Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Sir Thomas Beecham, Vol. 2 (Live) (2019)

Rob Cowan wrote in Gramophone about the first volume (ICAC5148) featuring Sir Thomas Beecham: ‘numerous live Beecham releases have appeared over the last few years, some more successful than others (in both recording and performance terms), but this collection is certainly one of the best’. This second volume continues with rare performances which as far as is known have never been made available before covering a period from 1952 to 1959.

French music was a favourite of Beecham and this set is made up of music by Chabrier, Franck, Grétry, Lalo, Méhul and Saint-Saëns, all of which he recorded in the studio but when Beecham was caught ‘live’, it often showed the mercurial side of his character and no performance was ever the same. As David Patmore said in an essay: ‘What Beecham sought at all times was freshness and his unpredictability was one way of achieving this’. The Franck is played for all it’s worth while the Méhul, rather than being performed as a period performance, is treated as a romantic composer in a big-boned approach. The Lalo Symphony with the RPO has a greater intensity than the French studio recording which came a few months later.

Beecham’s intimate relationship with the music of Delius is well-known. Here we have the North Country Sketches in a 1959 studio recording but in a different order for the middle two movements compared to the 1949 recording. 19th-century Russian composers were another favourite, and Balakirev’s Symphony no.1 featured frequently during the 1950s. BBC Legends issued the BBCSO live recording from 20 December 1956 while this RPO version comes from 23 August of the same year, never issued before.

Beecham’s authentic Strauss is caught in this 1952 broadcast of the Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, his studio version being much earlier in 1947.

This release has been sourced from the Richard Itter Archive of ‘live’ BBC recordings. The collection is very important for collectors because it has never been on the market before. Following the archive’s launch in October 2017 with successive releases featuring Beecham, Böhm, Cantelli, Casadesus, Karajan, Menuhin, Monteux, du Pré, Klemperer, Rostropovich and Walter, it has received universal praise from both the classical media and record collectors for the excellent sound and performances.

Tracklist:

CD1:

01. Gwendoline: Overture (Live)
02. Le chasseur maudit (Live)
03. Ballet Suite from :Zémire et Azor:: I. Entrée :Ballet des génies: (Live)
04. Ballet Suite from :Zémire et Azor:: II. Passepied (Live)
05. Ballet Suite from :Zémire et Azor:: III. Pantomime (Live)
06. Ballet Suite from :Zémire et Azor:: IV. Entr'acte (Live)
07. Ballet Suite from :Zémire et Azor:: V. Finale :Je suis encore tremblant: (Live)
08. Symphony in G Minor: I. Andante - Allegro non troppo (Live)
09. Symphony in G Minor: II. Vivace (Live)
10. Symphony in G Minor: III. Adagio (Live)
11. Symphony in G Minor: IV. Allegro (Live)



CD2:

01. Symphony No. 2 in D Major: I. Adagio - Allegro (Live)
02. Symphony No. 2 in D Major: II. Andante (Live)
03. Symphony No. 2 in D Major: III. Menuet. Allegro (Live)
04. Symphony No. 2 in D Major: IV. Allegro vivace (Live)
05. Ballet Music from Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Danse des prêtresses de Dagon (Live)
06. Ballet Music from Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Bacchanale (Live)
07. North Country Sketches, RT VI:20: No. 1, Autumn (The Wind Soughs in the Trees) [Live]
08. North Country Sketches, RT VI:20: No. 3, Dance (Live)
09. North Country Sketches, RT VI:20: No. 2, Winter Landscape (Live)
10. North Country Sketches, RT VI:20: No. 4, The March of the Spring (Live)



CD3:

01. Symphony No.1 in C Major: I. Grave - Allegro non troppo (Live)
02. Symphony No.1 in C Major: II. Scherzo. Vivo (Live)
03. Symphony No.1 in C Major: III. Andante (Live)
04. Symphony No.1 in C Major: IV. Finale. Allegro moderato (Live)
05. Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite, Op. 60, TrV 228c: I. Overture (Live)
06. Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite, Op. 60, TrV 228c: II. Menuett (Live)
07. Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite, Op. 60, TrV 228c: III. Der Fechtmeister (Live)
08. Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite, Op. 60, TrV 228c: IV. Auftritt and Tanz der Schneider (Live)
09. Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite, Op. 60, TrV 228c: VIII. Vorspiel (Live)
10. Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite, Op. 60, TrV 228c: IX. Das Diner (Live)