Eugen Jochum

[mathias broucek]

Why is Jochum so out of fashion these days?

At his best he's one of the greatest conductors of the Austro-German symphonic reperoire. Yet some of his greatest recordings seem never to have made it to CD (e.g. the Amsterdam Mozart symphonies on Philips) whilst other repertoire vanished from the CD lists almost as soon as it was released (e.g. LSO Beethoven cycle, LPO Brahms).

I've managed to get his Bamberg Mozart (Eurodisc and Orfeo) from Marketplace recently, albeit not cheaply. Harrump!

[amateur51]

Why is Jochum so out of fashion these days?

At his best he's one of the greatest conductors of the Austro-German symphonic reperoire. Yet some of his greatest recordings seem never to have made it to CD (e.g. the Amsterdam Mozart symphonies on Philips) whilst other repertoire vanished from the CD lists almost as soon as it was released (e.g. LSO Beethoven cycle, LPO Brahms).

I've managed to get his Bamberg Mozart (Eurodisc and Orfeo) from Marketplace recently, albeit not cheaply. Harrump!

Oddly enough, in a moment of sleeplessness last night, I reflected on those musicians who were once well-known and whose stars are now in eclipse and the two names I jotted down for further exploration are ... Eugen Jochum and Bruno Walter.

You are not alone in your puzzlement

[cloughie]

Why is Jochum so out of fashion these days?

At his best he's one of the greatest conductors of the Austro-German symphonic reperoire. Yet some of his greatest recordings seem never to have made it to CD (e.g. the Amsterdam Mozart symphonies on Philips) whilst other repertoire vanished from the CD lists almost as soon as it was released (e.g. LSO Beethoven cycle, LPO Brahms).

I've managed to get his Bamberg Mozart (Eurodisc and Orfeo) from Marketplace recently, albeit not cheaply. Harrump!

I see the CAO Beethoven set on Philips (Decca) is not currently available either, the DG set, particularly 1,2,4 &8 have long been favourites of mine.

And you could add Krips, Bohm and Kempe to the neglected list.

[BBMmk2]

I have his choral and symnphony cycle sets from DG. they are wonderful! Also the two Brahms PCs he did with Emil Gilels and the BPO. Fantastic stuff!!

[martin_opera]

Jochum's Cosi Fan Tutte for DG is one of the best ever recorded, where he manages such exquisite ensemble playing and singing as to forgive the slightly "past it" Fiordiligi of Irmgard Seefried. The rest of the cast are a dream and you are constantly engaged in the action.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...the beethoven Symphonies with Scmidt-Isserstedt on decca were highly regarded when i was a lad ...hear little of him now

[Norfolk Born]

Why is Jochum so out of fashion these days?

It's probably his turn. Sadly, these things tend to go in cycles, rather like fashion styles. I seemed to recall that Sibelius became - or was deemed - deeply unfashionable in the decade after his death.

[amateur51]

...the beethoven Symphonies with Scmidt-Isserstedt on decca were highly regarded when i was a lad ...hear little of him now

A fine cycle, I agree Calum made with the VPO

[mathias broucek]

It's probably his turn. Sadly, these things tend to go in cycles, rather like fashion styles. I seemed to recall that Sibelius became - or was deemed - deeply unfashionable in the decade after his death.

Ironically, Jochum's Sibelius IS available. Now I love Jochum, the Bav RSO and Sibelius but it's truly a dreadful disc - the orchestra sounds like it's sight-reading Night Ride and Sunrise. (However the disc is worth buying for the Parsifal and Lohengrin excerpts that are not even mentioned on the cover.)

[makropulos]

Why is Jochum so out of fashion these days?

At his best he's one of the greatest conductors of the Austro-German symphonic reperoire. Yet some of his greatest recordings seem never to have made it to CD (e.g. the Amsterdam Mozart symphonies on Philips) whilst other repertoire vanished from the CD lists almost as soon as it was released (e.g. LSO Beethoven cycle, LPO Brahms).!

I completely agree with you about Eugen Jochum, a conductor I saw as often as possible in concerts (all of them memorable occasions) and whose recordings include some real marvels. Among my own favourites I'd include the DG Brahms set from the 1950s, the Enigma and St Anthony Variations with the LSO, several of his late Bruckner performances (No. 8 with Bamberg on a Japanese DVD, No. 5 with the Concertgebouw on Tahra, and others). He was also a wonderful opera conductor - there's a Figaro (sung in German) which is sparkling in terms of the conducting (on Walhall) and martin_opera has already mentioned the terrific Cosi. There's plenty more - he was an exceptional musician and, on the evidence of a German TV documentary I once saw, a delightful human being.

It's nice to have a thread about him here. I particularly remember a Brahms 2 with the LPO (preceded by Strauss's Don Juan and the Schumann Concerto with Perahia) at the Festival Hall - just about the most exciting performance I've ever heard of that great piece. And he came to the Albert Hall with the Vienna Philharmonic in the early 1980s for a tremendous concert with the 'Jupiter' and 'Eroica' on the same programme... Happy memories!

[visualnickmos]

A fine cycle, I agree Calum made with the VPO

Yes - and you also get the violin concerto with Szeryng, the piano concertos with Backhaus, and a couple of overures! I recommend to anyone who loves Beethoven to snap up this box set if you can find one.... I did in a second-hand CD shop in Notting Hill about 10 years ago. One the best bargains I've ever found - £15!

[visualnickmos]

I have (amongst other Jochum recordings) his Bruckner symphonies on EMI. I still, after 15 years, find Bruckner a tough challenge.... I've recently been toying with the idea of putting Solti's set on my wish list, in the hope that he would be more useful in my quest to 'come round' to Buckner. Any advice greatly appreciated, as to whether Dr Solti would be able to help... Thanks.

[HighlandDougie]

Nick

In the local patois, "non, non, non", to Dr Solti in the Bruckner cycle. Not his strong point, in my view. You'd be much better off (if you want a single conductor's cycle) with Wand or even Karajan. Others will no doubt say Barenboim and the BPO (very good value for money) but I find him slow to the point of torpid in the 7th.

Hope it's as beau temps in the midi as here in the A-M

HD

[Bryn]

Yes - and you also get the violin concerto with Szeryng, the piano concertos with Backhaus, and a couple of overures! I recommend to anyone who loves Beethoven to snap up this box set if you can find one.... I did in a second-hand CD shop in Notting Hill about 10 years ago. One the best bargains I've ever found - £15!

Anyone happy to make do with mp3s can find the set at amazon.co.uk for £32.99. Best to search for Schmidt-Isserstedt, rather than Scmidt-Isserstedt[sic] though.

[Karafan]

The Schmidt-Isserstedt box would be a prime candidate for Brilliant Classics to pick up and run with I think! Recorded in the fabled acoustic of the much-lamented Sofiensaal, too.

Useless nugget: his son is/was Decca producer Erik Smith (evidently bored by a surname whose only advantage was that it was wonderful on a triple word score in Scrabble!).