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RIchard Strauss' Burleske on Disc · The Piano Maven with Jed Distler

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This is Jed Disler, and welcome to The Piano
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Maven, your friendly podcast guide to piano recordings.
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One of our listeners wrote to me asking if I
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could recommend a recording of the burlesque
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for piano and orchestra by Richard Strauss. It's
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easy to consider this work to be something outside
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of the standard concerto repertoire, perhaps
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because it doesn't turn up. as often on concerts
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compared to, let's say, the Beethoven or Brahms
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or Liszt or Chopin or Rachmaninoff concertos.
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But more pianists than you would suspect have
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championed the burlesque. And it did turn up
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more than a few times during the 78 era. on disc.
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Generally, the burlesque has been quite lucky
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on disc. And before I talk about the recordings,
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I'll give you a little bit of background information.
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The original title that Strauss gave to this
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work was Scherzo in D minor, and he wrote it
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for Hans von Bulow to play. It was von Bulow
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who had appointed Strauss as the assistant conductor
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of the Meiningen Court Orchestra. But when Hans
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von Bülow looked at the score of the burlesque,
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he called it a complicated piece of nonsense,
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and he refused to learn it. And he said that
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the piano part was listian, like Franz Liszt,
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and he said that it was unplayable, particularly
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for a pianist with a small hand span like he
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had. So Strauss set the work aside, but then
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he presented it. in 1889 to the pianist Eugene
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d 'Albert, the Liszt people. Eugene d 'Albert
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liked the work, although he did suggest that
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Strauss make a few cuts and some changes to the
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piano part. So he revised it a bit, and he rededicated
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the work to Eugene d 'Albert, who premiered it
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under its new official title, The Burlesque,
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on June 21, 1890. This was actually on the same
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concert on which Strauss's tone poem, Death and
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Transfiguration, had its world premiere. Interesting
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fact. Hans von Bülow, in the meantime, took a
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look at the revised version that's now called
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the burlesque, but he still did not like it,
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although he did conduct it with Eugene d 'Albert
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playing the solo part. Eventually, Strauss agreed
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to publish the burlesque, and it appeared in
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1894. It took him decades to finally warm up
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to the piece, but I think eventually he came
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to really enjoy his youthful creation. And in
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fact, he programmed the burlesque in his last
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concert in London in September 1947. That concert
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happened to have been preserved, and we're going
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to talk about that performance of the burlesque
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in due course. I'm not going to do a complete
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discographical discussion, but we're going to
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cover a decent amount of recordings, many of
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which I can recommend. But we're going to start
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in the 78 era and tap into the mono LP era. The
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very first commercial recording of the burlesque
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was made in... 1932. And it features pianist
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Elie Nye with her husband Wilhelm von Hustraten
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conducting the Berlin State Opera Orchestra.
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And the best way that I could describe this performance
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is a tug of war or maybe a clash of wills because
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the conductor sits insanely fast tempos that
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his wife really can't cope with. I mean, she's
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not a disaster, but her technique is definitely
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pressed to its limits. And the Sonics are pretty
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murky, even by 1932 standards. But if you want
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a pianist who can cut the mustard at fast tempos,
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you've got to go to Claudio Arau's recording
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from 1946 with Desiree DeFau conducting the Chicago
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Symphony. This is a really exciting and swashbuckling
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recording. It's interesting that Arau kept the
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burlesque in his repertoire up to... to his old
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age but curiously he never recorded it in long
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playing format there are lots of air checks that
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float around with aral playing the burlesque
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from his later years but this version from 78s
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from 1946 still really packs a punch the french
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pianist marcel mayer performed the burlesque
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under the composer's baton, believe it or not,
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in the early 1930s. But when she recorded the
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work in 1943, it was with André Cloitan and the
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Paris Conservatory Orchestra. The sound quality
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is a little dry, but it's certainly clear and
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close up. and here it's the orchestra that has
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to work to keep up with the pianist rather than
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the other way around, especially in the music's
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more boisterous passages. Friedrich Gulda recorded
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the burlesque in the early 1950s. I just recently
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talked about that big box set of the complete
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Gulda on 84 CDs, and the burlesque is a part
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of that collection. This is a marvelous recording
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from Gulda's point of view. I mean, his finger
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work is so incisive in those zippy virtuosic
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passages. But he also sings out the lyrical episodes
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beautifully. He's on very inspired form. But
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Anthony Collins is not the most brilliant or
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inspired conductor in the universe. And the London
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Symphony Orchestra is not on their best form.
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Basically, the orchestra and the conductor kind
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of function as a doormat. But if you really want
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to hear a great orchestra and conductor in the
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mono LP era, you go to Eugene Ormandy in the
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Philadelphia Orchestra, and they just play this
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music fantastically, teaming up with pianist
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Rudolf Serkin. And this was the first Serkin
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-Ormandy collaboration in the burlesque on disc.
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This performance has wonderful nervous energy
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and edge -of -seat excitement from... everyone's
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part. And fine as their stereo remake was, I
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think this earlier mono version is fresher and
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it's actually better balanced in terms of engineering.
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It's perfectly fine mono. I really love this
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recording. But Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony
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have the advantage of late 1950s living RCA Victor
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stereo, plus the virtuosity of Byron Janis, who
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brings interesting accentuations to the table
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and a really strong left -hand presence. But
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there's another burlesque. from a broadcast of
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a performance that has Fritz Reiner conducting.
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And it's with the orchestra that he music directed
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prior to Chicago, meaning the Pittsburgh Symphony
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Orchestra. And his soloist was the legendary
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William Capel. And apparently Reiner asked Capel
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to prepare the burlesque. and basically the pianist
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had three or four days' notice. It was not a
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very happy occasion, but Coppell wanted the gig,
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and he felt the pressure. Amazingly, he learned
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the piece wonderfully well. You know, for four
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days' notice in this live broadcast performance,
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there are occasional rough edges, but all things
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considered, it... is really kind of remarkable.
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Maybe you can understand why the Capelle family
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was reluctant to sanction this performance for
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release because... The pianist did express great
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unhappiness about the experience. But when it
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became clear that there was not ever going to
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be another William Capel Strauss burlesque, the
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family eventually gave permission. And the sound
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quality is not great, but enough does come across
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to show that even with such short notice to learn
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the piece, William Capel could really deliver
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the goods with authority. Unfortunately, I don't
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think that the burlesque constitutes the strongest
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of the recorded collaborations between Ferenc
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Frickshoy, the great Hungarian conductor, and
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the pianist Margret Weber. She's not so secure
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in certain parts, and the orchestra is not so
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spot -on precise as in the Frickshoy and Weber.
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studio recording of the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody
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on the Theme of Paganini, which is one of the
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greatest recordings of that piece ever made.
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Glenn Gould loved to play the burlesque during
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his concertizing days. He never made a commercial
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recording of it, but he did perform it on television
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in 1967 after he had stopped. giving concerts.
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And this performance did come out on CD, you
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know, the audio soundtrack to the TV show. Gould
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does tend to swoon over lyrical passages, and
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the sound quality is a little dry and constricted.
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And you have the Toronto Symphony Orchestra,
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led by Vladimir Golshman, who was one of Gould's
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favorite collaborators. But there is a pianistically
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stronger and better sounding Glenn Gould burlesque
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that took place in Baltimore with Peter Herman
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Adler. leaning the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
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This was a live performance recorded January
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3rd, 1962. It came out on the Music and Arts
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label, but it quickly disappeared from the catalog,
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although I'm sure secondhand copies float around
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of this performance. The Baltimore Symphony back
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then was not the world -class orchestra that
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it would become, but It is the best audio representation
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that I know of Glenn Gould in the Strauss burlesque.
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Oh, you know, I forgot. I should have mentioned
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the live performance from October 19th, 1947,
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from London's Royal Albert Hall, with Richard
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Strauss himself conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra,
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who played... play like crazy for the composer.
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And the exceptional piano soloist in this performance
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of the burlesque is Alfred Blumen. He was an
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Austrian pianist who had a fairly respectable
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career, and he was an acquaintance of Strauss.
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Although I think that... Daniel Barenboim can
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be a little impetuous and slapdash at times.
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In his recording of the burlesque with Zubin
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Mehta conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
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the orchestra support is absolutely superb and
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full of power and bite, and I only wish that
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it had been Mehta in front of the orchestra instead
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of Claudio Abato. for a live Berlin performance
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with Martha Argerich, who probably gives the
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most technically proficient rendition of the
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burlesque on disc. I don't think Abato matches
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Zubin Mehta's Fire in the Belly, although for
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tonal sumptuousness, you cannot fault Abato at
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all. So in his way, he gives marvelous support,
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and of course the Berlin Philharmonic play wonderfully
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well. I should quickly mention another historic
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recording, because this was on my list, but it
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almost slipped my mind. The sonics of this recording
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are close up and kind of in your face, but I
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think the performance is strong and exciting.
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It has... George Georgescu conducting. It's from
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1961, and the piano soloist is Sviatoslav Richter,
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and he is out for blood, let me tell you. Although
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the piano that he's playing on does not sound
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like it's the greatest instrument ever constructed.
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When I reviewed Marc -André Hamelin's recording
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of the burlesque for Hyperion, I said that he
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was Bugs Bunny to Martha Argerich's Daffy Duck,
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meaning that he was cool and collected and poised
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and full of impeccable timing and wit, as opposed
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to Argerich being, well, you know, Argerich being
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Argerich and being such a force of nature. But
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the recording by Joseph Moog of the burlesque
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may even be more witty and impish in comparison
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with Hamelin. I mean, it's six of one, half a
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dozen of the other. But I was very, very impressed
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with that recording. And I go back and forth
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between Hamelin and Joseph Moog. However, there
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was an amazing recording that came out a few
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years ago. I was very impressed by... the astonishing
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control and the sheer technical elan and style
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that Bertrand Chamayou brought to this piece.
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And he takes tempos that are near breakneck.
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Antonio Pappano is conducting the Santa Cecilia.
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orchestra. And both he and the piano soloist
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managed to convey tension and geniality at the
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same time, which is easier said than done, I
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guess. And this recording, by the way, is coupled
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with a good but not especially memorable performance
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of the Strauss Tonpon Ein Heldenleben. So you
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really want this disc mainly for the burlesque.
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And this performance with Shamayou inches up
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to the top of my recent contenders list, alongside
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Hamelin and Joseph Moog and Martha Argerich.
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However, and you know that I had to get to my
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however selection. I sound like David Hurwitz,
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right? However! For the best integrated soloist
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conductor team and for the most prodigious orchestral
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color and the most mindful virtuosity among all
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piano soloists, I know I use the phrase mindful
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virtuosity over and over again. It's a Jed Disler
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cliche. But I bet you know where I'm going with
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this introduction. My reference burlesque is
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with the pianist Malcolm Frager and Rudolf Kempe
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conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden. And this
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is a recording where everything comes together.
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All of the tempos and transitions feel just right.
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Every theme conveys its own character. And everyone
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puts their best foot forward, or rather their
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best hands in. fingers and arms and baton forward
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malcolm frager's sense of rhythmic pointing and
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his imaginative yet always tasteful and stylishly
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appropriate expressive inflections imbue the
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piano part with so much variety and the early
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1970s engineering still sounds fantastic and
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talk about those dresden woodwinds and the wonderful
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horns. Rudolf Kempe was one of the greatest colorists
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among conductors, and he was one of the greatest
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Richard Strauss interpreters. You have to get
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that box set that was from Warner Classics, and
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it's been available on several labels of Strauss's
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orchestral music. I think it was eight or nine
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discs with Kempe and the Staatskapelle Dresden,
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and the burlesque is part of that set. You can
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get the burlesque by itself, but I would recommend
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that whole set because it has some of the most
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extraordinary Strauss interpretations ever captured
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by a recording device. So explore these recommendations
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and see what performance of the burlesque you
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prefer. I really couldn't live without all of
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these recent versions and, you know, most of
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the historic ones that I've talked about. So
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check it out, and really, if you don't know this
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piece, you are in for a treat. This is Jed Disler,
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and you've been listening to The Piano Maven,
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your friendly podcast guide to piano recordings.
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I look forward to being with you for our next
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episode.