Dances; J. STRAUSS, JR.: Wiener Blut Waltz, Op. 354; Tales from the
Vienna Woods, Op. 325; On the Beautiful, Blue Danube, Op. 314 – Vienna
Symphony Orchestra/ Rudolf Moralt
Preiser 90673 (mono) 73:52 (Distrib. Albany) ****:
The name of Munich-born conductor Rudolf Moralt (1902-1958) has not
flourished in the manner of some of his contemporaries, like Fritz
Lehmann and Ferenc Fricsay. The great-nephew of composer Richard
Strauss, Moralt was the scion of a musical family whose roots extended
back to Beethoven’s time. After a short tenure with the Graz Opera,
Moralt came to the Vienna State Opera in 1938, where he worked
literally until the day he died on Beethoven’s birthday (December 16)
in 1958. An opera conductor in the main, Moralt cultivated also a deep
reverence for the Bach St. Matthew and St. John Passions, as well as
for the Bruckner symphonies.
A virtually tireless craftsman and technician of the orchestra, Moralt
committed to memory some 90 operas in the major repertory, as well as
numerous concert works for the art of the gramophone. I vividly recall
an exemplary Brahms Violin Concerto with a youthful Berl Senofsky on
the Epic LP label that featured superb orchestral ensemble from Moralt.
In addition to countless inscriptions with vocalists from the Vienna
State Opera, Moralt made records for both Philips and Vox, the former
of which supplies the 1953 Strauss waltzes, the latter the 1951
Schubert Fifth and German Dances. The Schubert works are eminently
Viennese, with the symphony being more bucolic than is its wont under
Beinum and Celibidache. That Schubert could spin out seamless ribbons
of waltz tunes finds ample proof in the German Dances sequence, with a
touch of the German beer hall thrown in. Sober and carefully etched,
the B-flat Symphony makes no claims for heroism, only for a mixture of
tender melancholy and charming lyricism. The Strauss group emerges from
that same, sacred tradition as compels the great performances from
Erich Kleiber, Clemens Krauss, Ferenc Fricsay, and Moralt’s own
sponsor, Hans Knappertsbusch. Moralt employs a zither for the Vienna
Woods Tales, but whether it is the legendary Anton Karas is not listed.
Meanwhile, the lilt, the rhythmic fluctuations, and interior rubato,
are echt Vienna vintage, the playing infectious, just like the
inscriptions of his more famous kinsmen. A recommended sleeper in the
historic genre.
–Gary Lemco