Hans Knappertsbusch’s imposing presence in the concert hall must have been something to behold. Even within the limitations of these archival radio broadcast tapes, you get a real sense of how the conductor “played the hall” as much as the notes. Unfortunately, the Beethoven material selected for this anthology does not quite hold up to the scrutiny of permanence. Outside of the muffled sonics in the 1954 Vienna Philharmonic Fourth Concerto (with a solid but staid Wilhelm Backhaus at the keyboard), Coriolan Overture, and Seventh Symphony, the composer’s forward momentum and flair for dynamic contrast is often reduced to dogged rhythmic churning. Knappertsbusch, of course, was notorious for hating rehearsals. Too bad; the performances could have used some. One suspects, though, that a little bit of preparation was involved in this 1955 Munich “Eroica”. Old-fashioned to the core, Knappertsbusch adapts the now-discredited tradition of taking a huge pause between the first movement’s opening chords, and continues at leisure like one driving a golf cart down the proverbial freeway. It’s a convincing performance in its way, and I find it more shapely than the conductor’s indifferent 1942 studio traversal for Electrola (reissued on Tahra). A craggy-faced Leonore-Overture No. 3 also takes its sweet time, and is marvelously engineered. Kna’s 1952 Second Symphony is marred by the foul-tuned Bremen Orchestra. Lastly, for the slowest, heaviest, schlepping-est, dragging-est Beethoven Fifth in the history of sound recording, this Hessian Radio Orchestra rendition from 1962 must be heard to be believed. Fate dies before it knocks on the door. In sum, a fascinating but very uneven collection.
