Charles Munch – Elgar Variations; Martinu Piano Concerto; Boston Symphony Orchestra – Forgotten Records

by | Oct 19, 2024 | Classical CD Reviews, Classical Reissue Reviews | 0 comments

MARTINU: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra, H. 292; ELGAR: Variations on an Original Theme “Enigma,” Op. 36 – Janine Reding and Henry Piette, pianos/ Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Charles Munch – Forgotten Records FR 2291 (58:47) [www/forgottenrecords.com] ****:

For this reviewer, the association of Alsatian maestro Charles Munch (1891-1968) and the music of Sir Edward Elgar comes as no surprise, given that the Munch 1957 RCA recording of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47 provided my initiation into the composer’s style. Dynamic clarity and verve remain ubiquitous in Charles Munch readings of classical masterworks: my former instructor at SUNY Binghamton, Phillip Friedheim, used to recount a Tanglewood concert led by Munch of the Brahms D Major Symphony whose last movement achieved such an infectious momentum, that an audience member stood up, began leading the orchestra, finished on the beat, and collapsed into his seat. 

The 1899 “Enigma” Variations has inspired much spilled ink spent on hypotheses as to the “mystery” of the “dark saying” behind the music, since, as Elgar admonished, “the apparent connection between the variations and the theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another larger theme ‘goes,’ but it is not played … So the principal theme never appears, even as in some late dramas … the chief character is never on the stage.” While Elgar provides a series of initials of those celebrities whom he salutes in the course of his 14 variations, the elusive “enigma” that drives the contour remains hidden. My own teacher, Carmine Arena, proposed that the secret lay in the music of J.S. Bach, in aspects of The Musical Offering, but unfortunately, the papers of his estate were not bequeathed me. So, in this instance, we have the Boston Symphony concert of 26 November 1960 led by Charles Munch. 

According to the composer, this work begins “in a spirit of humor, and continued in deep seriousness.” For this rendition from 26 November 1960, Charles Munch establishes a searching, romantic gesture to set the theme and its permutations in motion.  The sense of fond parody soon enters the equation, as the BSO woodwinds mimic various musical eccentricities in Elgar’s colleagues and acquaintances. The gruff depth of string and wind harmonies proves rich in Variation III, Allegretto. Variation IV, dedicated to William Meath Baker, fiercely invokes his habit of slamming doors. The viola of Mr. de Pasquale enhances Variation VI, Andantino, “Ysobel,” and her struggles with string articulation. The ensuing Presto carries a torrent of energy, ostensibly meant to capture Elgar’s futile attempts to correct scores from Arthur Troyte Griffith. 

A pleasant recollection of the Winifred Norbury house precedes the much-esteemed “Nimrod” Variation. The “W.N” final, soft chords segue into the splendid Adagio of Variation “Nimrod,” August Jaeger, who put Elgar’s passing trials into perspective by invoking Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata. Munch builds a colossal tower of imposing sound, a Victorian edifice of resonant power. Some sonic interference, however, detracts from the effect. The light touches of the “Dorabella” Variation mimic her personal tic, her stutter. The pompous scherzo gesture in the Allegro di molto, Variation XI, allows the BSO strings and brass to scamper by way of G.R. Sinclair’s dog, Dan, who fell down a steep bank and then recovered, triumphant. The BSO principal cellist shares the berries in Variation XII, Andante, a loving portrait of Basil G. Nevinson. The next, Variation XIII, Romanza, features the *** to indicate Elgar’s failure to gain permission to use the initials of Mary Lady Lygon. Her contemporaneous sea voyage invokes the clarinet to wish her a calm sea and prosperous voyage, a la Mendelssohn. The BSO strings prove no less valedictory in their lush homage. For the final excursion into bemused autobiography, “E.D.U.”, a portrait of Elgar himself, he superimposes the “Nimrod” and his wife’s “C.A.E.” motifs into the heroic mix, rife with pulsing confidence. Again, some electrical disturbance mars the sonic effect, but the gathered momentum achieves an organ sonority, majestic and rousing. 

The Janine Reding/Henry Piette ensemble, the married concert duo, had begun their excellent career in 1945, winning support from luminaries Ernest Ansermet, Leon Guller, and critic Émile Vuillermoz. Their specialty in two-piano repertory – having given the European debut of the Bartok Sonata for 2 Pianos – made them ideal partners for Bohuslav Martinu’s 1943 Concerto, an alertly witty tour de force whose verve belies the dark times of its composition. The music’s busy, three movements combine French and American impulses, including syncopated jazz riffs. The extended second movement, Adagio, exchanges the spiky aspects of the outer movements for a meditative, almost Hollywood romanticism, in long-held harmonies and almost static motion. A sentimental parlando emerges, touched by passing dissonances. Suddenly, a soaring power infiltrates the score, only to relent so that the pianos may alternate between thick, block chords and lyrical gestures. A scherzando episode arrives, much in the manner of a Saint-Saens/Poulenc duo. Cascading arpeggios take over, invoking some murky harmonies from brass and strings. The air of mystery dominates the colorful last pages, delicately haunted. The confident brashness of orchestral security resumes in the final Allegro, a virtual circus, mostly a perpetuum mobile, of virtuoso gestures and brilliant sounds. A brief duo-solo epilogue intervenes, before pizzicato strings and winds take up the orchestral tissue, aroused and eager to have the battery join the fray. A barrage of effects worthy of manic Prokofiev takes to audience to its collective feet. 

—Gary Lemco

Album Cover for Munch Conducts Martinu Concerto, Elgar Variations

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