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Inaudito Beethoven – Concert Review and Critical Perspectives
Beethoven X – L’ Inaudito
Cantù, 23 febbraio 2013
Friedrich Witt
Jena Symphony (attributed to Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Concerto in C major, WoO 5
Macbeth Overture (performing edition by Albert Willem Holsbergen)
Symphony No. 10 (reconstruction by Hideaki Shichida)
Orchestra Sinfonica del Lario
Soloist: Giacomo Bianchi – Violin (WoO 5)
Conductor: Pierangelo Gelmini
“We find ourselves witnessing a special moment: in a kind of journey backwards through time, we are invited to a world première of works never before heard, revealing an unfamiliar Beethoven. The Violin Concerto in C major belongs to a body of youthful compositions that the composer never had the opportunity to complete or hear performed, and which he did not take with him to Vienna.
Alongside the concerto stands a symphony long attributed to Beethoven, markedly Classical in style, known as the Jena Symphony and in fact written at the age of twenty-one by Friedrich Witt, a contemporary of Beethoven.
Together with these youthful works comes an operatic project never brought to fruition, yet one Beethoven nurtured within himself throughout his life: Macbeth. The overture, reconstructed from sketches and preparatory drafts, immediately evokes the Shakespearean imagination, where human events and the power of the unconscious give rise to an expressive world that Beethoven, more than any other, was able to transform into musical art.
In conclusion, the fascinating enigma of the Tenth Symphony—the symphony never born—stands as a symbol of the incompleteness of a symphonic journey long conceived yet never realised. The labour, the exploration, the yearning for a Symphony No. 10 that Beethoven was never able to complete, and whose very absence was perceived by subsequent generations as a compelling summons to the continuation of symphonic music: a formidable, almost unbearable legacy.”
Founded in 2001 within the framework of the Accademia Orchestrale del Lario, the orchestra has consolidated the experience of working together built up over the years by a substantial core of musicians from this geographical area. Its permanent ensemble consists of 45 players, and the position of Principal Conductor is held by Pierangelo Gelmini. The orchestra also collaborates with guest soloists and conductors, as well as with choral ensembles.
Within its programme of study and research, particular attention is devoted to the conception and production of concert programmes and performances with theatrical elements and an educational purpose, exploring the connections between music and the other arts.
In 2002 the orchestra inaugurated the Festival LarioMusica – Autunno Musicale in Como, and has subsequently appeared as guest of numerous concert societies and institutions in Lombardy, Veneto and Canton Ticino. It has also collaborated with the Teatro Tascabile of Bergamo, the Teatro Diadokai of Rio de Janeiro and the Teatro Sociale of Como.
Since 2002 it has produced, together with the Department of Cultural Events of the Municipality of Cantù, the concert series Cantumusica, revived each year with growing success. From 2003 it has organised, in collaboration with the Province of Como (Department of Culture), the symphonic season Musicamagica, involving numerous municipalities throughout the province.
In 2007 it completed a research and restoration project on Kastner’s Danse Macabre, presented and recorded in its first modern performance. The orchestra has also produced a recording entirely devoted to the works of Mercadante and a DVD of Mozart’s Requiem.
A review of the concert
I must admit that for me too (and for Luigi as well) this was a “world première” as far as the beloved Jena Symphony is concerned, by the all too forgotten—despite his many artistic merits—cellist and composer Friedrich Witt (8 October 1770 – 3 January 1836), a contemporary of Beethoven. It is worth noting that the RISM catalogue lists 15 symphonies by Witt, plus one incomplete in manuscript, while Stephen Fisher in 1983 counted as many as 18, including the unfinished works.
As I had never heard this symphony performed live, it made an excellent impression on me. Solid, well constructed by a confident hand, it sweeps by like a spring breeze. This favourable impression was confirmed by the assured baton of Maestro Pierangelo Gelmini, entirely at ease with the score, as were the young orchestral players. Particularly noteworthy was the reading of the slow movement—Adagio—in which Gelmini succeeded in blending the Mannheim manner with a certain Italian lyricism, certainly not unknown to the master from Niederstetten. To find out more...
In the fragment of the Violin Concerto WoO 5, in the 1879 reconstruction by the violinist, composer and conductor Josef Hellmesberger (1828–1893), the young violinist Giacomo Bianchi joined the Orchestra del Lario; his was a fine performance. At times, especially in the quicker passages, the sound became very smooth and closely bound. The conductor adopted a supple tempo, perhaps taking his cue from the two Romances, Op. 40 and Op. 50. Both the concerto and its performance were most enjoyable. To find out more…
In Macbeth, the Orchestra del Lario and its conductor made clear just how much potential these young musicians possess. Every detail emerged vividly and cleanly; the sound trembled with pain. The decision to begin with a pianissimo (perhaps even a triple pianissimo) was excellent: the music seemed to rise out of the night. Those who listen to the audio files I attach will appreciate the amount of work that has gone into our score. The horns were excellent, as was the principal flute, faced in the Overture with a rather exposed and treacherous passage. Perhaps in the forte passages the brass at times tended to overpower the strings, but given the venue—a rather small theatre (though beautifully restored, a little jewel)—this is an entirely negligible detail. To find out more…
Accustomed as I am to listening to (and indeed having before my eyes the 1988 autograph score by Barry Cooper) the so-called Biamonti 838 Tenth Symphony, Luigi and I were quite surprised to find ourselves in a completely different world from the one hitherto known—and implicitly accepted. We both observed that this version of the Tenth by Hideaki Shichida differs radically from previous versions, including the most recent recordings (among which I would mention the 2011 Pardubice recording). It will be my task to ascertain what new knowledge has enabled Hideaki Shichida to prepare such a version; I shall report my findings on this very website.
For the moment, I attach the MP3 file of this version. As for the performance, the orchestra seemed perhaps less at ease in this score—particularly in the opening Andante—than in the Allegro. Yet, in my modest opinion, this is not the fault of these most worthy artists, but rather the consequence of a score conceptually quite distant from the first reconstructive attempt, whose progress—amid unrevealed themes (a practice wholly un-Beethovenian), an abrupt exposition and a development built on syncopated figures—proves somewhat taxing for performers and listeners alike.