Eloquence, the Australian Universal reissue line under the guidance of Cyrus Meher-Homji, continues to document the history of classical recording from the post-WWII era, producing more boxes of goodies. In this particular batch, I admit I am dealing with artists whose work I did not previously know, so a fair bit of background reading was required. As always with Eloquence reissues there is treasure to be retrieved.

Two of these issues feature the German conductor Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965), an imposing figure at the dais who specialised in central German repertoire and was a fixture during the 40s and 50s at Bayreuth. “Kna”, as he was known, had continued to work under Nazi rule, but they revoked his lifetime position at the Staatsoper because he publicly criticised the regime, refused to join the Party, and Hitler disliked his slow tempos in Wagner! In the set of opera recordings (4841800), those ponderous tempos are often on display. Even the booklet note by Peter Quantrill refers to Kna “boring and enthralling his audiences (often at the same time)”. He regarded recording as a secondary activity to live performance.