Conductor Herbert Kegel ...

[Lance]

Here's a conductor who I have recently discovered, recently for reasons I can't explain. He is certainly not a household word in the USA, but apparently in Europe he enjoyed quite a reputation. I came to know his work on the Berlin two-CD set [2047] of Carl Orff's Trionfi (Carmina Burana, Catulli Carmina, and Trionfo di Afrodite), which I highly recommend. He was among the first conductors to bring these Orff works to great prominence in Europe and after hearing them, I can see why.

On the German Capriccio label [10150], you can find him conducting Beethoven's "Triple" Concerto with Rösel, Funke and Trimm, the trio of soloists coupled with the "Choral Fantasie" with Peter Rösel, pianist, all with the Dresden Philharmonie. I thought these to be exceptional performances by all concerned. The Capriccio label falls under the Delta Music blanket and has also issued LaserLight discs of Kegel, including all nine Beethoven symphonies at rock-bottom prices with outstanding sound. The Beethoven symphonies conducted by Kegel have appeared on other labels by special arrangement.

Kegel's performances can also be heard on Brilliant Classics (Mendelssohn), Ode (live performances), and German Weitblick labels (live performances), among others. The German conductor was born in 1920 and died in 1990 (suicide). I rather like his stick technique and his overall music making, which is quite impressionable. Quite a conductor whose memory seems to have faded.

Anybody else know of Herbert Kegel's work?

[Holden Fourth]

Lance - I thought it was Kegel or is this a different guy?

[val]

It is Kegel. Herbert Kegel. He was born in 1920 and died in 1990. Most of his career took place in the former DDR, with the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Philarmonic.
His version of Orff's Catulli Carmina was very famous, and so were his version of Shostakovitch's Cantata "Stepan Razin".

[pizza]

I discovered Kegel through his live Bruckner 8th with the Leipzig RSO on Pilz -- a truly superb performance. Later I bought his '70s set of Bruckner Symphonies 3 through 9 on Ode from Berkshire RO -- all of them live perfomances except for a studio 7th. These performances are of decent quality -- nothing earth-shattering but very well-performed.

[Ralph]

There are many fine Kegel recordings, all on budget or obscure labels. I can't say that I was ever overwhelmed by what I've heard but he certainly was highly competent.

[Lance]

Lance - I thought it was Kegel or is this a different guy?

It's absolutely KEGEL. I think at the late hour my mind was not connected to my fingers. I've changed it in the original post. Accuracy is paramount so I apologize. I generally try to get it right the first time.

[Dies Irae]

IMO, Kegel is a Kugel (fried bread pudding). A third-rate conductor leading second-rate orchestras. He belongs on the same shelf as Wand, Tintner and Suitner.

Just my opinion folks. Don't get all bent out of shape over it.

[Holden Fourth]

Lance - I thought it was Kegel or is this a different guy?

It's absolutely KEGEL. I think at the late hour my mind was not connected to my fingers. I've changed it in the original post. Accuracy is paramount so I apologize. I generally try to get it right the first time.

No need for an apology, I do this all the time especially when trying to rely on my increasingly failing memory. I'd try to give some of the more humorous examples of my memory lapses but ........I remember them.

[Lance]

IMO, Kegel is a Kugel (fried bread pudding). A third-rate conductor leading second-rate orchestras. He belongs on the same shelf as Wand, Tintner and Suitner.

Just my opinion folks. Don't get all bent out of shape over it.

Well, Kegel is reams ahead of Kurt Woss or Richard Schultz of the Telemann Society. I haven't found Kegel to be third-rate at all. His background is exceptional and he's worked with among the best orchestras. The music speaks for itself. Of course, you are entitled to your opinion with no strings attached! And Wand and Suitner, you also consider "third rate?" Can you give an example of where/how you made this determination of this latter two conductors ... I man some musical examples on- or off records?

[Harvested Sorrow]

I know his work from his recording of Shostakovich's The Execution of Stepan Razin, Op. 119 which is considered to be very high quality (second only to Rozhdestvensky's recording, which is essentially impossible to find). I also have a recording with him conducting Beethoven's 6th on the wish list. Hell if I know if it's any good, though....and it has several copies listed at one cent, so I'm not exactly in a mad rush to buy it.

[Dies Irae]

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion with no strings attached! And Wand and Suitner, you also consider "third rate?" Can you give an example of where/how you made this determination of this latter two conductors ... I man some musical examples on- or off records?

My opinion is created by what I hear. And nothing else. I consider Wand third rate when I compare his Bruckner to that of either Karajan or Jochum. And I consider Suitner third rate when I compare his "just about everything" to ANY other conductors "anything", on records that I've heard. And I've heard alot of them.

I can't give you the musical p(s) and q(s) because I'm not a musician (as many on this board seem to be). I only know what I hear. My hearing is excellent. My judgement may not be to everyones liking.

As Walter Cronkite was fond of saying "That's the way it is"----- Thursday May 11, 2006.

[pizza]

The idea of rating conductors and orchestras is meaningless unless it's done within the framework of specific genres or works, regardless of the rater's musical qualifications or lack of them. These are professional musicians, all of them professionally trained. What sounds great to one can sound terrible to another, and vice-versa. I've often wondered when reading a critics review of a concert that I've attended whether he was actually there. There's no accounting for taste.

In my opinion Wand, Kegel and Suitner are all fine Brucknerians. The NDR Orchestra, Leipzig RSO, Dresden Staatskapelle and Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestras with which these conductors have been associated recorded many fine performances of Bruckner's music.

[Jack Kelso]

One of my very favorite recordings of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony is conducted by Herbert Kegel.

Otherwise, I'm not too familiar with his reputation.

Jack