Ferenc Pinter

Roughly half of this set is strongly recommendable—and even the half that isn't is still well worth hearing. Ferenc Fricsay was a pivotal figure in the rebuilding of German musical life after the war, primarily as conductor of the Berlin RIAS (Radio In the American Sector) Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1946, re-named the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1956 and which is now known as the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. Fricsay's first international triumph was in 1947 when he took over from an indisposed Otto Klemperer for the world premiere of Gottfried von Einem's opera Dantons Tod.

Before the great conductor Ferenc Fricsay died (tragically young at the age of 48 in 1963), he made dozens of brilliant mono and stereo recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. Many of his most significant recordings have been released on CD, though some have already drifted out-of-print (Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Mozart Syms 29, 39-41 and Beethoven Syms 3, 5 & 7) and others are only available as expensive imports. This past year there has even been a limited edition boxed set of his music released (in the "Original Masters" series – see my review).

The opening of the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 24 September 1961 is always seen in the context of partition of Germany, cemented six weeks earlier, and the construction of the Berlin Wall. The coincidence of the two events did not go unnoticed in the many press reports at the time, with most citing remarks about the city’s circumstances by the then Governing Mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt: “Having experienced more in the last few weeks than in an entire generation, a city divided by a wall of coercion and shame is once again making music, producing theatre, staging fine international exhibitions and can at last open the doors of its long-awaited new opera house.” For almost twenty years – since the destruction of the former “Deutsches Opernhaus” in November 1943 – Berlin had had to make do with a makeshift stage. Although already in the early stages of a terminal illness, Ferenc Fricsay conducted the inaugural performance.

This 1960 recording of the Great C Minor Mass is here released under the Deutsche Grammophon Originals umbrella, and is thoroughly deserving of the accolade. This is an account of the work which is completely uninfluenced by authentic practice–if you're already curling your lip, then please stop here–but which establishes its own terms of performance with such assurance that it's almost impossible to resist. The forces (both orchestral and choral) are large but by no means unwieldy, and directed with infectious and spirited enthusiasm by Fricsay. The effect is one of solidity and grandeur, but without any hint of pomposity: indeed, the jubilant choruses of the Gloria have an almost childlike glee about them.