Berlioz - Harold en Italie; Rèverie et Caprice

Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869) 

Harold in Italy; 

Reverie et Caprice*

Josef Suk (Viola, Violin)

Czech Philharmonic, Prague Symphony

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Vaclav Smetacek*

This recording has the most eccentric credentials: one of the world's great soloists (Suk), one of the world's most improbable conductors (Fischer-Dieskau), and an orchestra that seems far afield but is actually--for its unblended sonority and its individual timbres--the most "French" in the world outside France.

The following comments apply to "Harold in Italy," not to the violin caprice, which I haven't yet heard. I've now listened to this "Harold" twice. Apart from an odd rhythmic pulse in the solo instrument during the second movement--which almost surely was Berlioz's idea, not Suk's--I have never heard so clear-headed a view of the piece. As conductor, Fischer-Dieskau is on remarkably good behavior. During the 70s, he did conduct some orchestra recordings, a few with soloist--Barenboim in the Schumann concerto, for instance--and after retiring as a singer he made some more conducting ventures, notably as accompanist for his wife, soprano Julia Varady. Here, he performs with real distinction. I think we can assume that he got a hand from Suk, whose traversal of the solo part is--as usual for him--of the highest order. Then there is the orchestra, one of the very greatest, here in peak form. The instrumental detailing is without parallel, showing textures and dynamics that are not heard elsewhere.

Altogether, the playing combines a Brahmsian logic with all the gutsy excitement that Berlioz needs. Each time I've heard the recording, I've been compelled to listen straight through. Along with Argenta's performance of the Symphonie Fantastique--with Berlioz's home-ground orchestra, the Paris Conservatoire--this is a crown-jewel in the Berlioz discography.