A four-disc set of live Mengelberg performances, some previously unissued, would seem an enticing prospect for admirers of the great conductor's art. In the event there are some drawbacks. About half the set consists of concerto performances, and though Mengelberg was a fine accompanist this role does not shed any special light on his artistry. All the purely orchestral performances are of works he recorded commercially, some on more than one occasion, and usually in better sound. Those who are familiar with the live Mengelberg performances issued by Philips will know that the Dutch engineers were capable of achieving remarkably faithful results using glass-based acetates. In this collection, however, there are only occasional hints of that best, and frequently there are clicks, thumps and other very prominent distractions.
There are two clearly outstanding performances. Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony is a very exciting affair, full of passion and fire, with some very marked but extraordinarily convincing rubatos and fluctuations of tempo. There are two cuts: one in the finale, apparently authenticated by the existence of an amended copy of the score in the composer's own hand, and a crude excision in the slow movement. This is also claimed in the notes to be a performance cut, but Michael Thomas, the Mengelberg authority, has kindly confirmed that it is instead a section missing from the recording.
The 1940 performance of the Eroica Symphony is one previously thought to come from a May 1943 concert. Here a powerfully expressive, monumental interpretation of the score is made manifest, despite serious flaws in the recording. Brahms's Third Symphony, recorded in February 1944, and not in September 1944 as the notes suggest, sounds on the other hand a little tired. Here pulse changes which in other works seem vital and spontaneous assume in this case a mannered, laboured quality and inspiration burns only fitfully. A dim recording with a heavy surface does not help. The Tannhauser and Egmont Overtures are excitingly played.
Guila Bustabo gives a richly communicative, brilliantly played performance of the Bruch concerto. At the age of 23 she was then at the peak of a dazzling career whose momentum soon failed. It is interesting to hear Gaspar Cassado's orchestration of the Arpeggione Sonata, which he certainly plays very beautifully. Herman Krebbers also gives a satisfying account of the Brahms, but Maria Neuss's performance of the Dvorak is pretty tame, and Gieseking is surprisingly brusque at times in the early Debussy Fantaisie. As a whole, a fairly mixed set.'