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| Teldec / ASV 6 6 43676; (Cassette) 4 43676; (CD) 8 43676 (67 minutes: DDD). |
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| Selected CD comparisons—coupled as above: |
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| ASMF, Marriner (11 / 84) 411 931-2ZH |
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| Orch of St John's, Lubbock (12 / 87) CDGS6004 |
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The luminous performance of Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony from Kurt Masur and the Gewandhaus Orchestra at the Proms this summer gave a firm reminder what understanding interpreters of this composer they have long been For DG they made a revelatory set of the boy Mendelssohn's string symphonies, but then their series for RCA of the five numbered symphonies was sadly short-lived in the catalogue I hope this latest issue means Teldec in association with VEB Deutsche Schallplatten are now on course to complete another Masur Mendelssohn series.
Masur starts with many advantages over all current competition in this favourite coupling Apart from Solti's Decca issue, which brings too much fierceness in the performances for comfort, Masur's is the only one which has exposition repeats in both symphonies Taking the highly enjoyable versions I have listed, Marriner for Decca omits repeats in both symphonies, which means leaving out the delightful 23-bar lead-back in the Italian, while Lubbock on ASV omits the repeat only in the Scottish, which is far less serious (Abbado on DG observes both, but the two symphonies come on separate discs.)
If it were not for the characteristically reverberant Leipzig recording, which obscures rather a lot of inner detail in tuttis and does not always allow violin articulation to be heard clearly—as in the Saltarello finale of the Italian—I would count this as near ideal a version of both works as we are likely to get As he showed at the Proms, Masur chooses his speeds judiciously to bring out the freshness of inspiration, avoiding any hint of sentimentality in slow movements, taken at flowing speeds, while never making allegros sound fierce or breathless in the Solti manner.
The bloom on the Leipzig sound is beautifully captured in the lightly scored passages, which sound just as luminous as at the Proms, but then the moment the texture grows thicker, the rever be ant acoustic makes for much cloudier results. In the rippling scherzo of the Scottish, the notoriously difficult passage where the horns take up the main theme is very murky, but for obvious reasons it can never be ideally clear. Some of the woodwind solos are also rather recessed, though the flute at the start of the finale of the Italian is beautifully light and delicate, and the plangent oboe in its prominent solo in the finale of the Scottish is given natural balance with no obscuring.
Whatever the detailed reservations over the sound, those who in the past have enjoyed Leipzig recordings as engineered by the East Germans need hardly worry. Masur's timing in the outer movements of both symphonies is ideal. In the first movement of the Italian, his manner in the skipping 6 / 8 rhythms is deligitfully relaxed, just as Lubbock and Marriner are, and though he adopts a speed marginally faster than usual for the 6 / 8 epilogue of the Scottish, that conclusion sets the seal on the whole performance in its exhilaration, with unison horns whooping joyfully. Masur's most controversial speeds are those for the inner movements, invariably on the fast side but flowing so easily that they lose nothing in warmth or tenderness. The Adagio of the Scottish by the evidence of the timings is well over two minutes shorter than with Lubbock, Marriner or Abbado, but still sounds relaxed.
There are still points in Lubbock's sunnily sympathetic, beautifully sustained performances which I prefer to Masur's, and the 1979 analogue recording is more firmly focused, with more presence than the new Teldec. The way that Lubbock's trumpets shine out over the rest in the first movement of the Italian makes me regret their total integration in the Leipzig recording, and Lubbock's wind players are if anything even more accomplished than those of the Leipzig Gewandhaus. At bargain price on ASV's Quicksilva label Lubbock's record remains an outstanding recommendation, but Masur must now be a first choice, unless the last degree of clarity in the recording is essential.
EG