Fritz Lehmann - A Pops Program and More Overtures

Longtime friend of the blog Jean Thorel, himself a conductor, asked for a transfer of this particular recording of Beethoven's Coriolan overture, which I am happy to provide as the final work of this program of pops favorites and overtures as conducted by Fritz Lehmann.

As noted in a previous post devoted to Lehmann, he was a talented conductor who died young in 1956, during a very productive period making recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon company. Today's selections were transferred from contemporary issues on the American Decca label, as detailed below. The sound is quite good.

Music by Bellini, Rossini, Meyerbeer and Verdi

Lehmann made most of his recordings with the Bamberg Symphony, such as these pops items derived from 19th century operas. He switched to the Berlin Philharmonic for the heavier material, such as the Coriolan overture later in the program.

These 1952-53 performances include the following, all highly pleasing and seldom performed on symphonic programs these days:

• Bellini - the Overture to Norma

• Meyerbeer - the Coronation March from Le prophète

• Rossini - the Act III ballet music from Guillaume Tell

• Verdi - the Ballabile from Act III of Otello

Dvořák - Serenade for Strings

Dvořák's Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22, is utterly delightful music that is quite light and thus does not often appear on today's concert programs with their ponderous diets of Bruckner, Mahler and contemporary music. But it makes for pleasant listening on a program such as this.

The recording is from 1955.

Auber - Fra Diavolo Overture

Daniel Auber's charming music is represented by the overture from his 1830 opéra comique Fra Diavolo. This 1951 performance comes from the Munich Philharmonic (also known as the Bayerisches Staatsorchester München).

One English critic complained (without naming him directly) that Sir Thomas Beecham would have made more of this music, an assertion that is impossible to disprove. I can tell you that this is a fine performance.

Gluck - Overture to Alceste

The overture to Christoph Willibald Gluck's 1767 opera Alceste was a popular item back in the days of 78s, being recorded by everyone from Malcolm Sargent to Wilhelm Furtwängler. It's an extraordinary work, here done well by Lehmann and the Berlin Philharmonic.

This is the only composition on the program not written in the 19th century. The recording is from 1952.

Beethoven - Coriolan Overture

Beethoven's overture was written for Collin's 1804 tragedy of that name. It was first performed, however, on a symphonic program, along with premieres of the composer's fourth symphony and fourth piano concerto.

This extraordinarily powerful music is tautly performed by Lehmann and the Berlin orchestra in this 1952 recording.

LINK to all the above performances

Fritz Lehmann