Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Francesca da Rimini

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Bamberg Symphony Chorus
Conducted by Jose Serebrier

2. Francesca da Rimini, symphonic fantasy for orchestra in E minor, Op. 32
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Bamberg Symphony Chorus
Conducted by Jose Serebrier

Customer Reviews:

EXCITING PERFORMANCES VINTAGE STEREO SOUND BUT NOT SACD.......2005-09-27

Despite whar Mr Richman says in his review below this five disc box set does NOT consist of hybrid SACD discs. They are all CDs - generously filled but still basic 16 bit discs. It may be that Mercury's parent company plans to release these discs singly as three channel SACDs but here you get the two channel mixes that originally appeared on LP and on the 1990s CD releases. It would have been great to hear them in three channel - Dorati's "Firebird" sounds magnificent on SACD - but this box is still a bargain. There's some low level hiss and the occasional tape clunk but these are small blemishes on some exciting late 50s and early 60s recordings that make most of today's offerings sound sterile and cautious. Dorati's Tchaikovsky is never winsome or self-pitying. As a masterly ballet conductor Dorati never ignores the lilt and sway of the composer's waltz-inspired lighter moments - but he and the orchestra (London Symphony and Minneapolis) really let rip for the exciting brass perorations. Try the finale of the "Little Russian" symphony, or "Francesca di Rimini", for some real sock-blowing sound! Even if you own other recordings of these popular works try to find a space on your shelf for Dorati and the inimitable Mercury sound.

Dorati's MLP Tchaikovsky Gems Are Back!.......2005-05-25

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing as SACD hybrids. Unfortunately, they are now being sold at full-price, despite a competing hybrid series on RCA/BMG being available at midline. In spite of the added expense, I hope this MLP reissue trend will continue, and maybe we'll even see a few items getting their CD debut.

This Tchaikovsky Symphony Cycle by the great Antal Dorati has always been one of my favorite MLP offerings. While a two-disc set of Symphonies 1-3 and a single title of the 4th continue to be available in their original CD incarnations, the CDs of Symphonies 5 & 6 have gone out-of-print recently. However, with this box set they are now deservedly restored to the catalog. Even better is the fact that the four 5CD box sets being reissued have been so reasonably priced. This Tchaikovsky set, and the ones of Dorati conducting Bartok, Paray conducting French music, and Hanson conducting a variety of American music, including his own compositions, have a total cost cheaper than the original single issue CDs! Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies, Overtures

Average customer rating:

Careful - Misprinted copies!
Do not buy it.
Bargain price, but is this a bargain?
what a bargain!!

Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies, Overtures
Maurice Abravanel
Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Shostakovich: The String Quartets
Beethoven Collection: Symphonies Nos. 1-9, Complete Recording (Box Set)

ASIN: B00005QKFQ
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17: Andante sostenuto; Allegro vivo
Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17: Andantino marziale
Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17: Allegro molto vivace
Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17: Moderato assai
Symphony No. 5 in E, Op. 64: Andante; Allegro con anima
Symphony No. 5 in E, Op. 64: Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza
Symphony No. 5 in E, Op. 64: Valse: Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 5 in E, Op. 64: Andante maestoso; Allegro vivace

Tracks:

Manfred, Symphony in Four Tableux after the Dramatic Poem of Byron, Op. 58: Lento Lugubre: Moderato con moto: Andante
Manfred, Symphony in Four Tableux after the Dramatic Poem of Byron, Op. 58: Vivace con spirito
Manfred, Symphony in Four Tableux after the Dramatic Poem of Byron, Op. 58: andante con moto
Manfred, Symphony in Four Tableux after the Dramatic Poem of Byron, Op. 58: Allegro con fuoco
Marche Slave, Op. 31
Ouverture Solennelle, Op. 49

Tracks:

Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74: Adagio; allegro non troppo
Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74: Allegro con grazia
Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74: Allegro molto vivace
Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74: Adagio lamentoso
Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 11: Allegro tranquillo
Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 11: Adagio cantabile ma non tanto
Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 11: Allegro scherzando giocoso

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 11: Andante lugubre; Allegro maestoso
Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29: Moderato assai; Allegro brillante
Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29: Allegro moderato e semplice
Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29: Andante elegiaco
Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29: Scherzo
Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29: Allegro con fuoco
Francesca da Rimini, Symphonic Fantasia after Dante, Op. 32

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: Andante sostenuto; Moderato con anima
Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: Andantino in modo di canzona
Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: Scherzo: Allegro
Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: Finale: Allegro con fuoco
Hamlet, Overture-Fantasy after Shakespeare, Op. 67a
"Romeo & Juliet," Overture Fantasy after Shakespeare

Customer Reviews:

Careful - Misprinted copies!.......2006-03-27

As others have said in their reviews, the Utah Symphony Orchestra does a good job, but does not overwhelm the listener with passion. Overall, a good buy to get all the symphonies in one collection.

HOWEVER, it seems that at least one release of this set contains a misprint where Disc 1 is actually another artist and genre altogether! My disc 1 is some sort of Gospel CD, and even looking it up in the CCDB database didn't turn up the artist or title. Perhaps Amazon will replace your copy if you have one of the misprints, but VOXBOX will NOT. So buy with care.

Do not buy it........2006-02-03

Not Even a recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphonies. This is really music you would here at a july 4th celebration.

Bargain price, but is this a bargain?.......2005-11-19

Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony made a number of fine recordings for Vox, Vanguard, and Westminster in the 1960s and 1970s, especially of Milhaud, Harris, Copland and other 20th century composers. Abravanel, who became conductor of the Utah Symphony in the late 1940s, is credited as having raised the musicians' standard of playing, and getting the orchestra increased recognition through new recordings released during the early stereo era (late 1950s on).

The Utah Symphony plays well enough, but they do not have the power of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy, the Cleveland Orchestra under Szell, the Chicago Symphony under Reiner, in other words, of the major American orchestras. They are professional and more than competant, but do not have the lush string tone for Tchaikovsky's great moments. Therefore, you may find this wanting a bit for power in climaxes, and the louder parts of slow movements. When stacked against the best recordings of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies, Abravanel comes up short, sounding bland and unexciting.

However, there are some good recordings in this collection. Abravanel's Tchaikovsky Symphonies 1 and 2 are better than many recordings of these works, but there are exposed violin parts in Symphony 1: IV which are scratchy and out of tune. These parts are HARD to play, however, but the Utah Symphony doesn't have the precision of the Boston Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas (DG) or the Berlin Philharmonic under Karajan (DG), for example. Abravenel's Symphony 3 is also better than some, but not the best: dry acoustics make this rather lackluster sounding. Better for Symphony 3 is the Polish National Orchestra/Antoni Wit (Naxos).

Symphony 4 sounds good to me, but is a little light: it could use more power in the stormy pages of I, and the furious swirling passages of IV. For Symphonies 5 and 6, the competition is tough: lots of very fine recordings, so they suffer a little in comparison. 5 is especially dry; 6 fares better than 5, but neither can compare to Ormandy (Sony), Bernstein (Sony), or Wit (Naxos).

MANFRED is better than some, but again inferior to the best: Muti (EMI), Previn (EMI) or Markevitch/LSO (Philips). 1812 and Marche Slave are both excellent, Francesca less so - the lush string sound thing again.

So is this a bargain? For about $15.00, you get 7 major works and a bunch of discmates, but if you already have the great recordings listed above, you don't need this. I tend to go at the Tchaikovsky Symphonies disc by disc: Tilson Thomas/Boston (Symphony 1, DG); Markevitch/London Symphony (2, Philips);
Wit/Polish National (3, Naxos); Ormandy/Philadelphia(4, Sony);
Wit/Polish National (5, Naxos); Ormandy (6, Sony) are all suggested alternatives, but there are certainly many other excellent ones.

what a bargain!!.......2003-12-13

this collection is worth buying if only for the price--FIVE CDs for the price of one! for someone seeking an inexpensive way to explore the symphonic works of tchaikovsky this set is hard to beat. it is true that the perfomances are not at the same level of say bernstein and the NY philharmonic, they are admirably performed. personal favorites are symphonies 4,5 and 6. the utah symphony brings out the meaning and emotion of these masterworks of romanticism, particularly the muted sentiment of no. 6. the famous scherzo of no. 4 comes across with playful bounce you would expect. there are disappointments. the 1812 overture is okay, but lacks the punch of other performances, particularly the timeless one from nearly fifty years ago on the mercury label. the marche slave is a bit humdrum. but again, at this price for this much music, the flaws can be overlooked. highly recommended for beginning collectors on budget!

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Francesca da Rimini

Average customer rating:

Shines new light on a great symphony.
Desert island Fourth from the great Bernstein
A heartbreaking, deeply felt Tchaikovsky Fourth
Awful
A Majestic 4th and an Earth Shattering Francesca

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Francesca da Rimini

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E minor/Fantasy Overture "Romeo and Juliet"
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 (Pathétique)
Mozart: The Late Symphonies: Nos. 25, 29, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41
Tchaikovsky: The Complete Symphonies
Bernstein: The Final Concert

ASIN: B000001GD7
Release Date: 1991-05-10

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: Andante Sostenuto - Moderato Con Anima - Moderato Assai, Quasi Andante - Allegro Vivo
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: Andantino In Modo Di Canzone
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: Scherzo. Pizzicato Ostinato - Allegro
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: Finale. Allegro Con Fuoco
Francesco da Rimini, op.32: Andante Lugubre - Allegro Vivo - Andante Cantabile Non Troppo - Allegro Vivo

Customer Reviews:

Shines new light on a great symphony........2007-02-05

Don't let the long timings on this recording scare you. This is recording is from Bernsteins later and more experirimental late era, the same that gave us a 58 minute version of the Tchaikovsky 6th and a 53 minute version of the Sibelius 2nd. While ones first thought is that this is going to be a long performance, forget about that. This live recorded version of Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic is a wonderful journey. Some of the outbursts in the first movement alone are earth shattering contrasted by moments of tenderness and reflection. The tempo also gives the New York principals a chance to do some very good playing. The more I listen to this version of this first movement (about 21 minutes) the more I find in it. This is in part to the exceptional recorded sound which is true of the entire disc. The second movement is filled with longing and nostalgia. I think of all the movements that can benefit from going at a much reduced tempo it is this second movement. It just seems to make more sense this way. It's pure Tchaikovsky. The third movement is a total change in direction, but not a startling one. For those of you unfamiliar this movement is the shortest and written nearly entirely for strings in pizzicato (plucked strings) with a middle section (and again at the end) for woodwinds and horn. Its a fascinating movement and great lead in to the opening crash of the finale. Again at the reduced tempo reveals much of the finale that would otherwise might go unheard. But fear not. Bernstein brings it all together at the end when the tempo picks up speed for a last charge at the end of the finale leaving the listener very satified. If you have never heard the Tchaikovsky 4th this would be a great introduction to it. To old time fans of the 4th, this recording will let you look at it in a whole new light. As a bonus treat, you get the Fracecsa ds Rimini, a much lesser known work by Tchaikovsky. On the whole this is a great CD and gives a great look into two musically brilliant minds, Bernstein and Tchaikovsky, as well as the playing of a great American orchestra.

Desert island Fourth from the great Bernstein.......2006-04-01

The general consensus is that Bernstein's later DG recordings are always controversial because the performances became slower and display more self-indulgence from the great conductor. However, this is what makes old familiar warhorses sound like new, and Bernstein's interpretations always work in my opinion.

Here is Tchaikovsky's Fourth, a recording that will always have its proponents and detractors. This must be one of the longest, if not THE longest, performance of this great symphony ever. However, it never feels as though it drags, and Bernstein always keeps the blood running by providing exciting climaxes replete with strong brass and timpani. If you are a fan of percussion, this is a recording that is not to be missed. The first movement provides thumping timpani, and the Finale contains the best cymbal recording in my entire collection of over 500 classical CD's! The cymbals come crashing in very loud and clear, and you can hear the bass drum that accompanies it prominently, with demonstration quality sound!

Overall, this is a very powerful interpretation that is helped by adding weight in the form of slower tempi, as this gives the recording an epic feel. The string tone is absolutely gorgeous, and the climaxes are true climaxes, unlike many other recordings of this work I have heard. Fortissimos are always true fortissimos under Bernstein's direction, which is a must for someone like me who enjoys extreme dynamic ranges. Just listen to the way the tension builds in the second movement, and one instantly realizes that Bernstein always gave everything he had to a piece. The third movement is appropriately light and playful, contrasted beautifully by the cymbal crash that opens the Finale. As an added bonus is another tremendous performance of the Francesca da Rimini. It is a disc like this that puts Bernstein way up there as number one conductor on my list of personal favorites.

Only George Szell's performance (on Penguin Classics) comes close to Bernstein's awe-inspiring interpretation. Mravinsky's legendary recording (on DG) comes in third, and Svetlanov (on the Melodiya label) is also quite good, with the fastest Finale on disc I believe, even faster than Mravinsky's! However, the disc reviewed here is a desert island disc and will be the only Fourth I will ever need.

A heartbreaking, deeply felt Tchaikovsky Fourth.......2006-02-22

The metronome, they say, is a bad critic, but it can't escape notice that the first movement of this live Tchaikovsky Fourth from 1989 is 27 min. long, compared to the usual timing of around 18 min. It's a movement of contrasts, the slower parts being very slow, the fast parts manically energized. But the prevailing intensity and passion deny all argument. This is Bernstein and the NY Phil., which will always be his orchestra, wringing everything out of the music that it can possibly express while miraculously not distorting it.

The second movement begins with an oboe solo of melting sensitivity, the best I've ever heard. If LB's intention was to make every concert a love affair, here it sounds like one. The tempo, again quite measured, seems wholly justified. One hears these familiar melodies as if for the first time. There is a cumulative effect of melancholy from the first movement that crests with heartbreaking intensity.

The last two movementsto reaffirm Bernstein's tragic view of this work. The Scherzo features a very slow, thoughtful second theme, and the finale proceeds without triumph until the coda, which races to the end as if to give us an escape route, at last. It's a draining performance, but I think it might be close to what Tchaikovsky himself felt about this music.

The filler is an equally wrenching performance of Francesca da Rimini, a work Bernstein excelled in, perhaps because it seems so close to Liszt, a composer he brought to life with emotional conviction. In all, this is a CD that rivets the attention and reaches disturbinb depths.

(By Amazon's count this is review #1,001 for me since I began last fall, all but one a CD review. I took up this pastime to acquaint other listeners with the CDs that most inspire me, and I hope I join the category of reliable reviewers I've enjoyed on Amazon as a reader.)

Awful.......2005-07-18

I am shocked to be the only reviewer here giving less than four or five stars to this performance. I just couldn't help but laugh and chuckle all the way through it. Of Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies, the 4th is the one which I have both known and treasured the longest. Tchaikovsky was very proud of himself for producing such a powerful piece of symphonic literature. However, anyone sharing the same opinion who also holds this recording up as good supporting evidence must have his/her head examined. This is not powerful music-making.
Let us delve into this atrocity. A comparative listener might bring up the subject of tempos first, as one might in the case of Bernstein anyway. To say that the tempos are "usually slow" is quite an understatement, and merits an explanation, as slower tempos aren't always a bad thing. They are here; in fact, the slow tempos do a large part in destroying this particular interpretation. When you adopt a slower or faster tempo, it changes the amount of weight that is inherent in the piece you are playing, and consequently the inner rhythms, the mood, and all of the other underlying characteristics of the piece are changed. Tchaikovsky's 4th is a symphony that bears immense inner weight just by itself, no help needed. When you ADD several thousand pounds, as Bernstein does, the music just bottoms out and drags along, without direction. Bernstein starts the cruise with three or four anchors already on the ocean floor. The music can only take so much. The fate theme at the beginning and in the fourth movement are taken at a sluggish largo pace. The exposition of the first movement is supposed to begin at - and be sustained at a waltz tempo (for the dotted quarter note in 9/8 i.e. three flowing beats to the bar), as Tchaikovsky specifically requests. Bernstein seems never to be at a waltz tempo; he bogs the music down and it never gets going. The secondary theme is supposed to retain the waltz feel while moving slightly slower, going from Moderato con anima to just Moderato assai, quasi andante. Bernstein takes it in an extremely slow nine, severing the stylistic link between the sections and altering the mood to something that it should definitely not be. As if to compensate for this, he rushes the tertiary theme (also Mod. con anima) and then goes on to butcher the development with exaggerated tempo changes and a sense of tension that comes off as artificial, something which plagues the coda as well. The second movement is almost half as slow as it should be. The third movement is actually taken too fast, but don't you worry, Bernstein compensates here too by taking the trio, marked "meno mosso" (less moved), half as fast, a thoughtless mannerism which plagues his late recordings in general. The fourth movement, although only a little slower than it should be, sounds ridiculously stupid. The NY Phil is pushing forward and Lenny is holding them back, with very messy results. Only after he has stretched the return of the fate theme to its maximum possible limit does he go faster in the coda, and it magically sounds better. Who'd've thought? The whole performance clocks in at almost 50 minutes, where an ideal timing would be between 40 and 45.
Overall, the listener will probably not hear a spiritually and mentally collapsed Tchaikovsky close to suicide in this performance, but they will get to listen to a fantastic pile of black sludge. If you are just looking for Tchaikovsky 4, find another recording. If you are looking specifically for Bernstein's Tchaik 4, I wish to redirect you to his 1959 version also with the NYP, on the Sony label (Bernstein Century). The 1959 performance features the same blunders, but they aren't as exaggerated and stupid sounding. I enjoyed the third movement of that version myself, and instead of an insanely long (27 minutes!) Francesca da Rimini, the symphony is coupled with a not-so-butchered and honest performance of Capriccio Italien. As a whole the 1959 performance comes closer to demonstrating Tchaikovsky's intentions than this one ever will.

A Majestic 4th and an Earth Shattering Francesca.......2005-04-14

Really, I don't know where to begin when it comes to singing my prasies of this particular cd. Having well over a dozen recordings of its just so hard to find the right balance in tempo during the finale of the first movement. Here, Bernstein achieves the pain, drama, and flair perfectly. The low brass and bass really make it sound like you've been taken out for an emotional gutting. Its powerful.

The symphony as a whole it tremendous - the tempos, while slow, really seem to just FIT this symphony altogether. The opening movement majestic and tragic without dragging. The second movement andante peaceful even hopeful. The third movement pizzicato is playful. The finale is clean, crisp, and wonderful colors explode from an engaged percussion section.

Francesca Da Rimini - this was my first exposure to such a powerful piece of music and have since bought versions by Barenboim and Muti. Also, i have Mravinsky performing this on DVD as well. And my assessment is i enjoy Bernstein's more dramatic effect toward the end as well. If this piece is based upon Dante's Inferno or a part of it, If I am not mistaken - then by god - play it as if it is the end of the world and we're being whisked away to the fiery pits of hell. He achieves that effect in the end - just listen to it and you will know what i mean. The other performances are too fast and too hard to listen to tempo wise during the dramatic climax at the end. I had no idea where any of the other conductors were going with the piece. With Bernstein, it just worked!!!

Average customer rating:

A great conductor, but not always shown off at his best
Exceptional conductor
Exceptional issue !
Exceptional finesse
Brilliant "Artiste" Rescued From The Vaults

Igor Markevitch

Manufacturer: Umvd Labels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Ferenc Fricsay: A Life in Music
The 1950s Haydn Symphonies Recordings
The 1950s Concerto Recordings
Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon
Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music

ASIN: B00009LW31
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Customer Reviews:

A great conductor, but not always shown off at his best.......2006-03-14

I am as great an admirer of Igor Markevitch as the reviewers below who rhapsodize over this bargain 9-CD set from DG. But in truth there are few truly great performances contained here, the best of Markevitch's large output being readily available on DG, Philips, EMI, and Testament. He had the misfortune to suffer hearing loss at the end of his career and also to be associated too often with inferoir ensembles like the Lamouruex orchestra of Paris, caught here in rather awful, wiry sonics that DG has not remastered. So despite the general elation, I think it's worth examining these 9 CDs one by one. (I am adding short comments to the list prepared by a reviewer below.)

CD 1: Mozart 34th and 38th Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic (BP) from 1954, and Mozart's 35th Symphony (1957) and Gluck's Sinfonia in G Major (1958) with the Orchestre Lamoureux, Paris (OLP). MONO except for the Gluck
This is one of the best discs in the colleciton, featuring Markevitch's alert, lean, often rapid Mozart, played with great refinement by the Berliners. The sound is very good for the time, despite the expected edginess in the violins.

CD 2: Haydn Sinfonia Concertante (OLP, 1957), Cimarosa's Concerto for Two Flutes with flutists Aurele Nicolet and Fritz Demmler (BP, 1954) and Schubert's 3rd Symphony (BP, 1954). MONO
Unless you are a fan of spiky French instrumentalists, the elegant Haydn performance sounds cramped and sharp-edged. The much more minor Cimarosa is far better played. The Schubert Third gets the best sound by far. I'm not taken with Markevitch's clipped phrasing and lack of affection throughout, but it's a vigorous, committed performance.

CD 3 and 4: All Beethoven, with the exception of an insightful 15-minute, 1957 interview with Markveitch. Here we get Leonore III Overture (OLP, 1958), Symphony #3 'Eroica' (Symphony of the Air, 1956-57), Symphony #6 'Pastorale' (OLP, 1957), and the Coriolan, Fidelio, Name Day and Consecration of the House Overtures (all OLP, 1958). STEREO except for Sym. #3
All the overtures from the Lamoureux forces are thin and spiky, far from the usual Beethoven style. Fans may appreciate Markevitch's Russian-Gallic temperament here; I'm not so sure. The Eroica from Berlin is much better sounding, although the mono recording is boxy and somewhat muffled--in all his Beethoven Markevitch prefers fast tempi and sharp angles. Surprisingly, the Pastrole is in a different vein--warm and relaxed, with tempos often as slow as Klemperer's. But the Lamoureux orchestra's technical abilities are quite underwhelming, and I can't find a compelling reason to listen to the performance except in patches.

CD 5: Brahms Symphony #1 with the Symphony of the Air (1956), Alto Rhapsody (with Irina Arkhipova and the Russian State Academy Choir), Tragic Overture with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (both 1963). STEREO
For the first time since CD 1 we get a compelling sense of Markevitch's stature. The Brahms First with Toscanini's (remaned) orchestra is fully the equal of anyone's--huge, heroic, and wonderfully played. The Russian performance of the Alto Rhapsody features the great Arkhipova, and for once the Soviet sonics are good. The Tragic Overture, dating from after Markevitch's decline in hearing (1963), seems a bit undernourished and is in dim, distant sound, but it casts a spell nonetheless.

CD 6: Brahms 4th Symphony (OLP, 1958), Kodaly Psalmus Hungaricus with tenor Robert Ilosfalvy (RSA Choir & USSR SSO, 1963). STEREO
The Brahms Fourth is a very good performance in the lean, propulsive Toscanini style. I don't fancy the scrappy playing of the Lamoureux orchestra, especially the coarse brass blatting away in the finale--other conductors like Szell have done better in this vein--but in its punchy, rough-and-ready way Markevitch's Brahms Fourth commands attention. We are in a differetn world with the Kodaly, however, which gets a stunning performance, and the brutish playing by the Russian orchestra really works.

CD 7: Orchestral music of Wagner--Preludes to Acts I and III of Lohengrin, Tannhauser Overture (all OLP, 1958), and Venusberg Music from Tannhauser, Siegfired Idyll and Ride of the Valkyries (all BP, 1954). MONO
The Berlin Phil. doesn't sound like the world-class orchestra it would become once again under Karajan, but these excerpts are well played and recorded for their time. Markevitch was a modernist in Wagner, favoring fast tempos and eschewing expressive profundities. The music can take it, but one is always aware that something deeper is necessary. An odd-man-out disc but enjoyable.

CD 8: French fare with Gounod's 2nd Symphony and Bizet's Jeux d'enfants (both OLP, 1957), and Debussy's La Mer and Deux Danses (both OLP, 1959). MONO except for the Debussy
These Lamoureux readings are Gallic to the core, of course, and thoroughly delightful. Everything that sounds wrong in Beethoven works perfectly here. The mono sound, however, is edgy and shrill at loud volume. Things improve for the Debussy--La Mer, a Markevitch showpiece, gets an alert, quicksilver performance with many individual otuches in phrasing. It comes closest to being great of anything in the whole ocllection.

CD 9: Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony (BP, 1953) and Francesca da Rimini (OLP, 1959). MONO and STEREO respectively.
The colleciton ends on a high note, since Markevitch was arguably the greatest Tchaikovsky conductor after Mravinsky. The mono sound for the Berliners is good for its era. This is a neurotic, anguished Pathetique of the kind we rarely hear today. Likewise the Francsca da Rimini, where the Lamoureux's shrill, thin woodwinds seem to add to the effect.

In sum, the half-dozen superior performances stand out fairly obviously, and all are worthwhile for any listener. Frankly, the rest belongs in the realm of specialty collecting, although naturally others may strongly disagree, especially anyone who likes the Lamoureux orchestra much better than I do.

Exceptional conductor.......2005-06-08

Markevitch was, once, part of Diaghilev's "Ballets Russe"'s ensemble, and understood Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, and other Russian composers (and their intents) very-well, and very-dynamically. His Philips' recordings (1970) of Tchaikovsky symphonies (plus other works) are still, some of the best, integral cycles-of-interpretations to be had, and his expertise was not bounded-by Russian works - his (Berlioz) Damnation of Faust, among other interpretations - are some of the best that discipline can devise. A MARVELOUS conductor, as was the (also) Russian-born, Jascha Horenstein. ... Horenstein, Markevitch, & Sixten Ehrling were some of the BEST of the post-War (including some pre-War recordings) era, and very-much of ANY recordings of them are much worth-having ... including the present, DG set.

Exceptional issue !.......2004-09-09

Since I heard once on vynil the incredible apssionate and to me the greatest veriosn ever made of the First Symphony of Johannes Brahms ever made .
And believe me , I love this symphony and I have heard at least one hundred versions : with Furtwangler , Toscanini superb performance of the forties , Istvan Kertsez , Kubelik Chicago , Munch , and a long etc .
But the inner mood and the clear but cleverly established sequence of the right tone and the use of the concise tempo in every phrase make of that version unique and unrepeteable .
I know about the Mozart Symphonies with the Berlin Philarmonic that still in those ages sounded with the furtwanglerain mood . They are sublime .
But consider once more that only with this Brahms Symphony, all the rest of the set you may consider a special buy , a worthable and fundamental bonus. Igor Markevitch was a conductor unfairly neglected .
Watch this CD because it will let you astonished and will prove by itself all the virtues of that master conductor .

Exceptional finesse.......2003-11-14

Of all the nine, really adorable, boxed sets by DG it was this one that I hastened to grab since Markevitch's interpretations had always been to my liking.
To be more honest, it was his Lamoureux recordings that I was after. In these recordings, it is the wind sound that dominates, and especially the brass section. For this reason, his Damnation and his Mozart Coronation had always been my favourites.
The present box contains a splendid Brahms 4th with a Chaconne, at the end that really moved me with its intensity (Markevitch slows quite a lot in the middle section to allow his woodwinds express themselves and this pronounces much more the forceful brass-dominated outer sections).
By the way, this set gives quite an idea of Markevitch's popularity at the time (recordings in the US with Toscanini's NBC Orchestra - renamed Symphony of the Air, recordings in Moscow with Brahms and Kodaly plus the 2 great European orchestras: the Lamoureux and the Berliners - some years before Karajan's arrival).

Brilliant "Artiste" Rescued From The Vaults.......2003-08-13

Now that Deutsche Grammophon is part of Universal, we have seen some interesting things happen, and not all of them bad. What I'm referring to in this case is the new "Original Masters" Limited Edition Box Set series. Finally, the classical music world has taken a page out of the jazz reissue handbook -- put out a quality product featuring rare recordings but make its availability limited, and people will snatch it up.

Now in its second round of the "Original Masters" box sets, DG has chosen to follow-up on the success of the "Great Conductors of the Century" series. They have just released two glorious 9-disc collections of the performances of conductors Igor Markevitch and Ferenc Fricsay, the vast majority of which have been previously unavailable on CD.

This particular set, "Un Veritable Artiste," showcases some of the numerous recordings made by the great conductor Igor Markevitch for Deutsche Grammophon and Philips, many of which have been rare (and expensive) collector's items for years. As the track information is non-existent above, I will try to be of assistance.

The first disc contains Mozart's 34th and 38th Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic (BP) from 1954, and Mozart's 35th Symphony (1957) and Gluck's Sinfonia in G Major (1958) with the Orchestre Lamoureux, Paris (OLP).

Disc two features Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante (OLP, 1957), Cimarosa's Concerto for Two Flutes with flutists Aurele Nicolet and Fritz Demmler (BP, 1954) and Schubert's 3rd Symphony (BP, 1954).

Discs three and four are all Beethoven, with the exception of an insightful 15-minute, 1957 interview with Markveitch. Here we get Leonore III Overture (OLP, 1958), 3rd Symphony (Symphony of the Air, 1956-57), 6th Symphony (OLP, 1957), and the Coriolan, Fidelio, Name Day and Consecration of the House Overtures (all OLP, 1958).

Disc five is all Brahms -- the 1st Symphony with Symphony of the Air (1956), and the Alto Rhapsody (with the Russian State Academy Choir) and Tragic Overture with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (both 1963).

Disc six continues with Brahms, his 4th Symphony (OLP, 1958), and ends with Kodaly's Psalmus Hungaricus with tenor Robert Ilosfalvy (RSA Choir & USSR SSO, 1963).

Disc seven focuses on orchestral music from the operas of Wagner. Here we have the Preludes to Acts I and III of Lohengrin and the Tannhauser Overture (all OLP, 1958), and Venusberg Music from Tannhauser, Siegfired-Idyll and The Ride of the Valkyries (all BP, 1954).

Disc eight features all French fare with Gounod's 2nd Symphony and Bizet's Jeux d'enfants (both OLP, 1957), and Debussy's La Mer and Deux Danses (both OLP, 1959).

The final disc, number nine, wraps things up with Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony (BP, 1953) and Francesca da Rimini (OLP, 1959).

Despite the fact that many of these recordings are in mono (mostly the pre-1957 ones), the first rate performances more than compensate for any audio shortcomings. The stereo performances are the warm, glowing and brilliant accounts that vintage collectors have appreciated for years.

Well, I guess the consolidation of the music industry isn't so bad after all, as long as I can look forward to more reissues like Igor Markevitch: Un Veritable Artiste.

Bernstein Royal Edition: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4/ Francesca da Rimini

Average customer rating:

Lenny Never Deserves Two-Stars
Bernstein kind of sleep-walks through this one

Bernstein Royal Edition: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4/ Francesca da Rimini

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Brahms: Symphony No. 4; Academic Festival Overture; Tragic Overture (Bernstein: The Royal Edition)
Danzon Cuban / El Salon Mexico
Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 5; Egmont Overture - Bernstein Royal Edition
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
The Royal Edition, No. 51 Of 100: Gustav Mahler

ASIN: B0000027O1
Release Date: 1993-11-02

Tracks:

Sym No. 4 in f, Op. 36: I. Adante Sostenuto-Moderato Con Anima-Moderato Assai, Quasi Andante...
Sym No. 4 in f, Op. 36: II. Andantino In Modo Di Canzona
Sym No. 4 in f, Op. 36: III. Scherzo. Pizzicato Ostinato. Allegro
Sym No. 4 in f, Op. 36: IV. Allegro Con Fuoco
Francesca Da Rimini, Op. 32: Symphonic Fant After Dante

Amazon.com

Bernstein directs exciting performances of both the symphony and the tone poem, even if he does add a few extra cymbal crashes to the finale of the former (they actually make a lot sense). The problem, if there is one, is the recorded sound in the symphony, which is very dry and unpleasant, even though it's more recent than the other performances in this Tchaikovsky cycle. Given the large number of fine performances of this symphony by other conductors (Markevitch, Mravinsky, and Jansons, for example), this factor may well disqualify the recording from consideration. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Lenny Never Deserves Two-Stars.......2004-02-07

Leonard Bernstein performances never warrant a mere two-star review. Save the deuce-eggs for Britney Spears, big-hair heavy metal glam-rockers and live classical historic recordings made on your grandfather's old mic-in-hand tape recorders. I will agree with the previous reviewer that this 1975 account of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony does not stand up to his earlier 1958 account (currently available in the "Bernstein Century" series). But I found it more audacious that CBS/Sony originally included the '75 recording in its "Great Performances" series than in the "Royal Edition" series, which made no claims towards greatness and made possible the release of other obscure pieces from the Bernstein catalog. Actually, the most offensive thing of all (though I guess I should expect it by now), is that I worked like a dog tracking down Bernstein's Tchaikovsky Cycle, via the "Royal Edition" titles, only to have it recently reissued in the French "Columbia Legends" line at half the price. Now that is a subject on which I'd like to give Sony my "two-stars" worth.

Bernstein kind of sleep-walks through this one.......1999-03-07

"Lenny" recorded this work three times. His radical rethink on DG done in the 1980's is an exercise in the most bizarre musicmaking. In THAT rendering of the score, he stretches phrasing beyond the breaking point and the interpretation is full of the most unusual idiosyncracies. This 1975 recording is a straightforward account and is not a "bad" recording, merely an uninspired one. Every musician does his job, but that's ALL one can say about their playing...It's like reading yesterday's newspapers...okay, but nothing new here. It's a shame that Sony did not release Bernstein's first (1958) recording of the Fourth. He had just taken over the reins of the Philharmonic and this was one of the first recordings of the stereo era. Lenny had his troupe playing like 105 Satans on hallucinogens and it was a visceral and very heady experience. THAT recording is probably the all-time best Tchaikovsky Fourth. As a second choice, Abbado and the Vienna is a stellar choice.

The Life and Works of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky

Average customer rating:

A fascinating look at a tortured genius

The Life and Works of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Antoni Wit , Gerhard Markson , Kenneth Jean , Michael Halasz , Ondrej Lenard , Philippe Entremont , Stefan Sanderling , CSSR State Philharmonic Orchestra , National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland , National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio and Television , National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine , Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra , Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra , Wiener Kammerorchester , Bernd Glemser , Oxana Yablonskaya , Takako Nishizaki , and Vladimir Grishko
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Sextets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Brahms: Life & Works
Life & Works of Verdi
The Life and Works of Franz Schubert
The Life and Works of Antonín Dvorák, Narration with Musical Excerpts
Life & Works

ASIN: B0000669V2
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Tracks:

Tchaikovsky In Early Childhood
Music: Glinka: Overature To A Life For The Tsar
Enforced Separation From His Mother
Music: Tchaikovsky: Dumka, Op. 59
Death Of His Mother
Music: Reverie Du Soir
Early Manhood: The Spendthrift Civil Servant
Music: Minuet From Mozartina
Dismissive Opinions Of Other Composers
Music: The Storm
Journey To A Breakdown
Music: First Symphony
Abortive Engagement
The Advent Of Balakirev
Music: Romeo And Juliet
Travels And A Wounded Friendship
Music: First Piano Concerto

Tracks:

Reforming The Ballet
Music: The Rose Adagio From The Sleeping Beauty
Bizet's Carmen Has A Major Effect On Tchaikovsky's Music
Music: Francesca Da Rimini
A Compositional Paradox
Music: Rococo Variations
The Struggle Of Despair And Hope: He Decides To Marry
Music: The Tempest
The Advent Of Nadezhda Von Meck
Music: The Sleeping Beauty Waltz
The Disastrous Road To Matrimony
Music: Romeo And Juliet
Marriage, Trauma, And A Fairy Tale Annuity
Letter To Mme Von Meck
Music: Romeo And Juliet

Tracks:

Recorvery And Creativity
Music: Fourth Symphony
The Creation Of His Favorite Opera
Music: Lensky's Aria From Eugene Onegin
The Return To Compositional Health
Music: Violin Concerto In D
He Experiences Distressing Relapses
Music: Capriccio Italien
Psychological Disturbances And A Long Fallow Period
Music: Piano Trio In A Minor
Sufferings For Mme Von Meck; He Decides To Settle Down
Music: Manfred Symphony
Conducting Tours And Domestic Bliss
Music: Fifth Symphony
More Conducting Tours, And A Working Holiday In Italy
Music: Souvenir De Florence

Tracks:

The Rift With Mme Von Meck
Music: Sixth Symphony (Second Movement)
His Obsession With 'Bob' Davydov; Adventures In America
Music: Fifth Symphony
Further American Adventures
A Trip To Niagara
Music: Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker)
A Darker Episode
Music: Voyevode
Portrait Of A Conductor
A Hero's Return
Music: Sixth Symphony
The Mystery Surrounding His Death
Music: First Piano Concerto

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating look at a tortured genius.......2002-08-21

Naxos continues to do a wonderful job with its "Life and Works" series. Quite some time ago, we had a Life/Works of Mozart, one of Chopin and then two more, Liszt and Beethoven. he latter are even better packaged than are the earlier sets, with a thick booklet that offers us essays on the historical background, the position of the composer in his time, a look at the major works, a listening plan, recommended readings, personalities, a calendar of the artist's life, a glossary, and a discography. This booklet is worth the price of the set alone.

Now we have two more entries in this amazing series, again written and narrated by Jeremy Siepmann: "Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky" (8.558036-39) with a playing time of 4 hrs. 5 min. and "Johann Sebastian Bach" (8.558051-54) with a playing time of 4 hrs. 34 minutes. (Please see my comments on the Bach set on its webpage.)

Was there ever a sadder composer than Tchaikovsky? Siepmann practically introduces us to the child in his cradle and covers his 53 or so years of torment over his music, his sexuality, his impossibly hopeless marriage his strange relationship with Mme von Meck, and above all his music.

Tracks:

Also sprach Zarathustra: Opening Fanfare (2001 - A Space Odyssey) - Silver Screen Classics
Adagio For Strings Op.11: Adagio For Strings, Op. 11 (Platoon) - Silver Screen Classics
The Sleeping Beauty: Waltz (Rollerball) - Silver Screen Classics
Wally's Aria, Act I.: La Wally (Diva) - Silver Screen Classics
Midsummer Night's Dream: Wedding March (Midsummer Night's Dream) - Silver Screen Classics
Symphony No. 5: Adagietto (Death In Venice) - Silver Screen Classics
Piano Concerto K.365: III. Rondo Allergo (Amadeus) - Silver Screen Classics
L'Elisir d'Amore: Aria 'Una Furtiva Lagrima' (Lorenzos Oil) - Silver Screen Classics
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) - Silver Screen Classics
Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique': Adagio Lamentoso (The Music Lovers) - Silver Screen Classics

Tracks:

The Four Seasons: I. Spring (allegro) (The Four Seasons) - Silver Screen Classics
Canon In D: Canon In D (Ordinary People) - Silver Screen Classics
Carmen: Habanera (Carmen Jones) - Silver Screen Classics
William Tell: Soldier's Dance (E La Nave Va) - Silver Screen Classics
Clarinet Concerto: Adagio (Out of Africa) - Silver Screen Classics
Violin Concerto No.2: III. Allegro assai (Love Story) - Silver Screen Classics
Lohengrin: Prelude Act 1 (Ludwig) - Silver Screen Classics
The Pearl Fishers: Duet ' Au Fond du Temps Saint' (The Pearl Fishers) - Silver Screen Classics
Slymphony No.8 (Unfinished): II. Andante con moto (Notturno) - Silver Screen Classics
Bolero: Bolero (10) - Silver Screen Classics

Tracks:

Gayaneh: Sabre Dance (Punchline) - Various Artists
Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo sinfonico: Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo Sinfonico (Raging Bull) - Various Artists
Symphony No. 4 'Italian': IV. Saltarello - Presto (Breaking Away) - Various Artists
Madama Butterfly: Love Duet ' Viene La Sera' (Mona Lisa) - Various Artists
Pomp & Circumstance: March No. 1 (A Clockwork Orange) - Various Artists
Gianni Schicci: Aria 'O Mio Babbino Caro' (A Room With A View) - Various Artists
Twilight Of The Gods: Funeral March (Excalibur) - Various Artists
Sinfonia concertante K. 364: I. Allegro maestoso (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Moment Musical D.780 No. 3: Moment Musical D.780 No. 3 (E La Nave Va) - Various Artists
Flute Sonata In F Major K.13: I. Allegro (Love Story) - Various Artists
Symphony No. 7 In A Major: II. Allegretto (Immortal Beloved) - Various Artists

Tracks:

Ride of the Valkyries: Ride Of The Valkyries (Apocalypse Now) - Various Artists
Piano Concerto No. 21: II. Andante (Elvira Madigan) - Various Artists
Dance Of The Toy Flutes: Dance Of The Toy Flutes (E La Nave Va) - Various Artists
William Tell: Overture (A Clockwork Orange) - Various Artists
Madama Butterfly: Finale 'Con Onor Muore' (Fatal Attraction) - Various Artists
String Quartet In C D.956: II. Adagio (Notturno) - Various Artists
Aufschwung: Aufschwung (Heat and Dust) - Various Artists
Idomeneo: March (Barry Lyndon) - Various Artists
Carnival Of The Animals: The Swan (E La Nave Va) - Various Artists
Emperor Waltz: Emperor Waltz (The Last Emperor) - Various Artists

Tracks:

Tocatta In D Minor: Tocatta In D Minor (Rollerball) - Various Artists
Mandoline Concerto: Mandoline Concerto (Kramer Vs. Kramer) - Various Artists
Symphony No 29 In A Major K.201: I. Allegro moderato (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Symphony No 9 In C Major: II. Andante con Moto (Notturno) - Various Artists
The Force Of Destiny: Overture (E La Nave Va) - Various Artists
Manon Lescaut: Aria: 'Sola, perduta, abbadonata' (Hannah And Her Sisters) - Various Artists
Clair de Lune: Clair de Lune (E La Nave Va) - Various Artists
Carmen: Seguedille of Carmen 'Pres de remparts' (Carmen) - Various Artists
Symphony No. 9 'Choral': 4th Movement (Excerpts) (Dead Poets Society) - Various Artists
Fur Elise: Fur Elise (Immortal Beloved) - Various Artists

Tracks:

The Marriage Of Figaro: Overture (Trading Places) - Various Artists
Concerto for 2 violins: II. Largo ma non tanto (Children Of A Lesser God) - Various Artists
Quintet In F Major 'Trout Quintet': I. Allegro vivace (Notturno) - Various Artists
Oboe Concerto In D Minor: II. Adagio (Lorenzos Oil) - Various Artists
Tales From The Vienna Woods: Tales From The Vienna Woods (Heat And Dust) - Various Artists
Symphony No. 9 'Choral': 2nd Movement (A Clockwork Orange) - Various Artists
l'apres midi d'un faune: Prelude (Nijinsky) - Various Artists
The Thieving Magpie: Overture (A Clockwork Orange) - Various Artists
Symphony No. 6 In F Major 'Pastorale': IV. Allegro - The Storm (Immortal Beloved) - Various Artists

Tracks:

Rhapsody In Blue: Rhapsody In Blue (Manhattan) - Various Artists
Madama Butterfly: Aria: 'Un bel di vedremo' (Fatal Attraction) - Various Artists
Adagio: Adagio (Gallipoli) - Various Artists
Turandot: Aria: 'Nessun dorma' (The Witches Of Eastwick) - Various Artists
The Marriage Of Figaro: March (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Piano Trio No. 2 In E Flat Major: II. Andante con moto (Notturno) - Various Artists
Requiem: Introitus (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Requiem: Dies Irae (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Requiem: Rex Tremendae (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Requiem: Confutatis (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Requiem: Lacrymosa (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Symphony No. 5 In C Minor: I. Allegro conbrio (Immortal Beloved) - Various Artists

Tracks:

Strike Up The Band: Strike Up The Band (Manhattan) - Silver Screen Classics
La Boheme: Aria: 'Che Gelida Manina' (Moonstruck) - Silver Screen Classics
'1812': Overture (The Music Lovers) - Silver Screen Classics
Ave verum corpus: Ave Verum Corpus (Lorenzos Oil) - Silver Screen Classics
Carmen: Escamillio's Song 'Votre Toast' (Carmen) - Silver Screen Classics
La Boheme: Aria: 'Addio...D'onde lieta usci' (Moonstruck) - Silver Screen Classics
The Abduction From The Seraglio: Finale (Amadeus) - Silver Screen Classics
Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor: II. Romanze (Amadeus) - Silver Screen Classics
Symphony No. 25: Allegro con brio (Amadeus) - Silver Screen Classics
The Marriage Of Figaro: Finale 'Pace, pace' (Amadeus) - Silver Screen Classics

Tracks:

Peer Gynt: Morning (Song Of Norway) - Silver Screen Classics
Eine kleine Nachtmusik: Menuetto Allegretto - Rondo Allegro (Ace Venture - Pet Detective) - Silver Screen Classics
Xerxes: Largo (Les Liaisons Dangereuse) - Silver Screen Classics
The Magic Flute: Aria: 'Der Holle Rache'; Aria Queen Of The Night (Amadeus) - Silver Screen Classics
Symphony No. 6 'Pastorale': II. Andante molto mosso (Fantasia) - Silver Screen Classics
La Gioconda: Dance Of The Hours (Fantasia) - Silver Screen Classics
Ave Maria: Ave Maria (Fantasia) - Silver Screen Classics
Andrea Chenier: Aria: 'Come se amare' - 'La mamma morta'; Aria Of Maddalena, 3.Akt (Philadelphia) - Silver Screen Classics
Semiramide: Overture (Unfaithfully Yours) - Silver Screen Classics
Piano Concerto No.5 'Emperor': II. Adagio un poco mosso (Immortal Beloved) - Silver Screen Classics

Tracks:

Messiah: Hallelujah (Look Who's Talking Too) - Various Artists
Serenade 'Gran Partita': III. Adagio (Amadeus) - Various Artists
Stabat Mater: 'Quando corpus morietur' (Amadeus) - Various Artists
The Magic Flute: Aria: 'Ein Madchen Oder Weibchen' (Amadeus) - Various Artists
A Night On The Bare Mountain (Fantasia) - Various Artists
Tannhauser: Pilgrims Chorus (Unfaithfully Yours) - Various Artists
Francesca da Rimini: Francesca Da Rimini (Unfaithfully Yours) - Various Artists
Blue Danube Waltz (Champagne Waltz) - Various Artists

Customer Reviews:

An excellent sampler to get into classical music.......2002-07-02

So often we hear classical music in the movies and wonder "What is that called?" Well now it's here - a chance to find it and listen again to something that caught your ear and your heart. While normally I'm not a big fan of sampler complication albums, I love this set because of the breadth of works represented here. While not explicitly instructional (the liner notes are non-existent, and there is no real explanation of the works beyond their appearance in a specific movie), it lets you experience many famous, and lesser known pieces of classical music. Besides just giving you a nice album to put on and relax to, it also lets you find someone that you may not have heard before, listen to a piece and maybe go off in search of more by the same composer.

The bottom line is that for this price, you have a bargain of CD's of fine quality, and extraordinary breadth, with an anchor to the movies to help put them in a place. Besides, where else can you look for a specific film to try and find out what was that piece that is stuck in your head?

Ten cd's for one incredible price........2001-08-26

Not only do you receive an entire collection of ten cds for a phenomenal value, but you get the best classical music ever composed. These are songs that have been featured in widely popular films, including Apocalypse Now, which brought fame to Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. This will make a priceless gift for any lover of the cinema or of classical music. All of the songs that are included range from a variety of eras. In addition, famous composers from Mozart to Strauss make an appearance in this musical collection. These songs will remind you of the great movies that you've seen.

Average customer rating:

A truly rare excellent recording and performance
Firey Passion, in both pieces
A true oldie but goodie

Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Tchaikovsky : Symphony 1,2 and 3
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 / Midsummer Night's Dream
Kaleidoscope
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 "Pastoral"
Dorati Conducts Satie, Milhaud, Auric, Françaix & Fetler

ASIN: B0000057N5
Release Date: 1996-08-13

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 1. Andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 2. Andantino in modo di canzona
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 3. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 4. Finale. Allegro con fuoco
Francesca da Rimini, Symphonic Fantasy, Op. 32
Prince Igor: Overture

Customer Reviews:

A truly rare excellent recording and performance.......2003-10-29

With each additional Living Presence CD I purchase I am more amazed at the sheer technical genius possessed by the Mercury recording engineers. The Tchaikovsy 4th and Prince Igor recordings are among the best recorded works that I have ever heard; the artistic merit is equally high. Fracesca de Rimini is vital from a performance point of view, though the recording quality is less.

To make an editorial statement: I think that this old Mercury recording shows how timeless technique, such as microphone placement, on a 40-year-old recording surpasses today's technical capabilities placed in less-capable hands. These old Mercury recordings bring out the music in a truly "living" way. Many of today's "wide dyanmic range" (ie. you often can't hear 50% of the music) recordings and their creators would be well-advised to learn from these old LP-era masterworks.

In any event Dorati and his orchestras have given the user a truly desert-island, compelling recording that you will reach for over and over again.

Firey Passion, in both pieces.......2002-10-21

Marking Tchaikovsky's breakthrough in symphonic form, Symphony 4 is also probably his most popular, next to the Pathetique, and possibly even more popular because, frankly, it ends happy. Those who know the true Tchaikovsky know this has to be some of the best self-deceiving known- however, he pulls off a happy ending with such bombast, it is impossible to remain in your seat in the racous finale of this work. Especially in Dorati's hands, the dance and kinetic energy of this symphony springs forth in every movement. Tchaikovsky was accused of including passages that alluded too much to ballet music. Tchaikovsky didn't realize why that was a fault, and today we certainly forgive him for it. However, too often conductors become oversentimental and milk Tchaikovsky's torments into the most horrid shmaltz- totally neglecting the dance quality inherent in Tchaikovsky's writing. Dorati refreshingly does not. Instead, he employs this danciness to give the passion a constant forward-driving motion, leaving the listener swamped and excited all at once. The effect is wonderful- the first mvt. cries its passion fiercly as opposed to being just whiny and sloshy, the inner mvts sing, and the last really puts the "fuoco" in the Allegro con Fuoco like no other.
Also, coupled is a truly first rate Francesca- Dorati's readings of this are quite unique, and his slavic flavor keep many of the sections from falling into that slushy goop of hollywood romance by reigniting them with fire- and giving this beautiful love-lament the true purging of hellfire that is called for. Francesca and the 4th symphony couple well together, and here is a CD with a great perfomance of each for a reasonable price! To me there is no question- save youself from overdone Tchaikovsky by buying these discs, whose energy is rarely matched.

A true oldie but goodie.......2000-06-29

Is it ever good to return to this wonderful set of performances that dominated the catalog for a long time...a relatively long time ago.

Dorati and the LSO are at their considerable best, the drama and pathos are there, but we are uniquely spared the bathos and noisiness that we're usually subjected to in these matters (yes, Lennie was the worst!)

While Dorati's remakes with the National SO in the 70s were outstanding, there's something about the more immediate sound and the somewhat more ship-shape orchestral standards on these Mercury-originated issues that gets more out of the music with less technique and more naturalness. If you do side-by-sides you'll know what I mean.