|
|
 |
CD-1198(1) OSKAR FRIED: A FORGOTTEN CONDUCTOR, VOL. III. WEBER: Euryanthe, Overture Philharmonisches Orchester, Berlin (rec. 1928). BEETHOVEN: Symphony Nr. 2 D-Dur op. 36 Kapelle der Staatsoper, Berlin (rec. ca.1925). LISZT: Les Préludes, Philharmonisches Orchester, Berlin (rec.1928). STRAVINSKY: L’Oiseau de Feu, Suite Kapelle der Staatsoper, Berlin (rec. ca. 1925). Digital sound restoration: Gert Fischer with extensive notes by Wolfgang Georgy. Total time: 69:00. UPC# 0-17685-11982-8 BUZZ: If today Oskar Fried is the only one of Mahler’s four students who is barely remembered, surely it’s not because of an unimpressive personality or a lack of interpretive insights, but because of unfortunate circumstances. Otto Klemperer no less tosses him a nice bouquet in his Minor Recollections: “He was a brilliant conductor, an extremely gifted composer, and a most original personality.” Why then is he almost forgotten? Unlike his contemporary Willem Mengelberg, Fried did not enjoy the lifelong leadership of an outstanding orchestra and the opportunity to spread his name and fame throughout the world by means of commercial and broadcast recordings. And unlike his fellow-refugees Bruno Walter and Otto Klemperer, Fried did not live long enough after his exile from Nazi Germany to be able to preserve important parts of his repertoire on high fidelity LPs and even stereo recordings during a postwar career. But at least part of his interpretative achievement survives, albeit in primitive sound. As Deutsche Grammophon-Gesellschaft began in 1923 to build up a repertoire of great classical orchestral works—in part before the microphone came to be used in the recording process—Oskar Fried’s collaboration was sought, and it is the era of the horn and of early electrical recordings that this series draws from for its sound-portrait of Fried. The first two volumes in the series have received warm critical acclaim and have sold well in major markets. |
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2005 Music & Arts Programs of America. All rights reserved.
