Strauss Symphony in F minor

[Alan Howe]

Adriano is right, by the way: the version conducted by Hiroshi Wakasugi on Denon is also excellent - at least as good as Bäumer or Weigle, albeit, I think, rather more refined, with all of them turning in performances that are much more subtle than the rather brash Järvi. In addition, Wakasugi benefits from very good Denon engineering, with particularly good bass definition.

[adriano]

Ah, Alan!
That's telepathy: right now I was coming in to post a reminder on this very recording 

[Alan Howe]

Do tell us what you think the advantages of the Wakasugi recording are...

[adriano]

In my collection I have only the Wakasugi and the Rickenbacher recordings, which I both find excellently performed and well recorded. I was quite astonished that Rickenbacher's tempi were so fresh, since generally he was a rather slow-tempo man (we knew eachother since 1970; occasionally he came back to me asking for less-known scores, photocopies or infos on Respighi and Schreker).
I prefer Wakasugi's performance, mainly due to its warmer and brighter string sound (Rickenbacher's Bavarians strings, in some little high places, have occasional tiny intonation problems). Wakasugi also uses rubato. In a way, his performance gives each Symphonie's movements more impact. Rickenbacher's has a more dry (but fully justifiable) approach and, in my opinion, it really "breaks out" only in the last movement. Perhaps he wanted so. But I think that dramatic situations could be more emphasized already in the first movement.
I am happy having listened to these CDs after so many years! And I did by following with a score. New recordings of this wonderful work are welcome, but I remain happy with what I already have :-)
Wakasugi was conductor-in-chief of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra from 1987 to 1991 and I remember some of his wonderful concerts. His four "unsung" Strauss-Denon CDs (recorded between 1989 and 1994) are super - a recommendable repertoire compendium to Rudolf Kempe's Strauss box (recorded in Dresden), which was produced by RCA in the 1970s (at the time Kempe was chef at the Tonhalle). In 1971, he made a sensation with the first stereo recording of the "Alpensinfonie". Karajan's transcendental recording (which for me remains the absolute best - I know, some music-lovers will be scandalised) was done only 10 years later. The excellent Decca recordings by Georg Solti and Zubin Metha were done just in-between Kempe's and Karajan's.

[Alan Howe]

That's a really fascinating series of insights - thank you. Wakasugi was obviously a very fine, but underrated conductor.

And no, I'm not scandalised at your assessment of Karajan's Alpine Symphony. At his best (as there) his conducting was indeed transcendental - as was his orchestra. I'm also glad to hear you speak of Strauss' F minor Symphony as 'this wonderful work' instead of following the critical crowd and dismissing it as a piece of insignificant juvenilia. I agree one hundred per cent.

[hyperdanny]

thank you Hadrianus for sharing such wealth of insightful info!
Your recollections are a treasure,
You have brilliantly clarified to me why I am not totally happy with Rickenbacher (notwithstanding an overall very good interpretation and great audio quality).
I think I'll  have to get the Wakasugi...

[Jonathan]

I've just checked and I have the Rickenbacher as well.  I shall have to give it a spin again as it's been a while since I've heard it and then probably decide I need the Wakasugi as well!

[hyperdanny]

credit where it's due (especially Alan)..I just listened to the freshly purchased Baumer/cpo and you were right: here's there's a majesty, a sense of mistery, that in the Jarvi is simply not there.
I still like Jarvi's père customary energy,but, without a doubt, Baumer (and the very good, echt-German sounding orchestra) make this a "big", plush piece, still vigorous and stormy, though.
This is now my reference.Wonderful.
I just hope that this team could give us the other symphony, sooner or later-

[Alan Howe]

...as I keep saying ad nauseam, we need a commercial recording of Berger 2.

[adriano]

I wanted to record Berger 25 years ago on Marco Polo: No interest!

[Gareth Vaughan]

One would have thought Herr Schmilgun at CPO might show some interest, but I suppose you have already contacted him, Alan.

[Alan Howe]

Yes, years ago. I seem to remember sending him a copy of the Bernbacher/Bremen performance.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Maybe another gentle prod would do no harm.

[Ilja]

Adriano is right, by the way: the version conducted by Hiroshi Wakasugi on Denon is also excellent - at least as good as Bäumer or Weigle, albeit, I think, rather more refined, with all of them turning in performances that are much more subtle than the rather brash Järvi. In addition, Wakasugi benefits from very good Denon engineering, with particularly good bass definition.

I think that we're at a serious risk at looking for more depth here than is there; it's a symphony written by a nineteen-year-old after all. And while I don't think people that young are incapabale of intellectual depth (quite the contrary), a certain amount of energy is also called for. To me, this makes Järvi's approach quite compelling, and particularly Weigle not so much.

(also, I don't adhere to the implication that there is a proporitonate relationship between speed and interpretational superficiality, but that is perhaps a different discussion)

[Alan Howe]

Well - respectfully - I disagree. Järvi is too flip; Bäumer gets it about right - as do Weigle and Wakasugi. Too often Järvi simply rushes his fences. This isn't a question of looking for more depth where there isn't any - it's a matter, ultimately, of respect for what the composer wrote.

Järvi père has form in this area. His recent recording of Rubinstein's PC5 is a case in point. When I was in Manchester in 2010 observing Noseda record Rufinatscha for Chandos, Järvi's Raff recordings were being planned. "I'll bet that'll be fast!" was the comment from the recording team in the studio. As it turned out, Järvi's tempi in the two Raff symphonies he recorded proved a necessary corrective to what had gone before; however, his tendency to rush is clearly well known in the business. And even early Strauss should definitely not be treated like Raff.