WILLEM MENGELBERG Bolero RAVEL 1930 ED1 COLUMBIA 2LP Shellac 78 RPM NM

$

49

Willem Mengelberg ...

Ravel:  Bolero

Legendary performance recorded 1930 with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam !!

rare German first press 78 RPM shellac 2LP set released on blue COLUMBIA labels with catalognumbers LWX 310 and LWX 311. 

Beautiful record set with original sleeves, and shellac records both in NEARMINT condition - perfect!

Legendary performance by Willem Mengelberg conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra recorded with superbshellac soundquality ... see photos.

Note this interesting article:      

 http://www.classicalnotes.net/reviews/mengel.html

"Before discussing this magnificent music,treble clef graphic there is one less pleasant matter that simply cannot be avoided in these times of political correctness.

The Nazi onslaught was a litmus test for European artists. Jews, of course, had no choice but to emigrate, as their careers and ultimately their lives were slated for extinction. Others such as Casals, Toscanini and Busch could have stayed in occupied Europe but chose to demonstrate their disgust by refusing further association with the invaders. Caught in the middle were Germans of conscience such as Furtwangler, who at great personal risk combined their activities with quiet but heroic deeds. Other amoral Germans such as von Karajan, Bohm and Krauss openly embraced the new leadership rather than uproot themselves from their native land and heritage.

And then there was Mengelberg, head of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. When the Germans occupied Holland, he actively collaborated, becoming a member of the German Culture Cabinet, conducting at the Nazis' behest, giving the fascist salute, and even deporting the Jews in his orchestra. Mengelberg's supporters insist that his wartime record included humanitarian work and in any event was no different from that of other "pure" artists who remained aloof from politics and who did whatever was necessary to continue their cultural pursuits. But unlike the others, Mengelberg lived in a country that regarded collaboration as shameful and whose citizens compiled a commendable record of resistance. So while von Karajan, Bohm and the other amoralists were quickly restored to public favor after the war, the Netherlands stripped Mengelberg of his past honors, barred him from public appearances and sentenced him to permanent exile. He retired to Switzerland, where he died in 1951.

With so many great historic artists out there, why bother with a scoundrel? Because in spite of his politics, Mengelberg's talents are a unique window to the performing style of the last century.

The other conductors trained and immersed in 19th century traditions who lived to cut records generally fall into two stylistic camps. The first included Weingartner (born in 1863), Strauss (1864) and Toscanini (1967), who ushered in the modern era of suppressing personal interpretive inclinations in favor of an "objective" approach to the composer's intentions. The second school included Nikisch (1855), Mahler (1860), Fried (1871), Koussevitzky (1874), Stokowski (1882) and Furtwangler (1886), who were known for imposing their distinctive individual imprints upon the music they played. Mengelberg, though, was unique, as he combined the attributes of both groups.

Mengelberg's supercharged virtuostic performances were hardly an objective reproduction of the score. But neither does his interpretive freedom suggest a deeply personal or egotistical inspiration. Rather, his power stays close to the surface to display the sheer sound of a fine orchestra. Thus, the extremes of his dynamics and tempos nearly always serve to heighten the effects of the climaxes, melodies and other emotional emphases already written into the score. Even in Mengelberg's most wayward moments (and his unbuckled record of Ravel's Bolero is a riot) it is the intrinsic energy and power of the music that emerges, rather than a highly personal vision.Pearl CD set of the complete Mengelberg Columbia recordings Thus, Mengelberg just may be the most reliable indication of the essence of authentic 19th century conducting, in which an artist was expected to fill in the expressive gaps in the cold written score. Mengelberg achieves this without overpowering the music in his own personality. Thus, the Mengelberg recordings present the aesthetic of the last century in perhaps its purest form."

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