London Mozart Players: The Complete HMV Stereo Recordings = Works of MOZART, ARRIAGA & HAYDN – Vronsky & Babin/London Mozart Players/Harry Blech – First Hand Records (3 CDs)

by | Dec 13, 2009 | Classical Reissue Reviews | 0 comments

London Mozart Players: The Complete HMV Stereo Recordings = MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 “Jupiter”; Concerto in E-flat Major for 2 Pianos, K. 365; Four Minuets, K. 601; Three German Dances, K. 605; Symphony No. 28 in C Major, K. 200; Concerto in F Major for 2 Pianos, K. 242; Serenade No. 9 in D Major, K. 320 “Posthorn”; ARRIAGA: Symphony in D Major; HAYDN: Symphony No. 103 in E-flat Major “Drum Roll” – Vronsky and Babin, duo-pianists/London Mozart Players/Harry Blech

First Hand Records FHR05 (3-CDs), 67:58, 64:05, 67:21 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****:

Something special: the complete stereo recordings from Harry Blech (1910-1999) and his London Mozart Players, personally selected by Blech in 1949 for an association that lasted until 1984. At various points both Dennis Brain and Barry Tuckwell served in the French horn section, and Archie Camden and Sidney Sutcliffe performed among the woodwinds, with Robert Masters and Max Saltpeter acting as concertmaster. Aspiring to a euphonious, balanced sound, Blech managed to imbue a consistent, articulate clarity to his readings, forever stylish. The tapes from which these sterling performances derive came from Abbey Road Studio No. 1 sessions 1955-1957. [The original EMI early stereo source tapes had lain undisturbed for over 50 years before this reissue set. EMI, RCA and a few others were releasing a few 2-track commercial stereo tapes at this time, prior to the introduction of the stereodisc LP in 1958…Ed.]

The Jupiter Symphony (16-17 August 1956) that comes to us has a natural elegance of line, a resonant clarity, and high intellect. A mighty homogeneity of sound permeates every bar, and the Minuet and Trio enjoy a forward thrust quite compelling. The separation of string forces Blech favored, the second violins on his right, added to a natural affinity for the Mozart antiphonal style. The bubbly brio that suffuses the magnificent counterpoint of the Finale achieves a fluidity and dramatic impetus quite the envy of the more severe, tight-lipped exemplars of the German school, like Bohm and Baumgartner.

The duo-piano team of Victor Babin and Vitya Vronsky often appeared with Blech, along with luminaries Ossian Ellis, Robert Casadesus, Clara Haskil, Isaac Stern, an Denis Matthews. The Concerto in E-flat Major (5-6 June 1957) exudes an aristocratic leisure in all parts, a total security of means. Gorgeous, long phrases and textural balances move the opening Allegro in galant, polished figures. Each of the pianists elicits his own light but sure pearly play, and the cumulative sheen illuminates the whole. The Andante achieves that timeless quality that Mozart’s sense of melody practically patented. The unbuttoned Molto Allegro throws any number of cosmic sparks, albeit with relatively “monophonic” effects, despite the pearly virtuosity of the performance. The playful Four Minuets (1 May 1957) include wonderful hurdy-gurdy effects in the C Major, a powerful Cassation in No. 3 in G. No. 4 resounds with a lithe ceremonial triumph we won’t hear again until Elgar. Like Blech, Bruno Walter maintained a weakness for Mozart’s K. 605 German Dances (23 May 1957), of which the third, “The Sleigh-Ride,” warrants our eternal delight.

The Mozart C Major Symphony, K. 200 comprised part of the inaugural program for the London Mozart Players’ 1949 season, so no accident they included for inscription (23 February 1956), a performance of mettle and buoyant elan. Terrific work from the horns and woodwinds in the first movement, the string trill and turns no less exuberant spice. Again, Blech’s only serious rival in this superb music was Bruno Walter. The last movement Presto sings with especial sparkle, a rounded, clarion realization, youthful and exuberant. The Concerto for 2 Pianos (5-6 June 1957), arranged from a concerto for three klaviers, communicates a frothy afternoon’s serenade character, with glitter and fioritura to spare. Its chains of liquid runs rather anticipate the wonderful K. 448 Sonata for two pianos in D Major. The music-box sonority of the Adagio justifies the price of admission. The dainty Rondo in the form of a minuet proceeds in galant figures, breaking out in passionate exclamations for brief periods only to return to the comfortable elegance it took the French Revolution to bewilder. 
The Symphony in D Major by Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga (rec. 22 February 1956) represents the work of a nineteen-year-old prodigy, in many ways a rival to Mozart, even a fiery counterpart to Schubert. Blech had pioneered the work on radio, so appreciative auditors had clamored for an inscription. Verve, vivid energy, and sympathetic wit mark every turn in this happy, learned score, a marvel of intricate musical lore for one whose potential remained largely unfulfilled because of his early death.

Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade (29 April-1 May; 23 May 1957) benefits from judicious tempi, certainly but no less from the elation that bursts forth from every choir in Blech’s ensemble. The schwung in the last two movements completely beguiles in its natural expressiveness. The only contender for this throne would be Beinum’s recording from Amsterdam. Blech makes the tone of the opening movement match the thrilling pageantry and exalted pomp we find in the Haffner Symphony. The Concertante: Andante grazioso could immortalize the London Mozart Players by itself. So, too, the Rondo allows us to hear what the London Wind Players had been prior to their having joined the full Mozart complement. The Andantino intimates those chromatic tragedies we find in the slow movement from Piano Concerto No. 18 and in Don Giovanni.

Serving as an “appendix,” we have a mono recording of Haydn’s Drum Roll Symphony (17-18 January and 8 February 1955), a performance that fully justifies its tympanic epithet.  The somber theme in C Minor, shadows of the Dies Irae, breaks forth in a jaunty 6/8 whose robust character carries quite through its classical contours. The expressive double theme and variations that ensue keep us in touch with the moving chromatic line in the bass, presumably derived from a Croatian folk song. The Minuet with its strong first beat compels our attention, as does the bucolic Trio. A horn call announces the last movement Allegro con spirito whose rhythmic cell Blech exploits to full advantage, delighting in Haydn’s limitless capacity to pair off timbres and densities in constant, joyous panoply.

A Best of the Year addition, so make Blech and the LMP your Christmas present to yourself.

–Gary Lemco

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