Wilhelm Schüchter
Wilhelm Schuchter was one of those prodigiously talented German conductors who had the misfortune to live in a time filled with geniuses at the podium: Furtwangler, Walter, Abendroth, Karajan, Krauss, Bohm, Knappertsbusch, Kempe, Schmidt-Isserstedt, and Klemperer. In such company, he never had a chance to move into the forefront of his profession outside of Germany. Despite his lack of international success, however, Schuchter managed to leave behind one major recording of Lohengrin that deserves to be a part of any serious Wagner collection.
Born in Bonn, Germany and educated at the Hochschule for Music, where he studied with Hermann Abendroth. He made his debut at the podium in Coburg, in 1937, conducting Cavelleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci. His first major appointment came that same year, as conductor in the opera house in Wurzburg, where he stayed for three years. In 1940, he took an appointed conductor at the opera house in Aachen, a post he held for two years, working under Herbert Von Karajan. Two years later, he joined the Berlin State Opera.
Following the Allied victory and the reorganization of German cultural life, in 1947 Schuchter joined the North German Radio Orchestra as a conductor and deputy to Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. His major recording career began soon after, principally for EMI during the late 78 r.p.m. and early LP era. With the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, he recorded highlights--in an era when complete opera recordings were rare--from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and The Abduction From The Seraglio, Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Puccini's La Boheme, and Bizet's Carmen, among other operas. With the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he recorded excerpts from Richard Strauss's Rosenkavalier and Johann Strauss's Fledermaus. These were all polished recordings, well representing key portions of the operas involved. As an orchestral conductor, Schuchter recorded Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, Smetana's The Moldau, and Grieg's Peer Gynt.
His major activities, and his most significant legacy, however, were in the operatic field. In 1953, Schuchter conducted EMI's first recording of a complete version of Wagner's Lohengrin, with his Northwest German Radio Orchestra, with Rudolf Schock in the title role, Gottlob Frick as King Henry, Maud Cunitz as Elsa, and Josef Metternich as Friedrich. This performance, reissued on compact disc in 1995 by EMI on its References historical line, remains one of the most finely crafted recordings of the opera ever down, and competitive with all subsequent stereo and digital recordings. The singing has a warmth and power that resounds more than 40 years later, and the playing is extraordinary, a match for any orchestra in the world. Moreover, the sound--despite being limited to mono--is extraordinary for its era, being both rich and close.
Unfortunately, Schuchter never got to record another complete opera, eclipsed at he was outside of Germany by figures such as Karajan and Klemperer. His career in the concert hall was more successful--in 1958, he took a three year appointment as the chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, and after his return to Germany in 1962 he was made music director of Dortmund. It was in this post, in just three years, that Schuchter achieved fame in Germany, raising the musical standards in Dortmund so high that he was promoted in 1965 to artistic director and general manager of the Dortmund State Opera. He remained in this position for the rest of his life, and Schuchter was acclaimed for the excellence of the productions mounted by the company, and its overall rise to prominence within Germany. His Wagnerian performances, in particular, were singled out for praise by critics.
Schuchter was among the first generation of conductors in Germany who understood the use of the orchestra in the studio, and this is reflected in his recordings. In contrast to Wilhelm Furtwangler or Hans Knappertsbusch, he saw the intrinsic value of recording and he paid special attention to the spaciousness and opulence of the sound he achieved. When working with sympathatic producers and engineers, as on his Lohengrin, the results were extraordinary.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
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Scheherazade (2023 Remaster from the Original Somerset Tapes)
North German Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Somerset am 22.09.2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Air de la Suite orchestrale No. 3 - Mozart: Romance d'Une petite musique de nuit (Mono Version)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Recorded 1952)
Oper - Erschienen bei Walhall Eternity Series am 01.01.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mascagni: Intermezzo extrait de Cavalleria rusticana - Offenbach: Barcarolle extraite des Contes d'Hoffmann (Mono Version)
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Wilhelm Schüchter
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violinkonzert D-Dur Op. 35 (Happy Anniversary - 90! (Album of 1957))
Igor Oistrach, Pro Arte Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Pop - Erschienen bei GazzaLadra am 30.04.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Der Barbier von Sevilla (Electrola Querschnitte)
Hermann Prey, Erika Köth, Richard Holm, Gottlob Frick, Berliner Symphoniker, Wilhelm Schüchter
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMI am 12.04.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Addinsell: Concerto de Varsovie - M. Gould: Boogie-woogie étude (Mono Version)
Herbert Heinemann, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Wilhelm Schüchter
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos Japan am 16.10.2012
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Der fliegende Holländer
Oper - Erschienen bei Preiser Records am 17.08.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Le vaisseau fantôme, extraits (Mono Version)
Sigurd Björling, Leonie Rysanek, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 1
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos Japan am 24.04.2012
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner : Lohengrin
Oper - Erschienen bei OperaPrima-Carillon am 01.01.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Granados: Danses espagnoles - Turina: Danses fantastiques (Mono Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Symphony Lounge, Vol. 5: Scheherazade – Glinka, Tchaikovsky & Rimsky-Korsakov (Remastered 2018)
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Wilhelm Schüchter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Jube Classic am 05.10.2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berg: Chamber Concerto (Live)
Yoshio Unno, Reiko Honsho, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Naxos Japan am 27.07.2012
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bouquet de valses (Mono Version)
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Wilhelm Schüchter
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto pour Violin, Op. 61 (Mono Version)
Igor Oïstrakh, Wilhelm Schüchter, Orchestre Pro Arte de Munich
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Extrakte (Mono Version)
Erna Berger, Rudolf Schock, Wilhelm Schüchter Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hermann Prey sings Opera Arias
Hermann Prey, Wilhelm Schüchter, Berliner Symphoniker
Klassik - Erschienen bei G.O.P. am 30.06.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Symphony Lounge, Vol. 9: Richard Wagner Orchestra Music
Berlin Radio Symhony Orchestra, Wilhelm Schüchter, Rundfunkchor Berlin
Klassik - Erschienen bei Jube Classic am 03.05.2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
J. Strauss II: Le baron tzigane & Les mille et une nuits (Mono Version)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo