Leonard Bernstein’s legacy with the Vienna Philharmonic realized some prized Deutsche Grammophon recordings in which he asserted himself as a cogent and original interpreter of classic Viennese repertoire. This disc, recorded during public performances at the Vienna Musikverein in February (Symphony No. 2) and November (Symphony No. 7) 1978, offers a brace of Beethoven symphonies in lucid, thorough-going realizations. Together, they epitomize the physicality and intellectual persuasiveness that often was attained during Lenny’s last years.
Symphony No. 2 gets a performance of tremendous power and energy, and with Bernstein’s inimitable podium presence frequently audible (even the impact of foot upon rostrum seems a convincing part of the music-making) this is perhaps a reading calculated to excite rather than enlighten. Still, as the Vienna Philharmonic has this music so close to its corporate soul, not even the wildest of Bernstein’s interventions manages to offset the unique sound-world of this great band, and the slow movement is as affectingly moulded and lovingly shaped as ever.
I pulled Bernstein’s 1962 New York Philharmonic recording from the shelf for comparison and found it electrifying in a way that this later Vienna remake isn’t. But then I doubt that it was ever intended to be: the early reading brings to the fore all the mercurial unpredictability that made Bernstein’s affair with the New York Philharmonic invariably compelling, whereas the Vienna version is that much better mannered. It’s a bracing, agreeably vital, and energetic Second that satisfies, but never shocks.
The Vienna Seventh is quite another matter. Here’s an account that truly never lets us forget the bacchanalian symbolism of a work its creator claimed would make mankind spiritually drunken! Bernstein makes it so, but it’s less of a roller-coaster ride than his thrilling 1964 New York recording, now coupled with the 1962 Second on Sony. But more than anything else perhaps, you appreciate the hand-on-heart sincerity of the music-making, and Bernstein’s unswerving desire to convey to the listener something of his own inflammatory view of the music.
You can take technical excellence completely for granted as the symphony is part of the life-blood of the Vienna musicians, though if you want to appreciate Bernstein in this music you’d do best to hear both this recording and the New York account, since both are distinctive elucidations. Finally, I also turned again (and with sadness) to DG’s document of Leonard Bernstein’s last public concert, which also included Beethoven’s Seventh, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Okay, so every great man needs a valediction, but not one like this! If you want to remember Lenny at his greatest in music that matched his own personal conviction of what musical art stood for, you’ll need to hear him in Beethoven’s Seventh, and this new DG Galleria coupling of Beethoven from Vienna is a marvellous, superbly recorded bargain. No Bernstein devotees can afford to be without this one!
