Beethoven:
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica'
Mendelssohn:
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 'Italian'
Wholenote Discoveries - November 2012
As I sit down to write this I have just read the shocking news of Jeanne Lamon’s announcement of her intention to retire as music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in 2014. After more than three decades at the helm of this flagship Canadian orchestra it is hard to imagine the organization without her. Although stepping down from the first chair (or stand as the case may be), she will evidently be staying on to help with the creation of the Tafelmusik International Baroque Academy. Of course the orchestra is such a well-oiled machine that there is no doubt it will continue to flourish, but the search is on for a new leader. Under Lamon’s direction a fledgling semi-professional ensemble grew to become one of the world’s great period instrument orchestras and we are blessed with a wealth of recordings documenting her tenure. Although many of the original Sony releases have been discontinued, a number of key titles are now available again on the orchestra’s own imprint Tafelmusik Media which was launched earlier this year. The bulk of the early TM releases have been re-issues of such important classics as Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, but this month marked an important new phase with recent live recordings from Koerner Hall. In recent weeks I have been enjoying performances of Beethoven’s Eroica and Mendelssohn’s Italian symphonies recorded in May of this year under the direction of Bruno Weil. The glorious sound of both the orchestra and the concert hall are captured expertly by German tone-meisters Stephan Schellmann and Peter Laenger. While Beethoven is not unfamiliar territory for Tafelmusik – they have recorded all of the concertos for Sony’s Vivarte label and Symphonies Five through Eight for Analekta – I believe this is their first recording of the music of Mendelssohn. I will leave the question of whether a baroque orchestra has any business venturing into the 19th century for others to debate. For my ears these brilliant and lively performances are totally satisfying. On this occasion the orchestral forces were supplemented to include 7-6-4-4-3 players in the string section with double woodwinds and trumpets and four horns. These latter are particularly worthy of note – Scott Weavers, Ronald George, Stéphane Mooser and David Parker – for their impeccable intonation on that most difficult to control instrument, but well deserved kudos go to all involved. David Olds
Tafelmusik presents Beethoven’s landmark Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Eroica” – a heroic and monumental symphony originally dedicated to Napoleon, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major, “Italian”.
Tafelmusik began its cycle of Beethoven symphony recordings under the direction of Maestro Weil on the Sony Classical and Analekta labels. Released recordings include the JUNO Award-winning Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 CD, and the JUNO Award-nominated Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 CD and DVD. During Tafelmusik’s 19 year tenure as orchestra-in-residence at the Klang und Raum Festival in Irsee, Germany, Maestro Weil also directed the orchestra in internationally acclaimed performances of Beethoven symphony cycle.
Gramophone Magazine (U.K.) declared about Tafelmusik’s recent Beethoven recording: “After these ultra-fresh experiences, can we ever hear modern-instrument performances without feeling that something is missing? Possibly, but Weil and his players convince us that Beethoven can sound as radical in the 21st century as he must have done in the 19th.” Maestro Weil says, “We approach these Beethoven concerts as if they were the very first performance, as though the music had been composed yesterday. This is the real thing — there’s no sense of routine with Tafelmusik musicians and everybody’s giving their all for this music, playing with a full heart and a full soul and spirit. That is the secret to a great performance.”
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Price: $20.98