Eloquence Classics

With reissues of music from Haydn to Sibelius, Eloquence has returned to availability much of the recorded legacy of Eduard van Beinum, the chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in the post-war years. This is the first time that his complete Mozart studio recordings have been gathered together in a single issue and they have been newly remastered for the occasion.

Van Beinum prized warmth over clarity, according to some of his musicians but there is no lack of incisive attack in Classical repertoire such as the previous reissue of Haydn symphonies (476 8483). Of the three symphonies presented here, No. 33 KV 319 was a particular favourite of Van Beinum’s: he performed it more than any other Mozart symphony and this 1951 recording is an object demonstration of the art of orchestral legato, relaxed and easy-going in mood even in the momentum of the opera-buffa-style finale.

The soloists in the Clarinet Concerto and the Flute and Harp Concerto were the orchestra’s principals in those instruments, resulting in a memorably collegial atmosphere to these sessions in May and June 1957 which were the conductor’s last Mozart recordings before his death two years later. The C minor Piano Concerto was recorded at the earliest sessions here, in September 1948, when Van Beinum’s sober intelligence and immaculate sense of style were complemented by the British pianist, Kathleen Long.

A fascinating booklet note by Niek Nelissen, details the history of these recordings and of the conductor’s warm relationship with his musicians, including several personal testimonials: one violinist pays tribute to the ‘more flowing lines’ of van Beinum’s art which disregarded barlines to craft interpretations of outstanding suppleness and spontaneity.