Rafael Kubelík in Lucerne
- Franz Joseph Haydn
- Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major
- Arnold Schoenberg
- Piano Concerto, Op. 42 (1944) with John Ogdon, piano
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
New Philharmonia Orchestra/ Rafael Kubelik Audite 95.745 [2 CDS: 84:30]
Available on CD — click here to purchase.
Immediately after the Russian suppression of Czechoslovakia’s “Prague Spring” in the summer of 1968, Rafael Kubelík (1914-1996), now an émigré living in his adapted city of Lucerne in Switzerland, organized for 8 September 1968 an epic concert that defied all expectations, mostly political, in his avoidance of “national: music in favor of a cosmopolitan program that embraced even “the enemy.” For this concert, in which the newly organized Philharmonia Orchestra, well acquainted with Kubelík’s physical style, participated, the British virtuoso John Ogden (1937- 1989) joined the ensemble for a performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s 1944 Piano Concerto, here in his sole appearance at the Lucerne Festival. The coup de grace came in the form of a sweeping rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, its “fate” motif transcending the cruel politics of the moment.