By Sedgwick Clark<\/b><\/p>\n
Hearing Frans Br\u00fcggen\u2019s recording of Mozart\u2019s 40th and Beethoven\u2019s First on Philips was a \u201ceureka\u201d moment: at last, someone from the authentic-performance school who was equally illuminating and individual<\/i> to stand with Walter\u2019s early-\u201950s Mozart, Szell\u2019s Beethoven, and selected performances by Toscanini, Furtw\u00e4ngler, Monteux, Klemperer, and others from whom I first learned the classical repertoire. Soon I would be comparing Br\u00fcggen’s and Bernstein’s very different but equally joyous Haydn interpretations.<\/p>\n
Br\u00fcggen, the eminent recorder player and conductor, died on August 13th in Amsterdam. For my money, he stood head and shoulders above all those period-instrument proselytizers who cropped up in the mid-1970s and \u201980s\u2014Norrington, Hogwood, Gardiner, et al. Perhaps because he already had a major career as a virtuoso recorder player and entered conducting as a fully formed musician, his style had acquired a freedom and character that eluded many of his fellow authenticists.<\/p>\n
I got to know Br\u00fcggen and his artistry primarily through his recordings on Philips with the Orchestra of the 18th Century, which he co-founded in 1981. Fortunately, however, he and his players were frequent guests at Lincoln Center, usually at Mostly Mozart. He would walk quickly to the podium, bow nervously, and fire the downbeat at his players as if pursued by the furies. His music-making was electric, unpredictable, and, above all, expressive. Just announced on the Glossa label are his new recordings of Mozart’s last three symphonies, distributed by Naxos. I can’t wait to hear them.<\/p>\n
Minnesotans Believe in Their Orchestra<\/strong><\/p>\n Following mixed news from Atlanta (Musicalamerica.com<\/i>, August 27)\u2014that the new executive director, Stanley Romanstein, had reduced the $23 million deficit to $5 million but also reduced the size of the orchestra from 95 to 88 players and a 52- to 42-week season\u2014there\u2019s great news from Minnesota. A press release arrived yesterday from the Minnesota Orchestra, announcing a $10 million \u201cleadership gift\u201d from anonymous donors \u201cin order to inspire others with the capacity for leadership gifts to support the Orchestra.\u201d Subsequently, gifts totaling $3.2 million were donated as well.<\/p>\n May we assume, therefore, that after an 18-month lockout the Orchestra is on the road to recovery? With Osmo V\u00e4nsk\u00e4 back as music director, there can hardly be any doubt.<\/p>\n