Though it must have looked good on paper, this pairing of Rafael Kubelík and the Vienna Philharmonic in the music of Tchaikovsky yielded disappointing results. In 1960 this orchestra was not generally known for its flexibility and focus–or even, in some cases, accuracy. Then there’s the players’ staunch adherence to their own particular style, whether or not it suited the composer at hand. The result is a Pathètique that’s too poised and proper despite Kubelík’s attempts to bring out the music’s passion. In the less ambiguous, more straightforward Fourth Symphony Kubelík was able to muster enough ensemble concentration to create a sense of controlled hysteria in the first movement and restrained euphoria in the finale, making for a decent if hardly overwhelming traversal of the work (despite the persistent squally oboe tone).
The Fifth comes off best. The most overtly Germanic of the three, it falls well within Vienna’s stylistic comfort zone–meaning that the orchestra doesn’t have to trouble itself with such things as percussion and rhythmic syncopation. For his part Kubelík leads a generally spirited reading that plays up the emotional content of the first two movements. Then he spoils it somewhat with his overly relaxed pacing in the finale–until the coda, where the orchestra becomes newly invigorated and the brass blare out as if they were playing in Red Square.
Perhaps some credence should be given to contemporary reports of Kubelík’s inability to connect with this orchestra, as Lorin Maazel’s recordings of this same repertoire, made only a few years later, reveal a Vienna Philharmonic with a distinctly improved attitude and level of proficiency. Those Decca recordings are worth searching out. The present set, originally recorded by EMI in boxy, bass-shy sound, is mainly of interest to Kubelík completists.
