Kurt Sanderling passed away on 17 Sep 2011. May he rest in peace.
He left many memorable recordings for music lovers to cherish. His Beethoven and Brahms symphonies, Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 (mono), Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2, Bruckner Symphonies Nos. 3 and 7, and, above all, Shostakovich symphonies are particularly remembered by this humble listener. I took out some of these recordings and listened once again with sadness and at the same time admiration and respect.
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| His Beethoven cycle with the Philharmonia Orchestra stands proudly alongside the only other two cycles by this orchestra with Karajan and Klemperer. |
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| Each recording of Brahms symphonies by him is memorable, for his unmannered, natural music making. |
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| Simply inevitable. |
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| While he might not exhibit the type of astringency and ferocity of Mravinsky's Shostakovich, he graced his reading with a fine balance of Slavic warmth and melancholy, which is more moving. |
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| This box-set was bought in 1997 in Berlin. The price tag was still in Deutsche Mark. I missed his concert when he stood in for an ailing Giulini in Feb 1998. |
His Bruckner 3rd and 7th are among my favourite recordings of these symphonies. Just three months ago I revisited his Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 and that gave me a happy afternoon. Thank you very much Maestro.
Yes, Horace - a sad loss. I particularly cherish his Mahler 9 and 10 with the Berlin SO.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of August 1996, my friend Alex and I travelled to the Edinburgh Festival to hear him conduct Bruckner 4 (with Haydn No 39). As our train pulled into Waverley railway station a day or two before the concert, I spotted an elderly gentleman rise to leave the train. As we waited for the train to negotiate the last stages of the journey I decided he was definitely Dr Sanderling, so we approached him and got his autograph. He was quite charming and said how much he was looking forward to conducting the piece and we replied we looked forward to hearing it.
The orchestra was the Philharmonia. Though we were up "in the gods" at the Usher Hall, it was a colossal interpretation - and his players clung to the tip of his elegant baton throughout. A memento mori. RIP Maestro.
Hi Karafan,
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience you had!
I've been to the Edinburgh Festival a couple of times and their programmes are always very attractive. Besides the 'big' concerts in Usher Hall, the intimate environment of the recitals in Queen's Hall is wonderful.
Horace