Recording Review: The Complications of a Family Business

Jaap van Zweden leads Siegfried in Hong Kong.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

SImon O'Neill, shown here as Siegmund in Die Walküre, sings the title role of Siegfried in Jaap van Zweden's new Hong Kong recording of the opera. Photo © The Metropolitan Opera.

Richard Wagner intended Siegfriedto be a romp. Certainly, there is a fairy-tale quality to this recording, the third installment of Jaap van Zweden's Ring, recorded in Hong Kong in 2016 with that city's Philharmonic Orchestra and an international cast. But does it do enough to help the reputation of this, the least known and least-loved of the four operas that make up this massive mythological cycle?

Recordings Review: When the White Gloves Come Off

Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic play Beethoven.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

You like me: Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2017 The New York Philharmonic.

The relationship between a conductor and an orchestra, particularly one where said conductor is signing a contract to become that ensemble's music director is a difficult thing to track. Public relations departments become surrounded by walls of silence. Questions from the media are deflected or restricted to carefully managed press conferences. With all that secrecy, one must rely on live performances and recorded documentation to assess such a relationship.

Recordings Review: Crazy Days, Lazy Nights

Yannick Nézet-Séguin records Le Nozze di Figaro.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Cover art for the new DG recording of Le Nozze di Figaro.
© 2016 Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics.

Le Nozze di Figaro is one of the most frequently performed and recorded Mozart operas. It's the one with everything: meaty roles for two baritones and two very different leading ladies, a plum comic part for a bass worth his salt and an opportunity for a star conductor to prove himself by keeping the action moving and the many ensembles rolling along. It also helps a listener learn much about a conductor's style in general, thanks to the many different demands this four-hour opera makes.

Happy Birthday, Pierre Boulez!

The super conductor turns 90. Here is a list of his best recordings.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Pierre Boulez.

"I love to conduct but I feel that it is no longer necessary."--Pierre Boulez

The great Pierre Boulez turns 90 years old today and we would like to celebrate with a list of the composer-conductor's greatest efforts on disc. Boulez is a composer first, a creator of new traditions and a breaker of old ones. His early music spawned the sound of the second half of the 20th century, his later works mark his status as an original thinker and tireless seeker.

Recordings Review: Green-Eyed Monsters of the Midway

Riccardo Muti and the CSO record Otello.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

In concert: Riccardo Muti (on podium) conducting Otello at Orchestra Hall in 2011.
Photo by Todd Rosenberg © 2011 Chicago Symphony Orchestra,

From the slip-case of the CD with an enormous, brooding profile of Riccardo Muti to the opening bars of the conductor's new (2013) recording of Verdi's Otello, it is clear that the fiery Italian conductor is working hard to put his personal stamp on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This Otello (recorded in 2011 during a run of four concert performances at Orchestra Hall) is Mr. Muti's second recording on CSO Resound, the orchestra's own label. (Unbelievably this is Mr. Muti's first Otello on CD, and the CSO's second. Under Sir Georg Solti made an ill-advised set with Luciano Pavarotti(!) in the title role in 1991.)

Recordings Review: Famous Last Words?

On Sibelius, silence and the "death" of classical music.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Sage advice from your favorite blog.

As the Internet erupted in a swirl of argument following the announcement of the "Death of Classical Music" in a recent issue of Slate, things have been a little bit more subdued here at the Brooklyn apartment headquarters of Superconductor. Frankly, I've been down for the count with a persistent head cold, acquired (ironically) during Act I of last Wednesday's La Bohème.

Recordings Review: The Best of Both Worlds

Marek Janowski's new Tannhäuser splits the difference. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Venus (center) and Tannhäuser in Lawrence Koe's 1896 painting Venus and Tännhäuser.
Image © 1896 Lawrence Koe.

Like its protagonist, Tannhäuser, the fifth opera by Richard Wagner (and the second to be considered "mature") is cursed with a double existence. Conductors can choose between the composer's original intentions ("Dresden") or the luscious orchestrations and rich "mature" Wagner of the "Paris" version created for a disastrous "second premiere" at the Paris Opéra in 1861. It is a difficult choice, as the later revisions give the story a very different tone and inflection.

Recording Review: The Living Colossus

Otto Klemperer conducts Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Old school Otto Klemperer made batons and bow ties look cool.
Photo © EMI Classics.

This classic 1966 recording of Mozart's Don Giovanni has recently returned to the catalogue as a budget stand-alone or as part of the EMI Otto Klemperer Edition, a series of budget boxed sets reissuing classic recordings by this brilliant (and today, somewhat forgotten) conductor. Klemperer's measured, meticulous approach to Mozart may seem dated (and tortoise-slow) compared to today's "historically informed" conductors. This performance delivers precise, powerful conducting, perfectly suited to the light and shade of this opera, and the slow tempi add greater weight to the big moments.

Recording Review: There Will Be Blood

Oberto, Verdi's first opera indicates great things to come.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The young Giuseppe Verdi. He started work on Oberto when he was 23.

Oct. 10, 2013 marks the 200th birthday of composer Giuseppe Verdi. To celebrate that birthday in style, Superconductor will offer in-depth coverage of Verdi's long career and vast catalogue in coming months.

We start at the beginning, with Oberto.

Verdi's long career as a composer began with Oberto, Comte di San Bonifacio which had its debut at La Scala in 1839. He was 26, and had worked on the opera for three years.

According to Julian Budden's excellent The Operas of Verdi, this work may have originated under the title Rocester, a libretto by Antonio Piazza. He also hints at a libretto called Lord Hamilton that was making the rounds before Verdi settled on Oberto. Both of these earlier works are either lost or integrated into the structure of Oberto.

Recordings Review: Polishing the Apple

Antonio Pappano's EMI William Tell. 
by Paul Pelkonen

Conductor Antonio Pappano in an apple endorsement. Image © 2011 EMI Classics.

Guillaume Tell is Rossini's last opera. Written in 1829, it is a sweeping, sophisticated work with a killer role for the tenor, a baritone part that doesn't get an aria, and a stirring overture that is the only part of the work that remains in the standard performing repertory.

Since this opera is rarely performed, the arrival of a new recording of Tell--let alone a live one is cause for surprise. Even better, this three-disc issue from EMI (released in 2011) was made at six concerts in Rome by Antonio Pappano, an experienced conductor in 19th century repertory. Mr. Pappano, working here with the Orchestra and Chorus of the National Academy of St. Cecilia, (which he has led for the past five years) presents an invigorating account that may do much to restore the reputation of this opera as a vast, sweeping work that, despite dramatic flaws, contains some of Rossini's finest music in its four acts. 

Recordings Review: The Great Wagner Escape

How the Kubelik Meistersinger escaped from obscurity. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Fear the beard: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger.
Photo © 1976 Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Group

Two recordings of the same opera are under scrutiny this week, and that opera is Wagner's sole comedy, the mighty Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. (Yes, I know. Another Wagner article. If you're all very patient next week I'll be writing about Donizetti).

In 1967, Deutsche Grammophon eager to add a Meistersinger to its catalogue, commissioned conductor Rafael Kubelik and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra to record this opera. This was a live recording done in a theater with no audience. The set featured a solid cast, with Gundula Janowitz as Eva, baritone Thomas Stewart as Hans Sachs, Sandor Konya as Walther--great singers but not household names. However, this set was not released--it sat on the shelf until 1994.

That was a good year for classical music, and right before the end of the CD boom, when the market was getting flooded with "bootleg" recordings by small labels from Europe: Myto, Gala and Opera d'Oro. The first appearance of this Meistersinger was bootleg pressing was issued on CD by the tiny Italian label, Myto. Collectors snatched them up.

When the pricey Myto version disappeared, the Calig label issued a new version. This one was made from the actual DGG master tapes, and has the same clarity of sound as other contemporary DGG recordings.

This recording is currently available for a third time: on a German label, Arts Archives. Like many recordings made by Rafael Kubelik, this Meistersinger is conducted with a fresh approach to the music. Kubelik displays his usual command of rhythm, phrasing and texture, and the orchestra plays brilliantly. Stewart's performance as Hans Sachs is both genial and confident, and is one of the best recordings made by this underrated baritone.

With the Kubelik set completed (but relegated to the vault) baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau entered into negotiations with DGG to record Meistersinger, with himself as Sachs. This set finally appeared in 1976, with veteran conductor Eugene Jochum on the podium leading the Deutche Oper Berlin forces. The recording has some wonderful orchestral playing but is marred by weak choral singing and a series of acoustical tricks by the Tonmeister (the echoing, boomy church acoustic in the opening scene is the biggest culprit) that distract the listener.

As for the cast, Fischer-Dieskau, better known for his achievements in lieder and art song, made some memorable Wagner recordings. This is one of his better ones. His Sachis is warm and resonant if a little fussy. Domingo is at sea here, struggling with the unfamilar German diction. Catarina ligendza is a disaster as Eva. However, charming orchestral playing, intelligent interpretation and the magnificent David of Roland Herman are all redeeming factors.

Here's a few others worth checking out:

• The 1950 London recording under Hans Knappertsbutsch features the sonorous Sachs of Paul Schöffler and some remarkable orchestral playing from the Viennese forces.
• The two Karajan recordings from EMI have much to recommend them--the set from Bayreuth in 1951 is excellent, the studio recording in the '70s has great stereo sound and a solid cast with Karajan leading the Dresden forces.
• Wolfgang Sawallisch's studio recording (also EMI--they have four in their catalogue) features Cheryl Studer and Ben Heppner as a raiant Eva and Walther. The set is marred by the slightly dry Sachs of Bernd Weikl who nevertheless sings the role with experience and good humor.

Recordings Review: Heliane in a Handbasket

A great opera by Korngold returns to the catalogue.

Lotte Lehman and Jan Kiepura in the premiere of Die Wunder das Heliane.
Photo © Vienna State Opera.

 This month's current slate of Decca reissues features Erich Wolfgang Korngold's little-heard opera Die Wunder das Heliane. This opera (The Miracle of Heliane in English) is a strange symbolic story of a legendary princess, a despotic Ruler, (her husband) and the mysterious Stranger, whom Heliane is in love with. The Christ-like death and resurrection of both Heliane and the Stranger that enable the lovers to escape the Ruler's dark kingdom in a swirl of gloriously orchestrated music.

This recording was made in the early '90s, just at the end of the boom period for the big classical labels. It stars Bulgarian diva Anna Tomowa-Sintow in the demanding title role opposite tenor John David de Haan. Both singers cope admirably with the difficult vocal score and demanding roles.

They are ably supported by Reinhild Runkel, Hartmut Welker and, in one of his very last recordings, Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda. John Mauceri is a bit of a specialist in Korngold, having regularly conducted the composer's film music in concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Here, he leads the Berlin RSO in a sumptuous performance that pulls out all the orchestral stops.


Heliane had a difficult birth. When it arrived in Vienna, Korngold's opera was presented in competition with the far more populist Jonny Spielt Auf, a jazz opera by Ernst Krenek. Krenek's opera proved more popular with the Viennese, not least because Korngold's father, Julius, a music critic, unleashed a vicious series of attacks on Krenek that backfired against Heliane.

Both operas were banned when the Nazis came to power, along with wonderful works by Schreker, Schoenberg, and anyone else who didn't meet the Third Reich's ridiculous standards of "artistic purity." Korngold, a child prodigy best known for composing the opera Die Tote Stadt fled to Hollywood and became a film composer, scoring classic films including The Sea Hawk, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, and Anthony Adverse.

Although Tote Stadt is considered to be an early masterwork, his later operas have had difficulty finding an audience. As a tonal composer who refused to embrace serial methods, Korngold's music was out of fashion in the 20th century. He has been rediscovered in recent years. Hopefully, the reduced-price reissue of Heliane will lead to more listeners discovering the glorious complexity of this underrated genius.

To learn more about Korngold, check out the official website of the Korngold Society!