WILLEM MENGELBERG: UNAVAILABLE RECORDINGS

A number of important Mengelberg Concertgebouw Orchestra recordings are currently not in print, but might be found through used record dealers. For the most part, Mengelberg's appearances on compact disc have tended to come on clusters, that is, in series devoted to his art that were never too easy to find, and were deleted after a fairly short time. Each series is listed below.

ORCHESTRAS
BPO = Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
COA = Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
NYP = New York Philharmonic-Symphony
PRO = Paris Radio Orchestra

All recordings below were made with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam unless otherwise noted.

Concert recordings

All of the following, with one execption, share the same source, recordings on glass-backed acetates made before and during World War II by AVRO, a semi-private Dutch broadcasting company. Some time in the early 1960's those recordings that survived the war were transferred to tape, and these became the source for both the Philips series and domestic radio broadcasts, air-checks of which were then issued by private individuals. Much more exists in the tape vaults than has so far appeared on compact disc. The sound quality is afflicted by crackle and pop but is otherwise clear, with minimal overloading in climaxes. It is a real shame that the Philips series remains out of print, as they are some some of the conductor's most compelling documents.

MENGELBERG AS ACCOMPANIST
-BLOCH: Violin Concerto (Joseph Szigeti, violin)
-DEBUSSY: Fantasie for Piano and Orchesta (Walter Gieseking, piano)
      MUSIC & ARTS CD-270 [Debussy reissued on Music & Arts MUA 780]
 [Henry Fogel comments: The Bloch Concerto is one of the composer's
  finest works.  Szigeti gave it its premiere, and made a famous
  recording with Munch, but this performance has more drama, more
  intensity, and a more incisive rhythmic profile than the Munch
  recording.  It also has a wider range of orchestral textures and
  colors.]

NETHERLANDS MUSIC 
-ROENTGEN: Six Early Netherlands Dances, Op. 46
-WAGENAAR: Overture to Shakespeare's comedy, "The Taming of the Shrew"
      COLOFON CV CD 7
 [Part of a larger set devoted to Dutch music recorded at an annual 
  festival, these show Mengelberg in a lighter vein.]

HISTORICAL CLASSICS: The Philips series

-J.S. BACH: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
  Karl Erb (ten.), Willem Ravelli (bass), Louis van Tulder (ten.),
  Ilona Durigo (alto), Jo Vincent (sop.), Hermann Schey (bass), 
  Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir)
      PHILIPS 416 206-2 [3 discs]
 [An 'old style' Passion, with large forces, but handled with the grace 
  and control expected of smaller 'authentic' ensemble, this is one of
  the most intense and moving Passions ever to be recorded, on Palm
  Sunday, 1939.  The recording was made using an experimental process
  in which the sound was embossed on a strip of moving plastic tape
  (avoiding 78rpm side breaks), the major defect being some overloading
  in the choral climaxes.]

-BARTOK: Violin Concerto No. 2, (Zoltan Szekely, violin) 
      PHILIPS 426 104-2
 [The world premiere of this concerto. still cited as one of the best 
  versions ever recorded.  Philips used NoNoise processing, which only 
  moderately dulls the sound.]
 [Henry fogel adds: This is a remarkable opportunity to hear the
  actual world premiere performance of one of this century's widely
  acknowledged masterpieces -- a warm, beautifully shaped reading that
  emphasizes the folk-like elements in the score.]

-BEETHOVEN: Symphonies No. 1 in C, Op. 21 and No. 2 in D, Op. 36
      PHILIPS 416 200-2

-BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55 "Eroica"
      PHILIPS 416 200-2
 [The conert recording from the 1940 cycle was damaged, and Philips
  chose to substitute an indifferent transfer of Mengelberg's studio
  recording for Telefunken.]

-BEETHOVEN: Symphonies No. 4 in B-flat, Op. 60 and No. 5 in c, Op. 67
      PHILIPS 416 200-2

-BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 "Pastorale"; 
  Fidelio Overture, Op. 72c
      PHILIPS 416 200-2

-BEETHOVEN: Symphonies No. 7 in A, Op. 92 and No. 8 in F, Op. 93
      PHILIPS 416 200-2

-BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in d, Op. 125
  To van der Sluys (sop.), Suze Luger (contr.), Louis van Tulder (ten.),
  Willem Ravelli (bass), 
  Amstedam Toonkunst Choir, Royal Oratorio Society
      PHILIPS 416 205-2

-BRAHMS: Ein duetsches Requiem, Op. 45
  Jo Vincent (sop.), Max Kloos (bar.), Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir
      PHILIPS 416 213-2 [reissued on DANTE LYS 099]

-BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in c, Op. 68 
-SCHUBERT: Rosamunde, 3 excertps
      PHILIPS 416 210-2 [Brahms reissued on DANTE LYS 075]

-FRANCK: Symphony in d
-STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20
      PHILIPS 416 214-2
 [Striking, vibrant performances of both works, one of Mengelberg's
  strongest discs.  It is puzzling that Philips should have let it go
  out of print.]

-MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 (Jo Vincent, sop.)
      PHILIPS 416 211-2
 [Given Mengelberg's early and continuing support of the composer--not 
  to mention their personal friendship--this is one of the most
  important documents Mengelberg left.  One reviewer, on hearing it,
  decided that it displayed the remants of a once more flexible
  technique, a charge to be considered seriously since the conductor was
  in his 70's when this was taken down on acetate.  In truth, some will
  find the performance mannered, but it is nonetheless endlessly
  fascinating in detail and conception.  Of all the initial Philips CD
  series, only this was considered worthy to be given new life when they
  issued a NoNoise-processed successor historical series (Philips 
  425 108-2 PM).  The issue above is preferrable because no processing
  is used, but either version is worth the trouble of finding it.]

-SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in b, d. 759 "Unfinished";
  Symphony No. 9 in C, D. 944 "The Great"
      PHILIPS 416-212-2 [reissued on DANTE LYS 077]
  [If I may be allowed to reminisce, the 9th was the first Mengelberg
   LP I ever owned, and it has been a constant source of pleasure to me
   since, a performance that justifies Schumann's claim of the work's
   "heavenly length."  Not all people like it, some finding it too hard-
   driven, but to me the propulsive quality leads to the ineviteble
   final chord, which Mengelberg holds, to demonstrate his mastery of
   the score.]
Some of the following are being reissued on the Music and Arts label in the United States (see main discography).

THE MENGELBERG LEGACY: The King Records/Seven Seas series

-J.S. BACH: Cantata No. 202; Orchestral Suite No. 2
  To van der Sluys (sop.), Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir
-WEBER: Oberon: Overture and "Ocean, du Ungenheur" (Act 2 #12)
  Ruth Horna (sop.), Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir 
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2056
 [Bach Suite is from commercial 78's and is found in another transfer on 
  PEARL GEMM CD 9018; Weber aria reissued on ARCHIV DOCUMENTS ADCD 109, 
  both Weber selections on DANTE LYS 089]

-BEETHOVEN: Vionin Concerto in D, Op. 61; 
-BRUCH: Violin Concerto in G, Op. 26 (both with Guila Bustabo, violin)
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2060
      
-BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55 "Eroica"; 
  Egmont, Op. 84: Overture
-WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2054 
 [Beethoven reisseud on MUSIC & ARTS MUA 780;
  Wagner on ARCHIV DOCUMENTS ADCD 116]

-BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77 (Herman Krebbers, violin)
-WAGNER: Tannhauser Overture
-BERLIOZ: The Damnation of Faust, 3 excertps
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2055 
 [Brahms and Wagner reissued on Music & Arts MUA 780, 
  Brahms only on DANTE LYS 088]

-DVORAK: Violin Concerto in a, Op. 53 (Maria Neuss, violin);
  Cello Concerto in b, Op. 104 (Maurice Gendron, cello) (PRO)
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2058
 [Cello Concerto reissued on ARCHIV DOCUMENTS ADCD 116]

-KODALY: Hary Janos Suite; "Peacock" Variations (world premiere)
-PFITZNER: Cello Concerto No. 1 in G, Op. 42 (Gaspar Cassado, cello)
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2062 
 [Kodaly reissued on ARCHIV DOCUMENTS ADCD 115]

-MAHLER: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
  Herman Schey (bar.)
-J.S. BACH: Cantata No. 57, BWV 57
  Jo Vincent (sop.), Max Kloos (bar.), Amsterdam toonkunst Choir
-SCHUBERT: "Arpeggione" Sonata in a, Op. 821 (Gaspar Cassado, cello)
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2063 [Schubert reissued on Music & Arts MUA 780]

-MOZART: Flute Concerto No. 2 in D, K. 314 (Hubert Barwahser, flute);
  Piano Concerto No. 19 in F, K. 459 (Willem Andriessen, piano);
  Exsultate Jubilate, K. 158a (Ria Ginster, sop.)
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2057

-SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in a, Op. 54 (Emil von Sauer, piano)
-FRANCK: Symphonic Variations (Walter Gieseking, piano)
-RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2061

-TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in e, Op. 64; Serenade for Strings, Op. 48
      SEVEN SEAS KICC 2059  [Symphony reisseud on Music & Arts MUA 780]

ARCHIV DOCUMENTS

THE MENGELBERG EDITION  Vol. 8 
-LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Marinus Flipse, piano) (COA, rec. 1944)
-CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Theo van der Pas, piano) (COA, rec. 1943)
-FRANCK: Symphonic Variations (Walter Gieseking, piano) (COA, rec. 1940)
-SCHUBERT: Rosamunde ballet music (COA, rec. 1941)
      ARCHIV DOCUMENTS ADCD 114
 [Although stocks of this disc are currently exhausted, qualifying it 
  for inclusion here, I also show it with the rest of the series in the
  main discography in the hope that it will be re-pressed soon.]

Studio recordings

The Teldec series

Teldec has intermittently kept Mengelberg's later commercial recordings in circulation, although in less than idea transfers (rather clumsy side joins and less than immacualte originals, filtered). A few of what appear below are again reissued in their Concertgebpouw Orchestra series, and will be found on the main discography. Presumably Biddulph will eventually do superior transfers for their Telefunken recordings series.

-BEETHOVEN: Symphonies No. 5 in c, Op. 67 and No. 8 in F, Op. 93
      TELDEC 243 725-2 [reissued as TELDEC 4509-95515-2]

-BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 "Pastorale"; 
-WAGNER: Die Miestersinger: Overture
      TELDEC 243 728-2

-BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73, Tragic Overture, Op. 81
      TELDEC 243 722-2

-BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in e, Op. 98
-R. STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20
      TELDEC 243 724-2 [Brahms reissued on DANTE LYS 076]

-DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 in 3, Op. 95
      TELDEC 243 731-2

-R. STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40; Don Juan, Op. 20 (COA, rec. 1941)
      TELDEC 243 729-2 [reissued as TELDEC 1J 76441]

-TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B, Op. 23 (Conrad Hansen, piano);
  Serenade for Strings, Op. 48
      TELDEC 243 726-2

-TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in e, Op. 64 (BPO)
      TELDEC 243 727-2

-TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 in b "Pathetique"; Overture 1812, Op. 49
      TELDEC 243 730-2
 [This disc contains the 1937 recording, and has been reissued in better
  sound elsewhere.]
This list was prepared by Brendan Wehrung, who welcomes your comments.

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