Tennstedt: Beethoven – Piano Concerto no.2, Bruckner – Symphony no.4 (2 CD, APE)

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Klaus Tennstedt
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Testament
Size: 531 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
01. Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19: 1. Allegro con brio
02. Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19: 2. Adagio
03. Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19: 3. Rondo: Molto allegro

CD 02
01. Symphony No. 4 in E flat (‘Romantic’), WAB 104: 1. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell
02. Symphony No. 4 in E flat (‘Romantic’), WAB 104: 2. Andante quasi allegretto
03. Symphony No. 4 in E flat (‘Romantic’), WAB 104: 3. Scherzo: Bewegt – Trio. Nicht zu schnell
04. Symphony No. 4 in E flat (‘Romantic’), WAB 104: 4. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell

The timing is stingy at full price, but these are glorious performances, the Bruckner in particular

Testament has released four full concerts given by the Berlin Phil. with Tennstedt as guest conductor; this one dates from Dec. 14, 1981 and comes in quite good FM broadcast sound form the orchestra’s archives. During the Karajan era quite a few other conductors led the Berliners on records, but there aren’t many live recordings, and one reads that the musicians welcomed Tennstedt’s visits, since his freer, easier ways released them from the imprint of Karajan’s style. As usual, testament makes it an expensive treat to buy this twofer, which contains a total of 99 min. of music only. They boxed up all of Klemperer’s concerts with the Vienna Phil. to fill out each CD. Here, by conforming to the actual concert, we get a very short first CD at 30 min.

At first I had my doubts about that CD, since I didn’t associate the Argentine pianist Bruno Leonardo Gelber with Beethoven, and in any case, what could he or Tennstedt do with a work that owes so much to Mozart that the first few minutes are all but identical to one of Mozart’s lesser concertos? As it turns out, the performance trots along with a moderate degree of high spirits until we arrive at the first movement cadenza, a startling eruption into real Beethoven. Here, Gelber catches fire, and form then on he and Tennstedt have something to say. The slow movement is phrased with romantic expression and the finale is full of energy and wit. Altogether, a nice surprise.