Columbia SAX 2342 Klemperer and his Englishmen Do the Scotch
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 "Scotch", Hebrides Overture
Philharmonia Orchestra
Otto Klemperer, conductor
Pressing: ER2
Stampers: YAX 547-6, YAX 548-17
Performance: 9/10
Sound: 7/10
Price range: $25-379, mean $145 on popsike
Comments: We must be on a roll, because the last few SAX records have been real hits.
We open with the Hebrides Overture (also known as Fingal's Cave Overture), which I have really come to appreciate since I first heard it two years ago. According to my reading, this work is a miniature tone poem which describes young Mendelssohn's travels to the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland in 1829. Apparently, this involved a turbulent sea voyage to see Fingal's Cave, a basalt-rock formation, and I think that you can really hear this drama in the music. I love the opening chord progression which outlines the chord of B minor by moving from B minor to D major to F# minor to B major. Klemperer's tempo is not sluggish in the least. In fact, a comparison of his tempos with other notable recordings of the same work from the era show that he is right there with the rest of them:
Reiner (CSO, RCA) -- 9:39
Schuricht (VPO, Decca) -- 9:53
Maag (LSO, Decca) -- 10:01
Klemperer (PO, Columbia) -- 10:25Karajan (BPO, Columbia) -- 10:29
Kempe (VPO, EMI) -- 10:42
The Overture is appropriately paired with another work influenced by Mendelssohn's travels to the English Isles, namely his Third Symphony nicknamed "Scotch". Interestingly, although the idea for this symphony was conceived in 1829 during his trip to England, the work was not completed until 12 years later in 1842. According to the scholarly liner notes, "The first movement opens with a slow sombre introduction conjuring up the scene of the ruined chapel at Holyrood Palace." This is apparently the place where he came up with the theme to the introduction. Mendelssohn ultimately dedicated this to Queen Victoria, who was a great admirer of his work. Though this is not my favorite Mendelssohn symphony, I still find it pleasant to listen to, and I find the fourth and final movement the most interesting.
Sound quality is very good here. Nice dynamic range and clarity. Winds especially are presented very clearly (also a Klemperer trademark). In the final movement, again, there was some loss of clarity in the loud passages, though I'm now beginning to blame this on the limitations of my cartridge. I have the second pressing; the turquoise/silver could potentially have something over this one. Klemperer's chief competition with this pairing is Peter Maag and the LSO on London/Decca, one of the many famous Decca stereo recordings. I used to have the Blueback but sold it, so I can't do a head to head comparison, but I remember that record also sounding very good.
Reiner (CSO, RCA) -- 9:39
Schuricht (VPO, Decca) -- 9:53
Maag (LSO, Decca) -- 10:01
Klemperer (PO, Columbia) -- 10:25Karajan (BPO, Columbia) -- 10:29
Kempe (VPO, EMI) -- 10:42
The Overture is appropriately paired with another work influenced by Mendelssohn's travels to the English Isles, namely his Third Symphony nicknamed "Scotch". Interestingly, although the idea for this symphony was conceived in 1829 during his trip to England, the work was not completed until 12 years later in 1842. According to the scholarly liner notes, "The first movement opens with a slow sombre introduction conjuring up the scene of the ruined chapel at Holyrood Palace." This is apparently the place where he came up with the theme to the introduction. Mendelssohn ultimately dedicated this to Queen Victoria, who was a great admirer of his work. Though this is not my favorite Mendelssohn symphony, I still find it pleasant to listen to, and I find the fourth and final movement the most interesting.
Sound quality is very good here. Nice dynamic range and clarity. Winds especially are presented very clearly (also a Klemperer trademark). In the final movement, again, there was some loss of clarity in the loud passages, though I'm now beginning to blame this on the limitations of my cartridge. I have the second pressing; the turquoise/silver could potentially have something over this one. Klemperer's chief competition with this pairing is Peter Maag and the LSO on London/Decca, one of the many famous Decca stereo recordings. I used to have the Blueback but sold it, so I can't do a head to head comparison, but I remember that record also sounding very good.
I've got the Blue and Silver going at $100 for NM lately. These are the only two pressings I see. 86 entries on popsike mean this one is commanding a pretty good price given the supply. It might be better in the B&S.
ReplyDeleteI've got a nice pressing just after the blue back pressing of the Maag. I also have my previously mentioned duct tape special blue back that I just Indian gave back from a friend. I'll update on the sound. I remember liking the blue back a lot. Not as enamored with the later pressings. I'd favor the blue back for the money.
Do you have the wideband FFRR pressing? I bet that one could be superior to the FFSS. Let me know what your thoughts are.
DeleteI am listening to the French iteration of this record right now. Stampers are YAX-547-6 and YAX-548-12. It seems the French could not make up their mind about the release number: The label says CCA 838, but on the back cover you can see the printed FXC 838/SAXF 838 codes, covered by a semitransparent "CCA" sticker. On the front there is a Stereo sticker. I am guessing the French were recycling covers from the SAXF edition. Vinyl is very quiet and the sound is lovely, just as described above.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts on the French version of this album! I have my first ASDF on its way from France (a Cluytens album) and am eager to hear how it sounds. Many of those ASDF releases had beautiful covers with dowel rod spines. I’m encouraged by your report that they sound pretty good, too! I’ll report back once I have received mine.
DeleteKostaszag, I have on order some additional French EMI's, including ASDF, SAXF, CCA, and CVB. I was curious about the different letter prefixes. It seems that some of the original French SAXF's were reissued as CCA or CVB but still had the dark blue French Columbia label. If the CCA is a ressue of the SAXF, it seems that they can be purchased for less than the SAXF. I wonder if any of our other readers might be able to comment on the French EMI catalog number system.
DeleteThe Cluytens ASDF I purchased was really excellent. I was quite impressed and unaware that the French pressings could sound at least as good as the UK pressings. It has motivated me to further explore the French pressings! If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Thank you!
I can only recommend the French EMIs, in every form. They are my go-to label for EMI-Columbia recordings that have become unaffordable. Unfortunately I am not the only one who knows about the British stampers. Judging by the prices I encounter on ebay.fr others know about it too.
DeleteNow, about the prefixes: SAXF and ASDF are respectively the French editions of Columbia and EMI, obviously. I can find no pattern about the later prefixes, a reprint of any first edition can be a CCA, CVB or whatever. The late labels can also be any colour, red or blue. with or without a dog etc. The good thing is, the matrices are invariably the same as the British counterparts even well into the 70s. I have a good number of late 1C- reissues that stem from early Columbia and EMI mothers. There is no pattern though
My explanation for this state of affairs is that Frenchmen, being the skimpiest people on God's green earth never threw away anything, be it a mother for a record, a batch of record labels, or a batch of outer sleeves. EVERYTHING had to be used once it was purchased. We can be thankful though, it makes collecting in France a joy :-)