[9/17/2011] Preview: Wait for it . . . (continued)

Daniel Barenboim conducts the Chicago Symphony in the finale of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony at Carnegie Hall's 1997 season-opening concert.


AS I SAID, WE HAVE BERLIN PHIL RECORDINGS
OF EGMONT MADE NEARLY 30 YEARS APART

BEETHOVEN: Incidental Music for Goethe's Egmont, Op. 84: Overture

Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954),
probably around the time of our recording

Berlin Philharmonic, Wilhelm Furtwängler, cond. Polydor/Brunswick, recorded 1931 (digital transfer by F. Reeder, who has also done a swell transfer of Willem Mengelberg's 1930 Victor recording with the New York Philharmonic)

André Cluytens (1905-1967)

Berlin Philharmonic, André Cluytens, cond. EMI, recorded c1959


NOW AS TO WHY WE'RE LISTENING TO EGMONT . . .

Put the music we're hearing together with the title of the post and I don't think it's terribly mysterious. I'm thinking just now about music that, while of top quality through and through, rises to a conclusion that threatens to become listeners' reason for listening to the piece.

Which brings us to Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony. Oh, I love the first three movements, quite a lot, and after all it's the massive first movement that dominates the symphony. But when it comes time for the finale, it's kind of time to strap in for blast-off. The first performance I thought of, for the recorded sound, turns out to be one I've thought of before, probably for the same reason, and so we've already heard it. Well, we're going to hear David Zinman's recording with the Baltimore Symphony again. You'd think the least I could do would be to offer a different performance. Well, okay, I'll do that too. (You'd think I would be serving up at least one performance by one of the great virtuoso orchestras. Well, we've got the Chicago Symphony in the video clip above.)

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36:
iv. Finale: Allegro con fuoco

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman, cond. Telarc, recorded Nov. 20-25, 1989

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton, cond. Virgin Classics, recorded c1990


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

There's no reason why you should be able to guess where we're headed tomorrow, but then again, there's no reason why you should be surprised to learn that it's Antonin Dvořák's Eighth Symphony.


RETURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE POST

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