LPO-0011 Van Beinum booklet

01 7:10

Malcolm Arnold b. 1921 Beckus the Dandipratt, overture for orchestra Op.5× (1943)*

16:36 02 4:04 03 4:17 04 3:04 05 5:11

Gustav Mahler 1860 – 1911 Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen× (1912) Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht Ging heut’ morgens übers Feld Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer Die zwei blauen Augen

06 9:16

16:30 07 1:57 08 1:18 09 0:54 10 1:42 11 2:10 12 0:50 13 1:15 14 2:10 15 0:58 16 3:16

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770 – 1827 Overture, Leonore No.1 Op.138¤ (1832) Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 Variations on a theme by Haydn Op.56a (St Anthony Chorale)¤ (1873) Thema: Chorale St Anthony (Andante) Variation I (Poco più animato) Variation II (Più vivace) Variation III (Con moto) Variation IV (Andante con moto) Variation V (Vivace) Variation VI (Vivace) Variation VII (Grazioso) Variation VIII (Presto non troppo) Finale (Andante)

14:48 17 3:53 18 2:24 19 2:01 20 2:41 21 1:43 22 2:06

Edward Elgar 1857 – 1934 The Wand of Youth, Suite No.2 Op.1b¤ (1908) March The Little Bells Moths and Butterflies Fountain Dance The Tame Bear The Wild Bears

EUGENIA ZARESKA mezzo soprano EDUARD VAN BEINUM conductor LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ANDREW COOPER × DAVID WISE ¤ leaders

*world première recording

THE POST-WAR REVIVAL EDUARD vAN BEINUM CONDUCTS THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ARNOLD Beckus the Dandipratt MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer BEETHOVEN Overture, Leonore No 1 BRAHMS Variations on a theme by Haydn ELGAR The Wand of Youth, Suite No 2

LPO – 0011

A Fruitful Anglo-Dutch Relationship At the time Eduard van Beinum became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra – the official announcement was made on 24 January 1949 – he was best known in international circles as head of the famed Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. With his Dutch players he appeared in London in March 1946, when the Decca Company made some first recordings with them, but that same year he was invited to become one of a distinguished group of conductors from overseas who were coming to London then to work with the London Philharmonic Orchestra both in the concert hall and on record. He was in good company: Wilhelm Furtwängler, Victor de Sabata, Charles Münch, Erich Leinsdorf, Clemens Krauss, Erich Kleiber, Georg Szell and Carl Schuricht were some of the others.

No time was lost: van Beinum’s first recordings with the LPO, all dating from 1946, were of Brahms’s third and Haydn’s Military symphonies, closely followed by the Mahler song-cycle included on this disc.

In Amsterdam van Beinum’s predecessor, the legendary Willem Mengelberg, had long been a pioneer of Mahler’s music, but this was the first time that any of the composer’s song-cycles had been recorded in England. When the records were released in the autumn of 1948

they received a welcome boost when van Beinum’s soloist, Eugenia Zareska, sang the cycle soon afterwards at three concerts in and around London with the LPO under Furtwängler. Van Beinum’s relationship with the LPO developed to the point in 1949 that he felt he could combine the role of chief conductor of both the London and the Amsterdam orchestras – but it was destined to last only for a short period before the ill-health that was to plague him for the rest of his life became apparent. For a time he shared the LPO’s rostrum with Sir Adrian Boult, who became principal conductor when van Beinum left. They knew each other well: Boult had been the first British conductor to conduct the Concertgebouw Orchestra after the war.

Eduard van Beinum’s taste in music was catholic in the best sense, ranging from Haydn, Mozart and Schubert through Beethoven and Brahms to Mahler and Bruckner and to Sibelius and Bartók, and he had a strong feeling for the French school, especially Debussy and Ravel.

He was also a champion of his own and other countries’ contemporary composers, invariably featuring the works of Dutch composers on his overseas tours. He was always greatly interested in their reception outside Holland, and he could be quite partisan: an English newspaper review of

Eduard van Beinum conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kingsway Hall London, November 1946. a work by his friend Matthijs Vermeulen was sent to the composer with the cryptic comment: ‘Enclosed a criticism. Rubbish.’

Among the English school he had a special

feeling for the music of Benjamin Britten, whose Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes were among his first Decca recordings with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1949 he

conducted the première of Britten’s Spring Symphony (with Kathleen Ferrier among the soloists) at that year’s Holland Festival.

Another native composer to benefit from his wide-ranging sympathies was Malcolm Arnold, whose comedy overture Beckus the Dandipratt received its first concert performance (16 November 1947) and subsequent recording at the hands of van Beinum and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. ‘I was first trumpet in the orchestra then’, the composer recalled ‘and Dennis Egan played the cornet part.

Van Beinum had already conducted the overture at one of our concerts, so one day when we had some time in the studio he put it in. It was as simple as that.’ It was the first music by Malcolm Arnold to be recorded, and the brilliant record that resulted was used as a demonstration disc by Decca for years afterwards.

Elgar was another of the Dutch conductor’s predilections, and it was fascinating in the post-war period in England to be able to hear a foreign maestro’s view of Cockaigne, the Cello Concerto and The Wand of Youth music, all recorded in London. The brilliant, sure-footed playing in The Wand of Youth heard on this disc testifies to the alert, warm-hearted response he was capable of obtaining as much from the London

Philharmonic Orchestra as from his Concertgebouw players, while the fiery Beethoven overture - a rarity in those days (as indeed the Elgar was) - and reverential Brahms Haydn Variations display the attitude of a man for whom the self-glorification of the conductor’s role and art was total anathema; his aim was always, as he put it himself, ‘simply to make music together with the orchestra’.

The friendliness towards players for which he became renowned, and the absolute trust he placed in them together with his desire to seek musical satisfaction through a mutual sense of purpose, endeared him to everybody, ultimately earning both respect and devotion.

Eduard van Beinum’s eventual recorded legacy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra included, apart from the above, Bizet’s music for L’Arlésienne, excerpts from Beethoven’s Prometheus ballet, Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, Handel’s Water Music, Tchaikovsky’s fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and the violin concertos of Mendelssohn, Sibelius and Lalo. There was also an LP collection of six Beethoven overtures, but the version of Leonore No 1 heard on this reissue was excluded from it, and it was only ever issued in 78rpm format.

Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Songs of a Wayfarer Text Gustav Mahler

Text Gustav Mahler

Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht

When my darling has her wedding-day

Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht fröhliche Hochzeit macht, hab’ ich meinen traurigen Tag! Geh’ ich in mein Kämmerlein, dunkles Kämmerlein, weine, wein’ um meinen Schatz, um meinen lieben Schatz!

Blümlein blau! Verdorre night!

Vöglein süß! Du singst auf grüner Heide.

Ach, wie ist die Welt so schön!

Ziküth! Ziküth!

Singet nicht! Blühet night!

Lenz ist ja vorbei!

Alles Singen ist nun aus.

Des Abends, wenn ich schlafen geh’, denk’ ich an mein Leide.

An mein Leide!

When my darling has her wedding-day, her joyous wedding-day, I will have my day of mourning!

I will go to my little room, my dark little room, and weep, weep for my darling, for my dear darling!

Little blue flower! Do not wither!

Sweet little bird – you sing on the green heath.

Oh, how is it that the world is so beautiful!

Chirp! Chirp!

Do not sing! Do not bloom!

Spring is past!

All singing must now stop.

At night when I go to sleep, I think of my sorrow.

Of my sorrow!

Ging heut’ morgen übers Feld

I walked across the fields this morning

Ging heut’ morgen übers Feld, tau noch auf den Gräsern hing.

Sprach zu mir de lust’ge Fink, “Ei du! Gelt? Guten Morgen! Ei gelt?”

Du! Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt?

Zink! Zink! Schön und flink!

Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt!”

I walked across the fields, this morning; dew still hung on the grass.

The merry finch said to me, “Hey you! Isn’t it a good morning? Hey! You! Isn’t it becoming a beautiful world?

Chirp! Chirp! Beautiful and agile!

Oh but how the world delights me!”

Auch die Glockenblum’ am Feld hat mir lustig, gutter Ding’, mit den Glöckchen, klinge, kling, ihren Morgengruß geschellt, “Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt?

Kling,kling! Schönes Ding!

Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt! Heia!”

Also, the bluebells in the field, merrily and with good spirits, chimed out to me with their bells, ding, ding, their morning greeting, “Isn’t it becoming a beautiful world?

Ding, ding! Beautiful thing!

How the world delights me! Hey!”

Und da fing im Sonnenschein gleich die Welt zu funklen an; alles Ton und Farbe gewann im Sonnenschein!

Blum’ und Vogel, groß und klein!

“Guten Tag, ist’s nicht eine schöne Welt?

Ei du, gelt! Schöne Welt?”

And then, in the sunshine, the world suddenly began to glitter; everything gained sound and colour in the sunshine!

Flower and bird, large and small!

“Good day, is it not a beautiful world?

Hey you! Isn’t it a beautiful world?

Nun fängt auch mein Glück wohl an?

Nein, nein, das ich mein’, Mir nimmer blühen kann!

Will my happiness also begin now?

No, no, my happiness can never bloom!

Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer

I have a glowing knife

Ich hab’ein glühend Messer, ein Messer in meiner Brust.

O Weh! Das schneid’t so tief in jede Freud’ und jede Lust.

Ach, was ist das für ein böser Gast!

Nimmer halt er Ruh’, nimmer halt er Rast, nicht bei Tag, noch bei Nacht, wenn ich schlief.

O Weh!

I have a glowing knife, a knife in my chest.

Oh! It cuts so deeply into every joy and delight.

Ah, what an evil guest it is!

Never does it rest, never does it ease, not by day or by night, when I would sleep.

Oh Woe!

Wenn ich in dem Himmel seh’, seh’ ich zwei blaue Augen stehn.

O Weh! Wenn ich im gelben Felde geh’, seh’ ich von fern das blonde Haar im Winde wehn.

O Weh!

When I look up into the sky, I see two blue eyes.

Oh Woe! When I go into the yellow field, I see her blond hair in the distance blowing in the wind.

Oh Woe!

Wenn ich aus dem Traum auffahr’ und höre klingen ihr silbern’ Lachen, O Weh! Ich wollt’, ich läg auf der schwarzen Bahr’, könnt’ nimmer die Augen aufmachen!

When I wake from a dream and hear the tinkle of her silvery laugh, Oh Woe! I wish that I was lying on my black bier, and that I could never again open my eyes!

Die zwei blauen Augen

The two blue eyes

Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz, die haben mich in die weite Welt geschickt.

Da mußt ich Abschied nehmen vom allerliebsten Platz!

O Augen blau, warum habt ihr mich angeblickt?

Nun hab’ ich ewig Leid and Grämen.

The two blue eyes of my darling, they have fated me to go into the wide world.

I must to take my leave of this beloved place!

Oh blue eyes, why did they gaze at me?

Now I will have eternal sorrow and grief.

Ich bin ausgegangen in stiller Nacht wohl über die dunkle Heide.

Hat mir niemand Ade gesagt.

Ade! Mein Gesell’ war Lieb’ und Leide!

Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum, Da hab’ich zum ersten Mal im Schlaf geruht!

I went out into the still night far across the dark heath.

No-one said farewell to me.

Farewell! My companions are love and sorrow!

On the road stands a linden tree, and there for the first time I rested in sleep!

Unter dem Lindenbaum, der hat Seine Blüten über mich geschneit, Da wußt’ ich nicht, wie das Leben tut, War alles, alles wieder gut!

Alles! Alles, Lieb und Leid and Welt und Traum!

Under the linden tree that snowed its blossoms onto me, I did not know how life went on, and everything, everything was well again!

All! All, love and sorrow and world and dream!

EUGENIA ZARESKA soprano The Ukranian-born mezzo-soprano Eugenia Zareska (1922-79) made her debut as Dorabella in Così fan tutte in Milan in 1941, and later sang the role for Glyndebourne. After taking British

citizenship she made guest appearances from 1947 onwards at Covent Garden (including the title role in Carmen and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro) and she was a noted lieder singer. She made some distinguished recordings and, in retirement, lived in Paris where she taught singing.

EDUARD VAN BEINUM conductor Eduard van Beinum was born in Arnhem in 1900, the son of a double-bass player in the local orchestra, and studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory where he became a brilliant pianist and accompanist.

He actually made his debut as a pianist, playing Franck’s Symphonic Variations, in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, but his interests soon widened to conducting and at 27 he applied for the post of conductor of the Haarlem Orchestral Society, making such strides there that within two years he was offered a concert with the Concertgebouw Orchestra itself. When the Concertgebouw’s second conductor, Cornelis Dopper, resigned in 1931 van Beinum was appointed his successor. At his first concert he included the Eighth Symphony of Bruckner, whose music he promoted subsequently with the same zeal that Willem Mengelberg had brought to Mahler. ‘He is really like bread and butter

to me’, he said of Bruckner, ‘I can never have enough of him.’ Later in the 1930s, when other orchestras were pursuing him, the Concertgebouw players urged the management to appoint van Beinum as first conductor alongside Mengelberg. They did, and he stayed in Amsterdam; then when, in 1945, Mengelberg’s long reign (it had begun in 1895) came to an end van Beinum succeeded him as principal conductor, remaining in that position for the rest of his life. In addition to his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in 1956 van Beinum began a series of annual visits to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. But he remained rooted in Amsterdam from where he led the Orchestra on many European and overseas tours, notably to the USA in 1954, and it was in Amsterdam that in 1959 he died during a rehearsal with the Concertgebouw Orchestra: he was only 58.

Notes and biographies by Lyndon Jenkins

J B Priestley in discussion with Eduard van Beinum at the official announcement of the maestro’s Principal Conductorship of the London Philharmonic Orchestra on 24 January 1949.

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Left to right: Dr Jane de Iongh (Cultural Attache, Netherlands Embassy), Mrs. van Beinum, Eduard van Beinum and J B Priestley

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA The London Philharmonic Orchestra has long established a high reputation for its versatility and artistic excellence. These are evident from its performances in the concert hall and opera house, its many award-winning recordings, its trail-blazing international tours and its pioneering education work. Kurt Masur has been the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor since September 2000, extending the line of distinguished conductors who have held positions with the Orchestra since its foundation in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. These have included Sir Adrian Boult, Sir John Pritchard, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Franz Welser-Möst. Vladimir Jurowski

was appointed the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor in March 2003.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been resident symphony orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall since 1992 and there it presents its main series of concerts between September and May each year. In summer, the Orchestra moves to Sussex where it has been the resident symphony orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera for over 40 years. The Orchestra also performs at venues around the UK and has made numerous tours to America, Europe and Japan, and visited India, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Australia and South Africa.