Maestro Risoluto [Box set]

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 34 in C major, K. 338
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

2. Symphony No. 102 in B flat major, H. 1/102
Composed by Franz Joseph Haydn
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

3. Symphony No. 8 in B minor ("Unfinished"), D. 759
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

4. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

5. Egmont, incidental music, Op. 84 Overture
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

6. Symphony No. 1 in B flat major ("Spring"), Op. 38
Composed by Robert Schumann
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

7. Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

8. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra with Jascha Heifetz
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

9. Le carnival romain, ouverture catactéristique (Roman Carnival Overture) for orchestra, H.95 (Op. 9)
Composed by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

10. La Mer (3), symphonic sketches for orchestra, L. 109
Composed by Claude Debussy
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

11. Pelléas et Mélisande, incidental music and suite for orchestra, Op. 80 Ballet Suite
Composed by Gabriel Faure
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

12. Daphnis et Chloé, suite No. 2 for orchestra
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

13. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for orchestra, orchestrated by Ravel
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

14. Night on Bald Mountain (Noch' na Lïsoy gore), symphonic poem, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

15. Symphony No. 4 in C major ("Poem of Ecstasy"), Op. 54
Composed by Alexander Nikolayevich Skryabin
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

16. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

17. Francesca da Rimini, symphonic fantasy for orchestra in E minor, Op. 32
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

18. Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

19. The Isle of the Dead, symphonic poem, Op. 29
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

20. Vocalise, song for voice & piano, Op. 34/14
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

21. Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

22. Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

23. Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zoroaster), tone poem for orchestra, Op. 30
Composed by Richard Strauss
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

24. Symphony No. 7, for orchestra in C major, Op. 105
Composed by Jean Sibelius
Performed by BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

25. Tapiola, tone poem for orchestra, Op. 112
Composed by Jean Sibelius
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

26. Symphony No. 3
Composed by Roy Harris
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

27. Symphony No. 3, Op 33
Composed by Howard Hanson
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

28. Appalachian Spring, concert suite
Composed by Aaron Copland
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

Tracks:

Symphony No.34 In C Major, Kv 338
Symphony No.102 In B Flat Major, Hob. I: 102
Symphony No.8 In B Minor D.759 'Unfinished'
Symphony No.8 In F Major, Op.93
Egmont Overture, Op.84
Symphony No.1 In B Flat Major, Op.38 'Spring'
Symphony No.3 In F Major, Op.90
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op.77
'le Carnaval Romain' Op.9
La Mer
Pelleas Et Melisande Ballet Suite, Op.80
'daphnes Et Chloe' Ballet Suite No.2
Pictures At An Exhibition
Night On The Bare Mountain
'le Poeme De L'extase' For Orchestra, Op.54
Symphony No.4 In F Minor, Op.36
Fransesca Da Rimini, Op.32
Symphony No.3 In F Minor, Op.44
'isle Of The Dead' Symphonic Poem, Op.29
Vocalise Op.34 No.14
Symphony No.5 In B Flat Major, Op.100
Symphony No.9 In E Flat Major, Op.7
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Symphony No.7 In C Major, Op.105
'tapiola' Symphonic Poem, Op.112
Symphony No.3
Symphony No.3 In A Minor, Op.63

Customer Reviews:

Giveaway Price for 10 (Yes - Ten!) CDs of Koussevitzky .......2006-08-28

The Boston Symphony under the leadership of Sergey Koussevitzky came to be considered the Queen of American orchestras. The Boston boasted an unsurpassed refinement and a work ethic that no modern orchestra would tolerate. After a less than sterling Saturday concert Sergey hauled the whole orchestra in the following Sunday morning for extra work. Imagine trying that on today's card carrying Unionists! During Koussevitzky's tenure the orchestra premiered an astonishing number of 20th century masterpieces. It was Koussevitzky who commissioned from Ravel the famous orchstration of Mussorsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Reading the long lists of American composers who had works first performed at Boston is flabbergasting.
As a conductor Koussevitzky excelled with the works of a surprising range of types. He was like Stowkowski a feverent proponent of Russian music and brought to it a barbaric splendour. Some of his greatest performances of Russian music never were released. (Much as I admire Monteux's way with Scheherazade the failure of RCA to capture the Boston in full flight under Koussevitzky remains a tragic mystery. A short video exists to tantalize us. Maybe one of the two airchecks will be released.)
But Koussevitzky was more than just a specialist in Russian or modern composers. His performances of Beethoven can be surprising in their balance and verve, while his Brahms performances showed real insight. The Brahms 3rd is especially attractive and memorable. We are fortunate to have the Munch recordings with Boston of Debussy and Ravel, but the orchestra sheen and the inner balances heard in those beautiful transfers are all carried over from the magnificent creation Koussevitzky built. A famous critic once complimeted Koussevitsky on a especially evocative tone color in a piece by Debussy and the conductor shrugged his shoulders, and quipped, "Well, it only took ten years for them to get it!"
On this CD box set there are a number of mainstream works normally considered not woth reissuing because they are in old mono sound. The Strauss tone poem Also Sprach was a very famous recording in its day - but in truth it has been utterly superceeded by the great stereo offerings of this work, starting with the Reiner and Chicago. Yet for those willing to listen the performance still showcases a string section of unrivaled beauties: the deep burnished sound of the deep basses, Koussevitsky's own instrument (He was a double-bass prodigy) play with a flexibility and imagination unimagineable prior to his leadership.
(Though to be fair the Philadelphia basses were pretty amazing too!) Sadly the tone qualities of the higher instruments, violins and woodwinds in particular, are lost in a sonic smear of harshness. The eloquent close at the end of the tone poem exposing the quality of an orchestra's first chair players sounds here as little more than strident noise.
Never-the-less there is still more than enough sound left to gain a good sense of the tremendous panache and virtuosity of the orchestra as a whole. Among the highlights and still very listenable I would cite the excellent and obvious groundbreaking performance of the Pictures at an Exhibiton along with a bewitching Night on Bare Mountain, the aforementioned Brahms 3rd, a heck of a Rachmaninoff Isle of the Dead, and still the best performance of the wonderful Harris Symphony No. 3. The Sibelius performances show why Sibelius thought so much of Koussevitzky, while the Copland Appalachian Spring reminds that Bernstein got started here as a young conductor. Not a bad protege!
All in all a chance to hear a large number of Koussevitzky performances for the price of one or two CDs and make up your own mind. The CDs come in five two-packs with short notes on the composers and the same two page Bio of Koussevitzky. At this price the only caveat would be the sound. Several of the selections are from airchecks and vary from so-so to modestly acceptable. The actual studio recordings are usually better, with some better than others. To my ear overall it's okay, though nothing like some of the exceptional DGG historic (read mono) selections available. If you are willing to accept older sound on orchestra recordings, and especially when the actual sound of the orchestra is much of the reason one listens - then this issue offers quite a bonanza. And to be blunt the issue deserves a rating of 5 for price alone. Just look around at all the other Koussevitzky CDs, some going for forty or more dollars used! With this set you can test the waters and later, if you're still curious, try another Koussevizty CD that has been better reproduced.

Koussevitzky: Maestro Risoluto (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Serge Koussevitzky

Koussevitzky: Maestro Risoluto (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Maestro Celebre
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005TS0B
Release Date: 2001-11-13

Customer Reviews:

Serge Koussevitzky.......2005-08-10

Serge Koussevitzky was one of the most important of Russian classical directors in the first half of 20th century. He was the director of Berlin Philharmonic in 1908. A year later, he came back to Moscow and established the famous Koussevitzky Orchestra. In 1921, he came to Paris and founded the Concert Symphoniques Koussevitzky Orchestra. From 1924 to 1949, he was director of Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Boston, he developed the Tanglewood Festival, and Concert Hall (now is the Bershire Music Center). He was also one of persons who had built up a strong foundation for American classical music. Leonard Bernstein was one of his students.

This box set contains some major of Koussevitzky's works at BSO from 1928 to 1947. The sound is mono (of course), but clear and sharpness. Here you can see Koussevitzky gave the standard for Russian music, like the symphonies of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgky, and Rachmaninov, especially in Francesca da Rimini of Tchaikovsky. Beside, you can "feel" the difference of German classical (Symphonies of Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, and Strauss' work) from Russian side, it's so different to other German directors (like Walter, Mahler...).

Strongly recommend!

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