With the Melodiya label
seemingly reborn we are lucky enough
to be offered again some marvellous
recordings. Some of these have not been
available for many years and in the
case of some countries they have never
been available.
The great Russian conductor
Kirill Kondrashin is well known, of
course, for his many recordings of Soviet
music; his Shostakovich cycle is among
his best-known work. His craftsmanship
in ‘western’ repertoire was displayed
in that precious but limited edition
series of live recordings with the Concertgebouw
Orchestra which was available for a
short time on Philips. These were supplemented
by occasional releases on other labels
such as Emergo, Etcetera and Tahra.
Although the quality of the performances
is uneven, there were some considerable
gems that displayed Kondrashin’s mastery
in a wide range of repertoire. Unknown
to many until recently, Kondrashin was
one of the great Mahler conductors and
his recordings of these works, particularly
those with non-Soviet orchestras, are
well worth seeking out. Among the Philips
issues is a wonderful Beethoven Eroica
from the Concertgebouw in March 1979.
What this reveals is a muscular, straightforward
and seemingly historically-aware interpreter
of Beethoven. This Eroica has
an unfettered forward drive and an unfussy
approach that simply lets the great
music speak for itself, albeit with
a tight grip on architecture and dynamics.
The Beethoven works
on this Melodiya reissue are similarly
robust and uncluttered. The disc opens
with a very fleet yet not overly light-footed
Prometheus Overture after a very
broad introduction. Broad, but still
with that wonderful momentum that characterises
Kondrashin’s Beethoven performances.
The performance of
the Fourth Symphony was available on
LP in the United States on the Seraphim
label but, as far as I can recall, was
never issued in the UK. This performance
of one of Beethoven’s most unjustly
underplayed works is a joy from beginning
to end. The brooding introduction to
the first movement displays Kondrashin’s
famous mastery of extreme dynamics –
seldom can it have been more hushed
than it is here. When we are launched
into the main body of the movement -
complete with exposition repeat - everything
sounds completely inevitable and natural.
The Moscow Philharmonic strings are
as marvellously strong as you would
expect and the woodwind slightly piquant
à la 1960s Soviet style, which
lends a slightly ‘period’ sound to the
orchestra.
The beautiful Adagio
has a marvellous flow and also shows
some very controlled quiet woodwind
playing to comply with Kondrashin’s
well-documented insistence on very
quiet pianissimos. The Menuetto
in this work is even less of a menuetto
than it was in the first two symphonies.
This is a full-blown Beethovenian scherzo,
delivered here with much aplomb and
with a trio that some might think
just a little too slow. The finale is
as good as you will hear, with bubbling
clarinets, strident oboes and a wonderfully
agile bassoon adding to the frivolity
of this, one of Beethoven’s most playful
movements in a performance that delights
at every turn.
The Mozart First Flute
Concerto will be more of a curiosity
for many listeners. Speeds in all movements
will be a little on the slow side for
some tastes and the flute sound is not
what one might expect. Again, typical
of the vintage and provenance, this
is a pleasant, slightly thin-sounding
flute with a barely-perceptible but
fairly fast vibrato, Some might, as
I did, soon get used to this and prefer
it over some of the over-fruity flute
solos we are offered today. The performance
is fine enough but perhaps lacking the
final degree of grace and delicacy which
this music needs.
The sound in the Beethoven
works is very good indeed for its mid-1960s
Moscow vintage, with none of the unnerving
instrumental highlighting that sometimes
blights recordings from this source.
The Mozart transfer is slightly less
good, with slightly unfocused string
sound and a forward balance for the
soloist. This, however, neatly compensates
for the flute’s small sound. The orchestra
is the ‘Moscow Philharmonic’ – the ‘Symphony’
bit of the title being from the full
Soviet name – of which Kondrashin was
principal conductor 1960-75.
Derek Warby
for details
Eduard Scherbachev (flute)
