Gunter Wand has been so long associated with the central Austro-Germanic symphonic repertoire (Bruckner, Brahms, Beethoven) that this disc of French and Russian music seems surprising. However, any doubts are soon allayed by Wand’s hauntingly atmospheric rendition of Debussy’s Saint Sebastian fragments. While he is not nearly so adept as Pierre Monteux in realizing the music’s delicate shadings, he successfully recreates the sacred/sensual mood of this, Debussy’s most Wagnerian work. In any event, a great conductor should be able to play music different from his home culture’s, and Wand’s early career included plenty of “foreign” scores and novelties (Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony among them).
That said, Wand’s German schooling certainly is apparent in his approach to Mussorgsky’s Pictures. Here he presents not the usual museum tour, but simply a piece of music, with emphasis on structure, phrasing, and balance. Listen to how “The Old Castle,” for example, reveals its classical rhythmic underpinnings in Wand’s hands. The brass maintain an objective distance throughout the work, so it’s quite surprising when Wand lets loose their leash in “Catacombs” (captured in big, rich sound by RCA). Unfortunately, Wand carries his unsentimental approach right through to the final apotheosis, which with its clipped phrasing and unyielding tempo removes all sense of grandeur from the “Great Gate of Kiev”, making it sound more like the “Great Garage Door”. For an excellent modern recording of Pictures, I continue to recommend Giuseppe Sinopoli’s majestic performance with the New York Philharmonic (playing like they’re in the World Series) on Deutsche Grammophon.
