My office this afternoon comes complete with Pumpkin Whoopie Pies and a glass of cold rice “milk.” (It’s actually called Rice Drink. But it’s the color of milk and it comes in a half gallon carton like milk does. So I call it milk.)
This time of year is when the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies emerge from my wife’s expert baking skills. She’s very, very good at baking (and cooking, too, but this is about baking, so…). Her pies are the stuff of legend. But so are these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, little pumpkin pie “hamburgs” with cream cheese filling.
Yum.
Anyway, with the sun shining brightly, a temperature of 60 degrees warming me from head to toe, I sit overlooking the lake filled with blue gills and traversed by mallards, and I listen to German conductor Franz Konwitschny (1901-1962), Gewandhausorchester Leipzig orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor.
Life is good.
So is Konwitschny.
No. Not just good. He’s remarkable.
Konwitschny has surprised me the most of all 17 of the conductors in my Beethoven blog. He and Leonard Bernstein are runaway favorites. But Konwitschny most of all. He’s damn good.
I’ve encountered Maestro Konwitschny four times previous to today, on…
Day 13. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 31. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 49. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 67. Rating: “Huzzah!”
What will today bring?
I bet I can guess.
But before I do, I need to mention again that this CD box set of Konwitschny’s nine Beethoven symphonies is one of the greatest I’ve ever encountered. It was put together with love and care. The music was recorded extremely well (especially for its time – some 58 years ago). And the liner notes are a dream. Every detail included, along with period photos.
At just 27.08USD, currently, this box set is a steal. Easily one of the most important purchases you’re likely to make for your library of Classical music.
‘Nuff said.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 5 in C minor), from this particular conductor (Kontwitschny, at age 59) and this particular orchestra (Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra), at this particular time in history (Recorded March 1-15, 1960) on this particular record label (Berlin Classics) is as follows:
I. Allegro con brio (C minor)………………………………………………………8:08
II. Andante con moto (A♭ major)………………………………………….10:37
III. Scherzo: Allegro (C minor)……………………………………………………6:12
IV. Allegro (C major)………………………………………………………………..11:51
Total running time: 36:08
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (an excellent recording for its age, with only a few odd ambient noises and slight tape hiss throughout)
Overall musicianship: 5
CD liner notes: 5 (two essays that contain exceptional historical and technical detail by Matthias Hansen and Werner Wolf, but no timing of individual tracks – those are found on the CD sleeve)
How does this make me feel: 5 (“Huzzah!”)
Yet another home run. An instant “Huzzah!”, the fifth in a row for Franz Konwitschny.
This recording is crisp, clean, and powerful. It has punch.
I have no idea how these people at Berlin Classics did it. But this sounds fresher, more vibrant, and more powerful than most recordings of performances given in 2018. This astounding.
I listened to this masterful performance twice through, no mean feat since, at 36:08, it’s one of the longer performances to which I’ve listened. Each time, I was amazed by what I heard.
There’s so much magic in this performance and recording it’s like listening to something from Harry Potter’s world of witchcraft and wizardry.
When the orchestra winds up (5:20-5:25) in Movement II, I can feel the hairs on my arm stand up. It’s a powerful piece of music, expertly played and recorded. The pizzicato and flue work is the best I’ve heard.
I simply can’t tell you how powerful Movement III (Scherzo) is in the hands of Franz Konwitschny and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. It’s almost unnerving how dramatic this recording is.
I wish more Konwitschny recordings existed. I’d buy them. Immediately.
“Huzzah!”
Double “Huzzah!”
Don’t miss this CD box set!
NOTE: I find these historic recordings to be exhilarating, especially this one. It’s so cool to hear everything in such great clarity. I can hear chairs squeaking, occasional shuffling, valves opening and closing, the sound fingers make on strings as they move from one position to another. I’ve never heard a nearly 60-year-old recording so remarkable. My hat is off to the people at Berlin Classics.