BaL 12.03.11 Recordings from Sir Thomas Beecham

[salymap]

But Cellini,important as they are, they didn't keepthe ROH going years ago or bring unknown composers like Bantock,Delius,Sibelius, Rutland Boughton, etc to the public.

[PaulT]

Ferret,

My position exactly, as mentioned in #49. That's why I've only bought the Great Communicator documentary box (which I recommend), and have ordered the Somm Schubert 9th Symphony CD.

Identical situation for me toom and the Somm issue is a real "find". Thanks to Rob who mentioned this one in his recent Beecham survey for Gramophone.

[PaulT]

On reflection I have the impression that RC wasn't overly enamoured or captivated by any of the choices on offer. There was little or none of the irrepressible enthusiasm that he often has.

On the whole, in spite of enjoying the hour, it was mostly an amiable ramble through the recent EMI boxes and did very little to demonstrate why Beecham was such a special conductor and I can't see anyone rushing out to buy on the basis of the programme. Even more so when very little music was played from the box he finally happened upon as his favourite out of the five.

Disappointing.

And I agree with others that it shouldn't have occupied the BAL slot.

I think you are right about Rob's preferences here John. He played a few Beecham recordings on Breakfast several weeks ago and if memory serves they were all from the French music box. Presumably he had all the boxes available from which to choose.

[Don Petter]

On reflection I have the impression that RC wasn't overly enamoured or captivated by any of the choices on offer. There was little or none of the irrepressible enthusiasm that he often has.

That's what I thought. Perhaps his long enforced penance on the Breakfast treadmill has sucked all the life out of him?

[salymap]

Remember Rob C was 13 years old when Beecham died so has probably known the recordings for all his adult life.
I get the impression that Rob knows what a great conductor Tommy was though.

[Gordon]

People may be interested in this 10 CD box of re-issues of Beecham from Membran. They cover up until 1949 and have some unusual recordings. Transfers variable but at the price I don't quibble.

224 402 2 Set Number Sir Thomas Beecham with LPO and RPO*
ISBN 3 86562 669 6
Disc 1 Mozart: Symphony 40 in Gm K550 recorded Abbey Road February 4th and September 2nd and 7th 1937
Mozart: Symphony 41 in C K551 recorded Abbey Road January 19th 1934
Mozart: Overture Marriage of Figaro K492 recorded Abbey Road 22nd March 1937
Mozart: Overture Magic Flute K620* recorded Abbey Road June 27th 1949 [tape master]
Disc 2 Mozart: Violin Concerto 4 in D K218 with Joseph Szigeti recorded Abbey Road October 8th 1934
Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp K299 with Rene Le Roy and Lili Laskine recorded Abbey Road July 11-12th 1947*
Disc 3 Handel: Overture Messiah from set recorded Central Hall Westminster and Portman Rooms June and July 1927 for Columbia
Handel arr Beecham: The Great Elopement [Pump Room, The Linleys, Weary Flunkies, The Plot, Sarabande, Gigue at Kingsway Hall]
Recorded Abbey Road August 24th and December 5th & 27th 1945 and Kingsway Hall October 17th & 24th and December 5th 1945
Haydn: Symphony 93 in D recorded Abbey Road December 18th 1936
Symphony 104 in D recorded Kingsway Hall January 18th and July 4th 1939
Disc 4 Schubert: Symphony 5 in Bflat recorded Kingsway Hall December 15th 1938 and January 11th 1939
Beethoven: Piano Concerto 4 in G with Artur Rubinstein recorded Abbey Road September 30th and December 8th 1947
Disc 5 Weber: Overture Der Freischutz recorded Abbey Road November 27th 1937
Weber: Overture Oberon recorded Abbey Road December 16th 1937, July 18th and October 3rd 1938
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg Prelude Act 1 recorded Abbey Road June 19th 1936
Brahms: Tragic Overture recorded Abbey Road March 22nd 1937 [box states 1936]
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite 1 Op 46 recorded Abbey Road April 12th and [Aase’s Death only] Kingsway Hall July 7th 1939
Offenbach: Le Conte de Hoffman Barcarolle recorded Abbey Road June 19th 1936
Johann Strauss Jnr: Waltz Fruhlingstimmen Op 410 recorded Abbey Road November 28th 1939
Disc 6 Smetana: The Bartered Bride Overture recorded Abbey Road February 3rd and March 29th 1947*
Smetana: The Bartered Bride Polka recorded Abbey Road February 5th and November 11th 1947*
Dvorak: Slavonic Rhapsody in A flat Op 45 No 3 recorded Abbey Road March 22nd, April 3rd and 17th and July 16th 1935
Dvorak: Legend No3 in Gm Op 59 No 3 recorded Abbey Road April 17rd 1935
Borodin: Prince Igor Polovtsian Dance recorded at Leeds Festival October 5th 1934
There is some doubt about recording dates – these are the issued matrix transfer dates by Columbia.
Mussorgsky: Khovantschina Dance of Persian Slaves recorded Abbey Road February 5th and March 27th 1947*
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini Op32 recorded Kingsway Hall 7th and 19th December 1939
Disc 7 Berlioz: Overture Carnaval Romain Op9 recorded Abbey Road November 27th 1936
Berlioz: Overture Le Corsair Op 21 recorded Abbey Road November 6th 1946*
Bizet: L’Arlesienne Suites 1&2 excerpts recorded Abbey Road February 28th 1936
Bizet: Carmen Suite excerpts recorded Abbey Road April 12th 1939
Debussy: Prelude a l’apres midi d’un Faune recorded Abbey Road November 21st 1938 and Kingsway Hall January 11th and February 13th 1939
Disc 8 Franck: Symphony in Dm recorded Abbey Road January 3/4th 1940
Chabrier: Rhapsody Espana recorded Kingsway Hall November 30th and December 19th 1939
Chabrier: Marche Joyeuse recorded Abbey Road November 6th 1946*
Chabrier: Overture Gwendoline recorded 1955 [box date] – no named orchestra. Discography gives the FNRO recorded at Salle Wagram Paris November 9th 1957
Disc 9 Delius: Appalachia recorded Abbey Road January 6th 7th and 31st 1938
Richard Strauss: Don Quixote with Rene Pollain, Alfred Wallenstein and New York Philharmonic recorded Carnegie Hall 7th April 1932
Disc 10 Sibelius: Symphony 2 in D Op 43 recorded Abbey Road December 21st, 23/24th, 1946 and February 8/9th and April 1st 1947
Sibelius: Tapiola Op 112 recorded Abbey Road November 25th 1946

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

That's a great list, Gordon. There do appear to be a number of works not recorded by Sir Thomas elsewhere.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The controversial Beecham Messiah remains a magnificent achievement. I wish someone would re-record it in better sound (though the RCA/Decca sound of 1959 was extremely good). Whether it was orchestrated by Goossens or Beecham makes no difference. Handel may well have been impressed with the result. It isn't the grand gestures of the orchestration that please so much as the gentler bits, such as the Pastoral Symphony, or the soprano aria "If God be For Us".

[Gordon]

That RCA Messiah was recorded at Walthamstow by Decca's Kenneth Wilkinson and seems never to have been issued on CD. Very few Wilky recoprdings are duff so perhaps we do need a good transfer from someone.

The discography states that Jennifer Vyvyan replaced Joan Sutherland who was to have been the soprano

[StephenO]

That RCA Messiah was recorded at Walthamstow by Decca's Kenneth Wilkinson and seems never to have been issued on CD. Very few Wilky recoprdings are duff so perhaps we do need a good transfer from someone.

Testament, please take note. Although Beecham's Handel was the antithesis of HIPP, his performances always seem to me to capture the spirit of Handel far more so than many more "authentic" versions do.

Like Rob Cowan, I was surprised and disappointed that none of the EMI boxes contained any Sibelius. Given what a great Sibelian Beecham was and how much pioneering work he did to establish Sibelius's music in the repertoire, this is a major oversight on EMI's part. Beecham's Sibelius 7 with the RPO remains the benchmark IMO.

[Alf-Prufrock]

That RCA Messiah was recorded at Walthamstow by Decca's Kenneth Wilkinson and seems never to have been issued on CD.

Well, I have it in my CD collection - RCA VICTOR GOLD SEAL 09026-61266-2, issued in 1992. I do not know if it is still available but a quick check on Amazon, etc., will no doubt tell you.

[Gordon]

Well, I have it in my CD collection - RCA VICTOR GOLD SEAL 09026-61266-2, issued in 1992. I do not know if it is still available but a quick check on Amazon, etc., will no doubt tell you.

Thanks for that correction. My Decca discography does not list a CD at all and Michael Gray's Beecham society discography of 1997 only lists excerpts on 2 separate CDs in the same series [09026 61712 2 and 09026 61488 2] as your complete set. Another CD, apparently of excerpts, was also issued as RCA 9865 2R, possibly US only.

MDT currently lists the 1956 RCA Messiah as still available with the same catalogue number as yours; it also lists his more or less complete 1927 version on Pearl GEMM CDS 9456 should anyone be interested!! The excerpts discs are not listed.

[Barbirollians]

Sibelius incidental music to Pelleas and Melisande , an unsurpassed Oceanides and a Tapiola that remains near the top of the tree. Pleased to pick up a cheapest new GROC recently no doubt now deleted of the above coupled with Sibelius 7 . Yet to listen to the symphony but the others are just as marvellous as I recalled from my old Concert Classics LP .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The controversial Beecham Messiah remains a magnificent achievement. I wish someone would re-record it in better sound (though the RCA/Decca sound of 1959 was extremely good). Whether it was orchestrated by Goossens or Beecham makes no difference. Handel may well have been impressed with the result. It isn't the grand gestures of the orchestration that please so much as the gentler bits, such as the Pastoral Symphony, or the soprano aria "If God be For Us".

It seems that my wish has been granted. Beecham’s Messiah has at last been re-recorded on Signum Classics, with the RPO once again, but conducted by Jonathan Griffith. There’s no point in comparing this with any Messiah recording, other than Beecham’s 1959 version (BaL Messiah recommendation in 1999!)
It’s good to hear it in crisp, modern sound. Griffith’s tempi are generally brisker than Beecham’s but the sense of grandeur is diminished. However, Griffiths takes the Hallelujah Chorus at a much more relaxed pace. Beecham lost the plot a little in that particular chorus: “bombastic” doesn’t even come close to describing it.

Recorded sound:-
1. The soloists are unnatural close
2. There’s some sudden and disconcerting digital silence at the end of some of the tracks.

Beecham recorded an almost complete Messiah. Sadly, the traditional cuts have been made in this new recording, so I miss that beautiful re-orchestration of “If God be for us”. But minor grumbles apart, I’m pleased that someone has at last produced a new version of this imaginative re-interpretation.