[.ca] Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4

Mengelberg respecting the wishes of Brahms.:
The great Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg, and his achievements during his long tenure with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, are becoming more accessible to record collectors in the early C21st than ever before. The Naxos budget label is adding to the flood of reissues with items from the Telefuncun series made during 1937 to 1941. Compared to the series made by Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw for Columbia a decade earlier, the Telefuncun series, it has always seemed to me, whether heard on 78s, LPs, or now CDs, offers less spectacular sound. Instead of the illusion of a large orchestra, placed in serried ranks, playing in a large concert hall, the Telefuncun recordings offer monochromatic sound, usually lacking top and bottom frequencies, suggestive of frequent dubbing and redubbing. The producer of this CD, Ward Marston, has certainly worked wonders with this restoration, however, using the best sides chosen from several sets of 78s. Some sides yield better results than others; for example, the last side of the Second Symphony is noticeably brighter than the others. And the performances? They confirm that Mengelberg rarely put a foot wrong in the Brahms performances he conducted. Apparently he considered that Brahms "got it all right", and there was no need for the "changements" and exaggerations Mengelberg often brought to the works of other composers. The slow movements, so often the downfall of all but the greatest conductors, are especially successful. When I add that the annotations and producer's articles are amongst the very best I have read about the Mengelberg recorded legacy, shoppers should find this budget CD to be well worth collecting.

• Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73: Allegro non troppo
• Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73: Adagio non troppo
• Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73: Allegretto grazioso
• Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73: Allegro con spirito
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro non troppo
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: Andante moderato
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro giocoso
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro energico e passionato