The Stately March Toward Authenticity

In notes for one of his recordings, the British period-performance specialist Roger Norrington asserts that “Beethoven’s works are much more like Haydn than Wagner, and they ought to sound like it.” Simple, incontestable, usually unheeded words.

And in their latest Beethoven-- the “Eroica” Symphony (EMI/Angel 49101) and, with the excellent fortepianist Melvyn Tan, the First and Second Piano Concertos (EMI/Angel 49509)--conductor Norrington and his London Classical Players orchestra convincingly communicate Beethoven’s bracing, sharp-edged, Haydnesque sound.

More novel at this stage of the game is what Norrington does with later, anticipating-Wagner material, Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” (EMI/Angel 49541). First, he adheres to the composer’s metronome markings, which have, simply, been ignored by conductors intent on “interpreting” a work that proclaims to be as much about feelings as it is about notes. Fine, to a point.

What so often happens in this interpretive process (which the composer invites) is that the inspiration and energy of the original conception are left behind. Recapturing and projecting them are the goals of the most serious and astute of the present-day antiquarians.

To these jaded ears, Norrington and his orchestra have again done a near-miraculous job of restoration, exposing a work of the liveliest wit and imagination, quick and original turns of phrase and a ravishingly clear, projectile sound--the product of lighter instrumental weight and crisper articulation than that to which 20th-Century performance has accustomed us: Berlioz, after his fashion, disclosing his roots in Haydn.

What some listeners may miss here are the giddy tempo and dynamic vacillations, the sudden surges found in the usual, more interpreted and darkly moody sort of “Symphonie Fantastique,” notably in the finale. Well, you don’t have to give up your Davis, Munch, Bernstein, etc.

Also pushing forward the chronological boundaries of period performance repertory is Sir Charles Mackerras, who, for whatever it may be worth, is the sole representative among the antiquarians with an established, international reputation also as a conductor of modern-instrument forces.

In his latest outing with London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, he skillfully, even ferociously, trims the fat and restores the sinew to Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony and excerpts from the “Midsummer Night’s Dream” score (Virgin 90725).

Again, if you have never grown tired of this music, if you retain the need to hear every new recording to find whether it measures up to the Koussevitsky version that introduced you to it, skip Mackerras. If, however, prettiness is not Mendelssohn’s ultimate attraction, if you’d like to experience some of the raucousness emitted by an old oboe or natural horn, give it a shot.

In repertory closer to our time--Dvorak’s “Dumky” Trio of 1891 and Smetana’s 1855 Trio in G minor--the Castle Trio of the Smithsonian Institution reminds us (on Smithsonian 034) that gut was the only material used for stringed instruments until well into the 20th Century, and that certain performance practices we ascribe to the Classical era were in effect until after the First World War.

For instance, the use and purpose of vibrato and portamento: then, as in Haydn’s time (if in different degree), as ornaments to be sparingly applied, for expressive purposes rather than as a constant, integral and ultimately meaningless part of the sound.

In chamber music the “period sound” strikes our ears as being more exotic than in larger-ensemble music: the sonic focus is so much narrower and more intense. And while the 1890s Steinway piano played here by Lambert Orkis might be taken for an exceptionally clear-toned contemporary instrument, the sound and style of Marilyn McDonald and Kenneth Slowik, respectively the violinist and cellist, could not be mistaken for anything of our time.

The string tone is much more plaintive, edgier, perhaps less centered, certainly less lush than what we are accustomed to. And the performances--by all three musicians--project a clarity and level-headedness that actually heightens the powerful dramatic effect of scores that make their emotions felt without the tugging and heaving to which they are generally subjected.