I detect something
of a pattern with this series, though
whether or not it’s intentional or imagined
will not be clear until the series is
complete. At present it seems that to
qualify for inclusion a conductor must
be dead – so no place for Abbado, Sir
Colin Davis or Haitink, to name but
three illustrious candidates. Secondly,
several of the more obvious often recorded
maestri have been excluded so we wait
to see whether Bernstein, Furtwängler,
Karajan, Solti or Toscanini will be
included in this Hall of Fame. If the
series continues in this way it may
come to seem a little lopsided. However,
an important positive side to this ‘policy’
is that it enables the series to illuminate
some conductors that posterity may regard
as lesser luminaries – sometimes unfairly.
One such beneficiary is Artur Rodzinski
(1892-1958).
Polish-born, he went
to the USA in 1926 as Stokowski’s assistant
in Philadelphia, staying there until
1929. For most of the next two decades
he occupied a prominent position in
American musical life, successively
directing the Los Angeles Philharmonic
(1929-33), Cleveland (1933-43), New
York Philharmonic (1943-7) and Chicago
Symphony (1947-8). Thereafter health
problems restricted his career significantly.
The full story of his
career is outlined in David Patmore’s
absorbing liner note. Patmore pays particular
attention to his career in the recording
studio, which went rather in fits and
starts.
Throughout his career
Rodzinski was noted for his interpretations
of Russian music. Rimsky’s Russian
Easter Festival, set down at some
of his last sessions, is alert and vibrant.
The composer’s colourful orchestral
palette is well realized and the rhythms
are strong and buoyant. Beecham’s RPO
respond with playing of fiery conviction.
This combination of orchestra and conductor
are just as successful in a very different
context, the atmospheric Khovanshchina
prelude. Rodzinski leads a masterfully
controlled account of this short piece.
The Rossini overture
rather sticks out amid a programme otherwise
comprising entirely Russian and German
music. Actually, there’s an almost Slavic
passion to the opening passage for the
cellos. David Patmore sums up the remainder
of the reading felicitously when he
refers to "pistol-shot trumpet
playing and a vigorous tempo that together
would have certainly given the Lone
Ranger a run for his money." All
I can say is that, after listening,
I felt completely out of breath, unlike
Tonto, by the end. I should say that
the sound on this particular track is
rather boxy and constricted in the tuttis.
The Rachmaninov Second
Symphony was recorded at a time when
it was usual for conductors to make
heavy cuts in Rachmaninov’s substantial
score. Rodzinski follows this practice
and that’s a cause for regret because
the music that is played comes
across very well indeed. The brooding
intensity of the first movement, which
I think is complete (I didn’t have access
to a score), suits this conductor particularly
well. The NYPO play very well indeed
for him and, apart from slightly vinegary
reproduction of the oboes, the sound
is remarkably good for its vintage (much
better than that on the Rossini recording,
made five years later). There’s real
sweep and feeling in the first movement.
The second is very athletic indeed,
driven along with great vigour. Some
may feel that the Big Tune in this movement
could be savoured at slightly more leisure
but I must say I found Rodzinski's direct
way with the tune refreshing and he
certainly extracts all its romantic
fervour. The slow movement, though badly
disfigured by cuts, is warmly phrased
with a soulfully eloquent clarinet solo.
I’d love to have heard this team play
the complete score. That said, we could
be listening to Stokowski and his Philadelphians
and I can’t pay Rodzinski a higher compliment
than that where this music is concerned.
The finale has enormous dash and vitality,
making one regret once again the cuts
that are made. However, that’s the way
the work was usually presented in those
days and, with that one qualification,
I’d say the performance as a whole is
extremely successful. I’m delighted
that it has been rescued from CBS/Sony’s
vaults and restored to general circulation.
The second disc is
given over entirely to German music,
including substantial chunks of Wagner,
another composer with whom Rodzinski
was closely associated. The Ride
of the Valkyries is described by
David Patmore as "truly driven".
I’m sure he doesn’t mean that in a pejorative
sense. The pace is exhilaratingly fast
and the piece has a truly Gothic feel.
Splendid! Equally successful is the
Magic Fire music – there’s real grandeur
here. Rodzinski packs great power and
intensity into his account of Siegfried’s
Funeral March. In this piece the recording
can’t quite cope with the huge climaxes
but generally speaking these 1955 tapes
come up well. So too do the earlier
Chicago recordings. We hear saturated
string lines in the Tristan prelude.
This is played with great ardour and
atmosphere; equally true of the Liebestod,
which is very fine.
The Strauss performances
are just as ear-catching. I don’t care
greatly for the Dance of the Seven
Veils, a much over-recorded piece.
But it is presented colourfully and
dramatically and I enjoyed it more than
I usually do. In Tod und Verklärung
the opening pages are pregnant with
atmosphere. Listen to the remarkable
depth of sonority in the chord for bass
instruments and oboes at 0’17"
to get a sense of Rodzinski’s command
of orchestral colour (and scrupulous
attention to detail in rehearsal, I
suspect.) The main allegro is launched
like a whipcrack (5’15") and the
following pages are exciting and turbulent.
When it comes, the transfiguration music
is noble, not bombastic and the very
end of the piece is extremely carefully
balanced and weighted; yet more evidence
of attention to detail.
I confess that I didn’t
know quite what to expect from this
set, as I’d not heard too many examples
of Rodzinski’s work previously. This
collection has been well chosen, I think.
Without exception the pieces are well
played and the music-making is very
communicative, bespeaking a conductor
who knew his own mind and knew also
how to get results. This has turned
out to be one of the most interesting
releases that I’ve encountered in this
series to date and I warmly recommend
it.
John Quinn
EMI/IMG
Great Conductors of the Twentieth Century
*Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded, Abbey
Road Studios, London, 26 April, 6 May 1958 