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Recordings & Discussions of Other Vocal Works: Main Page | Motets BWV 225-231 | Mass in B minor BWV 232 | Missae Breves & Sanctus BWV 233-242 | Magnificat BWV 243 | Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 | Johannes-Passion BWV 245 | Lukas-Passion BWV 246 | Markus-Passion BWV 247 | Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 | Oster-Oratorium BWV 249 | Chorales BWV 250-438 | Geistliche Lieder BWV 439-507 | AMN BWV 508-523 | Quodlibet BWV 524 | Aria BWV 1127 | Motet BWV 1165=Anh 159

Matthäus-Passion BWV 244
Conducted by Fritz Lehmann


V-2

J.S. Bach: Matthaus Passion

 
 

Matthäus-Passion BWV 244

Fritz Lehmann

Großer Chor des Berliner Rundfunks & the Boys’ Chor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

Tenor [Evangelist, Arias]: Helmut Krebs; Baritone [Jesus]: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; Soprano: Elfriede Trötschel; Alto: Diana Eustrati; Bass [Arias]: Friedrich Härtel
Silvia Kind (Harpsichord); P. Hoffman (Organ)

Vox DLP-6070
Pantheon ALB-2
Music & Arts CD-1091
Dante LYS-619-621
Documents 231135

Apr 9-10, 1949 (Easter)

4-LP / TT:
4-LP / TT: 200:31
3-CD / TT: 199:21
3-CD / TT: 196:13
3-CD / TT:

Recorded live at Haus des Rundfunks (Masurenallee Saal 1), Berlin, Germany by Rundfunk der DDR. Recording enginner: Siegfried Mitlacherin.
See: Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 - conducted by Fritz Lehmann
Buy this album at:
Music & Arts 3-CD (2006): Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de
Music & Arts Music Download [198:49]: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de
Dante 3-CD (2000): Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de
Documents 3-CD (2010): Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de
Documents Music Download [197:28]: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de



Lehmann's SMP

Frank Forman wrote:
I don't think Fritz Lehmann is Lotte's brother. I've never heard such a claim, and I think Lotte was Jewish, whereas Fritz conducted in Germany throughout the Third Reich. "Denazification," an earlier version of the Poliitically Correct Thought Police.

Lehmann's live recording of the St. Matthew Passion, the one presumably reissued on LYS, is the first complete recording in German, Koussevitzky's having been in English. It was also the first recording of Fischer-Dieskau, although I recall reading that something earlier has surfaced.

It is my favorite recording of the work, mostly though for the Evangelist and tenor, Helmut Krebs, whose angelic voice is exactly right for Bach. But everything about the recording is perfect.

Lehmann's recording of the German Requiem is also my favorite. This performance is very slow, esp. in the first mov., and takes just under the 80 min. max. time for a CD. The slowness may bother some, but I got used to it quickly enough.

Lehmann was one of the house conductors DGG used to build up its LP catalog. I'm not sure what concert orchestras he directed. I've compiled one of two discographies, the other being a quite imcomplete one in the back of a book about Lehmann written in German.

He also made my favorite recording of the Choral Fantasy (with Andor Foldes, a largely forgotten pianist), which is very articulate and emphatic, and also of the Capriccio Italien, a work most of us are probably burned out on, but whose value is renewed in Lehmann's heavily articulated interpretation. Like Scherchen, he brings out instrumental groups that are largely submerged in other interpreations. I've listened to these four Lehmann recordings many times, and the interpretations still thrill me. They are not mere eccentricities.

Only the Bach and Brahms are on CD, and the only other Lehmann on CD is a DG disc of Bach Cantatas. You get to hear Krebs and F-D again in solid, reliable interpretations.

Benjamin Maso wrote (August 21, 2000):
< I don't think Fritz Lehmann is Lotte's brother. I've never heard such a claim, and I think Lotte was Jewish, whereas Fritz conducted in Germany throughout the Third Reich. >
Although she went into exile, Lotte Lehmann wasn't Jewish. She had a brother called Fritz, who also emigrated to the USA, but he wasn't a conductor.

< "Denazification," an earlier version of the Poliitically Correct Thought Police. >
I don't know anything about any

Apos3 wrote (August 21, 2000):
< Only the Bach and Brahms are on CD, and the only other Lehmann on CD is a DG disc of Bach Cantatas. >
There is also one of Händel works on DG Originals.

 

Fritz Lehmann: Short Biography | Berliner Motettenchor | Recordings of Vocal Works | BWV 244 - F. Lehmann

Matthäus-Passion BWV 244: Details
Complete Recordings: 1900-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2020-2029
Recordings of Individual Movements: 1900-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2020-2029
General Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | BWV 244a | BWV 244b
Systemetic Discussions: Part 1: Mvts. 1-8 | Part 2: Mvts. 9-20 | Part 3: Mvts. 21-29 | Part 4: Mvts. 30-40 | Part 5: Mvts. 41-50 | Part 6: Mvts. 51-57 | Part 7: Mvts. 58-63b | Part 8: Mvts. 63c-68 | Part 9: Role of the Evangelist
Individual Recordings: BWV 244 - L. Bernstein | BWV 244 - G.C. Biller | BWV 244 - F. Brüggen | BWV 244 - J. Butt | BWV 244 - R. Chailly | BWV 244 - S. Cleobury | BWV 244 - J. Daus | BWV 244 - D. Fasolis | BWV 244 - W. Furtwängler | BWV 244 - J.E. Gardiner | BWV 244 - W. Gönnenwein | BWV 244 - P. Goodwin | BWV 244 - E.z. Guttenberg | BWV 244 - N. Harnoncourt | BWV 244 - P. Herreweghe | BWV 244 - R. Jacques | BWV 244 - H.v. Karajan | BWV 244 - O. Klemperer | BWV 244 - T. Koopman | BWV 244 - S. Koussevitzky | BWV 244 - S. Kuijken | BWV 244 - F. Lehmann | BWV 244 - G. Leonhardt | BWV 244 - P.J. Leusink | BWV 244 - E.&R. Mauersberger | BWV 244 - H. Max | BWV 244 - P. McCreesh | BWV 244 - W. Mengelberg | BWV 244 - K. Münchinger | BWV 244 - R. Norrington | BWV 244 - G. Oberfrank | BWV 244 - S. Ozawa | BWV 244 - A. Parrott | BWV 244 - G. Ramin | BWV 244 - S. Rattle | BWV 244 - K. Richter | BWV 244 - H. Rilling | BWV 244 - H.J. Rotzsch | BWV 244 - H. Scherchen | BWV 244 - G. Solti | BWV 244 - C. Spering | BWV 244 - M. Suzuki | BWV 244 - J.v. Veldhoven | BWV 244 - B. Walter | BWV 244 - F. Werner | BWV 244 - M. Wöldike
Articles: Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244 [T.N. Towe] | Two Easter St. Matthew Passions (Plus One) [U. Golomb] | St. Matthew Passion from Harnoncourt [D. Satz] | The Passion according to Saint Matthew BWV 244 [J. Rifkin] | The Relationship between BWV 244a (Trauermusik) and BWV 244b (SMP Frühfassung) [T. Braatz] | Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 - Early History (A Selective, Annotated Bibliography) [W. Hoffman] | Spiritual Sources of Bach's St. Matthew Passion [W. Hoffman] | Bach and the "Great Passion" [D.G. Lebut Jr.] | The Genesis of Bach's `Great Passion': 1724-29 [W. Hoffman] | Early Performances of Bach's SMP [T. Braatz]


Recordings & Discussions of Other Vocal Works: Main Page | Motets BWV 225-231 | Mass in B minor BWV 232 | Missae Breves & Sanctus BWV 233-242 | Magnificat BWV 243 | Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 | Johannes-Passion BWV 245 | Lukas-Passion BWV 246 | Markus-Passion BWV 247 | Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 | Oster-Oratorium BWV 249 | Chorales BWV 250-438 | Geistliche Lieder BWV 439-507 | AMN BWV 508-523 | Quodlibet BWV 524 | Aria BWV 1127 | Motet BWV 1165=Anh 159




 

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