Schubert: Symphony No. 9; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 and ”Choral Fantasy”; Early Romantic Overtures by Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner and Weber (Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players; EMI Angel, 3 separate CDs).
In the Schubert Ninth, Norrington`s marriage of authenticity (period instruments played at the proper pitch, all repeats taken, dynamics and accentuation properly observed, etc.) and interpretive vigor makes for a typically revelatory performance. The ”Great” C-Major emerges lean, bouncy and irresistibly propulsive, a symphony in the Viennese Classical tradition rather than a thick, heavy Romantic precursor.
Just as revelatory is the overture collection, which mixes familiar works (Mendelssohn`s ”Hebrides” and Weber`s ”Oberon” overtures) with overtures infrequently encountered (Berlioz`s ”Les Francs-Juges” and Schumann`s ”Genoveva”). Even Wagner`s ”Flying Dutchman” Overture has not escaped the salutary effect of Norrington`s textual scrubbing. Can
”authentic” Mahler be far away?
The concluding volume of Melvyn Tan`s three-CD cycle of Beethoven concertos played on the fortepiano can be recommended not so much for these performers` brisk, emotionally detached ”Emperor” Concerto as for their
”Choral Fantasy,” which makes more musical sense out of this strange, fascinating precursor of the Ninth Symphony than any recording I`ve heard.
(Reviewed on CD.)
