Review: Klaus Tennstedt--The "Not-As-Great-As-They-Claim" Recordings

This 14-CD set contains most of Klaus Tennstedt's non-Mahler, non-vocal (with two exceptions) recordings for EMI, a typical grab-bag of stuff. Some of it is terrific, and some of it isn't. The notes attempt to claim that Tennstedt was wildly unpredictable in the studio, and therefore fabulous whenever he could be persuaded to make a recording, but this is nonsense. As the evidence of our ears bears out, "unpredictable" means exactly what it says.

[@tom6693]

The live LPO recording of Mahler 2 from February 1989 (released in 2010 on the LPO's own label) is for me what put Tennstedt on the map as a great conductor. It's simply colossal--in my view one of the most tremendous Mahler 2s, in conception and execution, that we've got. And that finale must, hands down, be the most shattering ever. Intense, desperate and exhilarating, with an emotional power that builds over a hugely protracted rise to a massive climax of overwhelming exultation--well, it's just a stunning achievement. As Dave said, NOT in this box, but truly one of the "Great" Tennstedt performances.

[@petekohn]

I agree, and feel the same about his live M5 from 1988 (in the EMI Mahler box)

[@Tlll123]

Don't miss the CSO Live Mahler 1 in this box. Dave's not a big fan of it but it is absolutely mainline playing. It's also available on DVD and you can find it on KZbin. Tennstedt authorized the release because he wasn't satisfied with the studio verison, and you would hear why in this live performance

[@estel5335]

I envy everyone who was at this performance..

[@jaylavelle9318]

In December 1974 Tennstedt landed in Boston for two weeks with the BSO. The first week was all Brahms and politely received. The second week was Bruckner’s 8th. The word “legendary” seems too small - there were newspaper headlines saying “Concert of a lifetime.” Tennstedt was invited to Tanglewood the next summer, and according to the BSO database, appeared 69 times with the BSO between 1974 and 1986. There are air checks of the radio broadcast of the Bruckner 8th, but I do not know if it has ever been “officially” released.

[@damientuzet338]

Without his cancer, he would have made such a career...and performance. I heard that Karajan initially thought of him to replace him at the BPO.

[@neilasimon]

You had to hear him live for the best Tennstedt. I was lucky to experience numerous performances including that live Mahler 2 which was recorded with the LPO and Mahler 8 also recorded both in the Festival Hall in London. Unforgettable and up there in the best three performances I have enjoyed. Haitink’s Bruckner 8 at the proms with the European youth orchestra was the third.

[@1984robert]

I'm glad that Mr. Hurwitz also like Tensstedt's Death and Transfiguration. That is my favorite recordings about that work. And I love the horn fortissimo at the end. I own that recording on a first edition japanese CD from the first half of the 80's and that contains Four last songs with Lucia Popp also. These recordings are quite lovely too. Maybe on the slow side but the performance, recording and singing of Lucia Popp is beautiful. I think that CD is a gem.

[@shadouzhongshadouzhong5350]

Love the Popp/Tennstedt Four Last Songs！

[@dougdumbrill7234]

I only know him through a couple live performances on KZbin but his Chicago Symphony, Mahler 1, (live) has become my favorite! I watched it originally for Bud Herseth and company. But I come back for the whole performance Tennstedt put together and his obvious love of the whole experience!

[@neilmurphy7554]

Was lucky to attend his performance of Bruckner 7th with the NYP in the mid/late 80's whilst enjoying an extravagant 6 year concert going 'sojourn' in NYC. Of all the hundreds of concerts I attended I place this performance in my top 10 and is in good company (others were Bernstein Mahler 2 with Ludwig and which David informs me was due to Tenndstedt cancelling; Jenufa with E. Queler in Carnegie Hall; Steve Reich and Musicians, Music for 18 Musicians in Alice Tully Hall; Elektra with Boston and Ozawa and Behrens/Ludwig concert performance in Carnegie Hall, Sinopli with NYP Mahler 3; Janacek Katya with Mackerras at the Met with Robert Israel prod regrettably not filmed at the time...........). His Dvorak New World is a favourite and love his Mahler recordings for their pronounced, aching tenderness.

[@carlconnor5173]

David, every now and then I hear Dvorak’s Romance on the radio, and it’s just so beautiful and moving. And they’re following it up with the Serenade for Strings, which of course is chuck full of beautiful melodies. One can go to Rusalka and hear some of the world’s most beautiful melodies. He was amazing!

[@ThreadBomb]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes that Bruckner 8. From the few live recordings of Tennstedt that I've heard, I have to disagree with the consensus. When his remastered Mahler set was issued (in a black box), it contained a few live extras, and I found them underwhelming. The randomly applied expressive devices didn't seem to add anything - they just made the performance sound directionless. The more disciplined approach of the studio versions makes them superior, in my opinion. From the sound of it, this box is meant for people who already own the Mahler box, which is why it lacks the best parts of that set, including his still little-known Das Lied von der Erde.

[@MarauderOSU]

Norman Lebrecht is the National Enquirer of classical music, pretty much living proof that you can know nothing about it and still have a career talking about it.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@kenm.3512 He is the king of classical "yellow" journalism. He makes stuff up as it suits him, fact-checks nothing, and says whatever he must to attract notoriety.

[@vincentspinelli9995]

Lebrecht is a disgrace. I don't know why anyone pays attention to him. I met him years ago and thought he was a complete BS artist.

[@petterw5318]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Six monts ago he "killed" the great Matti Salminen in his blog, and he didn't even apologize.

[@scagooch]

He called ormandy "bland"

[@michaweinst3774]

As much as I usually detest Lebrecht, he actually knew Tennstedt quite well. He claimed that in the studio he was a dud, but that live he was "like a kid with 3 birthday parties". Go figure

[@leestamm3187]

As a longtime Tennstedt fan, I also think he was at his best live. I think this is true of many conductors. There are intangibles possible in a live performance of any genre of music that cannot be achieved in the studio. There can be a symbiotic web of energy and emotion between musicians, conductor and audience that some maestros accomplish better than others. To my admittedly biased ear, Tennstedt was one of them. (BTW, what happened to all the earlier comments?)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I don't know. They just vanished. I didn't do anything to them and was searching around as well.

[@leestamm3187]

@@DavesClassicalGuide The same thing has happened sometimes at other channels I subscribe to. Go figure. KZbin strikes again.

[@henryfate7170]

@@kenm.3512 Good. I thought that my comments are always missing because I ask him to "Don't Sing".

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@henryfate7170 If deleted them for that reason, there would be no comments at all, ever.

[@gregorprozesky]

In my opinion the Strauss Zaratustra in this box is amazing. It sounds really dangerous and dark. I never heard with this complicated emotions in other recordings.

[@HotWaxMeltdown]

Agreed. One of my favourite recordings of the piece.

[@tarakb7606]

Yes, the Strauss performances in this set are terrific.

[@Wolfcrag85]

His Wagner recital disc with Jessye Norman is absolutely glorious.

[@carlossantana3049]

so in the spring of 1992, he was supposed to conduct Nigel Kennedy(his debut with nyp) with the New York Philharmonic in the Sibelius Violin Concerto. Tennestedt fell sick at the last minute and his friend who was the NYP director Kurt Masur filled in. I dont know what else was in the programme that night.

[@kittydukakis]

I only heard him once when he came to NYC and he conducted Bruckner 8th. He was frail and conducted sitting. I thought the performance was okay and, for me, surprising as it was very different from the one Tennstadt recording I had which was a live recording of the Mahler 5.

[@steveschwartz8944]

Any thoughts from anyone on Tennstedt's Mahler 7?

[@leestamm3187]

His 1993 live M7 with the LPO is a personal favorite. It was the last recording he made.

[@billmccafferty8125]

I heard him conduct the 7th live in Edinburgh. Every time I heard him I felt an emotional involvement in the performance. Didn’t seem to matter where I sat, there was an electricity and humanity about him… did I imagine it? 🤷🏻‍♂️ (Silly point - during the 7th he knocked his specs up into the air with his baton but without missing a beat he caught them again with his other hand just before they hit the stage🕺🏼) I just don’t see anyone to compare with him these days.

[@tarakb7606]

His live 1993 version with the LPO is one of my favourite. Far better IMO than the studio version in spite of a few "wobbles" in the ensemble department.

[@leestamm3187]

@@billmccafferty8125 I don't think you imagined it. I've heard and read similar recollections from many others who saw him in concert.

[@petekohn]

He has live M7s on KZbin with Philadelphia (1987) and Cleveland (1978). I think they are terrific.

[@steveevans6241]

Swampland in New Jersey. Clearly a great place (& a great euphemism!) to bury overrated classical music recordings with one of those huge Caterpillar digger buckets! I certainly envy you for your Tennstedt cancellation replacement - Bernstein. Unfortunately, I never managed to hear Bernstein live in Mahler or anything else to my eternal regret. However, I did manage a load of Tennstedt Mahlers (and a couple of Bruckner's) live here in London as a youngster. There was always a "lift off" moment which occurred at a certain point when this rather confused looking old man with straggly hair, thick glasses & a stick suddenly became a demon on the platform & just blew you to hell & back. I agree his studios are mostly mediocre, with his Schumann & Wagner being the best. Looking forward to your further thoughts on him when they emerge.

[@jefolson6989]

Tennstedt had trouble finding concert halls. He showed up in Chicago several memorable occasions.

[@symphonynut3291]

I enjoy his Bruckner 3, a studio recording with the more-than-a-mouthful "Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks."

[@ThreadBomb]

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra?

[@grantparsons6205]

He could even be unpredictable within a concert. I recall dreadful first halves followed by fabulous main fare & vice versa. Particularly memorable was a Mozart 39 in 1983 or 1984 which was without question the dullest & most dispiriting I have ever heard. The Mahler 5 that followed it was so much better, but by no means world beating.

[@davidaiken1061]

I paid little attention to Tennstedt over the years until, last year, I decided to audition his EMI Mahler cycle. I was duly impressed by Tennstedt's intensity and utter sincerity in this composer, so I decided to take a risk on the "Great Recordings" box you just reviewed. Boy, was I disappointed. With one or two exceptions (the Schumann particularly), I found the performances rather pedestrian. My conclusion: an erratic conductor who made few "great" recordings. On a different note, I have a request, if you are at all interested. I am poised to get a "Complete Debussy" and a "Complete Ravel" box, but since EMI and Decca/DG are both offering tempting options, I can't decide which ones to go for. Part of the problem is that I want to avoid duplications as much as possible, and that would seem to argue for the DG Debussy box (which features Boulez in the orchestral works) and EMI in the Ravel (which offers Cluytens' esteemed versions of the orchestral works). I have not heard either Boulez or Cluytens. All of these Debussy/Ravel complete editions are still available. Have you reviewed them? If not, one or more of these might make for interesting reviews.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I've reviewed them on CT.com and as videos. Please check them out and see if they are at all helpful.

[@davidaiken1061]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Thanks. I'm sure they will be helpful.

[@tarakb7606]

Some terrific performances (Schumann, Strauss and Wagner). The sound quality, on the other hand, is pretty poor. You expect better from a major label like EMI.

[@gsaproposal]

I once mentioned Tennstedt to Joseph Silverstein and, wow, Silverstein's response stuck with me for decades. Yow!

[@gsaproposal]

@@gerontius3 It wasn't so much what he said (I don't remember anything past "Ugh Tennstedt"), but it was the instantaneous reaction, force and body language. It was as if I'd said something negative about his violin. But Silverstein, otherwise, was kind, friendly and gracious in our interview. Nice guy. Just don't mention KT!

[@LassonDavid]

@@gerontius3 Furtwängler was likewise ambivalent about studio recordings--even though he made many of them--and regarded them as a compromised musical experience at best. He modified this view somewhat when he heard his own recording of Tristan with Flagstad (produced by Walter Legge in 1952), but by then he had only a couple of years left to live.

[@davidcontini7217]

@@gsaproposal Joseph Silverstein... Never ask an instrumentalist what he thinks about a conductor. You will often get a weird answer. Especially if he is not the best guy in his field...

[@RModillo]

@@gsaproposal Somehow I heard the same response when he (Silverstein) was conducting the kids' orchestra as a guest. We were reading Beethoven 7th with him, and he was not at all happy about the vulgarity that KT applied to it.