Rene Leibowitz leads Schoenberg's Gurrelieder

I'm very, very happy to have found the VoxBox of this original Haydn Society record. Rene Leibowitz leads French forces in one of the greatest recordings of Gurrelieder ever made. making allowances for somewhat muffled early 50's sound, this performance will convince you that this masterpiece is the product of one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time.

Conductor Leibowitz was the ideal choice to invest the task of bringing Gurrelieder to life. He was long associated with Schoenberg and the second Viennese School of composition (note Gurrelieder is exclusively tonal)  and his commitment to this sprawling, complex masterwork is totally without question. Leibowitz creates a continual line which navigates this work through its monumental length and thick orchestration. The conductor is so utterly convincing and absorbing that all I can say that oh, what magic Leibowitz would have worked with Mahler. Many have used Wagner to describe Gurrelieder but it is most assuredly Mahler and his sound world that serve as an inspiration for this choral and orchestral blockbuster.

This is an essential record, a tribute to the great gifts possessed by Rene Leibowitz.

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Rene Leibowitz conducts two firsts - Schubert and Bizet

Two first symphonies, those of Schubert and Bizet, presented here on the Oceanic label (though the Musical Treasures record label is shown above.)  Distinguished conductor-composer Rene Leibowitz leads the Paris Radio Orchestra, also known as the Paris Philharmonic in many issues, in these early 50's recordings.

I like the programming here. Both of these works were written during the respective composers' formative teenage years. The pieces are both sunny and well structured and are positively effervescent. Astonishing is that they are fully formed, mature works which I'm sure many an older composer would have been proud to pen.  The Bizet, in particular, is a real gem of a work and it is too bad that this composer did not write further in the idiom. Perhaps he might have if fate had not cut his life short at such a young age though, the same could be said for Schubert too.

Rene Leibowitz is a favorite conductor of mine. Every recording of his brims with excitement and sure handed authority. Though most of his records were made with second rate French orchestras during the mono age, he did leave a number of stereo records that are superb and highly valued by audiophiles and collectors. His Pictures at an Exhibition captures the intrumentation of Ravel in an eerily Mussorgsky way, as if Mussorgsky had orchestrated the pictoral episodes, while his integral Beethoven symphony set from London is considered by many cogniscenti to be among the top five sets ever recorded. It's a spectacular achievement of concentration and dedication.

In spite of sonic limitations, this record of Schubert and Bizet is very, very enjoyable.

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Incidental Music from Beethoven's King Stephen and The Ruins of Athens

Like Mozart, Haydn, and many others of the 18th and 19th centuries, Beethoven wrote a fair amount of "background" music to accompany plays, dramatic theatricals, public events, well, you name it. This kind of public commission was usually lucrative for a composer since the pay was pretty good and music from previous outings could be reworked and repackaged for a tidy sum. However, when evaluating the complete ouerve of a composer, this work is often dismissed, and coveniently forgotten, as being inconsequential.

This is too bad since the two works here, The music from King Stephen and The Ruins of Athens, contain some delightful, even inventive moments that provide an enjoyable and stimulating listen from time to time. I cannot think of anyone tackling King Stephen in recent memory but Ruins was programmed, and recorded by Beecham. Strangely, the great Sir Thomas had some sympathy for the score though in general, he was rather cold towards Beethoven. Go figure.

From a Vox Turnabout LP, dating from the late 60's, I think, the eminent scholar-conductor Hans Hubert Schonzeler leads sparkling performances of these scores. The orchestra is identified as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra though, I have my doubts if that then East German ensemble would have been placed at Schonzeler's disposal. Whatever the origination of the proceedings, Schonzeler does make a strong case for these works with rather crisp and well prepared readings. I believe that you will enjoy this fairly well recorded Vox effort. It is lesser Beethoven but the handprint is moset definitely there!

As a filler, from an Everest Counterpoint edition, I've included Beethoven's German Dances as realized by Rene Leibowitz and what is claimed to be the French National Orchestra. These "lollipops" were recorded c. 1956 or so, I would say. Like all of Leibowitz's work, enthusiasm and good taste abound. It really was too bad that a man of Leibowitz's stature had to wait until the tail end of his career in order to record with a top notch ensemble, that being the RPO. The bulk of Leibowitz's recordings originate from Paris and often the orchestral contributions are not up to the highest standards of the day. Still, these miniatures round out a program dedicated to the byways of Beethoven.


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Rene Leibowitz conducts Rossini overtures with the Pasdeloup Orchestra

Here's an early Urania stereo release of Rossini Overtures performed by the Pasdeloup Orchestra under the estimable Rene Leibowitz. The usual suspects are here, La Gazza Ladra, William Tell, Semiramide and The Italian Girl in Algiers. All are splendidly rendered by this most French of orchestras under its cosmopolitan maestro.

Rene Leibowitz was one of the last century's best kept secrets. Polish born, he spent most of his adult life in France concentrating on composing, teaching, advocating 20th century music and keeping alive the great French opera/operetta tradition of the 19th century. This man had an enormous repetoire from early Baroque to cutting edge modern masters in fact, one may be able to say that only Hermann Scherchen conducted more styles, traditions and periods the Leibowitz.

Perhaps though, Leibowitz's greatest recorded legacy were series of Reader's Digest recordings that he collaborated on with the great producer Charles Gerhardt while in London during the 1960's. Having at his disposal such great orchestras as the LPO and RPO, Leibowitz set down magnificent accounts of the great musical masters, the highlight being a superlative Beethoven cycle that many critics have placed at the very top in their rankings....some say it is THE set for all time. That set is available on Chesky and I would encourage everyone to seek it out; the playing, the fidelity to the score and the conductorial vision is what sets it apart from all others. It is a treasure.

I hope you like these Rossini overtures. I will shortly be posting Leibowitz's take on the Respighi-Rossini  Le Boutique Fantastique.


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