http://archive.org/details/BrahmsFestivalPart3
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István Kertész (1929 – 1973) was an internationally acclaimed Jewish Hungarian orchestral and operatic conductor who, throughout his brief but distinguished career led many of the world's great orchestras. His orchestral repertoire numbered over 450 works from all periods, and was matched by a repertoire of some sixty operas ranging from Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and Wagner to the more contemporary Prokofiev, Bartók, Britten, Kodály, Poulenc and Janáček. Kertész was part of a rich musical tradition that produced fellow Hungarian conductors, János Ferencsik, Eugene Ormandy, George Szell, and Sir Georg Solti.
In my musical collection, I hold Kertesz in very high regard, and I own some of his Mozart, Dvořák and Brahms as some of his best work. The Brahms set, with the Vienna Philharmonic, is not only featured today, but has a very human story to it.
Kertesz undertook the Brahms cycle with the WP in 1972 I believe, recording all four symphonies, the second serenade and the Tragic overure. As filler for the recording of the Third (which is our feature work today), Kertesz and the producers at Decca had chosen the Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and did not complete the studio recording to their satisfaction. Kertesz agreed to redo the finale section when he would next be in Vienna.
On April 16, 1973, while on a concert tour, Kertész drowned while swimming off the coast of Israel After his untimely death, the musicians of Vienna Philharmonic chose to complete the recording withoiut a conductor in tribute to him. I find this extremely significant, as the WP has the reputation to be very picky when it comes to which Guest Conductors it holds in high esteem (think of the very few that get the opportunity to conduct the New Year Gala concert, for instance).
The recording (including the finale) stands out as probably the most memorable recording of the work, and is embedded within the French commentary below.
To many, the Third symphony is Brahms' best: it has a very heroic flavour to it, and the well-known third movement Allegretto is somewhat reminiscent of the funeral march of Beethoven's Third - or is it just me? Unlike the jubilant theme and variations that end the Eroica, however, the Third chooses to end with a tad more drama, giving the third a lasting tragic overtone.
In my personal collection, other than this Kertesz recording, I especially am fond of Szellès recording with the Cleveland Orchestra (it, too, has the Haydn Variations as filler), as well as a recording I made of a radio broadcast by the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit.
To fill the remainder of the montage, I chose some orchestrations of works by Brahms. Brahms wrote orchestral arrangements for some of his Hungarian Dances (No. 1, No. 3 and No. 10.). There are several composers that have had their hand in transcribing the Hungarian Dances for the orchestra: Antonín Dvořák, Andreas Hallén, Paul Juon, Martin Schmeling, Hans Gál, only to name these. Band and Symphony conductor Albert Parlow orchestrated Nos. 11 to 16, and a few of these are part of our montage.
The G-Minor Piano quartet (op. 25) is one of Brahms' most enduring and endearing chamber works. The quartet was orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg in 1937 and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; this orchestrated version was made into the ballet Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet by George Balanchine.
I think you will love this music too!
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Commentaire françaisParmi ses enregistrements dans ma collection personnelle, j'ai de ses concerti de Mozart et ses symphonies de Dvořák (endisqués pendant son court règne à la barre du London Symphony) et l'enregistrement mémorable qui figure en lever de rideau cette semaine.
Kertesz a collaboré avec un bon nombre de grans orchestres de par le Monde, et il s'est engagé dans une intégrale Brahms avec le Wiener Philharmoniker, enregistrant les quatre symphonies, la deuxième sérénade, l'ouverture tragique, et planifia d'enregistrer les Variations sur un thème de Haydn pour ce projet. Le dernier titre fut enregistré en partie, et devait faire l'objet d'une session en studio lors d'un voyage subséquent du chef à Vienne. Hélas, le chef s'est noyé en Israël alors qu'il y était en tournée, et l'enregistrement de variations était inutilisable.
Le WP, qui a la réputation d'être pointilleux tant qu'à ses chefs invités, a tendance à les aduler une fois que leur relation est éyablie (par exemple, les inviutant à diriger le gala du Nouvel An). Dans un ultime geste honorifique, les musiciens du WP ont demandé à la maison Decca de reprendre le finale des variations dans une session en studio, sans chef. Cet enregistrement ajoute un cachet spécial à cette oeuvre, souvent enregistrée. Voici la prestation omplète, gracieuseté YouTube:
Les Variations complètent le microsioon qui inclut la troisième symphonue - une symphonie qui rappelle l'Héroique de Beethoven et sa marche funèbre - l'Allegretto mémorable du troisième mouvement est son homologue, et est associé avec le film d'Anatole Litvak Aimez-vous Brahms… Contrairement à l'Héroique, toutefois, les mouvements subséquents n'ont pas la même consonnance jubilatoire, mais offrent un après-goût tragique, presque austère.
Dans ma collection collection, j'aim bien également les troisièmes de Szell et de l'orchestre de Cleveland, et un enregistrement que j'ai fait d'une radiodiffusion de l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal sous Charles Dutoit.
En complément de programme, des orchestrations de musiques de Brahms sous la plume d'autres compositeurs, à commencer par une poignée de Danses Hongroises, celles-ci adaptées par le chef Albert Parlow. Finalement, l'adaptation Schönberg du quatuor avec piano op. 25.
Bonne écoute!
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