Charles Mackerras

This famous production of Donizetti’s Mary Stuart was one of English National Opera’s most memorable from the 1980’s. Dame Janet Baker chose the title role of Donizetti’s Scottish queen for her farewell to the London operatic stage in 1982. It was a triumph for Dame Janet, in one of the most rewarding of operatic roles. As Mary, she displays her full range as a great singing actress, at times imperious and confrontational, yet during the quieter reflective moments intensely moving. Her adversary Elizabeth is sung by Rosalind Plowright, in one of the best performances of her career, both intense and passionate in this demanding role. The famous, though entirely fictional, encounter scene between the two Queens is extremely powerful. The cast also includes John Tomlinson I commanding voice as Talbot, and David Randall as an ardent Leicester. The Performance is gloriously conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.

Mackerras's recording probably introduced a whole new generation to the once familiar magnificence of Israel in Egypt, and in the normal run of gramophone history it would enjoyed a kinder fate than to be superseded within five years by the Christ Church, Oxford recording under Simon Preston (Argo ZRG817/8, 4/76). That in turn has had to face competition from a similarly intense virtuoso performance under John Eliot Gardiner (Erato STU71245, 1/80). Compared with these, Mackerras's version is milder, less sharply etched in detail, less dramatic in impact. Even so, it is firmly directed, with fine orchestral playing and spirited choral work. It may well appeal afresh to listeners who feel they have had just a bit too much of conductors who burn so bright that their individuality tends to focus attention upon the performance rather than the work. The work itself, of course, has its own fire. Despite borrowings from Stradella and others, the inspiration is white-hot, and in the Plague choruses of Part 1 and ''The people shall hear'', in Part 2, Mackerras's forces rise worthily to the occasion.

– Gramophone

It was this set which, in company with one from Sir Colin Davis issued by Philips a few weeks earlier, inaugurated the era of 'progressive' Messiah recordings. They had of course been foreshadowed—by Sir Adrian Boult, notably, and by the work of such editors as John Tobin and Watkins Shaw. But this was one of the first to use a chamber orchestra, lively tempos and ornamentation: and between them Davis and Mackerras made us listen afresh to a work whose performance traditions had threatened to become hidebound… The forces aren't 'authentic', but rather larger, and women's voices are used in the chorus. It is however an excellent chorus, well disciplined and clean.

Without doubt, this is one of the most important recordings of music by Janácek in recent years. Paul Wingfield’s restoration of the original performing version of the Glagolitic Mass is a fine piece of work and deserves to become the standard text. Those familiar with the Mass will notice changes right at the start, where the ‘Intrada’ (normally the conclusion) appears twice, at both the beginning and end. This introduces a number of fundamental alterations to rhythm and instrumentation which make for a markedly different whole: undoubtedly harder to perform, but infinitely sharper in outline.

This opera was a personal triumph for Dame Janet. As Caesar, she arms the voice with an impregnable firmness, outgoing and adventurous. Valerie Masterson shares the honours with Dame Janet, a Cleopatra whose bright voice gains humanity through ordeal. The tinkle of surface- wear clears delightfully in her later arias, sung with a pure tone and high accomplishment. As a total production, Julius Caesar was an outstanding achievement in ENO's history. Strongly cast, it had a noble Cornelia in Sarah Walker, a high-spirited Sesto in Della Jones, and in James Bowman a Ptolemy whose only fault was that his voice lacked meanness of timbre appropriate to the odious character. John Tomlinson's massive bass also commands attention. Mackerras's conducting is impeccable and the opera is given in clear, creditable English.

Though pianist Artur Pizarro's performances of the solo parts in Beethoven's Third, Fourth, and Fifth piano concertos are consistently superlative, it's not too much to say that the real draw here is not the soloist but the accompanists. Because as fine as Pizarro's virtuoso playing is, Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra turn in performances of such force, sensitivity, and balance that they may well be the finest accompaniments for these concertos ever recorded.

There is no shortage of recordings of this, Handel’s most popular orchestral work. It has been proffered in renditions with ensembles large and small, and warmly embraced by both period- and modern-instrument enthusiasts. There are even recordings of excerpts arranged early in the 20th century for “modern” symphony orchestra by the eminent Irish conductor and composer Sir Hamilton Harty. It was in this last incarnation that most of us baby boomers first encountered Handel’s marvelous creation. One of the interesting points found on this release comes in scans 11 and 12. They are the original versions—pitched in the key of F—of two movements usually performed as part of the sequence of pieces in D. Mackerras includes both the original and revised movements in their appropriate spots. I prefer Handel’s originals, as they bring down the curtain on the set of pieces in F with more of a feeling of finality than the D-Minor movement that usually rounds out the suite…
– Michael Carter, Fanfare

What better legacy could an opera-house director leave behind him than a string of excellent theatrical productions! Rolf Liebermann (1910-1999), who was actually a composer, certainly succeeded in doing this – particularly during the 14 years from 1959 to 1973 that he spent in charge of Hamburg State Opera. During the Liebermann era the company in this northern German city embarked on a new artistic and administrative course that had - and still has - an impact on the entire operatic scene in central and Western Europe. It is significant in terms of Rolf Liebermann’s artistic credo that he selected Joachim Hess’ 1969 production of Zar und Zimmermann to be included amongst the august ranks of his 13 opera films.

Twenty years ago musicologists were not aware that Schubert's Tenth existed. The detective story leading to its revelation is told by Brian Newbould in the booklet of this CD. The manuscript was discovered in a folio in Vienna containing no fewer than three uncompleted Schubert symphonies including No 10, which the composer was working on when he died. It is therefore his very last music. Professor Newbould's work involved deciphering Schubert's sketches and then reconstructing the work and orchestrating it. In three movements, the symphony is a wonder, with a first movement containing one of Schubert's loveliest melodies, and a sombre and Mahlerian slow movement of great poignancy.