Bruno Walter

[jwinter]

Greetings to all!

I recently read Bruno Walter's fascinating essay on Bruckner & Mahler that Cato was good enough to link over on the Bruckner thread, which prompted me to rummage through my CDs and pull out some of Walter's late Columbia recordings.  These were some of the first classical CDs I bought, as Walter (along with Szell and Bernstein) were familiar names from my meager cassette and LP collection back in ancient times, but I hadn't pulled them out for a listen in quite some time.  I listened to his Schubert 9th last night, and was reminded of what a marvelous reading this is, warm and light, I'd forgotten how much I'd enjoyed it.



As I type this, I'm ripping the other Walter Columbia recordings I own for my iPod:  Beethoven symphonies, Brahms symphonies & Requiem, Mozart symphonies, Bruckner, Mahler, Wagner, Dvorak 8 & 9...

Any other Bruno Walter fans out there?  What are your favorite recordings?  Any key items I'm missing?  Do you tend to prefer his late stereo recordings with the Columbia orchestra, or do you go for the earlier mono stuff?

[gmstudio]

Beethoven symphonies, Brahms symphonies

In a regrettable moment of purging my collection a few years ago, I got rid of these very collections. I've regretted it ever so much since then.

[PerfectWagnerite]

I have his Brahms cycle but still in shrinkwrap...

His Mahler and Bruckner are marvelous. This is probabaly my favorite recording of #1 and #2:



Also this Mahler 9th with rehearsal and all is another personal favorite. No the orchestra is no the most refined and there are some noticeable hesistations in the execution but the urgency and sincerity of the interpretation pretty much wins you over:



I am not that high on his Beethoven. They are solid but not standout performances, certainly dims in comparison to the fervor and crispness a la Bernstein and Szell from the same period.

The only Mozart I have with him is this one:



and frankly it is terribly. Horribly rushed, no charm whatsover. Best to avoid.

[jwinter]

I have his Brahms cycle but still in shrinkwrap...

Good lord, man, find the scissors!     Seriously, those are wonderful performances.  The disc with the 2nd & 3rd is nearly desert island material for me.

Wholeheartedly agree on the Mahler.  Wonderful.

I partly agree on the Beethoven -- I'm one of those who loves his Pastoral, but other wise it's a mixed bag.  His 9th is particularly weak, I thought, though I've heard that the Vienna one recently released on Orfeo (I think) is much better.

The only Mozart I have with him is this one:



and frankly it is terribly. Horribly rushed, no charm whatsover. Best to avoid.

Definitely a minority opinion there, but again I can't really argue against it.  I have the French 4 disc set with most of his Mozart, but honestly if I want old-school Mozart I generally return to Karl Bohm, or Colin Davis/Dresden if I want good sound.

[PerfectWagnerite]

There is probably VERY VERY few bad recordings of the later Mozart symphonies (35-41), and 25 and 29. Always everything I have I like which runs the gamit from Boehm, Fricsay, HVK, Britten, Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Sir Colin, Szell, Bernstein, etc.. But Walter takes some of these (like the final movement of K550) at such a ridiculous tempo that all you hear is one big mush. For modern sound and non-HIP I do think Sir Colin is hard to top with the SD.

[Drasko]

Walter conducted the premiere and later championed Kurt Weill's 2nd Symphony and I'd really love if some broadcast would surface but unfortunately no luck so far.

One disc with his Mozart which I do want to get (but haven't gotten around to yet) is with his pre-war Wiena recording of Prague symphony. I had it ages ago on some crumy off-radio recorded cassete and loved it but now can't really remember anything about the actual performance. It's available on Opus Kura:
http://www.amazon.com/Name-Symphonies-Unfinished-Prague-Mircale/dp/B00008NRIM

[Peregrine]

Fantastic set that...

[Gustav]

walter was a fantastic conductor of Mozart as well, his Bruckner/Mahler symphonies with Columbia are "legendary". There is a rehearsal of him conducting the "Linz" symphony on Naxos, you all should check it out.

[Peregrine]

There is a rehearsal of him conducting the "Haffiner" symphony on Naxos, you all should check it out.

Wasn't aware of that, I'll go and have a look for it...

Cheers!

[MN Dave]

I have an early Mahler 9 and a later Brahms 2 & 3.

[dirkronk]

For me, the following Walter performances are absolutely indispensible:

Beethoven symphony 6 with the Columbia Sym...my favorite performance of that piece, bar none. The 4th is nearly as dear to me, as well, but the rest of the cycle simply isn't up to that level.

Beethoven violin concerto with Szigeti from the early '30s with some unnamed British orchestra. Their later remake with NYPSO is interesting but not nearly as great.

Brahms symphonies 2 and 3 with NYP. I much prefer these over the later Columbia SO versions, even though I find those appealing as well.

Bruckner--I enjoy Walter's 4th and 9th a great deal, even though I wouldn't necessarily recommend them as "only" versions to own. Still, I'm hanging on to my copies.

Mahler--I know people criticize the finale of Walter's 1st symphony, but I still love this version. Ditto his 9th. Both with ColSO.

Wagner--I can't believe that Sony has let Walter's Wagner drift out of print...I've been looking several years now for the 2-CD set that was once available cheap on Essential Classics. Last time I looked for it on Amazon, the only seller listed wanted upwards of sixty bucks for the set. THAT bad I don't want it. Yet. All of pieces are beautifully played and quite well recorded, and some--the Parsifal prelude and Good Friday music, for example--have to be among the finest versions I've ever heard. Unfortunately my LP copy is pressed ever-so-slightly off-center, which rather mars the gorgeous phrasing in Walter's interp.

FWIW,

Dirk

[Holden]

I also got into Walter's LvB with the Col SO in the early days of CD as they were the closest to the Cluytens on LP which at that stage were not available on the CD format. Of those recordings, the 1st, 4th, 6th and 7th really stood out and still do IMO. I now have the M&A complete mono cycle he recorded in the late 40s/early 50s with the NYPO and the Philadelphia and with the exception of the 4th and 6th they are superior readings in every way.

I also have all the Brahms with the NYPO plus 1 and 4 with the Col SO, Mahler 1&2 with the Col SO, Mahler 4&5 with the NYPO and his superb Bruckner 9 and Te Deum.

On top of that there is the superb Das Liede von der Erde with Ferrier and a two disc compilation called 'Maestro Generoso' which contains LvB 3 & 8 from '41 and '42 (NYPO), a Schubert 'Unfinished from '47 (Philadelphia) and a real gem, the Symphonie Fantastique from '39 (Paris Con). I might have missed on or two others in my collection

So I suppose that you could say that I'm Walter fan.

IMO, Walter's earliest Beethoven is some of his best. I've got three Eroica's from him now and the earliest has the most drive and momentum.

[Daverz]

I love all the Walter/Columbia SO "Indian Summer" recordings that I have: the Brahms and Mozart symphonies, the Bruckner 9, the Wagner bits, the Schubert 5, Beethoven 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 and the VC with Francescatti.  I've been trying to find the complete Beethoven Symphonies set on CD without success (or at least the disc with 7; I have that whole set on Odyssey Lps.)  The mono Schubert 9 with the NYP on United Archives is such a good recording that I haven't felt the need to get the later stereo recording.  The mono Beethoven set with the NYP (and Philly in the 6th) is available on several labels, but I'm hoping the forthcoming United Archives release will sound as good as the Schubert.

[Daverz]

and frankly it is terribly. Horribly rushed, no charm whatsover. Best to avoid.

Hmmmm...is PW really Paul B.?

[Daverz]

Here's the promo blurb on the United Archives Beethoven set:

Celebrated as an outstanding conductor in an era of great conducting, Bruno Walter favoured the Austro-German repertoire and especially Beethoven. As we have come to expect, United Archives delivers the best possible re-mastering and proudly presents the first complete set featuring the 1953 recording of the 'Ode an die Freude' (Fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony): in 1953, Bruno Walter decided to record this movement again, because he was not satisfied with the first recording from 1949. So, this is the complete cycle approved by Bruno Walter.

The sixth CD (bonus) features early recordings of the Third and the Fifth Symphonies with the same orchestra.

[jwinter]

Thanks to all for your comments!

Dirk, FYI, the Wagner pieces are included as "filler" in the Bruckner/Mahler Original Jacket set, if that strikes your fancy.   

[Josquin des Prez]

I have both the Brahms 2nd and 3rd as well as the Beethoven 4th and 6th and i think their reputation is well deserved.

[Holden]

I love all the Walter/Columbia SO "Indian Summer" recordings that I have: the Brahms and Mozart symphonies, the Bruckner 9, the Wagner bits, the Schubert 5, Beethoven 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 and the VC with Francescatti. I've been trying to find the complete Beethoven Symphonies set on CD without success (or at least the disc with 7; I have that whole set on Odyssey Lps.)  The mono Schubert 9 with the NYP on United Archives is such a good recording that I haven't felt the need to get the later stereo recording.  The mono Beethoven set with the NYP (and Philly in the 6th) is available on several labels, but I'm hoping the forthcoming United Archives release will sound as good as the Schubert.

Daverz - you'll find the complete Walter LvB on Amazon



but when I searched I was amazed that I couldn't find a single CD containing the 7th. If you want that one alone then please PM me.

[Daverz]

Daverz - you'll find the complete Walter LvB on Amazon

Yeah, for $198! 

[PerfectWagnerite]

I think you are better off buying individual releases of Walter/Beethoven on Amazon. I think all of them are there and each CD is about $4-$5 plus shipping so you should be able to piece together a complete set for around $40, which isn't terrible if you like Walter/Beethoven.