LISZT A Faust Symphony

Thielemann’s Faust-themed concert from the Semperoper

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt

Genre:

DVD

Label: C Major

Media Format: Digital Versatile Disc

Media Runtime: 90

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: 707708

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
(A) Faust Overture Richard Wagner, Composer
Christian Thielemann, Conductor
Richard Wagner, Composer
Staatskapelle Dresden
(A) Faust Symphony Franz Liszt, Composer
Christian Thielemann, Conductor
Dresden State Opera Chorus
Endrik Wottrich, Tenor
Franz Liszt, Composer
Staatskapelle Dresden
It was a good move to mark the bicentenary of Liszt’s birth with a performance of what is surely his finest orchestral work, A Faust Symphony. Appropriate too to have it played in a city that was significant for both Liszt and his son-in-law Wagner, and conducted by the Staatskapelle’s new maestro, who evidently has the work’s narrative course running through his blood. For evidence listen to Thielemann’s forceful and atmospheric account of the Faust portrait of the first movement. Much of the playing is superb; but although it’s good to have the Faust Symphony available on screen, various sound-only (CD) options suggest themselves for comparison. One recording that I’m particularly fond of, also with the Staatskapelle Dresden as it happens, harks back to April 1995, where the conductor was Giuseppe Sinopoli (DG, 7/96). Interesting points of comparative reference are at the start of ‘Gretchen’, where Sinopoli brings greater clarity to the musical sentences, and the singing cello line at around 9'31" where, although Thielemann’s players are eloquent, Sinopoli draws shapelier contours. In ‘Mephistopheles’, Thielemann isn’t quite the devil that Sinopoli managed to be (not to mention parallel characterisations by Beecham, Iván Fischer and on the two Bernstein recordings). Thielemann’s principal virtues are purity, energy and the ability to hold together what can prove an unwieldy structure.

Wagner’s thrilling Faust Overture, originally conceived as part of a projected symphony, is played with warmth and vigour. Indeed, one of the principal virtues of this production is the warmth of the Semperoper acoustic and a recording that is fully on a par with the finest SACDs. Camerawork is mostly expert and unobtrusive (first-rate picture quality) and Thielemann is good to watch, his beat always clear, his gestures impassioned and precise. The various orchestra sections are well represented although, as is nearly always in the case with films of concerts, the lens doesn’t always fall on desks (or players) that you’re listening out for. So, while hardly a replacement for the best Faust Symphonies on CD, this is without doubt a useful supplement to them.

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