preludes
– Act I and Act III. The Act III Prelude
is a riot, and I’ve never heard it sound
more priapic; if you want to know where
young Richard Strauss got his inspiration
for the horn music in Don Juan,
then listen no further! The magnificent
Act I prelude, though, is problematic;
the string sound of the BPO is really
too sumptuous here (bearing in mind
that the ethereal opening is marked
pianissimo), and the generally
superb recording here renders the sound
rather glassy and artificial. The performance
is superbly paced, and builds to a wonderful
climax, but still amounts to, for me,
the least satisfactory item on the disc.
The Flying Dutchman
overture that follows, on the other
hand, is completely stunning, easily
the most convincing performance of this
work I’ve heard on disc. Conductor and
orchestra go for broke, and the result
is just – well mind-boggling. You wouldn’t
actually be able to cope with the full
opera after this, but, if you’re going
to record these overtures, this is the
way to do it, so that the entire power
of the drama comes surging out of the
speakers.
Much the same applies
to the music from Tristan. The
Prelude perfectly expresses the unquenchable
passion of this music, and builds to
an unbearably intense climax. This is
the only way that this ‘telescoping’
of the whole music-drama can be made
to work, and the final apotheosis of
the Liebestod is simply ecstatic.
Great playing, great conducting.
Yes, I felt emotionally
drained after listening to this CD –
but that’s how Wagner should leave you!
People often pooh-pooh Karajan, as if
he were a mere technician driving a
sort of thoroughbred machine. This is
rubbish, for every bar in these performances
bears testament to his burning love
for and deep knowledge of this great
music. If you ever feel the urge to
buy a Wagner ‘bleeding chunks’ CD, this
is undoubtedly THE one.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
Great
Recordings of the Century series
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von
Karajan 
