Karl Bohm - Why the hate?
Christine Turner
members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
(usually) superbly disciplined in way of tempo and rythmic co-ordination,
and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
etc. Any thoughts?
Marksten
>>
Bohm was one of the great conductors, especially in opera (particularly Richard
Strauss) where he had a great command of theatre and wonderful empathy with his
singers.
I heard many electrifying performances at the Met under Bohm - FROSH and
Fidelio spring to mind.
His recordings always give me pleasure. I'm probably one of the few in this NG
who find his R. Strauss preferrable to Reiner (but I'm on record as being
mystified by the whole Reiner adulation thing).
Bohm's Nazi past doesn't seem to haunt him as it does Karajan, but that may be
the source of some of the dislike of this gifted musician.
Mark Stenroos
John Harkness
> There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
> members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
> bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
> (usually) superbly disciplined in way of tempo and rythmic co-ordination,
> and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
> plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
> Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
> Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
> are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
> etc. Any thoughts?
Because he was an unrepentant Nazi, and generally a dull conductor -- at least
in the recordings I've heard.
John
John Grabowski
>
> On Fri, 6 Nov 1998 23:17:14 -0000, Christine Turner <jon...@globalnet.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> >There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
> >members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
> >bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
> >(usually) superbly disciplined in way of tempo and rythmic co-ordination,
> >and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
> >plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
> >Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
> >Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
> >are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
> >etc. Any thoughts?
>
> entitled to weigh in with their objections.
>
> I'm a fan of Boehm's Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. In particular, I
> "imprinted" on his Beethoven symphony set when I was a teenager.
Did the records still play after that? ;-)
John
--
A classic is something that everybody wants to have read, and nobody
wants to read.
Mark Twain
Ramon Khalona
the latter left Germany before the war (it is told by Bohm in his own
words in the book, "Bohm: A Life Remembered"). He also got very
friendly with Bernstein right at the end, and even though a Nazi cloud
hangs over his memory, he seems to have been affiliated for careerist
reasons (like many others who will go unmentioned) and not because he
was a genocidal monster.
There is something philosophical about his late Mozart. He said about
this master's music near his very end: "It has the effect of a fountain
of youth". His Strauss could also be exciting and wonderful.
There are some candid admissions by the man in Matheopoulos' book,
"Maestro". I remember getting his Bruckner 4th on two Decca LPs at
Rose Records in Chicago and buying the Sun Times as I got out of the
store. Lo and behold, the paper that day (in 1981, IIRC) carried an
obituary for him which I read on the train ride on my way home. He had
died the day before.
--
Ramon Khalona "Die Sechste ist die Keckste"
Carlsbad, California - Anton Bruckner -
Simon Roberts
: There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
: members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
: bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
: and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
: plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
: Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
: Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
: are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
: etc. Any thoughts?
There seem to be two Karl Boehms (as it were). The one who recorded with
the Philharmonia for EMI and the BPO and VPO for DG and Decca merits all
those negative adjectives (or milder versions thereof), I think. But get
him live, with any orchestra, or in the studio with the Dresden
Staatskappelle, and someone much more lithe, spirited and fond of faster
tempi seems to have over; the results could be thrilling.
Simon
Alrod
Roberts) wrote:
>There seem to be two Karl Boehms (as it were).
I've got two more for you - the Karl Boehm of the 40s and 50s, who was
compact, vigorous and connected, and the Karl Boehm of the 60s and
70s, who was expansive when connected and compact when bored or
otherwise preoccupied.
I've read an anecdote that Boehm visited Bernstein during sessions for
the latter's sloooooww recording of Tristan, and saying, "Yes, that's
the right way to do it - I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to do
mine that way."
If Boehm's comment was only a courtly gesture to Bernstein, it's the
only one on record from an otherwise perennially nasty complainer.
Boehm is also not well remembered for his intriguing - he got Dresden
by denouncing Fritz Busch to the Nazis, forcing the latter to leave
the country hastily, and managed to outmaneuver both Krauss and
Karajan in postwar Vienna. You may remember that Clemens Krauss died
of a heart attack in 1954, when he heard the news that Boehm would get
the reopened Vienna Opera.
Offhand, I can think of only Leopold Reichwein and Hermann Abendroth
as being more distasteful as personalities than Boehm.
Alrod
Orchestra
>Offhand, I can think of only Leopold Reichwein and Hermann Abendroth
>as being more distasteful as personalities than Boehm.
Care to elaborate?
Gerald M. Stein
Simon Roberts
: Offhand, I can think of only Leopold Reichwein and Hermann Abendroth
: as being more distasteful as personalities than Boehm.
Would you mind elaborating a bit re Abendroth? Aside from various
recordings I have of his which I like enormously, I know nothing about him
-- I might as well know the worst. (Feel free to respond privately if
it's not the sort of thing you want to post publicly, assuming it's not
common knowledge.)
Simon
David M. Cook
>There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
>members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
>bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
>(usually) superbly disciplined in way of tempo and rythmic co-ordination,
>and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
>plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
>Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
>Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
>are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
>etc. Any thoughts?
I guess fans will have to try to be more vocal. The haters are perfectly
entitled to weigh in with their objections.
I'm a fan of Boehm's Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. In particular, I
"imprinted" on his Beethoven symphony set when I was a teenager.
I find his Haydn delightful, but I can understand if some find it too rich.
I haven't had a chance to hear his Bruckner 3 and 4 yet (he also recorded 7
and 8 for DG, and while I have the LPs, I haven't unpacked my turntable in
over 2 years).
Dave Cook
JJ
<jon...@globalnet.co.uk> wrote:
> There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
> members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
> bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
> (usually) superbly disciplined in way of tempo and rythmic co-ordination,
> and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
> plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
> Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
> Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
> are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
> etc. Any thoughts?
I have mixed feelings about Boehm. At one point I really disliked his
work, but now I find myself more and more attracted to it. I think a lot
of his opera conducting is wonderful, particularly the three Cosi fan
Tuttes (on London, EMI, and DG). OTOH, I've never warmed to his Ring
which, despite the excitement he generates, is often crude, sloppy, and
coarsely played. But I'd agree with the point that he was much more
exciting live. I've recently been seeking out different live performances
of his, and find his conducting to be tremendously exciting. On Orfeo,
there are two discs -- one with Mozart PC#9 and Brahms Symphony # 1, the
other with Schubert 2 and Ein Heldenleben, both with the BRSO, which are
thrilling. Some of his late VPO stuff is excellent as well, particularly
the Brahms 4 (thanks to Mr. Khalona for this recommendation) and the two
Wagner discs in which Boehm gives strong, steady, "central" performances
which take advantage of the unique VPO sound. I'd also recommend a video
on VAI where he rehearses and then performs Beethoven's 7th with the CBC
symphony. His rehearsal manner is quite interesting as he is
painstakingly precise about details of rhythm and dynamics. The actual
performance is nothing particularly special, but is nevertheless a good
rendition. Are there any other documentaries on Boehm?
Jon
Benjamin Maso
Alrod wrote in message <3643b4c...@news.mindspring.com>...
>On 7 Nov 1998 00:23:24 GMT, si...@dept.english.upenn.edu (Simon
>Roberts) wrote:
>
>Boehm is also not well remembered for his intriguing - he got Dresden
>by denouncing Fritz Busch to the Nazis, forcing the latter to leave
>the country hastily
I've never heard that before. Busch didn't have to be denounced by anyone:
long before Hitler came to power his aversion of the nazi's was already well
known, and he already in 1932 he was frequently attacked by the
national-socialist press. After the well-known incident in the Dresden
Staatsoper, when a performance of Rigoletto was disturbed by members of the
SA, Busch had to leave Dresden, but did not flee the country, on the
contrary, trying to be rehabilitated, he went to Berlin to see Goering, who
had offered him a post at the State Theater. He only left Germany a few
weeks later, with no difficulties. I can hardly imagine that Bohm played any
part in these events. Busch himself (in Pages from a Musician's Life)
doesn't mention his name, neither his wife (in the biography of her
husband). The same goes for Joseph Wulf's Musik im Dritten Reich and Fred
Prieberg in Musik im NS-Staat. It isn't even mentioned by Norman Lebrecht in
the Myth of the Maestro's. So what's your source for these allegations?
Benjo Maso
Edward A. Cowan
> Would you mind elaborating a bit re Abendroth? Aside from various
> recordings I have of his which I like enormously, I know nothing about him
> -- I might as well know the worst.
The notes accompanying Tahra TAH 106-107 ("Hermann Abendroth:
Gewandhauskapellmeister (1934-1945)") give some clarification about
Abendroth's relation to the Nazis. The notes (p.45 and following in the
English version -- there are texts also in German, French, and Italian)
quote a letter by Abendroth of 20 November 1945: "That is when I became
victim of a persecution that had started at Cologne and reached the
Town's authorities in Leipzig. From day to day, people were incited
against me. In 1938 the Mayor of Leipzig declared that these attacks
would only cease if I became a Party member. Thus I was left no choice
but to join the Nazi Party. I have never owned the Party's book
[meaning, presumably, Hitler's _Mein Kampf_ --E.A.C.], nor have I taken
part in a Party's meeting and never have I paid one cent more than the
simple ordinary membership's fee. I have been nothing more than a paying
member and I have always kept a hostile attitude toward the third
Reich's philosophy. I was wholly devoted to my professional and artistic
duties." (Quaint English usage of translator retained. --E.A.C.)
The writer of the notes continues (p.46): "According to Fred Prieberg,
Abendroth joined the Party on 1st May 1937 for the above reasons. But
another fact may be taken into account: his wife, Liesel Walter, in
fact, was not able to prove her Arian origin. Thus, it just might be
possible that Abendroth joined the Nazi Party also in order to protect
her."
The booklets for this set and also for Tahra TAH 102 ("L'Art de Hermann
Abendroth. Volume 1. Enregistrements 1927-1941") also contain
reproductions of various programs led by Abendroth at different times in
his career, from early in the 20th century, from the time of the Third
Reich, and from the period following WWII when he conducted in the
"DDR". For both musical and historical reasons, these programs make
fascinating reading. I cite the following for the purpose of indicating
Abendroth's non-Nazi attitude toward music by Jewish composers:
Lübeck, 4 Jan. 1908 (TAH 102, p.7)
Mendelssohn: Ov., Midsummer Night's Dream
Schubert: Three Songs with orch. (Susanne Dessoir, alto)
Mozart: Theme and Variations for strings and two horns
Songs with pf. accompaniment (Dessoir)
Beethoven: Sym.#6, "Pastoral"
Leipzig, 5 March 1922 (TAH 106-107, p.7)
Handel: Concerto for string orch., two obbligato horns and obbligato
cello
Mendelssohn: Concert aria, "Infelice!... Ah, ritorna, età felice" (Liane
Martiny, sop.)
(NOTE: Only the first part of this program is reprinted. The text of the
aria is given in full in Italian and German.)
Leipzig, 21 Jan. 1932 (TAH 106-107, p.10)
Cherubini: Ov., Anacreon
Paul Kletzki: Con. for pf. and orch. in D-min., Op.22
Hans Beltz, pf. (world premiere)
Bruckner: Sym.#4 (in memoriam Arthur Nikisch, who died 23 Jan. 1922)
Leipzig, 8 July 1945
"Zur Begruessung der Roten Armee"
Beethoven: Ov. Egmont
Tchaikovsky: Sym.#5
(concert to be repeated 15 July 1945)
Leipzig, 26 July 1945
Beethoven: Leonore Ov. #1, Op.138
Mendelssohn: Violin con. in Eb-min.
Kurt Stiehler, violin
Mahler: Sym.#1
Hope this helps...
-- E.A.C.
alhe...@my-dejanews.com
John Harkness <j...@netcom.ca> wrote:
> Christine Turner wrote:
>
> > There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
> > members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why. To me, his performances
> > bring out the best from the orchestra without getting in their way. They are
> > (usually) superbly disciplined in way of tempo and rythmic co-ordination,
> > and the sound he gets from an orchestra such as the BPO usually carries
> > plenty of weight. [ Would anyone agree, incidentally, that the Berlin
> > Philharmonic's natural 'sound' varied quite substantially from that under
> > Karajan during the late 50s/ early 60s?] To others, these same performances
> > are described as stodgy, earthbound, unimaginative, overly-'warm', 'sappy'
> > etc. Any thoughts?
>
> in the recordings I've heard.
Are you sure about the "unrepentant" part? What is your source for this. I'm
not saying it isn't true, because I really don't know, but there is sometimes
a tendency, especially with highly emotional topics (Naziism, child
molestation, etc.) for charges to be regarded as "true" merely because they
are both shocking and oft repeated. While I don't know about Böhm's case in
detail, I really question the "unrepentant" part because of his championship
of his old friend, Alban Berg (a "cultural Bolshevik"), and his apparently
close friendship with Leonard Bernstein.
--
August Helmbright
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
alhe...@my-dejanews.com
nfna...@NOSPAM.rocketmail.com (Alrod) wrote:
> Offhand, I can think of only Leopold Reichwein and Hermann Abendroth
> as being more distasteful as personalities than Boehm.
If John Culshaw is to be believed, there has probably never been a more mean-
spirited conductor that Joseph Krips.
Derek Haslam
David M. Cook <dave...@home.com> wrote:
> I haven't had a chance to hear his Bruckner 3 and 4 yet (he also recorded 7
> and 8 for DG, and while I have the LPs, I haven't unpacked my turntable in
> over 2 years).
I have! In fact I've had his 4th for years on LP and just bought the
"Double Decca" which pairs it with the 3rd. I think these (esp. the
4th) are both overwhelmingly powerful peformances. (His approach to
the huge, black climax in the opening section of the finale to 4 is a
good place to sample, as is the 1st mvt coda). What a pity he chose
to record the truncated 1889 version of the 3rd.
Derek
--
__ __ __ __ __
/ \ | ||__ |__)/ | | |_ Derek Haslam: Acorn Computer Enthusiast
\_\/ |__||__ | \\__ |__| __| que...@argonet.co.uk
\ Mastery of the rules is a pre-requisite for creatively breaking them.
Matthew B. Tepper
pondered what I'm pondering as follows:
>
>In article <3643b4c...@news.mindspring.com>,
> nfna...@NOSPAM.rocketmail.com (Alrod) wrote:
>
>> Offhand, I can think of only Leopold Reichwein and Hermann Abendroth
>> as being more distasteful as personalities than Boehm.
>
>If John Culshaw is to be believed, there has probably never been a
>more mean-spirited conductor that Joseph Krips.
Didn't Culshaw work with Reiner?
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/index.htm
My main music page --- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/berlioz.htm
And my science fiction club's home page --- http://www.lasfs.org/
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Simon Roberts
[snip]
: Hope this helps...
Indeed it does, of only to remind me that, were I less dense I could have
looked at the same liner notes myself; I feel rather bad that you went to
all the trouble to type that helpful information -- but at least it will
be (I hope) of general interest. Nothing negative there, though
(unsurprisingly, I suppose); perhaps Alrod will weigh in as counsel for
the prosecution....
Simon
Jan Klerk
Christine Turner heeft geschreven in bericht
<71vvus$ao0$1...@newnews.global.net.uk>...
>There appears to be an almost universal dislike of this conductor amongst
>members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why.
It's really unbelievable. Think about his magnificent Schumann 4th, Tristan,
The Ring, Pastoral Symphony, Bruckner 3rd, 4th and 8th and so on. Listen to
his repetition fragment of the Tristan 3rd act this is really astonishing
musical.
Jan Klerk
jkl...@wxs.nl
Curtis Croulet
>he seems to have been affiliated for careerist
>reasons (like many others who will go unmentioned) and not because he
>was a genocidal monster.
I only know what I've read here and there...that he was an enthusiastic Nazi
supporter, even long before they came to power, that he broke off a
rehearsal to attend a Nazi rally. And isn't there a photo somewhere of him
in some sort of Nazi military uniform?
Matthew B. Tepper
dave...@home.com pondered what I'm pondering as follows:
>
>On Sat, 07 Nov 1998 15:16:56 +0000 (GMT), Derek Haslam
><que...@argonet.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>I have! In fact I've had his [Bruckner] 4th for years on LP and just
>
>UK that does web-based sales?
>
>Dave Cook
Several people (myself included) have used http://www.mdt.co.uk/ with
notable success. Service and prices are VERY satisfactory.
David
I don't think he's universally hated here. Although I don't think to many of us
revere him as the ne plus ultra of conductors either. I think his Four Last
Songs with Lisa Della Casa is superbly conducted. Also his first Magic Flute
(although a couple of his singers are fairly unlistenable). His 1960's
recordings of Mozart symphonies, though, seem a bit stolid. He was a living
link to Berg and Strauss, of course, but I respect his conducting of Wozzeck
more than I love it: it's just not dramatic enough.
-david gable
David
Ramon Khalona wrote:
> There is a moving story about the farewell between Bohm and Walter when
> the latter left Germany before the war
Never heard that story before. Thank you.
> He also got very
> friendly with Bernstein right at the end
He is supposed to have been deeply moved by Bernstein's Tristan, which is
extraordinarily slow: the prelude is probably the slowest on record. Bo"hm
was a fast Wagner conductor but commended Bernstein's "courage."
-david gable
David M. Cook
Simon Roberts
: In article <slrn74a4p2....@rama.escnd1.sdca.home.com>,
: >On Sat, 07 Nov 1998 15:16:56 +0000 (GMT), Derek Haslam
: Several people (myself included) have used http://www.mdt.co.uk/ with
: notable success. Service and prices are VERY satisfactory.
Yes; I don't know where Mr. Cook is, but this particular Double Decca
regularly shows up as an import at Tower in NY for c. $20 -- about what it
will cost to get it from MDT, I expect (or perhaps more).
Simon
Alrod
wrote:
>>Boehm is also not well remembered for his intriguing - he got Dresden
>>by denouncing Fritz Busch to the Nazis, forcing the latter to leave
>>the country hastily
>
>I've never heard that before. Busch didn't have to be denounced by anyone:
>long before Hitler came to power his aversion of the nazi's was already well
>known, and he already in 1932 he was frequently attacked by the
>national-socialist press. After the well-known incident in the Dresden
>Staatsoper, when a performance of Rigoletto was disturbed by members of the
>SA, Busch had to leave Dresden, but did not flee the country, on the
>contrary, trying to be rehabilitated, he went to Berlin to see Goering, who
>had offered him a post at the State Theater. He only left Germany a few
>weeks later, with no difficulties. I can hardly imagine that Bohm played any
>part in these events.
I do not see that the above facts contradict the story I was told by a
German refugee now dead (and thus unavailable for further
questioning), that Boehm politicked with Nazi party officials at the
time leading up to Busch's departure from Dresden, and Boehm's
resultant promotion from Hamburg to Dresden.
Goering's late offer to Busch, following Busch's encounter with the
SA, can be interpreted in a number of ways. In the light of
information new to me, I will happily withdraw my characterization of
Busch's departure as hasty, but that's about it for now.
I can offer no book-documentation for the rest of the story, but one's
"inability to imagine" such an action on Boehm's part doesn't carry
much more weight. Especially as Boehm's proclivity towards intrigue
was displayed in his postwar Vienna years, outmaneuvering both Krauss
and Karajan, neither precisely an innocent babe. Such actions are in
no way inconsistent with the SOB-status he maintained until he died.
I would also like to add that Boehm's late "friendship" with Bernstein
in itself means nothing. It may have been, like Bernstein's
appearances with the Vienna Philharmonic, merely a way of putting a
finger in Karajan's eye. And as a Jew, I have been a longtime personal
friend of at least one ex-Nazi, who despite her fondness for my
company, nonetheless unconsciously and routinely says perfectly
horrific things about Jews in general. The friendship continues.
>Busch himself (in Pages from a Musician's Life)
>doesn't mention his name, neither his wife (in the biography of her
>husband). The same goes for Joseph Wulf's Musik im Dritten Reich and Fred
>Prieberg in Musik im NS-Staat. It isn't even mentioned by Norman Lebrecht in
>the Myth of the Maestro's.
I salute this quick research, but it doesn't demonstrate that what I
was told is impossible. The full extent of Schwarzkopf's involvement
with the Nazis only reached print two years ago, and that is a much
"hotter" item.
As far as Abendroth's personality is concerned, the Nazis I personally
have the most problems with are the ones that went East after WWII,
rejecting Germany's new democracy in search of the familiar comfort of
continued brutal totalitarianism.
About a year after his beautifully conducted 1944 Meistersinger, with
the SS augmenting what remained of the Bayreuth chorus, Abendroth was
the first German conductor to be invited to conduct in the USSR. He
soon found posts, first in Leipzig, then East Berlin. In 1950, his
scheduled appearance in Dusseldorf was barred because of his
now-enthusiastic Communist self-identification.
At his death, Abendroth was given a state funeral by East Germany. His
was in stark contrast to Konwitschny's, whose state funeral
discomfited the officially athiest dignitaries by forcing them to sit
through a Catholic Requiem Mass.
I don't underestimate the difficulties of Abendroth's circumstances.
Yet he was content to be a poster boy for both Hitler and Stalin, and
that sticks in this individual craw.
BTW, Leopold Reichwein, for those who are curious, was an enthusiastic
Nazi before it was legally permitted in Vienna. He had to leave the
Vienna Opera and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in 1936 for two
years of exile in Bochum. In 1938 he returned to a Vienna much more
friendly to committed Nazis, and committed suicide in 1945 when the
Axis lost the war.
Alrod
Edward A. Cowan
> BTW, Leopold Reichwein, for those who are curious, was an enthusiastic
> Nazi before it was legally permitted in Vienna. He had to leave the
> Vienna Opera and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in 1936 for two
> years of exile in Bochum. In 1938 he returned to a Vienna much more
> friendly to committed Nazis, and committed suicide in 1945 when the
> Axis lost the war.
All of the above is true, amply documented in Joseph Wulf's _Musik im
Dritten Reich_. (See pp.477-479 of the rororo paperback edition to read
a particularly nauseating _Lobspruch_, stressing Reichwein's particular
services to the NSDAP. A document on p.479 indicates he joined the Party
on 1 March 1932.) His actual conducting is documented in recordings on
CD, all dating from his return to Vienna in 1938, including not only a
couple of his 78s (overtures to Flotow's _Martha_ and Suppé's _Die
schöne Galathee," in Koch-Schwann 311162, "World Famous Conductors From
Silesia") but also several performances at the Vienna State Opera
recorded live, all of it Wagner:
Koch-Schwann 314562 (Götterdämmerung, Parsifal) (vol.6)
Koch-Schwann 314632 (Der fliegende Holländer) (vol.13)
Koch-Schwann 314692 (Holländer, Tannhäuser) (vol.19)
Koch-Schwann 314722 (vol.22)
Of these, I have only vol.6. I'm not sure what repertoire Reichwein
conducts in vol.22, but it is most probably more Wagner. FWIW, it seems
that Leopold Reichwein never conducted at Bayreuth...
-- E.A.C.
Edward A. Cowan
> Boehm is also not well remembered for his intriguing - he got Dresden
> by denouncing Fritz Busch to the Nazis, forcing the latter to leave
> the country hastily
Nothing regarding Karl Boehm, at least in this regard, occurs in the
memoirs of Grete Busch (_Fritz Busch: Dirigent_, Frankfurt am Main: S.
Fischer Verlag, 1985), at least not in the chapter "Aufbruch"
(pp.62-85), which tells of her experiences in the dismal events leading
up to the SA takeover of Fritz Busch's _Rigoletto_ of 7 March 1933,
which he stopped conducting because of a Nazi riot that disturbed the
performance. This was Busch's last as director of the Dresden Opera.
Frau Busch instead tells of the actor/singer Dr. Waldemar Staegemann,
who as Frosch in _Die Fledermaus_ was "ein Kabinettstück weinseliger
Beschwipstheit" ("a display piece of jolly tipsiness"), nonetheless
tried to persuade her to have Busch join the Nazis. (p.65) She then
tells about how, on the train trip of 6 March from Kopenhagen back to
Dresden, Busch and Klemperer sat together at the same table in the
dining car and talked "nicht über Musik" in full voice, not in the
whispers that soon became the norm under Nazi rule. (p.67) And then
comes the _Krach_ of the next evening's performance, when Busch walked
out and never returned again.
Karl Boehm, however, does address this matter in his memoirs (_Ich
erinnere mich ganz genau_ (dtv 916), München: Deutscher Taschenbuch
Verlag, 1979, p.41). After briefly mentioning the riot of 7 March 1933,
Boehm states: "Ich bin mit ihm [Busch] in Wien sehr viel
zusammengekommen, und er wußte genau, daß ich nichts mit der Sache zu
tun hatte, denn ich habe Dresden erst vier Monate nach seinem Weggang
zum erstenmal betreten." ["I encountered him very often in Vienna, and
he knew for certain that I had had nothing to do with that affair, since
I did not set foot in Dresden until four months after his departure."]
Boehm was also accused of not emigrating as Busch and others had done.
His reply (also p.41) states that he did not have the advantage of
invitations to the Met or Covent Garden to justify leaving his family
behind. He adds: "ich ... glaube aber im Verlaufe meiner Tätigkeit
sowohl in Dresden wie später in Wien bewiesen zu haben, auf welcher
Seite ich immer gestanden bin." ["I ... believe, however, to have
demonstrated in the course of my activities in Dresden as well as later
in Vienna on which side I had always stood."]
-- E.A.C.
Alrod
On the nose. Goetterdaemmerung excerpts with Helena Braun and Josef
von Manowarda.
Alrod
Clovis Lark
Alrod <nfna...@NOSPAM.rocketmail.com> wrote:
>On 7 Nov 1998 00:23:24 GMT, si...@dept.english.upenn.edu (Simon
>Roberts) wrote:
>
>
>I've got two more for you - the Karl Boehm of the 40s and 50s, who was
>compact, vigorous and connected, and the Karl Boehm of the 60s and
>70s, who was expansive when connected and compact when bored or
>otherwise preoccupied.
>
>by denouncing Fritz Busch to the Nazis, forcing the latter to leave
>Karajan in postwar Vienna. You may remember that Clemens Krauss died
>of a heart attack in 1954, when he heard the news that Boehm would get
>the reopened Vienna Opera.
>
>as being more distasteful as personalities than Boehm.
>
Bohm also was appointed head of the Vienna Opera during the NAZI regime
and was still openly lauding them in the mid 1950's.
Michael Leigh
Neil wrote in message <3650f31d...@10.0.0.1>...
>>members of this newsgroup. I fail to understand why.
>
Pastoral -
>don't we folks ?
yes we do!
Mike