Grand
Orchestre Philharmonique,
Conductor: Selmar Meyrowitz Recorded
in 1935, released as Pathé PDT 31-37
Matrix numbers: CPTX156-I, CPTX157-I,
CPTX158-I,
CPTX159-I, CPTX160-II, CPTX161-II, CPTX162-II, CPTX167-II, CPTX168-II, CPTX169-I, CPTX170-II, CPTX171-II, CPTX172-I,
CPTX173-IV.
Download ID: 162610/432820
Duration 54'50"
Play
sample movement:
Libretto (Finale)
Alles
Vergangliche ist nur ein Gleichnis,
das Unzulangliche, hier wird's Ereignis,
das Unbeschreibliche, hier wird es getan,
das Ewigweibliche zieht uns hinan.
Liszt's
monumental Faust Symphony, written between 1854
and 1857, ranks among his finest music. Writing in Opera News in
1999, Arlo McKinnon states: "Franz Liszt's
Faust Symphony is one of the most significant yet (in our time) least
appreciated orchestral works of the nineteenth century. Written at the
urging of Hector Berlioz, the quasi-autobiographical Faust Symphony is
Liszt's largest and greatest symphonic utterance, the bridge between Beethoven's
Ninth and Mahler's Resurrection Symphony.
"Without
sinking into mere pictorialism, the Faust Symphony advances the concept
of programmatic music, marking the path to the great tone poems of Richard
Strauss. Its wildly original orchestration clearly had a major influence
on Debussy, and in the Méphistophélès movement one
hears sounds prescient of early Stravinsky ballets. The Faust Symphony
is a tour de force of nineteenth-century harmonic practice, and its motivic
construction influenced Wagner. Its opening motif, utilizing all twelve
tones, foreshadows the early works of Schoenberg."
The
recording presented here, a somewhat abridged fifty-five minutes long,
was the first 'full-length' recording of the symphony, made in Paris in
1935 and credited to the "Grand Orchestre Philharmonique" in
the style of many recordings of the day. Reviewing a Beecham recording
of the same piece, Jeffrey Liscomb writes: "The
finest Faust Symphony ever recorded has sadly never been transferred to
CD. That was the version by Selmar Meyrowitz (1875-1941) with the Paris
Philharmonic (last available on Vox LP 6920). For passion and subtle nuance,
Meyrowitz was simply in a class of his own. Virtually his only recording
on CD can be heard in Telefunken's "A Johann Strauss Celebration,"
where Meyrowitz conducts a superb Emperor Waltz. The tenor soloist in
his Faust Symphony was the great Georges Jouatte (old-timers will remember
his superlative performance in Fournet's recording of the Berlioz Requiem).
"Beecham
was magnificent in his "live" recording of the Berlioz Requiem
(see my review) and in a host of other works, but his Liszt here suffers
from an excess of polite restraint (I am weeding my copy). Hopefully,
the Meyrowitz recording will someday appear on CD. Save for its elderly
mono sound, once heard the Meyrowitz is likely the only version you'll
ever want to hear again."
Well hopefully
Mr Liscomb will enjoy this release as much as I did whilst easing out
of it's "elderly" sound from what were excellent, clean copies
of the original Pathé 78rpm discs!
Those who
have not heard of the conductor Selmar Meyrowitz here before are
excused - he was killed during the Second World War whilst trying to escape
the Nazis - a tragic end to a blossoming career...
REVIEW
OF Liszt: A Faust Symphony (Grande Orch. Philharmonique, Meyrowitz, 1935)
Franz
Liszt's place in music is difficult to assess. He was considered
by most 19th century musicians to be the greatest of all piano
virtuosos. His transcriptions of other composers' music was
both selfless and brilliant and allowed many musiclovers to
hear works that they would never have heard in a concert hall.
He was an outstanding conductor and premiered many works of
Berlioz and Wagner. But ultimately, Liszt's reputation must
rest on his compositions and here the record is very uncertain.
Liszt was an incredibly prolific piano composer and he wrote
many works for organ, chorus and orchestra. But he wrote just
a few great masterpieces such as the Sonata in B Minor, God's
Benediction in the Silence, the Dante Sonata and the work
which is the subject of this review: the Faust Symphony.
This
magnificent work is in three movements: the first depicting
Faust in his despair as an old, disillusioned man and as a
dynamic, powerful one after he sells his soul to the devil--Mephistopheles.
The second movement is a picture of Marguerite, a simple girl
whom Faust seduces, makes pregnant and tries to save after
she has killed her child. The final movement--one of the great
masterpieces of the 19th century--represents Mephistopheles.
Liszt's genius sees Mephistopheles as unable to create and
thus the movement introduces no new themes but brilliantly
distorts those from the first two movements. Like the modern
public, the 19th century demanded a happy ending and there
is a short, vapid chorus that ends the work, but doesn't spoil
it.
The
performance by Selmar Meyrowitz is so stunning that it outshines
both recordings by Leonard Bernstein. The deep spirit of the
work is present in every note the 1935 French orchestra plays.
The first movement is held together with an iron fist; there
is no showing off, but the performance has incredible panache.
The final coda gives a tremendous sense of a rounded picture.
For the only time I can recall, the Marguerite movement is
not an anti-climax; it is urgent though lyrical; there are
no longeurs. None of this can prepare one for the performance
of the third movement. From the opening chords, Meyrowitz
pours out such brilliance, mordant wit and diablerie that
one finally understands the power of the devil. Even the end
chorus seems carried by the momentum. I know nothing of Selmar
Meyrowitz, but I shall not forget his name.
I
can only say that the sound was at one with the performance;
perhaps there was also some soul-selling to obtain such glorious
tone from 1935 78's.
I
am sometimes asked why I listen to historical recordings.
The answer, as this recording shows, is that the richness
of the European Classical tradition, now forever gone from
us, still lies buried in them.
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"Without
sinking into mere pictorialism, the Faust Symphony advances the concept
of programmatic music, marking the path to the great tone poems of Richard
Strauss. Its wildly original orchestration clearly had a major influence
on Debussy, and in the Méphistophélès movement one
hears sounds prescient of early Stravinsky ballets. The Faust Symphony
is a tour de force of nineteenth-century harmonic practice, and its motivic
construction influenced Wagner. Its opening motif, utilizing all twelve
tones, foreshadows the early works of Schoenberg."
