Beecham conducts Atterberg & Mozart
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Kurt (Magnus) Atterberg, Edvard Grieg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frederick Delius
Label: Dutton Laboratories
Magazine Review Date: 4/1998
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 70
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: CDLX7026
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(Die) Zauberflöte, '(The) Magic Flute', Movement: ~ |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
London Symphony Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
Symphony No. 34 |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
(A) Village Romeo and Juliet, Movement: Interlude The Walk to the Paradise Garden |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
(6) Songs, Movement: No. 4, The nightingale's secret (Die verschwiegenel) |
Edvard Grieg, Composer
Dora Labbette, Soprano Edvard Grieg, Composer Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Norway (Norge), Movement: No. 5, The emigrant (Udvandreren) |
Edvard Grieg, Composer
Dora Labbette, Soprano Edvard Grieg, Composer Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Symphony No. 6 |
Kurt (Magnus) Atterberg, Composer
Kurt (Magnus) Atterberg, Composer Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Author: Edward Greenfield
It was in that same month that Beecham made the recording of two Grieg songs with Dora Labbette as soloist. Dutton fairly enough claim it as “A previously unknown Beecham recording”, when on its original issue no mention of Beecham was made, and it appeared on the less prestigious dark blue label, instead of his usual light blue. As Jenkins points out, without the pull of Beecham’s name it was an issue that quickly disappeared from the Columbia catalogue. Though the string sound is thin – maybe the reason why Beecham disowned it – his magic is clear in the phrasing, supporting the bright singing of Labbette, very English in its charm.
It is fascinating to compare this version of Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 made in October 1928 with his 1940 version with the LPO (already available on Dutton). My own preference is certainly with this earlier one, lighter in texture, often with subtler tonal shading, buoyant in the outer movements and with the central Andante fresher and more flowing, where in 1940 it was more heavily expressive at a markedly slower speed.
Jenkins provides a detailed background to the emergence of the Atterberg Sixth Symphony, winner in 1928 of the Schubert centenary competition organized by Columbia. The composer’s flippant dismissal of the piece after he had won disconcerted Columbia, but they sold no fewer than 25,000 of the four-disc set, a phenomenal number for those days. This recording was made just before Sir Hamilton Harty gave the first live performance in Manchester, after which Beecham promptly gave the first London performance, and then ignored the piece ever after. That was a pity when, with a lyricism quite abundant enough to celebrate Schubert, it is a work which in Beecham’s hands surges warmly, helped by the full-bodied transfer. Yet even he cannot quite conceal the fact that the central slow movement is a shade too long, not quite a match for the invigorating outer movements.
To avoid confusion, the orchestra for the two symphonies and the Delius is described, not in the way it was originally as “the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra”, but more specifically as the Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra, a pick-up band assembled at that period for the concerts of the RPS.'
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