PASP011:
Leonora Overture No. 2, Op. 72a - Beethoven
MP3
price
Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Clemens Krauss Recorded
March 1954 in Vienna, released as Decca LW 5164
Duration 14'06"
Play
30s sample:
The
overture now known as Leonora No. 2, as presented here, was the
first of several Beethoven wrote for the opening of his opera Fidelio,
first produced in Vienna in November 1805 with the title Leonora.
A larger second version, known as Leonora Overture No. 3, was written
for a 1806 performance (the original 1805 being unsuccessful), whilst
a third revision of the opera in 1814 gave rise to the new music of the
Fidelio Overture - though this was not played at the opening night
of the revival (the opera by now having the title 'Fidelio'). At last
Beethoven had a success on his hands, though after such a long struggle
it is little surprise that this was his sole opera.
In
case you're thinking at this point that something appears to be missing,
another version of the overture, slimmed down from No. 3 and now known
as Leonora No.1, was prepared for a planned performance in Prague in 1807
which never took place...
This
recording, made in Vienna in March 1954, was among the very last by the
legendary conductor Clemens Krauss (above), who died just
two months later on May 16th at the age of 61.
