Richard Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer: the beginning of Marek Janowski’s Historic Series of Concert Performances of the Ten Mature Operas and Music Dramas, by Michael Miller

Janowski
Marek Janowski

Richard Wagner
Der fliegende Holländer WWV 63

Matti Salminen - Bass (Daland)
Ricarda Merbeth - Soprano (Senta)
Robert Dean Smith - Tenor (Erik)
Silvia Hablowetz - Mezzo-soprano (Mary)
Steve Davislim - Tenor (Steuermann)
Albert Dohmen - Bass-baritone (Der Holländer)

Rundfunkchor Berlin
Chorus Master - Eberhard Friedrich

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
conducted by Marek Janowski

Pentatone PTC 5186400
DSD recorded

Live recording of the concert performance in the Berlin Philharmonie on 13 November, 2010

Since his renowned 1980-83 recording of Wagner's Ring with the Dresdener Staatskapelle, Marek Janowski has acquired a cult following, especially in Wagner, not unlike Jascha Horenstein or Reginald Goodall. His steady, active tempi and decisive phrasing evoke an older performance style which goes back, it is thought, to the days of Richter, Seidl, and Mottl. Janowski, when asked if he studied historical performances of Wagner expressed his devotion to Wilhelm Furtwängler and an admiration for the Bayreuth performances of Hans Knappertsbusch, which, he points out, are not at all as slow as is generally thought. Janowski's own mentor in conducting was Wolfgang Sawallisch, who left an easily noticeable mark on Janowski's mature style as a conductor, with his restraint and and constant vigilance over orchestral balances, as well as the balance of dramatic flow and structure. In fact, there is a good deal in common that one can hear in the performance under consideration and Sawallisch's 1961 Bayreuth performance. "Ein guter Meister..."

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review, an International Journal for the Arts!