5 comments about Brahms: Symphony No. 4; Tragic Overture; Schicksalslied.

1. Brahms is my favorite composer. Brahms was concerned that he followed Beethoven, so much so that he waited until late in life to publish his symphonies. I do not understand why. The Fourth is a masterpiece.
   
   The performances of these pieces by Bruno Walter and the Columbia Symphony are also masterful.
   
   The technology for the initial recording is dated, but the remastering was done with great care. The result is a really fine recording.



2. Around 1970, one of my favourite LP-sets was the collection of Brahms symphonies conducted by Bruno Walter. Since then, of course I switched to cd's, obtained several other performances of these symphonies, and for a long time didn't listen to these old ones. Quite recently, I started comparing a number of different performances of the 4th symphony, and decided to include the old Brahms LP. In spite of the poor sound quality of my old LP, the Bruno Walter version came out as the most warm, glowing, sympathetic one. This led me to buy the cd-remastering, in which also the sound quality is quite good. So I am very happy that I rediscovered this old treasure.



3. This record proves that, Bruno Walter understand so succesful the music of Brahms. I don't think so about, it is so kind performance. No, it is may be melancholic than all of other performances, but it is so powerful in the meantime. May be it's not so energic like Bernstein, but Walter gives the all precious meanings of the all notes!
   
   Symphony No. 4 is the most deepest of all symphonies of Brahms. There are no moments of happiness, but may be the moments of tiny smiling just after the tears... The first movement is a type of Ballade. It is romantic, but heroic, too. The second mov. is the idllyic music of the work. The third mov. was called in the first perf. as "The most majestic Scherzo, since Beethoven", and it was repeated as an encore in that concert. But the last mov. is an exmaple of Apotheosis of Variation. The theme was took from a choral of J. S. Bach and than there are 31 variatons, some of these are depressive, sometimes cloudy, sometimes hopeful, but in the very end, it is really drammatic. It finishs not in sunny major, but in darkful minor, as like tells about the tragic reality of the life...
   
   The Tragic Overture, originally started to life as an Overture to Faust of Goethe. But than, it was finished as an concert overture and it was first performed by Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by Hans Richter. It is really one of the most pessimist works of Brahms. It starts with two powerful blows and the vigorous main theme, but than, the roamantic and peaceful second theme comes, but not for a long time. Just after a few bars, the questions of Faust comes back again...
   
   The Song of Destiny is may be the most beautiful and famous choral work with Ein Deutsches Requiem. But it is not religious. It was inspired from a romantic German poet, Friedrich Hölderlin, and it is more personal work. But in very opening passages of the orchestra, it is so noble, so hopeful, you cannot hide your tears when you listen that opening. Especially with that sensitive reading of Bruno Walter. It is so impressive, spine-chilling...
   
   Highly recommended for any Brahms and music lovers.



4. I think the Amazon reviewer is right to describe Walter's late Brahms as kind and genial, but in the Fourth of all symphonies you don't want to hear the music on Prozac. Walter's relaxed tempos, close to Klemperer and Furtwangler's, require intensity to come across, and he doesn't provide that. There's no sense of struggle, and after a while it becomes like a stroll thorugh well-remembered pastoral landscapes. I admire Walter's lyrical approach much of the time--here he needed to return to his old, brash self when he conducted Brahms with the NY Phil. in the early Fifties. Both orchestra nad recorded sound are thin as well.



5. Bruno Walter (1876-1962) was an expert, authoritative Brahms conductor. Brahms finished his first symphony the year Walter was born, and the premieres of Brahms' Symphonies 2,3 and 4 were during Walter's youth. Bruno Walter was 21 the year Brahms died, so their lives overlapped, although I don't have any evidence that the two met in person. (Walter knew Gustav Mahler personally and studied conducting with him, and I heard Walter say in a Columbia interview from the mid 1950s that he had never met Anton Bruckner in person.)
   
   Walter's recording of Brahms Symphony 4 has been in the catalog ever since it's release in 1960, first on Columbia LP and later Odyssey LP, then on cassette and CD (1985) and the Bruno Walter Edition CD (1995): this issue. I am familiar with the first generation CD of these recordings (the 1985 version) and they are very fine. There is a little hiss, but the orchestra sounds so good: brilliant, with great highs. Walter's conducting is affectionate and loving: it's as if a kindly grandfather or uncle is telling a story as Brahms Symphony unfolds. Tempos are never too fast; I prefer a little quicker pace in III, but this is pleasant, and Walter brings out many details, especially in the woodwinds and violas that some conductors gloss over. Columbia's recording is very good, despite the early stereo date.
   
   The Tragic Overture and Schicksalslied are both performed very well, and it shows that Walter really cared about this music. Again, tempos lean to the moderate side, and Walter uses a delicate rubato to serve Brahms' music.
   
   These recordings may not knock your socks off on first listen: there are subtle things details to be heard, and Walter is totally in service of Brahms. I have heard Walter interviewed, both on CD (accompanying Sony's Bruno Walter Edition of Mahler Symphony 9) and DVD (VAI's "Bruno Walter: the Maestro; the Man") and his kindness and humanity were great. I know Walter hated all that was artificial and superfluous, and this recordings of Brahms 4 bears witness to his beliefs.

4 comments about Tchaikovsky: Symphony No6, Op74; Skryabin: Symphony No4.

1. Perhaps more of a music expert would not find this a drawback, but I find the enormous dynamic range of this recording a bit distracting -- it starts out incredibly quiet, so I have to turn the stereo way up to even know it's playing, and then of course as it gets going it's blasting me out of the living room. I'm sure this would be very exciting to hear live, but it is a small drawback for a living room listener. That said, it's a lovely recording.



2. I agree with the other reviewer that states that this is the most emotional and powerful recording of the 'Pathetique' ever. I have all the old Ormandy recordings of Tchaikovksy's last three symphonies and held on with ardent fervor that they were the best ever and never to be bettered, but I must now give in and honor Maestro Muti for his recording of the last three symphonies are without compare.

   There is such passion and you feel Tchaikovsky's turmoil. The last movement a lamenting goodbye to the world, and after such a joyous march! He must have been a bi-polar madman because it surely shows up in this music and this incredible performance.

   After listenig to this symphony hundreds of times and knowing that the beginning blast of the 'allegro non troppo' of the first mvement is coming, I was so engrossed in the opening, the Maestro's coloring and shaping, in which few others even come close in any of their performances, and already having listened to this recording, at least ten times, I jumped out of my chair and my hair stood on end and I was covered in goosebumps! The movement ends in such majestic motion and that marching effect, something inevitable coming down the road, a reckoning for the composer somehow and it always shows up in the finale of the first movement. I have said this before, but the maestro plays 'maestoso' like no other and you feel this majesty no matter what work he is conducting.

   The second movement waltz. Amazing! The maestro's phrasing and the string tone and the overall interpretation of it, just wonderful and when the darkness comes, as it always does in a Tchaikovsky work, the maestro weaves it in with the darkness and the shading that is so emotional, so beautiful and such string tone. I think Meastro Ormandy would be thrilled.

   The march of the third movement is played like no other that I have heard. He plays with terrific intensity but with the virtuosity of the orchestra, he holds back. The tension builds and builds until the finale of the movement comes in all its glory and the orchestra plays monumentally.

   The last movement; the lamenting of a man who is dying on the inside yet expresses it as if Shakespeare would in a sonnet with fire and grace and impeccability. After the orchestra slowly decrescendoes throughout the movement and then that gong sounds and you know that he has chosen death and you feel the Maestro has succumbed with him and the orchestra has fulfilled its part, as if handing the poison to the composer that he may drink.

   Okay, I may have gone over the top here, but this recording is beyond fantastic. The sound of the orchestra, its power and delicacy. Maestro Muti is a master of dynamics; soft to loud to even bombastic, but the magnificent Philadelphia Orchestra bends to his every wish. It is amazing to have an orchestra that not only is, one of the top virtuosic orchestras, but has sound and power and passion like no other, but with incomparable artistry. I still, after over fifty years of listening to it and the other 'great' ones, think it is the finest of the finest. And I know that that is just me, but I have listened to the same works recorded by other orchestras and conductors and all seem pedantic and emotionless by comparison.

   When I finished listening to this I had to feed my soul something lighter so I pulled out my recording of 'Grieg's favorite hits.In it were Grieg's two suites from Peer Gynt. Here was the orchestra under Maestro Ormandy on RCA, who captured the sound of the Orchestra better than Columbia did.
   Again this incredible playing and the sound of the strings and, wonderfully it was the exact sound of the string section under Mestro Muti on this and his other recordings with the orchestra.

   I ask myself this nearly all of the time. How did Philadelphia let Ricardo Muti get away!?

   All three of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies recorded with the maestro on Seraphim are not only a bargain but the best recordings ever of these symphonies, plus you get a Tchaikovsky tone poem and two Scriabin works with fantastic performances also.

   These are a must for any music collector.




3. My previous experiences with Muti conducting Tchaikovsky made want to buy this CD because Tchaikovsky's 6th is one of the most emotional and tear-jerking works. And Muti is one of the best, if not the best, Tchaikovsky interpreters. I also have a recording of this with Solti and Chicago and at first I thought that was hard to beat. But while moments of Chicago's 6th are better than Philly's, the overall effect of the symphony is portrayed better through Philadelphia. Even though I wished Philly played some parts as loud as Chicago, I still prefer the sound that Philadelphia puts out. It is a lot warmer but does not sacfrice the intensity. Also, Muti really rings out all the music that is in this symphony. The fourth movement is the highlight of this CD. I warn you of this because it takes a lot out of you. If I were to compare the two recordings by movement the 1st mvt is a tie, Philly wins the 2nd, Chicago wins the 3rd, but the most important movement Philadelphia wins by mile. The low brass chords at the end of the symphony are what will make you start crying. So, I highly recomend this CD because it truly delivers what Tchaikovsky put in to it: all his heart and soul.



4. I've only heard two recordings of Tchaikovsky's 6th (the other was Pierre Monteaux), but of those two at least, this one I found to be much superior. Muti conducts it with a lot of feeling.

2 comments about Bedtime Songs for Babies.

1. I listened to this set of CDs in the car on my commute while I was pregnant with my first son. He so obviously remembered these songs after he was born that we were amazed. Even if he was screaming bloody murder, he'd palpably relax when he heard one of these CDs coming on. He especially liked Disc 4, starting with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. He was not the easiest one to settle down to sleep, and we eventually learned that we could all get better sleep if we put that CD on "repeat" for him most of the night. It was a life-saver!



2. The music and songs on this CD set are beautiful, certainly not just for babies. Many favorite classics, lullabies and songs are performed on just one or two instruments, mainly guitar or piano. Listening to them is calming, relaxing, soothing, and the price is an added bonus! We received this set from friends for the birth of our first baby and have already given it to the grandparents (per request) and other friends with babies.

5 comments about Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 3.

1. In Volume 3 of Naxos' series of the complete Scarlatti Keyboard Sonatas, Jeno Jando offers 16 mostly unfamiliar (to me) Scarlatti Piano Sonatas.
   
   His playing is energetic, clean, but also unvarying in terms of color and dynamics. One of Scarlatti's characteristics is repeated passages which afford the keyboard player an opportunity to vary color, shading, dynamic levels. Listening to Jando, I couldn't help wondering how much more other pianists, such as Horowitz, Pogorelich etc might have done with this music using changes in dynamics and touch.
   
   A disappointing CD.



2. The #2 track, K 10, is one of the 30 sonatas of the Essercizi, the only sonatas ever published in Scarlatti's lifetime, so it gets recorded a lot. Jando's performance is the best I've ever heard not only because of speed but because of a little rhythmic setup for the 32nd-note passages. He makes it a dramatic event.
   
   The #1 track, K 201, is OK, but Cristiana Pegararo owns this sonata, and the detached way Jando plays the 3 passages that start the 2nd half is surprisingly wimpy. Gotta slam it, man!
   
   But K 119, the last track, is the best performance I've heard of this well-known sonata on piano. The only performance that is too fast is K 525--the chunky cadential chords need a little hang time to reverberate in this listener's skull. So there are a couple of duds, but this CD is full of fine music and one of the high points of the Naxos series.



3. Speed kills. Why do I get the impression that here Scarlatti's Sonatas offer a window of opportunity for intellectual and technical display? I would suggest a careful reading beginning with page 292 in Kirkpatrick's book, "Domenico Scarlatti", on the subject of Tempo and Rhythm. He writes, "All of us, especially the young, have been quilty of playing Scarlatti too fast". He might have said the same thing to young Glenn Gould about the way he, at times, ripped through Bach so incredibly fast.

   I perceive Scarlatti as a composer who transcribed for harpsichord what he heard and saw as he walked around town in Baroque Spain: song, dance, and expecially quitar. Today we further transcribe the music for pianoforte which offers us greater possibilities of expression. Other things equal, I'd bet that Scarlatti would use the piano as the instrument of choice.

   So I take exception to Track 2 with its beautiful scales. A slower tempo would produce a very different musical picture: quitar music of marvelous rhythm and spirit; and a warm feeling about things Spanish.

   Most of the recent Scarlatti CDs are by pianists living well East of Madrid. They are all unique; uniquely personal, uniquely excellent, and uniquely Slavic. Hopefully Naxos will include Spanish-born pianists in this wonderful series.

   I appreciate J. Jando's performance, musical opinions, and great contributions to a thirsty audience




4. It has been a privilege to hear Scarlatti vol. 1 with Eteri Andjapararidze, vol. 2 with Michael Lewin and vol. 3 (this album) with Jeno Jando on the piano. Although it would have been better to hear these works on their written instrument, the harpsichord, I have had a fascinating afternoon.

   With regard to Jeno Jando, his interpretation of Scarlatti is characterized by its fluidity, speed and emphasis. He abandons the staccato style of Lewin and he does not bring in 20th century interpretations of 17th century material as in vol. 1.

   This is yet a 20th century creation but it brings to the Baroque a new style which is not to be ignored. Jando does not bring out bouncing rhythms - he uses his left hand in conjunction with the right to bring out emphasis.

   On the whole, this is a superior album but for true Scarlatti fans, it is important to have ALL the albums in this series.




5. True, Jeno Jando may not be one of the best known pianists in today's classical scene. Yet he is one of the most productive and already recorded around 100 cds within the last 10 years. True again, this seems to be more a sign of quantity than quality, but - despite the fact that NAXOS doesn't always offer perfect sound qualities - within this vast production there are some pearls to be discovered. And those Scarlatti Sonatas sure are to be counted among them. Jando's intellectual approach to music sometimes resulted in a seemingly emotional flatness, such as in his recording of the Beethoven Sonatas. With Scarlatti this intellectuality and his superb technique lead Jando to great clarity and a tremendously exciting interpretation. With care he elaborates on each and every melodic sideline, the chordic accents sometimes turn to real caesurae, pretending to interupt the pulsing flow of the lines, but in fact only intensifying the rhythmic drive and strain. Although Jeno Jando did not yet show evidences of sheer ingeniousness, like Glenn Gould used to do working on Bach, and though his playing could be called - in the best sense of the word - technical, his approach to baroque music lead him in a similar direction: opening up emotional richness by playing the music with the uttermost clarity and discipline.

1 comments about Gershwin Plays Gershwin.

1. This low priced CD is the greatest presentation of George Gershwin's incredible improvisational skill, reworking his popular hits of the day into complex arrangements that can hold the interest of the 'most discriminating music lover.' These disc recordings are much more lifelike than the well known piano-roll CDs. On this Cd Gershwin's filled-in tenth cords in his left hand along with his consecutive four-note chord spreads to the octave with his right, cross rhythms, and virtuoso embellishments give the piano arrangements a full sound. The recording of 'Swanee' is a small 1919 group recording of the Van Eps Quartet with a young George Gershwin at the piano and Nathan Glantz on the saxaphone. The Van Eps Quartet plays in a yiddish sounding style which accents Swanee's rooting in yiddish music. The next recordings are of George Gershwin at the piano recorded in 1926 and 1928. This CD also includes the 1924 Paul Whiteman orchestra recording of 'Rhapsody in Blue' with the composer at the piano. The arrangement was shortened to about 9 minutes in order to fit onto the two sides of a 78rmp record, but I think this is the best recording of 'Rhapsody in Blue' ever recorded, because this was recorded when 'Rhapsody in Blue' was New, Exciting, and Full of Life. This recording lets the humor that was originally intended by Gershwin shine through. His own recording of his three preludes is the best rendition of the popular preludes. Gershwin stands as the best performer of his own works, and this CD is the best example of his own playing. The improvisations of his show tunes on this CD are much more fleshed out than his brief radio recordings available elsewhere, although I recommend trying to find all of his recordings. Gershwin's solo piano arrangement of the Andante section of Rhapsody in Blue is another opportunity to hear George play his own material. The last recording on the disc is a 1931 rehersal of 'Second Rhapsody' which George Gershwin had recorded onto disc by NBC for him to listen to. Once again, George Gershwin is the best interpreter of his own works, and this CD is the best document of Gershwin playing Gershwin.

5 comments about Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Haydn Variations; Hungarian Dances.

1. In music, as in any art, personal taste is a powerful determinant of evaluations. As the old Latin phrase goes, de gustibus non est disputandum (beautiful, no?), or, in other words, there's no disputing taste. George Szell had a reputation for being a cool conductor, and I think it is this IDEA rather than any objective criteria which determines the taste of many listeners when it comes to Szell's recorded performances. Some don't like 'em. OK! So, it's not for you, perhaps, but Szell's recording of the Brahms symphonies is still, by any measure, one of the greatest. ONE of the best, not the ONLY one. There is no such thing. Reiner, Karajan, Kertez, Abbaddo, Toscannini, Klemperer, Walter, Mackerras, et al., et al., have all recorded great versions of the Brahms symphonies. They are all good and they are all different (some very different from others), and, of course, they all have different qualities of recorded sound based on the label technicians, etc. So, pick the one you like based on your taste. If you like fast and classical, Szell and Mackerras are good (also, Klemperer can be pretty fast in some of his Brahms); if you like slower and more romantic, Karajan, Abbado, Walter are all good. It's up to you. Try 'em. Listen to the radio. Go to your public library and see what they have. You may find that you like several versions, or all of the above (and more!), which I do. ENJOY! It's art, not politics!



2. Only Toscaninni led the Brahms First with more tension and drive, but the closest approximation is this classic Szell performance, which has been widely admired for over four decades. The budget issue pictured above is from 1991, in indifferent sound. As of August, 2006, there's a new DSD version in Sony's Great Performances series. And great performance it surely is. Szell's condcuting, as always, is disciplined and devoid of rubato or sentimental softness. The secret when the reins are held this tight is to propel the music forward as if in one breath, never letting the stainless steel thread sanp.
   
   It's an unconventional way to approach Brahms but a bracing one. Fortunately, Szell doesn't lapse into rigid time-beating: this reading is alive inside, full of dramatic events in every movement. The Cleveland Orch. plays with great power and transpaency, and the refurbished sonics are twice as good as they ever were on Epic lPs when this recording first appeared. Of a piece is Szell's highly controlled reading of the Haydn Vairations. Curiously, in both this version and the new reissue, Sony has tacked on five Hungarian Dances by Ormandy, which don't sound like they even come from the same planet as Szell's Brahms but make nice listening.



3. This recording of Brahm's 1st Symphony is musical garbage. George Szell was well known and critized for his precision. When dealing with classical greats like Mozart and Haydn, George Szell is one of the first conductors I seek after. I recommend his recordings of Mozart's 39th, 40th, and 41st. But!!! George Szell's abilities as a Romantic Period conductor (Brahms!) are lacking in the highest degree. Listening to this recording is like having to look at van Gogh's "Starry Night" painted with nothing but straight lines. As for BOXED SETs of the Brahm's Symphonies, Otto Klemperer's recording comes with my highest recommendations. Otto Klemperer KNEW the work of Brahms like few else. He even chided himself for writing pieces that sounded more like Brahms than like Klemperer. His recording of the Brahms Symphonies is available on EMI Classic's 'Great Recordings of the Century' label.



4. This is, simply put, classic George Szell. In fact, this performance of the Brahms 1st takes its place near the top of the heap. It is a great performance and an excellent addition to any collection, especially at bargain price. If you're looking for the a bit more overt emotion, try Bruno Walter or Otto Klemperer- they turn in ectsatic and soulful readings. Szell's take has a quicker, drier, and more immediate feel to it, but he totally makes it work: in my opinion that goes for just about everything he performed (there was a reason he is known for his precision). The Ormandy performances of the Hungarian Dances are equally rewarding, played with shining flourish. Classic.



5. Szell es un director notable y sus versiones para las sinfonias de Brahms son geniales (la cuarta es una de las mejores que he escuchado), este conductor es pulcro y refinado, bastante explosivo y potente (su obertura carnaval de Dvorak es de lo mas impresionante), y se dice un dictador de la batuta, en ensayos extenuantes.
   Pero en esta Nº1 Szell excedio el ensayo y se quedo algo fria, por cierto es una notable version sobre muchas otras pero carece de vigor y excede en la sutileza y la sublimidad.
   La segunda obra la hermosa Variaciones sobre un tema de Haydn, se plantea distinta y nota una presentacion recia, sutil y solemne, y por cierto un toque de alegria verdaderamente encantador.
   La orquesta de Cleveland es soberbia y se esmera para sonar simplemente impecable.
   Se añaden y como relleno 5 danzas hungaras, suenan muy bien, Ormandy es un director soberbio que logra interpretaciones inmejorables, la Orquesta de Filadelfia es definitivamente perfecta.

5 comments about The Rodrigo Edition (4 CDs): Concertos & Orchestral Works Conducted by Enrique Batiz.

1. This set has now been licensed and reissued by Brilliant Classics, a cheapo-cheapo label from Europe, and this is how I have purchased, heard and reviewed it: Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Concertos; Orchestral Works [Box Set]. I refer you to this review for more details. In capsule, the music breaks no grounds, old or new, but it is highly enjoyable, highly accessible, full of lush melodies and colorfully orchestrated. The language is that of the post-Debussy/Ravel "musique française" and "musique espagnole" written in the first half of the 20th by composers such as Sauguet, Milhaud, Ibert or Falla, with late-Romantic outbursts pointing to British composers like Delius or Bax.
   
   The universal fame acquired by the Ajanjuez Concerto and Rodrigo's other Concertos for Guitar(s) has overshadowed the fact that he wrote a number of concertos for other solo instruments: flute, harp, piano, cello and violin. Missing from this compilation are some of his more recent pieces, such as the Concierto como un divertimento for Cello, Concierto para une fiesta for Guitar, as well as the early Juglares for Piano and Orchestra (1923); there is also apparently a version for Guitar of the "Heroic" Piano Concerto.
   
   Among my favorites is the "Summer" Concerto for Violin, a composition I've enjoyed ever since hearing a French archive broadcast concert of Christian Ferras and the Orchestre National conducted by Ataulfo Argenta giving the French premiere in 1953. Ferras made the premiere recording shortly thereafter with his teacher and mentor George Enescu conducting, a recording aptly reissued by Testament with other early concerto recordings by Ferras (Rodrigo: Concierto de estio; Semenoff; Double Concerto; Elizalde; Violin Concerto). It is as joyful and colorful as thoses of Khatchaturian and Prokofiev - and, in my opinion, not inferior to them; I wonder why it hasn't acquired the same pride of place at the core of the Violin repertoire, in concert and on disc.
   
   I also greatly enjoyed the Cello Concerto ("Concierto en modo galante"), with its first movement sounding like a modernized Vivaldi cello Concerto or Bach seen through the eyes of Stravinsky, its center part a wistful, brooding, meditative cantilena with a pastoral trio full of bird calls, hurdy-gurdy tunes and lifting country dances, its finale a kind of galant Cucarracha, and again a colorful and perky orchestration, full of sardonic skids out of line.
   
   The last disc is devoted to Rodrigo's symphonic output, with tone poems composed between 1925 and 1976. Again they are very enjoyable, couched in the same kind of post-Debussy/Ravel language with whiffs of late-Romanticism evocative of Delius or Bax. In fact, "Musica para un jardin" (Music for a Garden) and "A la busca del mas allà" (In Search of the Beyond) could easily pass of for additions to Jacques Ibert's "Ports of Call".
   
   The 2nd of the Piezas Infantiles from 1925, "Despues de un cuento" sounds exactly in the same style as the 1976 "A la busca del mas alla". Apparently Rodrigo is one of those composers who never evolved, writing in the last decades of the 20th century the same kind of impressionistic music that wasn't so cutting edge anymore even when he started writing it in its first decades. But now that the distance of time has reduced all the smoldering stylistic controversies to cold ashes, we can enjoy Rodrigo's music for what it offers, regardless of when it was written: its unabashed lyricism, its soaring melodies, its sense of color.
   
   At that price, this is no doubt the best possible introduction to the music of Rodrigo.



2. Antes que el sello Naxos grabara las obras de Rodrigo,
   estaba esta grabaccion, la que era y aun es recomendada.
   Batiz es un gran exponente de la musica de Rodrigo,
   aclamado por el mismo compositor, Batiz dirige las
   obras de Rodrigo con claridad, y a la vez mantiene
   las obras con el espiritu original que el compositor
   expresa. En esta grabaccion el maestro Batiz dirige
   tres orquestas:la Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony;
   y Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico. Los
   unicos conciertos que aqui no aparecen son: Concierto
   para una Fiesta, y Concierto como un Divertimento.
   Una grabaccion de recomendaccion maxima...



3. I had much of this material on vinyl, and it's great to have these packaged on 4 full budget-priced CDs. The sound is quite acceptable, although a little bright, which was common for early digital recordings from the 80's. But, they're otherwise clear and full. There are better recordings of the guitar concertos (which is a crowded field), but they hold up fairly well - and are better than Batiz' rerecordings of the some of the guitar concertos he did some 10 years ago on ASV.
   The other concertos are quite nice as well. Distinctively Rodrigo-esque!
   Anyone interested in this set will want to invest in Batiz' more recent survey with his Mexican State Orchestra of Rodrigo works.
   Highly recommended!



4. This is an album dedicated to the works of one of the most prominent Spanish composers of the 20th Century. His music is luscious, melodic, with uncompromised energy and excitement. Rodrigo was blind and had a love affair with the Concerto form, and this is Batiz's dedication to the man and his many works in that form.

   I too disagree with the reviewer who said the recording was muddy. I think it captures the music well, and all of the soloists come out as intended in the score. I think the balance and tone are wonderful. I hope that helps!




5. This is great music, with great performances, on a very good recording. (I disagree with the other online reviewer--to me the soloists sound crisp and rich.)

3 comments about Holst: The Planets / Vaughan Williams: Fantasia.

1. I can remember when Leonard Slatkin was young and promising, and the media attached themselves to him as the heir to Bernstein as well as the savior of the St. Louis Sym. Now, twenty years later, his unfulfilled potential is sad. He trudges around the world as guest conductor and does a creidtable job with his own National Sym. in Washington D.C., but repeated concerts that I've attended have brought the sense of a musician stuck in middle age, often quite competent but lacking any inspiration. With challenging masterpieces like the Mahler Sixth, which I heard in Chicago, Slatkin can be unfocused, stiff, and discouragingly callow.
   
   The good news is that English music is one of Slatkin's stronger suits, and here we have a very well recorded "Planets" that he conducts with care. Mars starts out thunderously but becomes brash and noisy; Venus is tender without being seductive enough; Jupiter is suitably jolly but feels like a run-through. That's the problem with the performance as a whole: it's well marshalled but nothing special except for the detailed sonics.
   
   The Greensleeves Fantasia that follows poses no difficulties for any conductor; it comes off sweetly. In musical terms the major work here is Vaughan Williams' masterful Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, which slatkin does quite well. His reading lacks the fervent intensity of Barbirolli's on his famed EMI recording, but he skillfully conveys the music's serentiy and sublime religious feeling. A modest success in a program that is otherwise business as usual.



2. Too often listeners pay little attention to the performances of works conducted by Leonard Slatkin and perhaps it is his earlier connection with lighter veined music that prejudices audiences. But hearing and watching this fine conductor with a great orchestra and basking in the results of his music making can change the approach to his gifts as not only a fine conductor but also as one with the ability to build a large work with solid tension and release.
   
   Gustav Holst's THE PLANETS is a work that usually is played in summer festivals on the green, a work too few take seriously. At a recent concert as guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall Leonard Slatkin proved that given the right ingredients he is able to make the value of this hugely orchestrated score glow. And perhaps that is what it takes to make The Planets sound like the important work it actually is. When a brilliant orchestra plays in a hall designed to allow every instrument to be heard - harps, celeste, mighty pipe organ, broad percussion team, and wordless women's voices in the ethereal closing Neptune which simply evaporated into the night - there are few aural experiences to match this much maligned work. Would that it had been recorded!
   
   On this recording from 2001 Slatkin conducts the Philharmonia orchestra and the performance is solid though not approaching the sublime status of his recent view. It is not that the orchestra is not superb, it is that the recorded sound is not as wisely spatially captured as it could have been. Still, the recording is solid in that Slatkin fully understands the various characters of each of the seven movements and his moments with Saturn and old age are as compellingly touching as any conductor on record. Slatkin also programs the two Vaughn Williams pieces on a CD that would have been better served with different choices. The Greensleeves Fantasia fares less well than the Thomas Tallis homage but both are expertly played - if with a bit a restraint that holds back too much. Grady Harp, March 07



3. The version of The Planets here is acceptable but not more. The coupling is one of the least desirable I have seen. The fantasia on Greensleaves reminds me of elevator music and the theme of thomas tallis is more interesting but outlasts its welcome. I usually like Vaughn Williams but not in this particular case. I would get my version of Holst's orchestral masterwork elsewhere. I'm just glad I borrowed this from the local library and so can still look elswhere myself.

3 comments about Saint-Saens: Symphony No3; Phaëton Op39.

1. This is probably the best version of this symphony available for the price. It is a real bargain. Ozawa's natural feeling for the French composers is evident, particularly in the second movement adagio. It is a warm performance, but also full of drive and excitement. The impact of the organ entrance in the final movement is undeniable, and the final chord at the end lingers and reverberates for several seconds. The Penguin Guide claims this recording is in the "demonstration class", but I don't really agree. The sound is a bit recessed in the first three movements and I actually found myself having to turn up the volume a few time to hear some detail. The clarity of the recording is good, but not in the demonstration class. On this point, compare to Levine's excellent recording with the BPO on the DG label or the Dutoit/Montreal recording for Decca. The Levine in particular is a spectacular recording and performance fully worthy of being a "demonstration" disc. Along with Levine and Dutoit I would also recommend the Paray version on Mercury and the all time classic recording (in my view), the Munch/Boston Symphony recording on RCA from the 1950's which really trumps them all. Having said all that, if you are looking for a bargain version, this one is a fine choice. The two symphonic poems are well done.



2. Camille Saint Saens emerged as a composer of note at a time when French music was sadly short of musical heroes. The great age of Lully, Couperin and Rameau was over, and the days of Debussy, Ravel, Satie and others was yet to come.

   Saint Saens' music had a profound impact on the generation that followed, creating an appetite for French composers in France, and demonstrating that a Frenchman could write substantial orchetral music to stand alongside the great German Romantic composers. Ironically, however, Saint Saens' compositional approach sounds quite German to my ears.

   Nevertheless, the Organ Symphony is a French idiom -- the other great composer of the form was Charles-Marie Widor -- and the combination of German-style orchestration in a fundamentally French context results in some great music. Moreover, this music is considerably more tuneful [though not necessarilly BETTER] than what most of Saint Saens' German counterparts were doing at the time.

   The sound quality of this disc is first-rate and the performance is suitably heroic -- Saint Saens was, after all, France's premier 19th century musical hero. My only complaint is that, in his portrayal of the composer's verve and elan, Ozawa seems to have misplaced some of the subtleties in Le Rouet D'Omphale.

   Despite that sligtht impefection [and it is slight], it's a marvellous disc.




3. The composer has really captured what the essence of human emotion would sound like. The Organ Symphony will conjure up images of weddings, funerals, Christmas, and the birth of your first child!

1 comments about Classical Jukebox, Vol. 2.

1. This is the companion volume to CLASSICAL JUKEBOX Vol. 1 with Eugene Ormandy (see my review). Here we have André Kostelanetz leading his orchestra or the New York Philharmonic. The program is quite varied, going from Bach (AIR ON THE G STRING) to Weill (MACK THE KNIFE). Generally, the sound of this compilation is quite good and the recording technique superior. But this suffers in the fact that some items such as the BLUE DANUBE WALTZ by Strauss seem to be played at a pops tempo, not the real unhurried symphonic tempo. Other pieces such as the Alford COLONEL BOGEY MARCH are played with such over-bearing forces that one is left without any sense of musicality. Kostelanetz has done much better, I remember an LP of the 60's presenting 24 of the world's greatest waltzes. It had everything in the right places. This CD has little to say musically, though many could find it enjoyable.