Turn Around and Take Me Back To the Start

Some reflections on Beethoven, the Eroica and my summer vacation.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Detail from The Knight in Shining Armor: Pity and Ambition
by Gustav Klimt as appears on the cover of the Beethoven Symphony No. 3 recording reviewed herein.
Art and rendering © 1987 DG/UMG

Hi all. I'm back after a relaxing, grounding and enervating week in the woods of Northern Maryland. Today we are talking about Beethoven, and specifically a new to me recording of the Eroica Symphony which I am listening to as I type. This is an old (but new to me) recording of Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony, made in 1987 by the Vienna Philharmonic. No, that's not terribly "old" in a business with historic recordings that go back to the turn of the 20th century, but it is definitely the product of another time. The conductor is the late and brilliant Claudio Abbado, who would later record these same symphonies in his job as music director of the Berlin Philharmonic is the conductor here and there is much of interest in this performance.

A Certain Dark-Eyed Beauty of Romany Extraction

My long relationship with Bizet's Carmen.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

My Carmen collection: (clockwise from upper left: Victoria de Los Angeles (not pictured), Marilyn Horne,
Agnes Baltsa, Christa Ludwig, Teresa Berganza, Tatiana Troyanos (not pictured), Jennifer Larmore.)
Photo by the author, screen cap taken from my iTunes.

Q: "What do you call two guys driving to the opera house?"

A: "Carmen."- -Mauri E. Pelkonen

I first met her when I was nine (maybe ten) years old, in my first year of going to the New York City Opera with my parents. A dusky, dark-haired bohémienne vixen with a rich mezzo-soprano voice (it was either Judith Forst or Susanne Marsee) that seductively sang in French, a language I knew little of. And yet, for that prepubescent kid sitting in the New York State Theater with his Mom and Dad (at his fourth opera!) Carmen was already something special. The show mixed spectacle, comedy and tragedy in a dizzying brew, laughing in the orchestra even as its characters hurtled toward disaster in the fourth act. And thanks to Dad's record collection, I already knew some of the music.

Sending Don Carlos To Therapy

An in-depth look at Verdi's longest and most troubled opera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Placido Domingo in Don Carlos.
Cover art © 1990 Deutsche Grammophon/UMG

Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlos is an opera that is beloved by Verdi lovers, but one that took a very long time to find its audience. Based on a searing play by Friedrich Schiller. Don Carlos was originally composed for the 1869 season for the grand stage of the Paris Opera. The premiere of its initial French version was a late-career failure for the Italian composer, one of three largely unsuccessful attempts that Verdi made in his life to conquer the hearts of Parisian opera-goers. (The other two, Gerusalemme and Le Vepres Siciliennes are less well known.

Recordings Review: Dance 'Til He Drops

Claudio Abbado's classic Un Ballo in Maschera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The third in this survey of the La Scala Verdi recordings (and yes, it's wilfully out of order) is this excellent and mostly forgotten Un Ballo in Maschera, conducted with flair by the late Claudio Abbado.
Like Abbado's Aida (which was made around the same time with a lot of the same players) this Ballo was made at the very end of the analogue recording era, made in 1981 on the eve of the launch of the compact disc. And the warm, glowing sound of the violins and voices makes one regret all the problems that hit the recording industry because of that transition.

Obituary: Claudio Abbado (1933-2014)

An Italian conductor who defined opera and symphony.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Precision and refinement: the conductor Claudio Abbado.
Photo © Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics

Claudio Abbado died today at his home in Bologna, Italy, according to a report in the New York Times. In a career spanning more than half a century, Mr. Abbado served as music director of La Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra and later the Vienna State Opera and  Berlin Philharmonic.

Mr. Abbado passed peacefully following a long illness, the Times reported. He was 80.

Comparative Listening: Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E♭Major

It's been a little while since we've done Comparative Listening, the feature where five (or so) recordings of the same work battle for shelf space. Today, we're celebrating the 200th birthday of piano virtuoso and composer Franz Liszt, examining recordings of his Piano Concerto No. 1.


The contenders:

• London Symphony Orchestra cond. Josef Krips; Wilhelm Kempff, Piano (DG, 1953)
• Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra cond. Kurt Masur; Michel Beroff, Piano (Philips, 1981)
• New York Philharmonic cond. Leonard Bernstein; Andre Watts, Piano (Sony, 1963)
• London Symphony Orchestra cond. Claudio Abbado; Martha Argerich, Piano (DG, 1968)
• Budapest Festival Orchestra cond. Karl Anton Rickenbacker, Leslie Howard, Piano (Hyperion, 1998)
• Munich Philharmonic cond. Thomas Hengelbrock; Alice Sara Ott, Piano (DG, 2010)
• Vienna Philharmonic cond. Valery Gergiev; Lang Lang, Piano (Sony, 2011)

Franz Liszt's first piano concerto consists of four movements, played without a break. The composer, already the rage of Europe as a touring virtuoso, broke fresh ground with this work. As we celebrate his 200th birthday, let's look at different performances available on CD.

You can tell a lot about how the Liszt First Concerto is going to play out by how the piano soloist attacks the hellishly difficult opening cadenza. Wilhelm Kempff plays with astonishing speed and produces growling low notes. In the 1981 Philips recording, Michel Beroff offers a quiet, restrained take with expert conducting from Kurt Masur.

This early 1968 recording with Martha Argerich is impressive from start to finish.. She breathes fire right out of the box before settling down into the Beethoven-inspired main theme. Lang Lang's brand-new recording on Sony with the Vienna Philharmonic (coming out tomorrow) benefits from terrific orchestral playing under Valery Gergiev and pianism that alternates between fiery cadenzas and feline grace.

Some recordings present the two central movements as one big track, as they flow into each other without a break. Together, the Andantino and Prestissimo form a ten-minute structure. Ultimately, it builds to a recap of the opening of the Allegro.


The New York Philharmonic (under Leonard Bernstein) sounds splendid in this movement with the orchestra caught better than the piano part. This is not the fault of soloist Andre Watts. Leslie Howard, whose recording is available as part of his mammoth complete Liszt edition on Hyperion, produces bell-like tone in the cadenzas. He is helped by the idiomatic playing of the Budapest forces.

The final movement, a sprightly march, is played with great authority by the Viennese forces, particularly the descending figures in the heavy brass that introduce the first solo. Mr. Lang's fingers dance easily across the keys, playing these runs with astonishing speed. Alice Sara Ott uses force on the authoritative main theme, but her playing sounds clipped.

The strongest last movement belongs to the venerable German pianist Wilhelm Kempff, whose Beethoven recordings inspired a legion of aspiring pianists. Mr. Kempff takes a heavier approach to the piano part, rolling down the keyboard with great authority. Finally, Michel Beroff's performance with Kurt Masur is well conducted, and this underrated pianist plays with great speed and precision.

Opera for the Color-Blind

Universal's Blinding "Opera!" Reissues To Hit Shelves, Blind Customers.

The DG Figaro conducted by Claudio Abbado.
Original slip-case cover art, with the famous chair.

On July 12, the venerable Decca and Deutsche Grammophon labels (which, in case you don't read this blog, are the same company) will re-launch their "Opera!" line. The series presents new pressings of recordings of major repertory operas. But in another brilliant move by the Universal Classics marketing department, these recordings have been repackaged a little differently.

Which is to say, they're really ugly.

Now, we all know that record labels, with their deep vaults, are endlessly recycling and regurgitating their catalogues, especially following the over-recording of the CD boom, where every kapellmeister worth his salt would be laughed out of the musician's union unless he recorded heavily.

All over Europe and America, these first (and second) rate maestros felt inadequate unless they recorded and released a Bruckner (or Mahler) symphony cycle, a complete set of Mozart operas, and possibly a Ring. Some of these performances were released. Others languished (and may continue to languish) in the import catalogue or gathering dust in a German warehouse.

Same case. Same recording. New art. Ugh.

The point is, that the catalogue is glutted with recordings, and the ones that came out at the end of the boom (late '80s, early '90s) are the hardest to sell to connoisseurs.

Which is why this supposed "consumer friendly" Opera! series has come out. I guess they figure by stripping anything to do with opera from the covers, people roaming record shops will grab and buy--just because it's, y'know, RED.

This Figaro is just one of the series. Other reissues getting this non-deluxe treatment include:

• Sir Georg Solti's Aida with Leontyne Price and Jon Vickers. Hope it's the remaster and not the "bad" original CD pressing with the dodgy sound.
• Sir Colin Davis' Peter Grimes with Vickers and Heather Harper.
• Jeffery Tate's Tales of Hoffmann with Jessye Norman and Cheryl Studer.
• The Metropolitan Opera/James Levine Die Walküre, which is currently available as part of a budget box with the whole Levine Ring. Bet the Met just loves the purple-and-orange cover with their new Ring in progress.
• Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Cav is under Semyn Bychkov. Pag is led by Riccardo Chailly. Both are good conductors who deserve better fates.
• The second, lesser Herbert von Karajan recording of Der Rosenkavalier with Anna Tomowa-Sintow. Skip it.
• Giuseppe Sinopoli's Madama Butterfly with Mirella Freni, near the end of her career and pretending to be a teenager.
• That really weird Lucia di Lammermoor (conducted by Ion Marin. (Who?)) with Cheryl Studer (again!) and Placìdo Domingo totally miscast as Edgardo. See above.
• Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie conducted by Marc Minkowski. Maybe it's not a total loss.

Ten Super Conductors

The Top Ten Maestros I've Seen

Claudio Abbado at work.

Hi folks. I finally got to hear Gustavo Dudamel conduct this weekend. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to put up my top ten list of great conductors that I've seen lead an orchestra or an opera.

I'll try to add what I've seen them conduct, as I can best remember it. In a few cases, there are just too many performances, so I've picked a notable one. Oh and the order is completely arbitrary as I thought of them for the list.


1) Claudio Abbado: Berlin Philharmonic, Mahler Symphony No. 3; Bruckner Symphony No. 9

2) Giuseppe Sinopoli: Dresden Staatskapelle. Tone poems and opera excerpts by Richard Strauss. Sinopoli is one of my favorite, underrated composers. He died in 2001, collapsing in the pit while conducting Act III of Aida in Berlin.

3) Daniel Barenboim: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Tristan und Isolde; Mahler 5 and 7 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

4) Pierre Boulez: Ravel's L'enfant et les Sortileges with the Cleveland Orchestra and Suzanne Mentzer.

5) Riccardo Chailly: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: Mahler Symphony No. 7

6) James Levine: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra. More performances that I can count at the Met, but all of the Wagner operas, especially Parsifal and Lohengrin.

7) Bernard Haitink: Mahler Symphony No. 9 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. At Symphony Hall when I lived in Boston, probably in 1996.

8) Sir Colin Davis: Program of English music with the New York Philharmonic featuring works by Vaughan Williams (the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis) Michael Tippett and Edward Elgar.

9) Kurt Masur: Many performances with the New York Philharmonic. Pressed to pick one: The St. Matthew Passion or Debussy's La Mer. And he led a superb Bruckner Seventh last season.

10) Riccardo Muti:"The Pines of Rome" with the New York Philharmonic. Simply devastating.

The Next Ten: Alan Gilbert, Christian Thielemann, William Christie, Zdenek Macal, Valery Gergiev. Seiji Ozawa, John Eliot Gardiner, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Simon Rattle.

CD Review: Aida in the Temple of Doom

This 1983 Aida is made with the usual cast of Deutsche Grammophon suspects. Once again, Claudio Abbado leads the proceedings. He conducts another fine performance, watching his dynamic markings and occasionally outwitting the recording engineer to produce grand musical theater.

Despite the photo of Katia Ricciarelli that appeared on the front cover of the original LP and CD box sets, it is Domingo who is the star of this show. Here, (in the second of three studio recordings he made as Radames) he sounds positively restrained--especially when compared to Corelli or del Monaco. And that's a good thing. Sensitive and thoughtful in the opera's opening act, he opens up the pipes later on to let floods of passion come roaring forth. In the studio, he sings with a level of care that doesn't always come across in the opera house.


Katia Ricciarelli's portrayal of the title role veers from mild to wild at the start of "Ritorna, vincitor." This is a fine, well-sung dramatic performance that ranges between extreme self-loathing and the pathos necessary for a truly sympathetic Aida. Oddly, Ricciarelli seems to achieve this latter quality through shorter phrases, not the traditional legato lines that one often hears in the opera house. She is, like many of her fellow Ethiopian slave-girls, best heard on record.

As Amneris, Elena Obraztsova remains a controversial choice. The Russian mezzo made a lot of DG recordings in the '80s and they all feature that bludgeoning, thrusting voice, an impressive instrument that could punch its way over the orchestra. Here, one wonders if she is about to punch out that two-timing Radames. Lucia Valentini-Terrani is perfectly cast here as the singing priestess in the temple of Fthà. She's the best female performance on this record.

This entire performance sounds like it is being played in the same echoing acoustic that is usually reserved for the Temple scene in Act I. The effect is claustrophobic, with solo violins, harps and even choristers echoing forth into the pyramidal void. This is an approach to recording Aida that was done first (and better) by John Culshaw on the first Karajan recording in 1959. But at least Culshaw knew the art of self-retraint. Dynamic ranges are extreme on this recording--the pianissimi are nearly inaudible and the big moments are right in your face--or eardrums--especially that final "Immenso Fthà!"