Americans are used to regular visits from European Orchestras which almost always delight and awe audiences. When the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, and the Munich Philharmonic Under the baton of Lorin Maazel, played in Washington and New York this fall, audiences were not disappointed.
The Vienna Symphony's concert repertoire included Mozart's Symphony No. 41 in C (K.551, "Jupiter"), Mozart's Violin concerto No. 3 in G (K.216) with soloist Christian Altenburger, Richard Strauss's "Ein Heldenleben," and Brahm's Tragic Overture.
The "Jupiter" was beautifully executed and the strings, were rich and heavy, which almost overpowered the brass and hid the symphony's timbral contrasts. If there was a problem, however, it was with the woodwinds, who were so dark that some of the enchanting couplings of winds failed to balance.
The violin Concerto introduced Mr. Altenburger to American audiences. He played skillfully and his performance of the solo cadenzas was reminiscent of Bach rather than Mozart. Following the Classical style, he played along with the orchestra in tutti passages.
Mr. Sawallish, aware of Strauss' love for Mozart, tempered the performance of "Ein Heldenleben" with an emphasis on Classisism. It was a less opulent and rhapsodic performance than some listeners preferred, but none the less stirring.
A dark, dramatic piece, Brahm's tragic overture seemed to fit the orchestra's sound to perfection. Sawallisch caught that elusive point between musical logic and dramatic character with precision.
How wonderful to see that Vienna, long noted for its Philharmonic, has a yet another first-class orchestra. The Vienna Symphony has much of the same dark Viennese sound as the Philharmonic and the strings are full and weighty. The winds are deep and the brasses have the distinctive Viennese sound of mellow resonance.
Equally delightful was the Munich Philharmonic. Even though this Munich orchestra is 92 years old, it is not well known in the United States despite numerous recordings. It is a large orchestra and has a particularly German sound, which would never be confused with the often-greater transparency of American orchestra.
The Munich Philharmonic performance of Weber's overture to the opera "Oberon" was shaped with beauty and fine control, especially in the brasses.
The players were comfortable with their rendering of Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler," a dark and grand symphonic piece. This work has a grave theme, which evokes the life of the painter Matthias Grunewald. Ultimately the work has a hopeful turn with the concluding movement, which depicts one of the painter's altarpieces (The visit of St. Anthony to St. Paul). This movement has an interplay of heavy brass which has almost a chorale flavor in its rendering.
Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony requires a special polish, which the orchestra did not seem to be quite up to. This may not be the fault of the orchestra's individual players or conductor
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