Sibelius recordings on the whole have been good to excellent. Over the years many conductors have traversed the Symphonies and Tone Poems with much success. A few performances stand out for me, and Ashkenazy with the Philharmonia Orchestra’s recording of Symphony 4 is a favorite. One of the early London digital recordings from 1981, I still play the LP. It has since been incorporated into several collections and the latest is of all 7 symphonies plus other works at a…
Bach’s ‘French Suites’ comprise 6 sets of suites for piano. The name ‘French’ was added on later, either to describe the style or to possibly differentiate them from the ‘English’ Suites. The do not really reflect a French style as such, but regardless this is a must-listen for lovers of piano music. There are numerous performances available, and most are more than acceptable. I have a preference for Andras Schiff and Glenn Gould. Schiff has a more set…
James Levine had a good run of Mahler recordings in the late 1970’s to the early 1980’s, and even won a Grammy for the recording of the 7th. I also had the 5th, 9th and 4th for years, and have enjoyed these interpretations with the Chicago, London and Philadelphia Symphonies. Sony has issued a barebones box set of all of Levine’s Mahler recordings for RCA. Levine did not record the 2nd or 8th at the time for RCA, and since they…
Some of Saint-Saens most familiar concertos on one album: Cello Concerto No. 1, Piano Concerto No. 2 and Violin Concerto No. 3. This is a compilation from the 1980’s on the CBS Masterworks label, not recompiled by Sony, but still available. The artwork leaves something to be desired, but the performances are first-rate. Yo-Yo Ma and Maazel on the Cello Concerto, Licad and Previn on Piano Concerto 2, and Cho-Liang Lin with Tilson Thomas on Violin Concerto 3. More than a…
Saint-Saen composed 5 symphonies, but 2 were published posthumously, so the Symphony No. 3 is actually the last symphony he composed. Known as the ‘Organ’ symphony, it is the only one of the 5 symphonies that is really in the basic repertoire. However, there is quite a bit to like about the other 4, and worth a listen. The best classic performance is by Charles Munch and the Boston SO on an RCA Living Stereo issue, with a wonderful performance…
Hermann Scherchen conducting Gustav Mahler. What’s not to like? The Vienna State Opera Orchestra play on this great Westminster recording. I have always thought that my first Mahler 2nd was the Bruno Walter version, but I recall purchasing a single LP version of the second before that. Now, that is a lot of music to pack onto one LP, and the sound was atrocious to say the least. It was a great performance from what I could tell, but the…
I posted a review and some other info at Amazon: This release combines recordings from the RCA and CBS vaults. Ormandy re-recorded many works when the Philadelphia Orchestra moved to RCA in the 1970’s. While not all of these recordings matched the earlier versions, several were better but have been mostly out of circulation for a while. The Shostakovich 5 is a particular favorite of mine, much better than the CBS version. Since there seems to be no real info…
Brandenburg Concertos / Orchestral Suites: Pinnock / English Concert
BIS has released a box set of symphonies and other works by Neeme Jarvi and the Gothenburg SO. Formerly a 6CD set, it is now a download album, and at under $8 is a steal. While many listeners are familiar with Symphonies 4-6, and maybe No. 2 ‘Snow Maiden’, Symphonies 1 and 3 are well worth hearing. Add in some orchestral works, great BIS sound and solid performances, this is definitely a set to check out. Amazon MP3: http://a.basicrep.com/tch-jarvi iTunes…
The Itzhak Perman ‘Original Jacket Collection’ is a 10 CD set that was issued by Sony several years ago featuring a variety of Perlman’s recordings. Bach, Mozart, Prokofiev and Paganini are only a few of the composers represented here. This collection was a bit expensive at the time, and to be honest not one I was inclined to purchase at full price. Fortunately almost the entire set has been reissued in a bargain Sony import collection: ‘Itzhak Perlman Plays…
Rimsky -Korsakov:Russian Easter Overture by Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orch. circa 1950. This is the back side scan of the ML 2035 LP with the RK and Prokofiev tracks. I found this quite a while back, it is not an LP as you may think, but a 10 inch Long Playing Record. Details and information at: http://archive.org/details/Rimsky-korsakovRussianEasterOverture See a full-size back cover image here.
Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 by Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orch. circa 1950. [Second side and more tomorrow] Details and information at: http://archive.org/details/ProkofievClassicalSymphony
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade by The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux circa 1942. Details and recording at: http://archive.org/details/Sheherazade
Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe Suite no. 2 by Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orch circa 1939 [cover from a later Columbia recording] Details and recording at: http://archive.org/details/RavelDaphnisEtChloeSuiteNo.2
Wassenaer’s 6 concerti were originally attributed to Pergolesi, but since the early 1980’s they were in fact confirmed to be composed by Wassenaer. These are delightful baroque compositions, rather relaxed music, with a similarity to Vivaldi without sounding like a second-rate copy. Any fan of the baroque should check these out. The Marriner – ASMF recording is excellent and most enjoyable. Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unico_Wilhelm_van_Wassenaer