Sir Thomas Beecham
seems to have been born with a silver
spoon in his mouth. Middle class from
a well-known and extremely wealthy business
family the dapper Beecham was a showman
and a character with a wicked and intelligent
sense of humour. However as one of the
leading conductors of his day Beecham
took his music very seriously embarking
on a quest almost single-handedly to
bring classical music to a wider English
public.
His authoritative conducting
style concentrated primarily on rhythm
which he insisted must be perfectly
strung and flexible yet never deviating
with an irresistible forward momentum.
Sensitivity to orchestral colour, phrasing,
beauty and individuality of tone, Beecham’s
treatment of the orchestral player was
humanistic and ahead of its time; unlike
many of his contemporaries of his day.
He allowed his players the scope to
express themselves, whilst maintaining
the highest standards of orchestral
playing.
Beecham’s views on
the music of Schubert are interesting.
In his autobiography ‘A Mingled Chime’
he acknowledges the crucial role that
romantic poetry and romance played in
German music particularly in Schubert’s.
He viewed that Schubert had a primitive
musical faculty that enabled him to
pour melody into any form of the art
without the least desire to vary or
develop it, unlike composers such as
Beethoven and Wagner who stretched symphonic
structure to its fullest possible limits
of expansion.
It is hard to appreciate
that Beecham came to the orchestral
music of Schubert fairly late and certainly
after many performances of Haydn and
Mozart. In the UK Schubert’s symphonies
were not heard until the late part of
the nineteenth century when influential
conductor Sir August Manns played them
at Crystal Palace concerts so when Beecham
was commencing his conducting career
in Lancashire in 1899 Schubert’s symphonies
were really still rarities.
In his career Sir Thomas
conducted all of Schubert’s symphonies
however he only conducted the Symphony
No. 4 ’Tragic’ once and he recorded
them all with the exception of the Symphony
No. 4 and the Symphony No. 9
the Great C major.
Of the three symphonies
contained on this Sony release, both
the Symphony No.1 and the Symphony
No.2 were first performed by Beecham
as late as 1953 with these recordings
being made within six months of each
other in 1953 and 1954. Beecham obtains
a rich body of sound from the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra and his trademark
emphasis on phrasing is expertly articulated
in these dramatic readings.
Beecham performed the
famous ‘Unfinished’ over forty
times. His undoubted affection for this
masterwork is unmistakable in this 1951
recording which has been skilfully put
together from five performances over
two London venues. Beecham offers a
strongly-paced reading and particularly
sensitive phrasing from the strings
section is consistent throughout. Special
praise is due to the orchestra for their
wonderful playing of heightened drama
in the development section of the Allegro
moderato.
These performances
are more than just historical documents.
Really fine and appealing interpretations
that have been attractively recorded.
Beecham fans will be in their element.
Michael Cookson
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham
