It’s a chilly, gray morning here in West Michigan.
The trees are still in full color change. Quite vibrant.
But the skies are gray and we’ve had a lot of rain lately.
That, plus the fact that darkness pushes in on both sides of the day (it’s still dark at 8:15am and it gets dark at 6:30pm) makes it seem like Winter is already here.
It’s the perfect morning to sit here, cat beside me in his “cat tower,” five Black Sabbath albums in my CD changer (turned down low as if I’m in a restaurant and this is their Muzak), and listen to German conductor Franz Konwitschny (1901-1962), Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major.
I’ve encountered Maestro Konwitschny five times previous to today, on…
Day 13. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 31. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 49. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 67. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 84. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Five “Huzzah!” ratings in a row.
I wonder what today will bring?
I bet I can guess.
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.
So all he has to do is maintain his remarkably high level of performance quality and today will be a repeat of the previous five.
But we’ll see. I don’t want to presume.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 6 in F major), 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 ma non troppo………………………………………..11:46
“Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country”
II. Andante molto mosso………………………………………..14:43
“Scene by the brook”
III. Allegro…………………………………………………………………5:36
“Merry gathering of country folk”
IV. Allegro…………………………………………………………………..4:03
“Thunderstorm”
V. Allegretto……………………………………………………………..9:27
“Shepherd’s song: Happy and thankful feelings after the storm”
Total running time: 44:55
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 (sounds inspired and passionate)
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!”)
Despite this performance being the longest of Beethoven’s Sixth I’ve heard to date, it doesn’t drag. It doesn’t wear out its welcome. I was hooked from Movement I through to the end.
Every movement bursts forth with energy and exuberance.
My favorite passages remain so, starting with the beautiful melody from 7:44 to 8:00 in Movement I. That actually begins at 7:36 in Konwitschny’s rendition. A huge explosion of sound at 7:36 sets up the melody at 7:44. It’s a powerful moment.
Movement II’s flute and oboe solos sing out with joy.
Movement III’s “merry gathering of country folk” sounds exactly as it’s supposed to: bold, reckless, joyful, carefree.
Movement IV’s “thunderstorm” is precisely that, with all its gentle raindrops and brash claps of thunder.
The finale (Movement IV) brings it all home with gorgeous French horns and the feeling of sun peeking through the passing dark clouds.
It’s hard for me to know at this point if I’m diggin’ Konwitschny and his performance because they’re truly that good…or because the entire CD box set from Berlin Classics is just so darn detailed and well done that I’m swayed by the entire packge.
Then there are the 60-year-old recordings. They sound as fresh today as they did back then. The remastering is stunning. The original recording production must have been inspired. Those people placing the microphones and mixing the instruments were gifted.
I can’t speak highly enough of this CD box set, nor of Konwitschny’s performances.
“Huzzah!”
And “Boo!”
It’s Halloween