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Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade (Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Grammophon)

Symphonies 3 & 4....





Walter really drives the orchestra in the opening movement of No. 3. The conducting is so forceful that one can almost hear the lashes of the conductor’s whip. The funeral march is solemn and grand. The Scherzo is energetic but not frantic. In the final movement the music making is very strident and earnest and played with passion and commitment. This recording was made in 1949.

There is a bonus CD in this set and one of the works on it is a 1941 version of Symphony No. 3. In this earlier version the recorded sound is not quite up to the same standard as the later one but it is far from poor; it just sounds older. The overall interpretation did not change in the intervening 8 years between the two recordings. Walter had obviously fixed on an interpretation. Interestingly, there is only a difference of 17 seconds over the 48 minutes or so between the two recordings!


We have a very Adagio start to No. 4 but it soon bursts into life with busy bassoons warbling away wonderfully in the background and the movement continues busy and bright throughout. The slow movement is beautifully played and is quite expressive. The Scherzo like 3rd movement is steady and not over exuberant. The final movement has great drive and moves along at pace but never hurriedly; the pacing is steady but emphatic.

fergus wrote:Symphonies 3 & 4....
Walter really drives the orchestra in the opening movement of No. 3. The conducting is so forceful that one can almost hear the lashes of the conductor’s whip. The funeral march is solemn and grand. The Scherzo is energetic but not frantic. In the final movement the music making is very strident and earnest and played with passion and commitment. This recording was made in 1949.

There is a bonus CD in this set and one of the works on it is a 1941 version of Symphony No. 3. In this earlier version the recorded sound is not quite up to the same standard as the later one but it is far from poor; it just sounds older. The overall interpretation did not change in the intervening 8 years between the two recordings. Walter had obviously fixed on an interpretation. Interestingly, there is only a difference of 17 seconds over the 48 minutes or so between the two recordings!


We have a very Adagio start to No. 4 but it soon bursts into life with busy bassoons warbling away wonderfully in the background and the movement continues busy and bright throughout. The slow movement is beautifully played and is quite expressive. The Scherzo like 3rd movement is steady and not over exuberant. The final movement has great drive and moves along at pace but never hurriedly; the pacing is steady but emphatic.

That's a very interesting review Fergus, thanks for that. I note that you start with the First Symphony and make your way sequentially through the set. When I get a new Beethoven cycle I always start with my favourite, the Seventh, and then I continue with numbers 1 & 2.

bombasticDarren wrote:

fergus wrote:

bombasticDarren wrote:Stravinsky - Symphonies of Wind instruments & La Sacre du Printemps (Kent Nagano, London Symphony Orchestra, Virgin Classics)

How did you get on with that one Darren? Nagano is not a conductor that I am familiar with.

Very well. The Sacre was one of the most mellow I have in my collection (I agree btw; it's hard to play it mellow). It was a nice change to the usual blood and thunder approach.

Nagano is, on the whole, a 'steady eddie' type conductor, but I'm rarely disappointed by him.

The valuable performance there is the rarely heard but beautiful Perséphone. That was originally paired with Le Sacre du Printemps.

Seán wrote:
That's a very interesting review Fergus, thanks for that.

There are one or two people expressing an interest in this set Seán so I thought that it might be useful to put my thoughts down for consideration.
One thing to note is that this is a mono set in case that scares anybody off. This does not make a difference to me as these older mono performances tend to be super performances!

I note that you start with the First Symphony and make your way sequentially through the set. When I get a new Beethoven cycle I always start with my favourite, the Seventh, and then I continue with numbers 1 & 2.

Yes I always do that Seán as I like to feel the momentum of the works building up. They are rarely recorded in chronological order though.

fergus wrote:

Seán wrote:
That's a very interesting review Fergus, thanks for that.

There are one or two people expressing an interest in this set Seán so I thought that it might be useful to put my thoughts down for consideration.
One thing to note is that this is a mono set in case that scares anybody off. This does not make a difference to me as these older mono performances tend to be super performances!

Not in the slightest, no. My first recordings were of Ellington's music recorded in 1940 - 1942, so I have never had a problems on that score.

I note that you start with the First Symphony and make your way sequentially through the set. When I get a new Beethoven cycle I always start with my favourite, the Seventh, and then I continue with numbers 1 & 2.

Yes I always do that Seán as I like to feel the momentum of the works building up. They are rarely recorded in chronological order though.

I will follow your journey with interest.

It seems that finally the market is reaching saturation point with Vivaldi concertos, lately there haven´t been many new releases, but Naïve keeps busy with its on going series.
If there are going to be new Vivaldi concertos cds, they´d better be as good as this. Italian/Japanese violinist Riccardo Minasi who usually plays with Il Giardino Armonico and the Accademia Bizantina is one of the supreme virtuosos of our time, and he delivers the thrills and fireworks with his own group Il Pomo d´Oro. A great recording.

The sublime Sonata no.3

Angela Hewitt: NOT Bach (again)