MENDELSSOHN Symphonies: No. 3 in a;1 No. 5 in d, “Reformation.”2 COUPERIN (orch. Milhaud) Sonata, “La sultane”: Overture and Allegro3 • Dmitri Mitropoulos, cond; Cologne West German RSO • MEDICI 14, mono (72:49) Broadcast: Cologne 10/24/1960;1 7/19/1957;2 10/16/19643

Few of the commercial recordings conducted by Mitropoulos hint at the intensity and liveliness he was capable of in live concert, provided he was working with an orchestra willing to learn the conceptual framework lying behind his relatively imprecise gestures. This he had in the Cologne RSO (now the WDR Cologne). These performances, recorded over a six-year period, show a consistent sympathy between conductor and musicians that must have been balm to Mitropoulos, whose stormy relationship with the New York Philharmonic, its press, and audience was to draw to a close in 1957.

The Mendelssohn Third is tautly profiled. It emphasizes clear textures, with more attention paid to accompanying lines than is usually the case. Although rhythms are precisely outlined, phrasing remains supple. Tempos are uniformly faster than average throughout. The latter part of the Scherzo’s vivace non troppo designation is ignored, but there’s no denying the verve and color Mitropoulos achieves. As for the finale, its progressive increase in speed and dynamic (rather than volume, which is not the same thing) gives us rather more of Schumann’s Florestan, than Mendelssohn—but it is an exhilarating experience, all the same.

It is also apparent, based on a commercial recording of the work with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in December of 1941 (released in terribly filtered sound on The International Music Company 220828), that this was the approach to the “Scottish” Symphony Mitropoulos developed at least two decades before he led the Cologne RSO in 1960. There is little difference between the two versions, save for an even faster tempo in the earlier rendition’s Adagio, and a slightly greater use of rhetorical devices in the first movement introduction. The same manic pulse and concentration is present.

The performance recorded here of the Mendelssohn Fifth took place 10 days before the conductor’s death, in rehearsal. The same qualities may be found in it as in the Third, but in more measured application. The melodic line given to the strings in the faster-than-usual Andante (again taken at a fast moderato clip) is treated more lyrically, while the movement as a whole feels less pressed. The finale is carefully built to an inexorable climax, with the Cologne winds displaying some fine color along the way. The Couperin shares in the skill Mitropoulos possesses to properly weigh and balance textures, though here he’s compromised early on by some very unpleasant brass-playing and blending that Milhaud’s arrangement unfortunately lays bare for all to hear. Control is reestablished quickly, however. The build up to the Overture’s conclusion is once more well prepared, while the Allegro is formidably focused.

While the Cologne RSO was by no means as fine an orchestra as the New York Philharmonic, it was a good ensemble with an especially fine string section. The brass was its greatest weakness at that time, as noted above, and problems with it crop out occasionally throughout all three broadcasts. Both Mendelssohn symphonies are better than the commercial versions (currently deleted) Mitropoulos and his New Yorkers recorded, under unsatisfactory conditions in 1952.

The sound quality from the original archival tapes is very good in all three cases, though not approaching high fidelity for their respective dates. Balance and presence are excellent. A bit of the congestion could and should have been eliminated with a slight rolloff to the bass, however. There were no dropouts or speed fluctuations that I noticed.

Throw in decent liner notes, and you’ve got a winner, here—not just for Mitropoulos fans, but for anybody who might enjoy this edge-of-your-seat Mendelssohn.

FANFARE: Barry Brenesal