Eine Alpensinfonie

Eine Alpensinfonie
Don Juan
San Francisco Symphony
conductor: Herbert Blomstedt








In a review of Karajan's same conducting of Alpensinfonie on DVD, John Quinn from Musicweb remarked that it is somewhat a maligned work. I do not know in general whether he is right, but I am not surprised since Strauss' orchestral repertoire is represented by these staple, often "bombastic" works such as Tod und Verklarung, Ein Heldenleben and of course, Also Sprach Zarathrustra. I have much more fondness for his less hyped works such as Symphonia Domestica, Aus Italien and of course this work. Alpensinfonie is one of the true great odes to Nature after Beethoven's Pastorale and the sprawling (often criticized as bloated) Mahler's Third Symphony. Originally entitled "The Antichrist", Strauss wanted the work as a "moral purification (rather) through one's own strength, liberation through work, worship of eternal, magnificent nature. (than religion)" In a sense, it reminds me of Mahler's Das Lied von Der Erde which has somewhat spiritual rather than religious overtones themed primarily on all-embracing Nature and hint of Zen Buddhism. But overall, Alpensinfonie is programme music no different than Beethoven's Pastorale and more absolute than Mahler's Third and First symphonies, which needs some narrative before it can perform on it's own - in my opinion.

The good thing about this CD is extra organ sonority I experience compared with other two i've heard (Bohm and Karajan)For example, I can hear some ascending notes from the instrument from the silent passage a few moments before the buildup to climax at Sunrise and also the solo organ chords at the peaceful interludes before the horn solo at Sunset. Blomstedt also manages to keep the programmic, episodic sprawling work from going too pedestrian with pace on swift side, especially the Brook episode and the long parts before the storm scene. Listeners familiar with this symphony would not want to doze off into slumber before then. Blomstedt's San Francisco symphony sadly, isn't Berlin or Vienna Philharmonics and they lack the extra sonority especially the brasses so lacking and the winds are slightly less than average though the string section is fine. Surprisingly, the Thunderstorm scene surpasses even Karajan in execution with differences - the brasses in Karajan recording is a little haphazard compared with their San Francisco counterparts.

There are tons of competition for this so-called "maligned" work with masters like Previn, Solti, Thielemann and Mitropoulos (Salzburg Festival) for VPO alone apart from the usual suspects; Kempe and Karajan. Look out also for Karl Bohm's most underrated version as well even though the climaxes and dynamics are muted and non-existent, it's one fine baby. For example the brilliant Wagnerian off-stage horns in The Ascent, not to mention the jaw-dropping string playing at the Waterfall episode.

Technical: 7
Interpretation: 8
Recording: 8

Schumann 4th and Furtwangler 2nd

Schumann: Symphony no 4

Furtwangler: Symphony no 2

Berliner Philharmoniker

Wilhelm Furtwangler, conductor.

The Schumann 4th recording is one of the most celebrated Furtwangler recordings ever existed. It is no wonder why. The melancholy and sadness projected in the opening bars is enough to move a listener despite the old mono sound. Any criticism of the composer Schumann's ability to orchestrate is immedietly dispelled by Furtwangler's directive mastery. He balances and brought out various string parts and inner voices and the first movement is very Brucknerian in nobility. For a conductor who can bring out such wizardry from a mediocre symphony is a true testament of Furtwangler's genius.

Unfortunately, I think the recording is overhyped not through the fault of Furtwangler. My opinion is that the 4th symphony of Schumann is the most unremarkable of all his four symphonies - a pale shadow of one of the greatest symphonic masterpieces the 2nd and lacked the spontaneous youthful vitality of his "Spring" plus grandeur and nobility of "Rhenish" symphony. The weaknesses are apparent at the second and third movement where save the lovely violin solo, themes are recycled over and over to unremarkable effect (the beginning of Romanze reminiscence of the opening theme from 1st movement and Trio recycles the Romanze theme). By repeated listenings, the first and fourth movements stood by time.

As for the 2nd symphony of Furtwangler, I heard the 1953 VPO recording released on Orfeo and another by Daniel Barenboim/CSO is better. Even the maestro wasn't particularly happy with that recording. However, I think it comes out as a fine recording, even if I felt it was a little long-winded. Give it a thorough run through before deciding on buying.

Technical: 9

Interpretaion: 9

Sound: 5