Liszt: Dante Symphony
For this fifth Works Series entry of Franz Liszt's symphonic poems, I will be covering the composer's efforts into the genre of tone poems: Dante Symphony and Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust. While I have inserted older cover art above and below, this blog post is actually my listening of the fifth volume (of seven) from EMI / Warner's 2011 box set of Liszt's orchestral and concertante music with Kurt Masur and the Gewandhaus Orchestra performing. Thoughtfully, this set arranges Liszt's symphonic poems in catalog order, so I will be covering them in that way as well.
Like many other listeners, Liszt's Dante Symphony has been problematic for me. Only in recent years have I come to terms with the work, through Daniel Barenboim's recording on Teldec.
The issue is mainly in comparison to Liszt's Faust Symphony, a far superior piece, both in construction and content. In Dante, the thematic material is much less memorable, and the two-movement format is a somewhat befuddling. For me, though, it is the many appearances of solo instrument or instrumental section musical monologues, ones which seems to go forever in a rather improvisatory manner. It makes the work seem endless and rambling.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of moments to latch on to as a listener, but these episodes are scattershot throughout the long runtime. I will admit, upon listening to this particular recording, I was not much in the mood for a Liszt symphony, so I will be revisiting this recording a bunch in the future.
One thing Masur has going for him is he runs rampant through the music. Compared to the Barenboim recording I mentioned earlier, Masur comes in some 10-minutes quicker, and still the music struggles to cohere in my mind. While the first Inferno movement is punchier and filled with more musical action, I think I prefer the second Purgatorio movement, at least as far as musical content is concerned. And of course, Liszt confounds by inserting a final choral Magnificat coda into the final moments, here performed by a boy's choir and boy soprano soloist, a choice I haven't heard before on record.
The Gewandhaus brass sound edgy in the bright EMI sonics, making the opening movement even more grim and menacing. This counteracts the many sustained tones and harp glissandos in the second movement. I am not sure Masur will be a new favorite of mine, in a work which is far from a favorite, but I am not doing a comparison at the moment. Perhaps in the near future.
I actually quite enjoy the Night Procession. It starts off darkly forested, but then the tolling of bells accompanies plainchant, as if the listener encounters a passing religious procession of some sort.
While the music almost begins in a rather sinister manner, I think the overall feelings are in awe of the surroundings. At 15 minutes, the piece probably goes on for too long, yet I enjoyed my time with it nonetheless.
I have never cared much for either of the Mephisto Waltz settings by Liszt, the second one found on CD2 of the Warner set. My main issue is that neither is really a waltz, but maybe I should just get off of my high horse.
If anything, the Mephisto Waltz no. 1 is essentially a Scherzo in the mold of Berlioz, swirling around in a rather fast, if not manic compound meter at times. It is a wickedly pert Scherzo, although I would simply rather hear Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre instead. Even at 11 minutes, this one does test my patience by the end.
Work Series
Vol. 5 from Liszt Orchestral Works on Warner
Works
Dante Symphony, S 109 (41.48)
Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust, S 110 (25.52)
Nightly Procession (14.55)
Mephisto Waltz no. 1 (10.57)
Performers
Gewandhaus Orchestra
Kurt Masur, conductor
Label: EMI / Warner
Year: 1977-80; 2011
Total Timing: 67.55
Comments
Post a Comment