Eine
Symphonie zu Dantes Divina Commedia, as the full title goes, has had the good fortune to be
neglected. Hence it has escaped the fate of the Faust Symphony. The conductors who recorded
Faust – some of them even twice – but
never Dante is long indeed:
Horenstein, Beecham, Bernstein, Muti, Solti, Dorati, Fischer, Chailly, Rattle, Ansermet,
Ferencsik. Of the brave souls who have recorded both, some have excelled at
both (Conlon, Barenboim), some have failed at both (Haselböck, Noseda).
Sinopoli is a unique case of outstanding Dante,
easily among the finest on record, and disastrous Faust.
1977
NB. Spirited attempt of little subtlety. Not a very good sound even for its time, either. Still, a lot better and more enjoyable recording than the next two.
Late 1970s
NB. The definition of travesty, much like his Faust and every other Liszt performance by the timid, sloppy, zany and always late for his flight Kurt Masur. The man was the most Liszt-less of all conductors – and a musical moron to boot. The fastest Dante on record, unsurprisingly. Less than 42 minutes! Even the speedy Haselböck on period approximations of instruments (2010s) takes nearly 44 minutes. Cf. Sinopoli, Conlon and Barenboim who take 49-52 minutes.
1981
NB. Decca sound wasted on mediocre
performance. Who the heck is or ever was Jesús López-Cobos? Did they think any
hack with a baton capable of conducting Liszt? It seems so. López-Cobos, by the
way, rivals Masur in the speed contest.
1985
NB. Much like Faust, a fine concept let down by the indifferent playing of the
Rotterdam Philharmonic and the constrained sound of Erato. Nevertheless, Jimmy
Conlon remains of the greatest and most underrated Lisztians out there; his Faust, Dante, Christus and Legendes – all recorded with the same
forces for the same label, alas – are worth checking out. He is also one of the very few conductors who write their own notes.
1992
NB. The only serious competition to
Sinopoli’s stupendous achievement (1998). A very different concept, but equally
perceptive and compelling. The sound’s a bit on the dim side, but still pretty
good. Barenboim’s Dante Sonata,
however, is a lethargic, dispensable performance. No wonder. The Dante Sonata has not been unpopular with
some of the greatest piano artists (e.g. Bolet, Arrau).
1995
NB. Indifferent performance in crude
sound. The set is worth having for A la
Chapelle Sixtine, a great rarity, and Inbal’s monumental Faust.
1998
NB. The finest Dante on record, captured in vivid sound at that. The Semperoper in
Dresden favours the brass, as always, but Sinopoli keeps the sound in perfect
proportion. Nothing crude or brassy here. This is the grandest and at the same
time the most subtle Dante, a rare
achievement – unique, in fact. The Busoni bonus track should be inflicted on
those elevated souls who continue chanting how “banal” Liszt’s Dante is. But it is Busoni – like so
many other “forgotten geniuses” regularly “rediscovered” (Alkan, Raff, Goetz,
Rubinstein, Glazunov, among others) – who is the epitome of banality.
2008
NB. Nowhere near the top even in that hardly overcrowded field. Noseda is almost as Liszt-less as Masur, but at all events he’s a far better musician. The orchestral versions of the two Legendes are the important recordings here, although Jimmy Conlon made fine recordings of these rarities back in 1985.
2010s
NB. Same deal as in Faust. To repeat myself word for word: Fine
conducting wasted on a chamber orchestra of period instruments. Dreadful sound!
“Originalklang”, indeed! Historically informed, musically misinformed. Music
for the museum. “The Sound of Weimar” may well be the most authentic
approximation to what Liszt heard at the Weimar theatre in the 1850s. But I
absolutely refuse to believe it has anything to do with what Liszt heard inside
his head while composing. And it is the composer’s mind that the performer
should attempt to enter, not the sound limitations of his time. The set is
comprehensive and cheap.
