5 comments about It's Easy to Remember.

1. I don't understand the reviews on here that say the sound is awful. I've loved this collection from the first moment I put the CD in my stereo. The sound quality on some of the earlier recordings isn't exactly up to modern digital audio standards, but you can only do so much with a song recorded on 1930's era sound equipment.
   
   All in all, I would say this is the best Bing Crosby collection for the price.



2. This was a splendid collection of great Bing Crosby songs. The earliest songs are the greatest. Great listening.
   Dale Nichols



3. I gave this set to my wife for our anniversary, and it really added something special. I popped in a disc as we sat down to dinner. After a few peppy numbers, including some talent from the Andrews Sisters, along came "You Belong to My Heart." It was perfect!
   
   My wife was pleased with the number of great songs included in this set, and I was pleased with the excellent value. I'd buy it again if it cost twice as much! Anyone, romantic or not, who loves Bing and the music of his era should own this set!



4. This is a great disk set. The sound quality is wonderful, clear and crisp. The packaging is good and looks nice.
   I would highly recomend this set.



5. As a huge Bing fan I would highly recommend this box set. It ranges from The Rhythm Boys to his big Hollywood box office days. The sound quality is good and the songs they chose are true Bing classics. From "Brother Can you Spare a Dime?" to "Swinging on a Star" this compilation has some great tunes. Bing truly is one of the all-time greats. No artist will ever equal him.

5 comments about Mozart: The Complete Da Ponte Operas (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte).

1. Muti is unrivalled as a Mozartian conductor. The fact that he is a full-blooded Italian brings out the Italian in these Da ponte operas. A landmark in Mozart opera recordings.



2. Muti is one of the greatest Mozart conductors!! His Mozart never fails to sparkle and there's no overdoing things!! Cheryl Studer, Carol Vaness, Frank Lopardo, Frank Araiza, Margarest Price, Kathleen Battle, Samuel Ramey and many others. The all-star cast helps to make this one of the best cycles. And the sound is in great digital sound too!!



3. I must say that the more I listen to Maestro Muti's recordings the more impressed I am not only with his musicianship, but his concept of each work, the shaping and coloring of the orchestra and the result.

   What a bargain. Such wonderful singing and orchestral playing. As wonderful as the performances of 'Le Nozze di Figaro' and 'Don Giovanni' are 'Cosi fan Tutti' recorded at a live performance are astounding.

   I have been purchasing more of Muti's recordings and notice that critics have not said too many positive things about him and wonder why. He made the Philadelphia Orchestra even better shaping them into such a polished instrument along with their astounding virtuosity. His recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic are wonderful also. I wish I knew why he really left Philadelphia. I would love to here his work with the PHO now that they have a new concert hall.

   Back to this recording though. No one can go wrong with this one. Three of Mozart's opereatic masterpieces in one masterpiece of a recording. Thank you EMI for offering this set.




4. Seeing Mozart's Da Ponte opera cycle for sale at the price of only one opera it was hard to resist purchasing it (after all, it would cost at least twice as much to buy all three of these operas directed by Muti, seperately.)
   
   This boxed set is a mixed bag of good and bad. Muti's renditions of Le Nozze di Figaro and Il Don Giovanni are both good and are even some of my favorite interpretaions of the works. There is not much to say about Le Nozze di Figaro other than the singers (I am expressly impressed with the soprano who sang Marcellina in Figaro) sing their parts perfectly. The orchestra really helps set the mood.
   
   The hallmark of this 3-opera set, I feel, is the recording of Don Giovanni (Originally: Il Dissoluto Punito). I have always been a fan of Ricardo Muti, and I have always noticed the color of "darkness" that looms in his interpretations. This darkness makes Muti the perfect conductor of Don Giovanni, in my opinion. "Mozart's blackest opera" is presented here with the suspense the Giulini was unable to provide in either of his recordings. This is still a somewhat "Romanticized" reading of Don Giovanni, antithetical to the more recent historically informed releases by Rene Jacobs and others (which would actually rank as my first-choice recording of the opera), but Muti's set is still good.
   
   The cast here is also well-picked. I have never heard the Commendatore Scene performed in such a delightfully terrifying manner.
   
   Sound quality is no issue in Figaro or Giovanni, both new recordings with a resonant opera-house quality.
   
   I appreaciate that the recitativo secco in both operas are accompanied on a fortepiano rather than on a cembalo (harpsichord), since the fortepiano continuo (not cembalo continuo) was actually the common practice in opera during Mozart's activity as a composer.
   
   There is one big dissapointment is the sound quality of Cosi fan Tutte. It is here where I feel let down. Not only is the sound very "old" (this recording was made in 1983), it is very noticeably a live recording where the sneezing and coughing audience is heard every other second, quite a distraction to the marverlous cast, muffled by poor sound quality. It could have used digital remastering at least. The cast is excellent, and I am impressed here with Margaret Marshall's performance. But in terms of sound-quality, this un-remastered Cosi Fan Tutte is "unlistenable." Also, the Act I duet for Ferrando and Guglielmo have been cut, and Ferrando's Act II aria has also been scrapped.
   
   But Muti's Figaro and Don Giovanni are so good that alone they are worth five stars, and compensate for Cosi Fan Tutte's sound quality quite well.



5. Famous works. Famous conductor at an incredible price.

   The Don Giovanni has the scariest Commedatore scene I've ever heard. Yes, the classic Giulini is a classic. But the commendatore scene in Giulini simply cannot match the commendatore scene here. This is the most hair raising Commendatore scene ever. It is simply frightful. Giulini's sound like a day in hell. This one will send the chill down your spine and the hair standing straight up on your head. How? you may ask. It's just a simple question of balance. In Giulini, Solti , etc. the orchestra is too backwards in the Commendatore scene and indeed the opening chords of the overture. What Muti did was simple? He brought the percussions and woodwinds forward, and with stunning and eeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrieeeee effect. When I listened to the Giulini, my hair never stood up at this point. But with the Muti, my whole body turns cold as ice. It's really scary. Those with kids should be careful. Plus the Giovanni in this set gives out a long blood curdling howl right at the end.

   The Figaro is wonderful. Margaret Price is understated. She should be given a damehood like Kanawa. She sings as beautifully as Kanawa in the Solti set. Battle is a really smart Susanna. She somtimes sound like she's flirting with everyone on the set.

   The disappointment in this set is the Cosi which has too much noice from the audience. But the performance is excellent.

   All in all, a buy recommendation. Very very highly recommended since this is so [inexpensive].

5 comments about Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band: The Anthology.

1. First - it is hard to listen to Ringo's songs, many of which are ratcheted down several steps so that he can reach the higher notes. And - the background vocalists are hard to take on the Beatles songs. Sometimes they are Americans that you can tell are trying to sound like Liverpudlians John and Paul.
   
   The highlights on this are the non-Ringo songs. Yes - Felix Cavaliere pretty much carries the entire set. Raining in my Heart is another pinnacle. Timothy B. Schmit sounds great. Peter Frampton is pretty good. Iko Iko rocks.
   
   But I agree with other reviewers. Good golly, Joe Walsh - what the heck are you doing singing Henley songs? Please . . . no, no, nooo!
   
   And Todd Rundgren - no, it is never time to get "stupid". Give it a break!
   
   But you can hear the band having a blast throughout, and you really want to be there live, hearing these legends playing on stage together.
   
   When you listen to this entire 3 CD set, and place the first CD in, you're thinking, "Oh brother, here we go - for the next two and a half hours I gotta listen to this." But as you go through it you find yourself paying attention and . . . enjoying it. By the time the last track on the 3rd CD plays out, you actually start to miss it a little.
   
   I know - no one's forcing you to listen to the entire thing, but in my case I try to get to this one at least once a year, and I always listen for something different.
   
   All in all - thank you Ringo, for bringing us your music in this novel form. It is not as well-produced and crisp as the VH-1 Storytellers (which is done with more respect and love for the Beatles) - and for Beatles covers, this album always falls short. But the covers of most of your guest artists are a real treat, in most cases.
   
   But there are WAY better live albums out there for Beatles fans: the 5 stars: Concert for George, Tripping the Live Fantastic; and 4 Stars: VH-1 Storytellers, Paul McCartney Unplugged, Wings over America, George Harrison Live in Japan, and Paul is Live - - - that the Ringo Anthology simply does not rise to those other stellar levels.
   
   I will relegate it to a 3-star, with John Lennon's Live in New York City and Live Jam.
   
   I would only recommend this CD set to fans of the Fabs, whose favorite Beatle was Ringo. The rest of you are taking a chance.



2. With so many different versions of some songs available, and some left off competely (Octopus' Garden, Goodnight, Conquistador, etc.), this is a huge and welcome addition to any Ringo (or classic rock) collection--but even at the risk of repeating several songs, the alternate versions of some of Ringo's classics with different line-ups, plus the extra material not used (partially for that reason) beg for a sequel!



3. These 3 CDs contain the very best of Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band from 1989 to 2000. With performers like Joe Walsh, Randy Bachman, John Entwistle, Billy Preston, and so many other rock greats, there is something to please almost every rock music fan. Many rock classics are played, such as "Life in the Fast Lane," "Takin' Care of Business," "Will it Go Round in Circles," "American Woman" and "I Feel Free." Not to mention Ringo's own songs, which include "It Don't Come Easy," "Photograph," "Back Off Boogaloo," and his usual assortment of Beatles songs. This CD is an absolute thrill for any rock music fan.



4. This neat and convenient 3-CD package contains the best of his All-Starr Band tours from 1989-2000. You get to hear all of Ringo's big songs, including "Photograph," "It Don't Come Easy," "Yellow Submarine," "Back Off Boogaloo" and more. Ringo sounds stronger on this CD than he did on his 2001 or 2003 tours. Maybe age really can hit a Beatle! After all, he is 65 now. The other performers are quite good too. I really liked John Entwistle's "Boris The Spider" (I am a huge fan of the Who also). Other reviewers have complained about sound quality, but I don't think it's that bad. But then again, I spend a lot of my time listening to bootlegs, so maybe I'm just used to it.



5. I highly recommend you purchase this CD & the accompanying DVD. Great songs, (all of which you will know) played by musicians who obivously checked the own indivdual egos at the door. My only complaint about the CD (and the reason for 4 stars instead of 5) is first, the engineering & mixing of these songs. In some cases the volume level of these songs are so low, you really need to crank your stereo to hear properly. Then the next song will come on, and your speakers just shake your room because of the volume levels being set to high. Secondly, in some cases the vocals are lost behind the instruments. Lastly (and this is just my own personal opinion) the CD was great listening too, until the end of disc 3. I never was a fan of Eric Carmen, and his 2 songs at the end of the CD just ruin a fun filled CD. His songs just bring the CD to a screeching halt. I would have loved to hear Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way, or additional songs from Billy Preston and/or Burton Cummings, who only received 1 song from each. Other than that, I still highly recommend buying this CD. It's not only great listening, but it's historical too!

2 comments about Club Verboten.

1. Everyone's bound to have quibbles with a collection such as this one. I would much prefer to have Mabel Mercer's version of "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," for instance (although Rod McKuen's is lovely), and I regret the absence of certain gay "standards" such as Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" and Dusty Springfield's "Quiet, Please, There's a Lady on Stage." But it's all fun, not mention educational, and I'm grateful to Marshall Blonstein and Richard Oliver for a magnificent effort, which is destined to take its place next to classics of the literature such as William J. Mann's "Behind the Screen" and "The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage"--not to mention the collected works of Barbara Streisand! To underscore their sense of history, the producers have included a near-100 page booklet with the 4-disc set that even features a bibliography of recommended reading and viewing. There are also generous notes on the songs and songsters, period essays, and some great photos. There are, as well, a few miscalculations, including a numerical listing of the songs in the booklet that doesn't correspond to the list on the box. The recording dates for some of the songs are given as "unknown" (where did these transfers come from?), and the dating itself (a "Cabaret" medley from the `20s?) is eccentric. But these are minor, well, quibbles, and I admire Blonstein and Oliver their daring in attempting such a project. If I may, I'd like to suggest that these gentlemen do a 4-CD set every year or so (how about an exerpt from Diamanda Galas' "Plague Mass" for the classical disc?), if only to demonstrate how un-Verboten gay music by gay musicians has become.



2. starting out with a scratchy ditty from the roaring twenties, this excellent historical collection manages to span a variety of musical genres, from rousing broadway musical to intimate diva-wrung blues to classical orchestra. some may carp about choices, and some are obvious, there are rarities here among the cliches. this is an invaluable historical document as well as an entertaining collection of tunes.

5 comments about Furtwangler Conducts Brahms - Complete Symphonies, etc / North German RSO, Berlin PO.

1. These are compelling records of Wilhelm Furtwangler's approach to the Brahms' symphonies and the Piano Concerto No. 2 with Edwin Fischer playing the solo piano role. Listening to these recordings will help a new or inexperienced collector understand why Furtwangler was given a god-like following in his time, when it was said he could cast a magical spell over an audience in concert. Those were times when the likes of Adolf Hitler could cast the same magical spell over Germans, as well, making it a time far different than our own, when virtually any message given this individuality would be subject to questioning, ridicule, constant and ongiong evaluation and second guessing. So these recordings represent a time much different than our epoch and must be heard in that perspective.
   
   The few comments about bad sound quality from the detractors are also true. These are not high fidelity recordings; they are mainly radio recordings remastered by Arts & Music, one of the better labels specializing in realizing older recordings and radio broadcasts. Until Andante and Naxos came along and showed everyone how good an older recording could be, this label was probably the best available for older recordings. But no one can make recordings emanating from the 1940s and 1950s sound like new and these don't. But, like other reviewers here said, they are often as good as any available from Furtwangler. A notable exception here is the 1943 Symphony 4, which is musically the equal to the 1948 Japanese EMI recording, but is also sonically inferior to the later recording, carrying a noticeable radio buzz throughout the fourth movement.
   
   For the unitiated wondering, "Why should I spend money on 50- and 65-year-old recordings?", the answer is to hear Furtwangler's unique way with mainstream German repertory. Furtwangler held sway with the Berlin Philharmonic in two different eras -- from 1922-45 and again from 1954-55. He directed the orchestra after such luminaries as Hans von Bulow and Artur Nikish and before the ascent of Herbert von Karajan. Sergiu Celibadache, a cult conductor known for his disdain of studio recordings and glacial interpretaions, filled the time after the war until Furtwangler returned in 1954.
   
   Furtwangler's way was unlike anyone of his time or ours although certain wilful conductors of the recording era -- Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski and Daniel Barenboim among them -- demonstrated some of his characteristics of rapid increase in tempo and dynamics followed by tenuto or massive slowdown and quiet. None of the named conducotrs did it as frequently as Furtwangler, and none with such universal acclaim. However, like Bernstein and Stokie in their most individual moments, a Furtwangler interpretation is more an adaptation of the score than a reading of it -- adapting the conductor's ideas into the fabric of the music.
   
   Furtwangler was perhaps most renowned for his beat; or perhaps it is better to say he was renowned for not having a beat. There is an old joke, told by one of his players, about his how to pick up his beat when the old man's batonless right hand would quiver as if he were having a heart attack or rigor mortis were trying to set in: stand up, look about you and listen, walk around the chair three times, and sit down.
   
   Yet, as these recordings will tell you, Furtwangler did indeed have a defined beat and members of his orchestras picked it up pretty readily. When he is straightforward -- as he is accompanying Edwin Fischer's playing in the Second Piano Concerto here or in his famous rendering of the Schubert Symphony 9 and Haydn Symphony 88 on DG -- Furtwangler is a compelling voice for German reason and emotion. When his conducting tends to be all over the place, as it is in the first movement exposition of the Symphony 4 in this box, he is, by my reckoning, somewhat less of an authority on the music.
   
   There are plenty of people that continue to believe Furtwangler has special authority in the core Romantic German repertory of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss and Wagner. As Third Ear Classical Music said in its discussion of his Beethoven Symphony 9, "Furtwangler is thought to have a special authority in this music, and he does present a very interesting philosophical argument about how to approach it." This final section of this statement tells you everything you need to know about Furtwangler -- that he often has a philosophical argument in his recordings. It is never enough for him merely to lead the music; he must adapt it to his views as no one has ever done. For, make no mistake, a Furtwangler interpretation is as much as adaptation of the score as a Hollywood movie script is an adaptation of the book from which the idea came.
   
   And this is the razor's edge on which people spill their blood either supporting or rebuking the greatness in this conductor's approach. I was curious about Furtwangler's Brahms and bought this set during a time when I was listening to a lot of this composer including the symphonic sets by Karajan, Hans Schmidt-Issersted (available from Amazon.com.UK) and Ernest Ansermet. While Eugen Jochum's Bruckner represents a direct descendent of Furtwangler's way with that composer, the closest any modern conductor has come to Furtwangler's style is the way Stokowski rather "Stoki"izes the Brahms Symphony No. 3 on his old Everest recording or possibly the way Bernstein interpreted the Schumann symphonies for DG.
   
   In our period-induced era, where the score is sacrosanct and must be adhered to with conviction, it's unlikely another Furtwangler will be forthcoming anytime soon. He represents a time in the past when music and its expression was different than today. That expression and that time is perfectly represented in this set.



2. In a sense, Furtwangler's best Brahms recordings, collected here, are even more impressive than his Beethoven. Beethoven is almost foolproof, and even in a mediocre performance he will come across intact, but botch Brahms and a tedious soup is all that remains. Compared to Furtwangler's Brahms, all other versions seem not interpreted but merely played through. Under Furtwangler's baton, Brahms emerges as a tragic artist of Shakespearean proportions, with the unbelievable 1945 performance of the last movement of the First--as another listener points out, it stands with his 1942 Ninth among his greatest achievements on record--and the complete performance of the Fourth as particular standouts. As others have noted, the Third isn't quite up to par--personally I prefer the version in the EMI box, which has a terrifically dynamic first movement--but all in all these are performances to render almost all others insignificant. Nowhere else does Furtwangler better exemplify his uncanny ability to find the living core of a piece of music and bring it out whole. This is visionary artistry of the highest order, to which all discussion of conductorial eccentricity is irrelevant, and it will make a Brahms lover of anyone who encounters it fully. A completely extraordinary set of recordings, and a must.



3. The Furtwangler cycle of Brahms is comething special indeed. The sound leaves much to be desired, but trust me, after you hear the performances you will never want to hear Brahms any other way (no matter how good the sound is)!! This cycle is raw, uninhibited, fierce, probing, tragic but above all powerful. Take the finle of the 4th symphony as an example. It is played at a faster pace of any other recording I have heard of the piece. At the end the variations played on strings are almost a little sloppy. But playing them at that tempo gives the overall movement such great power, spontaniety and drive that it does'nt matter. These performances are should be the gold standard for all others. No other brahms cycle comes ever close.



4. ...all in one set! I'm not going to jump on "madamemusico's" one-star review too much, since she has certainly gotten her share of well-earned unhelpful votes, but I don't know what the hell the argument that Brahms is a "classicist" has to do with anything. The way I look at it, Brahms may have been a classicist with regard to form, but he had heart and soul of a romantic, so I don't understand what precludes his symphonies from being played as full-blooded romantic music. Just admit you don't like Furtwangler, and don't taint the ratings here with personal biases. 'Nuff said on that subject.
   
   "Brahms music is boring and his orchestration is too thick," is one of my least favorite of the countless cliches' about romantic era composers and their music. When I worked at a record store several years ago, I was playing a really good and exciting recording of a Mendelssohn symphony, and a lady came in and, after listening to it for a few minutes, she asked, "What is this? It's really good." "Mendelssohn's (I think it was the 3rd) Symphony," I responded. "Really?!" she said, surprised; "I thought Mendelssohn was boring." "That's because you've never heard any GOOD Mendelssohn," I said. She bought the CD. I am not a big Mendelssohn fan, but the point of this anecdote is that you frequently get the same kinds of opinions about Brahms, based on cliches' about his music that preclude people from giving it serious consideration: "Oh yeah, Brahms; thick and boring. Not my cup of tea." Then you hear some GOOD Brahms, and you are a fan for life.
   
   I would not pretend that this is the only Brahms set you should have. The sound quality is variable, and Furtwangler's style is unique, but if you have any interest in Brahms' symphonies, and you have some more modern recordings that you like, then you really need to have this one; esp. since you can probably get an inexpensive copy on the Marketplace.
   
   I have listened to many of Furtwangler's numerous Brahms recordings, and there is no question in my mind that M&A have assembled the best ones here. Part of the magic of Furtwangler's Brahms is that, despite the weight of the sound that he gets from these great orchestras, plenty of detail can be heard, and surprisingly little apology needs to be made for the sound, even though these recordings are from widely different sources.
   
   Brahms recorded multiple good Brahms' Firsts, but this one from 1951 with Schmidt-Isserstedt's wonderful Hamburg orchestra is my favorite, and it has the best sound of any Furtwangler Brahms recording. The Tahra release of the First has slightly better sound than the M&A, but not enough to diminish the appeal of this set. The wartime Second might have the most thrilling account of the wonderful finale ever recorded. The Third, recorded in the last few months of Furtwangler's life is deeply ruminative, and is the most idiosyncratic of all of the readings here in that much of it is very slow, but it is easily the best of his Thirds, and I find it to be a uniquely satisfying reading. It has often been commented on the Brahms' music has an autumnal feel to it, and it seems to me that this is particularly explicit in the Third, with its luminous woodwind coloring, esp. the clarinet parts: the third was the last of the Brahms symphonies that I fell in love with-- courtesy of the Szell recording--and there is a palpable feeling of deep autumnal reflection in Furtwangler's reading, esp. in his achingly beautiful account of the third movement; and in the closing bars of the quiet coda, you can almost see the last autumn leaves slowly wafting down to the earth. The wartime Fourth is one of the most overtly tragic readings you will ever hear, with an amazing forward thrust to the finale; again, this is easily Furtwangler's best reading.
   
   The fact that there are later Furtwangler Brahms recordings with somewhat better sound is not really a factor, such is the quality of the performances assembed in this M&A set. If you have this set you don't really need any other of Furtwangler Brahms symphony recordings. The EMI References set is good, but those performances are all runners-up to all of those in this set.



5. I feel that this set belongs in EVERY collection. It has great CD transfers, sensational conducting and WONDERFUL Brahms!
   
   Sym. #1: This 1951 Hamburg with the North German Radio is, to my mind, the finest Brahms 1st on record. It is also on Tahra FURT 1054/7, but this M&A transfer is distinctly SUPERIOR: the Tahra has lots of extra hiss and a midrange that sounds rather hollow. However, you MUST have that Tahra set because it contains Furtwangler's majestic 1954 Lucerne Beethoven 9th in its best transfer. The only Furtwangler 1st to rival this Hamburg is the 1952 Berlin Phil. (deleted DG 415662-2). More mellow and less dramatic, it and this Hamburg are sonically just about the best of ALL Furtwangler recordings.
   
   Sym. #2: The 1945 Vienna Phil. here is also available on 6-disc DG set 474030. They are close in sound quality, but I would give the edge to M&A. Incidentally, you must have the DG set for its 1944 Vienna Phil. Bruckner 8th in a finest-ever transfer. This Brahms 2nd is VERY dramatic, but the lesser 1948 with the London Phil. (Dutton) has grown on me of late - if it were the only Furtwangler available, most of us would be raving about it! My favorite Furtwangler Brahms 2nd remains the more reflective, less hectic 7 May 1952 Berlin Phil. account (mine is on an Electrola Da Capo LP).
   
   Sym. #3: This 1954 Berlin is the best of 3 Thirds - it was also on DG 423572-2 (deleted) in sound that was the same as this M&A (the DG was coupled with my favorite Furtwangler account of the Schubert 8th from 1952). He isn't as persuasive in the 3rd, but the closing pages have a lovely autumnal, valedictory quality.
   
   Sym. #4: This dynamic 4th from 1943 is his best, and this is its best-ever transfer.
   
   2nd Piano Concerto: The 1942 live sound is congested (it's the only poor sound in this set). The transfer on DG 471294-2 is somewhat better, but both are pretty bad.
   
   Haydn Variations: This 1951 Hamburg and the Berlin 1950 (DG) are my two favorites: both have excellent sound.
   
   Brilliant as these are, there are accounts by other conductors that I also cherish. Some are foils that help to appreciate the greatness of Furtwangler's readings, and a few of them offer insights that are different and perhaps equally valid. In the 1st, Abendroth is stunning (his best: the live 1955 Berlin Radio on Tahra 145/146). If there were no Furtwangler Brahms 1st, this would be my favorite.
   
   For the 2nd, my other favorites are Schuricht/VPO (London LP) and Fritz Busch (EMI). The Max Fiedler and Walter Damrosch 2nds (on different Biddulph CDs) are weirdly hypnotic - a trip back to the past. In the 3rd, I love Kna (Tahra), Schuricht (Greenhill), and Mengelberg (Naxos). For the 4th, three worth hearing are Abendroth (Arlecchino), Busch (Dante LYS), and Schuricht (Ades).
   
   Edwin Fischer isn't my top choice in the 2nd Concerto, despite the lovely slow mvt. I prefer Curzon with Kna/VPO on a Decca LP. And for the Haydn Variations, I also like the pokey Kna/VPO (Decca) and the Schuricht (Ades).
   
   But make no mistake: if my house were on fire and I could keep only one Brahms set, it would be this Furtwangler. If I could grab two, the old Weingartner (deleted EMI) would come along for contrast. As Fielding once observed, "what is a jewel without its foil?"

5 comments about Mahler - The Symphonies / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti.

1. The recent tenth anniversary of Solti's death has prompted me to renew my acquaintance with this conductor's work. Over a period of several months I have been listening to recordings from various phases of Solti's career of diverse repertoire from Bach to Bartok. As a result of this effort, I have come to a new estimation of an artist of whose work I had previously a fairly low regard. This estimation was, I believe, based more on the received opinions of record reviewers than my own perceptions. I had always believed Solti to be a "high-voltage" sensationalist who tended to brutalize the standard repertoire. That assessment, however, misses both the abiding accomplishments of Solti's career as well as the many ways in which his interpretive proclivities matured over the years. The stereotype of Solti as a brutalizer now seems a hasty generalization based on an incomplete assessment of a complex artist who developed in surprising ways over a long career. If this assessment seems ill-considered, I would encourage you to check out some of Solti's later Haydn and Mozart recordings, which are remarkably sympathetic, or his surprisingly idiomatic *St Matthew Passion* (one of the most oustanding modern-instrument versions of that work).
   
   The set under review here presents Solti's work with the CSO over a span of about fifteen years. Earlier versions of certain symphonies with other orchestras, and in some cases later versions with the same orchestra, have been passed over for the sake of presenting a maximally coherent interpretive profile. In some cases, the compilers' decisions concerning which versions to include were regrettable, though overall one can derive from this set an accurate estimation of Solti's approach to this composer, with its characteristic virtues and vices. What is most striking about these performances, perhaps, is the sheer virtuosity Solti evokes from the band with which he was associated for such a large portion of his career. They respond instinctively and with remarkable unanimity to his every gesture. This is playing that, in purely technical terms, approaches perfection. Another virtue is Solti's ability to balance detail and structure in unfolding Mahler's densely contrapuntal textures and sometimes convoluted symphonic arguments. Like his fellow Hungarians Fritz Reiner and George Szell, Solti combines intellectual brilliance with a consummate understanding of orchestral sonority at every level. But unlike them, his approach to Mahler (and other composers) is warmer, more affectionate, and ultimately more compelling. Indeed, the very intensity of his involvement with this music can be disturbing, and may account for the impression of sensationalism that has worried many reviewers over the years.
   
   However, no single conductor can interpret every work within a composer's symphonic output with equal insight or enthusiasm; and so Solti's Mahler cycle is predictably uneven--though no more so perhaps than Bernstein's, Kubelik's or Abbado's (to name just a few).
   
   Here is a brief run-down of my (mostly positive) impressions of each performance in this set:
   
   No. 1: Solti's earlier version of this symphony with the LSO is a riveting account, justly praised for its brilliance. The later CSO version, included here, is warmer, more evocative, and also more hazily recorded (early digital). The introduction to the first movement is quite magical, but thereafter the tension begins to flag, and despite some gorgeous playing, the overall impression is one of fits and starts. My own preference would be for the superbly remastered LSO version, or better yet for Horenstein.
   
   No. 2: Solti also recorded this with the LSO in the early Sixties. The later version may lack the grip of the earlier, but it is more sensitive to nuance and atmosphere, particularly in the long Finale. I prefer the soloists in the LSO version, but otherise the later performance is to be preferred; it conveys a greater sense of occasion. On the other hand, Solti doesn't begin to convey the spiritual depths of the work as searchingly as Klemperer, Walter or Bernstein.
   
   No. 3: I have not heard Solti's LSO version of this work, but it was almost universally regarded by critics as unsympathetic. The later version conveys a certain welcome cogency in a work that can seem to ramble, but otherwise this is one of the less impressive performances in Solti's Mahler Cycle. Solti doesn't seem entirely in sympathy with the work's evocation of cosmic forces in the first movement, or pastoral epiphanies in the second and third. The fourth movement with its Nietzsche setting manages to convey a haunting quality, and the Morning Bells of the fifth are exuberant enough. But then in the finale, Solti fails to convey the rapt quality one desires: things just keep getting faster and louder. Little spiritual exaltation here. For that, go to Horenstein or Bernstein/Sony.
   
   No. 4: A vast improvement over Solti's earlier version with the Concertgebouw which was indeed "brutalized." This time he's got the measure of this work's nostalgia and whimsy, and Dame Kiri is quite lovely in the finale. In the end, however, I would opt for Walter, Kubelik or Kletski in this work.
   
   No. 5: An unpleasantly hard-edged, even hard-nosed interpretation. Solti's later CSO recording, done live on tour, is far more effective. Indeed, it is one of the most ecstatic accounts of the score I have ever heard.
   
   No. 6: A thrilling performance--maybe not a profound as Bernstein, but superbly played and vividly recorded, with devastating cumulative effect. One of the better sixths around, in my estimation. Far better than the overpraised Karajan.
   
   No. 7: Bernstein evokes a more haunting atmosphere in movments 1-3, but Solti's incisiveness is also welcome. Solti is surprisingly seductive in the fourth-movement serenade, and second to none in his ability to hold the ramshackle finale together. Overall, a compelling account, and once again the CSO cover themselves in glory.
   
   No. 8: Arguably Solti's most famous recording, and justly so. A performance of a problematic work that successfully combines rigor with sensitivity. No imporant detail escapes Solti's attention, yet he has the measure of Mahler's "cosmic" vision. Tennstedt conveys the work's religious ardor more effectively, and Bernstein is uniquely propulsive in the first movment; but Solti grasp of the work's architecture is so complete that everything proceeds with a sense of dramatic inevitability. The solo and choral singing are first rate; perhaps unrivalled on any other version.
   
   No. 9: Solti would not seem to be an ideal expositor of this elusive, death-haunted work, and indeed his earlier LSO version could be accused of exposing every dark corner of the piece with a searchlight brilliance. The later CSO account, however, reveals how much Solti matured as a Mahler interpreter. It conveys the hushed intensity as well as the tragic import that were lacking the first time around. Solti's is a dark, turbulent vision of the work--no easy consolations here. Even the second movement--which if often given as a kind of comic relief--is dark and menacing here, thanks to a slowish tempo and heavy accents. Throughout the CSO revel in Mahler's kaleidoscopic scoring. A superb Ninth, in my estimation--though it doesn't quite achieve the catharsis of Bernstein or Karajan.
   
   In sum, then, the prospective purchaser would probably do better to acquire individual versions of each symphony rather than opting for an integral set under one conductor. However, if the idea of a modestly priced box appeals to you, and if you are open to Solti's intensely dramatic and hyper-virtuosic style of interpretation, then I wouldn't hesitate to acquire what is ultimately one of the better Mahler cycles around.



2. I was a young high schooler when I bought this set. When i heard all of these performances I was inspired and amazed at the power of mahler. Now 10 years later i will say my tastes have changed, and I have heard many other versions of mahler. And while there are many amazing performances of all of mahler symphonies I still think this set is truely inspirational. With all that said i want to take the time to point out my new mahler passion. Abbado and the Lucerne festival orchestra and their ongoing mahler DVD project.
   
   If you have the rescources and the money, I would suggest that you invest in this series. The performace of Symphony 5 is great and on par with many of the great performances. I still think Solti's 5th is the definitive recording, but the lucerne performance is still worth the money. And the "Ressurection" symphony is truely an inspiring performace. But it is the 7th symphony that is truely awe inspiring. I have never heard a performance so full of life and musicality. I cry everytime i hear it. I just ordered the new release of mahler's 6th symphony and i have high expectations as well.
   
   Back to Solti's mahler. In my humble opinion the Recordings of 2, 3, 5, and 6 are definitive recordings. I have not come across another recording that I like better. I would have said the same thing of the 7th until I heard Abbado's on DVD. Now it is my definitive 7th. The 8th is generally consididered difinitive as well and i won't argue at all, but i did recently come across a new recording on the naxos label with the Warsaw philharmanic and Antoni Wit conducting. It is well worth checking out. The ninth i fully admit is the symphony I am least familiar with. I do however enjoy the recording here in the Solti set, but fully contest that there might be better out there. So this leaves us with the 1st and 4th. The recordings in this set are fine recordings, but again there are probably better ones out there. One of my favorite 1st is one on the Harmoni Mundi label, with the Florida Philharmonic and James Judd conducting, but I recently found out it is out of print. So if you come across a copy I highly recomend picking it up. So as for the 4th, I don't have any recording to recommend.
   
   So my overall recommendation is if you wan't a great reference recording of the mahler symphonies this is the way to go. I don't think there is another set out there that can compete with the solti version. I also say that if you can, expereince the ongoing mahler interprtations on DVD with Abbado and the lucerne festival Orchestra.



3. Beautifully reproduced. I say that because I also had CDs of these performances before they were reproduced for this collection. Absolutely warm and human interpretations by Solti. Thanks for putting this all together.



4. So many Mahler performances, both in concert and on record, are mannered to the extent that one senses a conductor trying to convey the impression that it is his personal suffering, not the composer's vision, which is producing such beautiful music.
   Not Solti's. He and his incredibly virtuosic orchestra let Mahler do the talking. The 5th, 6th and 7th especially lend themselves to Solti's approach, while the 8th benefits from his
   long, successful career in the pit. Though Karajan, Walter, Guilini and others have recorded great 9ths, I defy anyone to find a better played one than this. Solti gives us the orchestral tours de force that are the Mahler Symphonies and which, I believe, explain why "my(his)time will(has) come."



5. Solti made himself a national hero in England and a media star in Chicago, ensuring two decades of rave reviews despite the occasional acknowledgement that he persistently drove the music. He made spectacular recordings of Mahler judged by execution and sonics, but in truth he lacked the depth that Mahler's music demands.
   
   In its day, these CSO readings sold very well for Decca, given the spectacular virtuosity of the orchestra, but Solti can't help himself--he is a driven, unsubtle conductor who approaches every symphony in a coarse, sometimes frenzied manner. Mahler conducting has come a long way since then...and had come a long way before then, to think aobut it. I am not a fan of any of these performances, particularly the blatant Second and Eighth -- both famous, high-profile recordings at the time -- but if pressed, I'd rate Solti as best in the First, Third, Fourth, fifth, and Seventh.

1 comments about Shivers Halloween Party: Spooky Pack.

1. I used this for a Halloween party I had and it was great! Wonderful scary mood music for Halloween. Reccomended to anyone as background music or especially for parties!

2 comments about The War Years.

1. Don't bother with this set if you're looking for quality sound reproduction of the music of the war years. Since it first came out in 1993 there have been other releases which not only have superior sound, eliminating much of the hiss and pop, but which give you only hit versions of the songs in question.
   
   In this 4-disc set it's a mix and match when it comes to original hit renditions. For example, in disc one tracks 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 were all hits for the artists concerned, but on This Is Worth Fighting For the acknowledged 1942 hit belonged to Jimmy Dorsey, not The Ink Spots. Also, for (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover there were five hit versions in 1942 - Glenn Miller, Kay Kyser, Kate Smith, Jimmy Dorsey, and Sammy Kaye - any one of which would have been preferable to that by Dick Todd, a Canadian artist who had six major hits from 1940 to 1953 - but this was not one of them.
   
   The same kind of thing is evident in each of the other three discs as well. For track 1 on disc 2, Carl Grayson did do the vocal, but the credited artist was Spike Jones & His City Slickers. And while everything else here relates to WW II, the inclusion of Sound Off (The Duckworth Chant} is a little out of place since it came out in 1951 [or was that included because of the Korean War?].
   
   There are liner notes [by David Lennick], but this Canadian-produced set just does not stand the test of time with respect to sound clean-up. Do it over InterSound, and this time do it properly.



2. If you want a great collection of music from the war years, this is it. I was not sure when I bought it because none of the artists were listed. But, not to worry, it all the original artists. Brings back memories about my parents and what they had to go through with the war.

No comments about Bach: Masterpieces (Box Set).

No comments about The Great Vienna Waltzes.