Pierre Monteux is commonly associated with Ravel and Stravinsky, and he won his initial acclaim by conducting the premieres of some of their seminal compositions. But, going back to Monteux’s youth as a violist when he played before the great German composer, Brahms always remained among the conductor’s favorites, even if he made relatively few commercial recordings of his works. True, he left four recordings of Symphony No. 2 as well as other assorted pieces, but he never conducted a studio recording of the other symphonies. This re-issue from Tahra of live broadcasts with the Concertgebouw (along with a recent release from the BBC of the Symphony No. 3) therefore provides valuable documents of Monteux’s thoughts on these subjects.
For the record, collectors already may own these recordings, either as part of a deleted full-price boxed set from Tahra dedicated to Monteux’s association with the Concertgebouw or, for the violin concerto, as part of a Music & Arts series commemorating Nathan Milstein. In the spirit of exploiting the public domain to its fullest (and testing the six degrees of separation theory), the concerto recording also appeared in the Concertgebouw series from Audiophile Classics, which thus brings us full-circle to the present set.
As with its predecessor collection, Tahra’s re-release celebrates Monteux’s improbably long association with the Concertgebouw that began in 1924 and ran all the way into the 1960s. But more importantly it demonstrates what a fine Brahmsian Monteux was. Eschewing mannerisms altogether, Monteux goes straight to the heart of the scores in search of clean lines and textures, never lingering self-consciously over phrases. He gives a taut reading of the Tragic Overture that is full of power and thrust and yet, in the quieter “bridge” sections, he coaxes a diaphanous transparency from the orchestra that is effective without losing the forward momentum.
While never flashy, both performances of the symphonies manifest the same sort of straightforwardness such that there is a cohesion and rhythmic incisiveness from beginning to end. Moreover, Monteux’s attention to inner detail (especially in the lower strings) adds another dimension to these well-known works. Listen to the bold, almost raucous entry of the trumpets and the climactic sections of the Third Symphony to get a sense of the emotional range Monteux achieves.
The big disappointment in this reasonably mastered re-issue is the otherwise elegant and passionate performance of the Violin Concerto. The sound is marred everywhere by a grating static-and-dust background that is quite distracting. It’s also the earliest recording on the set (1950, as opposed to the early 1960s for the others), but in today’s advanced world of sound engineering and remastering, efforts should have been made to clean it up. If you really need to hear Milstein in this piece, go for his studio recording on EMI, which was recorded five years later. [7/30/2002]
