Beethoven: King Stephan

 

King Stephan will be the last of Beethoven's incidental music I will review from the Naxos series with Leif Segerstam at the helm. Fortunately, this short series ends on a high note.

I have lamented much of the series due to the regional capabilities of the Cathedralis Aboensis choir. While that chorus appears here as well, they only sing two tracks, where spirited deliveries suit them much better. Otherwise, it is the Key Ensemble, a smaller Turku-based chamber choir, which sings most of the content across this recording. The Key Ensemble is much more confident of pitch and tone, so I appreciate their appearance here, even if the group is a little light on vibrato, particularly in the men's sections.

This performance of King Stephan is done so with narration between musical numbers, featuring the same quartet of German actors as on Naxos' Ruins of Athens recording. While I was a little underwhelmed by their speaking on Ruins, however, their voice acting works better in King Stephan. Claus Obalski does well as the benevolent leader and Roland Astor continues his excellent work as 'Elderly Man'. Even Angela Eberlein finds a little more personality in her small role.

I enjoy the music too, where the militant aspect of Hungarian warriors contrasts well with an impending betrothal. I originally thought the marriage music a little too conservative for Beethoven, with a Mozart-ian grace, but once the women's choir graces the theme, the invention blooms in the composer's hand. I daresay, there is an exotic quality to some of the music as well, representing the founding of Hungary.

Finnish conductor Leif Segerstam is on his best behavior in King Stephan as well. Known for his broad tempos which affected his readings of Beethoven's The Ruins of Athens and Egmont, here the music is full of energy and impulse, including the well-known Overture. Together with the very fine Key Ensemble and the gorgeous Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Segerstam leads an impressive and persuasive reading of King Stephan. Only the Priestly March seems much too slow and light.

On its own, King Stephan last under 40 minutes, thus Naxos adds smaller choral and vocal works from Beethoven to fill out the recording. I might be alone in the feeling, but Beethoven's two versions of Opferlied do nothing for me. Endlessly slow, endlessly strophic, and not with the strongest soloists, the less said the better, although the trio of vocalists in the 1822 version is more cohesive as a group, but have no concept of musical line. Nor do I care for Reetta Haavisto's large vibrato in her Leonore Prohaska solo, a continuation of her contributions in The Ruins of Athens, although the presence of harp is always treasured when it appears in Beethoven. The singing of Beethoven's Bundeslied is fine, I guess, however, the endless strophic verses get on my nerves.

The male solo voices, on the other hand, are much more secure. Top marks are given to Juha Kotilainen, who also sang with Haavisto in The Ruins of Athens, and continues his burly bass in Es ist Vollbracht. So too for bass Niklas Spångberg, who makes a triumphant role in Germania. These two choruses might not be high music making, however, the soloists certainly give it their all.

If you are looking for only the incidental music to King Stephan without narration, I would strongly recommend that from Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra with the Ambrosian Singers in CBS. If you want a period-instrument approach, Marcus Bosch recently made a recording with narration on CPO or Laurence Equilbey on Erato without narration.

All in all, King Stephan is a fine conclusion for me of Segerstam's series of Beethoven's incidental and choral music. The program might be a little piecemeal, but that isn't the fault of these performers, I don't think. More, this is the recorded detritus left over that Segerstam and Turku laid down in their Beethoven performances. The sonics are excellent, as has been the case in each recording, and how great to have the Key Ensemble singing.

 

Works
King Stephan (38.71)
Leonore Prohaska, WoO 96 (5.31)
Opferlied, op. 121b (5.41)
Opferlied, op. 121b (7.18)
Bundeslied, op. 122 (4.38)
Germania, WoO 94 (5.04)
Chorus of the Allied Princes, WoO 95 (1.51)
The Triumphal Arches, WoO 97 (4.22)

Soloists
Reetta Haavisto, soprano
Juha Kotilainen, bass

Johanna Lehesvuori, soprano
Maikki Säikkä, soprano
Merja Mäkelä, mezzo-soprano
Kristina Raudanen, alto
Andreas Nordström, tenor
Niklas Spångberg, bass

Claus Obalski, narrator
Roland Astor, narrator
Angela Eberlein, narrator
Ernst Oder, narrator

Päivi Severeide, harp

Performers
Key Ensemble
Cathedralis Aboensis Choir
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam, conductor

Label: Naxos
Year: 2020
Total Timing: 74.00

 

 

Aside from The Creatures of Prometheus, which contained no vocal elements, I think I will call King Stephan the best of Beethoven's stage music from Leif Segerstam and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

Sure, the individual choral/vocal numbers contain vocal solos of varying qualities, and the music itself can often be rather slight.

Most importantly, though; I enjoyed myself very much.

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