HERMANN ABENDROTH CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS & BRUCKNER: 1939-49
BROADCAST PERFORMANCES.
CD-1099(2)
Once as famous as his colleague Furtwängler, Abendroth, who until the end of the war conducted the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, nearly faded into obscurity after 1945 when he had to give up the podium of the great historic Leipzig symphony and conducted mainly in the East German provincial city of Weimar. His commercial recording career ended and with a few exceptions he conducted mainly in East Germany, where he chose to remain until his death in 1956. His principal venue between 1949 & 1956 was the Leipzig radio station (MDR) which recorded many of his concerts and became the vehicle for preserving much of his art.
An earlier volume of live concerts under Abendroth¹s direction on the Music & Arts label (CD1065) has earned high praise from critics in major journals. Here is an example:
"This Music & Arts set is perhaps the single best
introduction to Abendroth, because of the consistent high level of its performances
and Maggie Payne's excellent transfer work. Mark Kluge's informative and
insightful notes are a nice extra bonus. This set is essential to those
interested in the Central European conducting tradition as it was practiced
in the middle of the 20th century."
--Henry Fogel, Fanfare
CD-1099(2) HERMANN ABENDROTH CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS & BRUCKNER: 1939-49 BROADCAST PERFORMANCES.
CD #1 Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 with Stadt- und Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (1944). Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 with Grosses Orchester des Reichsenders Breslau (1939).
CD #2 Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in c minor with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
Leipzig (1949). A coproduction with Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv. AAD. 61:06
&
78:11. UPC# 0-17685-10992-8.