Cluytens, André: Noch so ein vergessener ...

Hallo,

nachdem sich offensichtlich nicht so viele an Monteux erinnern konnten, habe ich mal weiter gekramt und noch so einen 'Franzosen' rausgekramt (OK - Cluytens ist Belgier...)
Ich kannte ihn nur dem Namen nach und bin erst in Frankreich auf ihn aufmerksam geworden durch eine Budget-Reihe der französischen EMI.





Hier hört man einen Beethoven mit den Berlinern vor der 'Karajanisierung' in Stereo. Der Zyklus gefällt mir ausgesprochen gut und ist bei amazon.fr für 22 Euro zu haben.
Später bin ich dann durch Kollege Hurwitz auf die folgende Aufnahme aufmerksam geworden:





Hurwitz schreibt dazu (leider schon wieder englisch... )

French recordings of Wagner generally receive scant attention, just as for years the quality of French orchestras was routinely underestimated by British, German, and American critics whose tastes in Wagner ran rather to the "dark and heavy" school of sonority. But Wagner's orchestral origins remain those of French grand opera, and to hear his music played like one, especially in a fantastic-sounding and immaculately remastered recording such as this, is to believe. Direct comparison, item by item (as far as possible) between this superlative disc and Klemperer's celebrated Philharmonia recordings for the same label made at the same time clearly reveals the superiority of the French ensemble in just about every department. Indeed, Cluytens and his orchestra sound so much better that it leads you to wonder how it is that the Klemperer's recordings, good as they are, wound up on EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" series while these were simply farmed out to a small independent label. Nationalistic prejudice? Sheer laziness or lack of interest? You be the judge. Let's take one work at a time. Listen to the tangy timbre of the trumpets at the opening of the Meistersinger Prelude, and to the lusciously fruity tone of the woodwind section coloring the brass in the processional theme, more prominent than Klemperer's despite his reputation for front-and-center woodwind placement. Cluytens' quicker tempo is a big plus too (he is a superb Wagner conductor; Wieland Wagner thought so, and welcomed him at Bayreuth). Despite England being the land of Dennis Brain and generally fabulous horn virtuosos, you'll hear a more robust horn section in the French orchestra in both the Tannhäuser and Flying Dutchman Overtures, and far superior trombone playing too--a fine cutting tone that never turns coarse. Compare that to the feeble Philharmonia's heavy brass. The strings in the Lohengrin Prelude to Act 1 phrase in rapt arches, abetted by a comparatively swift tempo (eight minutes as opposed to around 10 on average) that makes the opening sound like a series of musical phrases rather than a collection of detached violin harmonics. The Act 3 Prelude has all of the advantages enumerated above with respect to the brass, and far more enthusiastic percussion than Klemperer enjoys. Finally, Rita Gorr sounds aptly nasty as Ortrud, a touch matronly as Isolde, but more than holds her own against Cluytens' vibrant conducting and the orchestra's enthusiastic playing. The point of this head-to-head comparison is not to prove Klemperer "bad", or the Philharmonia in any way "inadequate". Neither would be true. But it's certainly sobering to realize that acclamations of "excellence" in this business are all too often a function of fuzzy memory, extra-musical considerations, random availability of comparisons, or simply the last recording heard. Many reference recordings (Beecham's Scheherazade, for example) maintain their reputations through sheer inertia and the unwillingness of critics and listeners to keep their ears open and their prejudices on hold. This will be particularly true if you grew up reading English-language review publications wherein French orchestras in the late 1950s and early '60s could do nothing right. Certainly, they had a unique sound, and now that it's largely gone it's high time we lauded these ensembles and what they could do. One of the things they sure as hell could do in the hands of a conductor like Cluytens (or Schuricht) was offer a Wagner far more exciting, rhythmically deft, colorful, and yes, idiomatic than just about anyone else around at the same time--including Berlin and Vienna. Buy this, and be amazed. [5/31/2003] --David H

Kann ich nur voll unterschreiben und jedem Wagner-Fan ans Herz legen.

Kennt Ihr noch interessante Aufnahmen von Cluytens?

Gruss
Klaus