Ah! A special treat here...at least for me! Yes, Scherchen leading strong, monaural recordings of Rimsky - Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture and Tchaikovsky's 1812 with the London Symphony and then Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4 with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. I want to point out that the 1812 here is, in my opinion, better then the stereo remake with the VSOO. The LSO sounds like they are on a firmer footing then the often erratic Viennese ensemble.
The most pleasant aspect of these recordings is that Scherchen does not take the proceedings over the top, as was his case at times with Beethoven and Mahler, to name just two. The 1812, in particular is presented as good, noble music and every part is musically rendered sensibly and almost businesslike but with personality. Those expecting cannons and muskets and wind machines or whatever, should note that this performance is for musical instruments alone, and, played as they are here, the sounds of battle are conveyed in a wholly appropriate and effective manner. The Russian Easter overture has the requisite nobility and seriousness of the holiday, this is a broad approach taking into account the spiritual aspects of the most important holiday in the orthodox calendar.
The surprise of the 4th symphony is that precision is quite good and eccentricities are non existent. In fact I think Scherchen's approach is not far off from that other fine 4th of the early 50's, Kubelik's marvelous Chicago recording. Especially delightful for me are the urgent, yet sensitive, pizzicato's in the Scherzo. Again, I'll stress that the VSOO is very well behaved and obviously Scherchen took great pains to work out various technical challenges. All in all, a fine 4th!
DOWNLOAD 1812 and RUSSIAN EASTER
DOWNLOAD SYMPHONY NO 4
