In 2007, the first CD of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie
under conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was
released. Now, the eagerly awaited first CD under
the ensemble’s new principle conductor Christoph
Poppen follows (the young orchestra unites the RSO
Saarbrücken and the SWR RSO Kaiserslautern).
Three CDs present the five symphonies of the composer
once named by Schumann as “the Mozart of
the 19th century”: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
While Symphony No. 1, which Mendelssohn com-
hristoph oppen
fi rst principle conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie
posed in 1824 at the age of fifteen, is still firmly in
the Viennese Classic style, Symphony No. 2 (“Hymn of
Praise”) begins where Beethoven’s Ninth left off: texts
from Luther’s translation of the Old Testament are set
to music in a cantata-like manner. In the final movement
of Symphony No. 5 (“Reformation Symphony”),
the Luther chorale A mighty fortress is our God is
heard. The famous Symphonies No. 3 (“Scottish”) and 4
(“Italian”) are full of impressions of foreign lands.
Christoph Poppen, interviewed
by Teresa Pieschacón Raphael
(November 2007 in Saarbrücken)
Mr. Poppen: Why have there been so few
complete recordings of Mendelssohn’s
symphonies?
In my opinion, Mendelssohn still hasn’t
found the place in the concert repertoire
that he deserves. There are several reasons for
this: Mendelssohn holds a special position in
German Romanticism – which is to a certain
extent permeated by an unfulfilled and often
sorrowful yearning for the unattainable “blue
flower”. His music is also filled with desire,
but this leads in most cases to a fulfilled state
of happiness. He was apparently really a happy
person. And it is just this phenomenon
that audiences have met with skepticism up
to the present day. One often hears the allegation
that his yearning – and thus his music
– is not honest. I don’t believe that.
A quite melancholic point of view…
Why shouldn’t that be a model for art, i.e.
that yearning can also be fulfilled?
I think that should be one’s motto for life!
By the way, there’s a statistic that shows that
Mendelssohn is less frequently performed in
Germany than in other countries. That probably
has to do with the German attitude towards
the Romantic – on the other hand, it is
also a consequence of cultural policies during
the Third Reich.
Famous critic Eduard Hanslick said that
even in the 19th century, the Wagnerians
and anti-Semites were carrying out their
“sorry business” of “hate and arrogance”.
Yes. And the Third Reich simply continued
this. But much has changed since then. I
am not the only person who has constantly
fought for Mendelssohn’s works. We owe
him so much.
How do the five symphonies differ from
each other? What makes the first symphony,
which Mendelssohn wrote in 1824,
special?
Of course, the first symphony, as the work
of a fifteen-year-old, has a special place in
the composer’s oeuvre. One clearly hears the
influence of the Classic (Beethoven/Haydn!),
but Mendelssohn finds his own personal language
even here. When is this symphony ever
performed in concert?
The order in which the other four symphonies
were written does not correspond
to their numbering.
Yes, that must be taken into account. The
Reformation Symphony (designated No. 5) was
composed in winter and spring of 1829/30 for
the 300th anniversary in 1830 of the “Confessio
Augustana” – the fundamental written
declaration of Protestantism. But in the end,
the anniversary was not celebrated and the
work only experienced its premiere two years
later.
This was followed by the Italian (designated
No. 4), which Mendelssohn began
in 1830/31 in Rome and Naples, but which
wasn’t performed until 1833 in London. Almost
one decade later – around 1839/40 – he
composed his Hymn of Praise (designated
No. 2) for the 400th anniversary in 1840 of
the invention of typography. In 1842, twelve
years after his trip to the Scottish Highlands,
he composed the Scottish (designated No. 3)
from his remembrances – although he had
made sketches for it at the time of his travels.
If I ordered the symphonies purely according
to the dates of their composition, it would
have to be No. 1, No. 5, No. 4, No. 2 and
No. 3.
There are also different versions…
Mendelssohn was very self-critical. He identified
just as little with the Reformation Symphony
as with the first version of the Italian
– the version which is almost exclusively performed
today. We first considered whether
we should present Mendelssohn’s final revision
of this symphony here, but apart from
some highly interesting details, I honestly
don’t find that this version is stronger than
the “first shot”. Mendelssohn’s youthful, unpremeditated
power simply has an especially
energetic effect.
Which symphony has the greatest impact
on you?
The fact that the two ‘secular’ symphonies
have best established themselves in the concert
repertoire is not amazing, seeing as they
contain an immensely attractive dramatic
power and a very effective virtuosity. But the
Hymn of Praise, in which Mendelssohn relies
on many approaches he had used in the Reformation
Symphony, has the greatest dimensions.
We have here this very strong, fulfilled
yearning, which Mendelssohn expresses in
the religious sense just as passionately as in
the personal. And from the way he fuses Jewish
elements with those of Christian chorales,
we can almost conclude that he longed for a
reconciliation of the great religions with each
other.
Translation: Elizabeth Gahbler
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie
Saarbrücken
Kaiserslautern
The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie
(German radio philharmonic orchestra)
launched its first season in September
2007. Its principal conductor is Christoph
Poppen.
The orchestra is the first to be formed
through the fusion of two radio orchestras,
and thus continues the traditions of two
well-established institutions, the Rundfunk-
Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken (run by the
SR, the Saarland broadcasting corporation)
and the Rundfunkorchester Kaiserslautern
(under the auspices of the south-west German
SWR broadcasting corporation).
The new orchestra is based in Saarbrücken
and Kaiserslautern. With 114 musicians, it
is one of the largest orchestras in the ARD,
the German national public-service broadcaster,
and is thus be able to offer a wider
range of musical possibilities than either of
its predecessor orchestras was able to do on
its own. It will, then, be covering a highly
diverse repertoire and offering unusual programmes.
The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken
Kaiserslautern will be giving concerts
above all in the Saarland, Luxembourg,
and Rhineland-Palatinate. Its regular venues
for the long-standing and highly successful
subscription series will be the Congresshalle
in Saarbrücken, the Fruchthalle in Kaiserslautern,
and the studios of the Saarländischer
Rundfunk in Saarbrücklen and the SWR in
Kaiserslautern.
The orchestra will also be appearing on
the national stage. In its first season, guest
appearances will be made at the “Alte Oper”
in Frankfurt, the “Philharmonie im Gasteig”
in Munich, the “Philharmonie” in Essen, and
the “RheinVokal” festival in Koblenz.
The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie’s concerts
will be broadcast on SR2 Kulturradio
and on SWR2, and many of its appearances
will be aired throughout Europe under the
Franco-German broadcasting cooperation.
The season features world-famous stars
such as Maxim Vengerov, Sharon Kam and
Julia Fischer, and provides also a forum for
younger talent in a special series of concerts.
A number of “familiar faces” will also be
putting in appearances: the first guest conductor
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, the former
principal conductor Günther Herbig, and
“specialists” such as Reinhard Goebel and
Arturo Tamayo.
Family concerts, hosted concerts and
meetings with artists will provide quite new
ways of presenting music. Series such as
“Musik für junge Ohren”, “Musikspielplatz”
and concert projects run in conjunction with
schools, meanwhile, will be addressed specifically
to younger audiences.