Contents look good, great price
RaleighObserver | Eastern USA | 11/16/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have not purchased or listened to the transfers in this 10-disc set. Many of the performances are available through other sources, however, and most are fine. Here is the contents of the set:
CD 1 (TT: 63:10 1951): Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major. Berlin Philharmonic; Wilhelm Furtwangler, Conductor.
CD 2 (TT: 63:22 1941-49): Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 97; Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90. NBC Symphony Orchestra; Arturo Toscanini, Conductor.
CD 3 (TT: 68:18 1941-48): Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67*; Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. Vienna Philharmonic*; Staatskapelle Berlin; Herbert von Karajan, Conductor.
CD 4 (TT: 71:59 1940-51): Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, KV385, Haffner;* Symphony No. 41 in C Major, KV551, Jupiter**; Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D.759. Berlin Philharmonic*; Staatskapelle Dresden**; Vienna Philharmonic; Karl Bohm, Conductor.
CD 5 (TT: 78:03 1946-47): Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40; Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz116. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, Conductor.
CD 6 (TT: 56:46 1939): Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major. Jo Vincent, Soprano; Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra; Willem Mengelberg, Conductor.
CD 7 (TT: 40:51 1930-44): Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on the Bare Mountain. Boston Symphony Orchestra; Sergey Koussevitzky, Conductor.
CD 8 (TT: 79:06 1946): Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60, Leningrad. Berlin Philharmonic; Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor.
CD 9 (TT: 47:07 1934-37): Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, From the New World*; Strauss, Jr.: An der schonen blauen Donau. Czech Philharmonic Orchestra*; Vienna Philharmonic; George Szell, Conductor.
CD 10 (TT: 67:10 1926-35): Wagner: Gotterdammerung: Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt*; Siegfried Idyll**; Rienzi: Overture; Der Fliegende Hollander: Overture*; Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg: Prelude to Act 1*; Parsifal: Prelude to Act 1. The British Symphony Orchestra*; Vienna Philharmonic**; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Bruno Walter, Conductor.
Furtwangler's Bruckner, Koussevitzsky's Mussorgski, Menghelberg's Mahler, Reiner's Strauss and Bartok, Walter's Wagner, Szell's Dvorak -- you can't really go wrong there. The Celibidache is an added plus, from his earlier and more vital period. And whether you really prefer Karajan's Beethoven or Boehm's Mozart and Schubert, their performances have come to be accepted as "standard" interpretations. Toscanini's Schumann and Brahms is an odd selection there -- two composers we don't normally associate with this conductor. I haven't heard these performances, so I have no idea whether we have the soaring, singing Toscanini or the driven, hard-bitten one.
The price is outstanding. The transfers would have to be abysmal to make this a bad choice given most the performances involved. Please remember most of these recordings are in mono, and some of them -- like Menghelberg's, Koussevitsky's and Walter's -- are old enough to have somewhat cramped sonics. Do not expect modern-quality stereo sound.
"
Lots of musical history, slightly dimmed
Fred Granlund | Los Angeles, CA USA | 08/26/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Many thanks to "JiYu" for providing the contents listing for this fascinating collection. Since I've actually heard the discs, I'll supplement his (her?) comments with some first-hand observations.
The real interest here is in the historical status of these performances: Reiner's first recordings of Strauss and Bartok, Koussevitsky's world-premiere recording of Ravel's arrangemeng of "Pictures" (commissioned by Koussevitsky), Szell's first recording of the "New World" Symphony, the first Berlin performance of the Shostakovich "Leningrad" Symphony (by Celibidache, no less - a real rarity), and so on. Most of this material is available from other sources, usually in better transfers (some of these recordings sound pretty dreadful), but the convenience of having it all in one "slim-line" box barely an inch wide is very desirable. Some specific notes:
The Mengelberg/Mahler 4th is ubiquitous, so most collectors have it; if not, this incarnation is as good as any.
The 1951 Furtwangler/Bruckner 7th is no match for the 1949 EMI studio recording available from several other sources; it sounds like a great performance, but the recording is very primitive.
The Toscanini Brahms 3rd is similar to the better-recorded BBC version, but neither of those comes close to the truly magistral 1953 NBC version, a rare late-Toscanini document of a spacious, flexible performance. The Schumann "Rhenish" Symphony is, conversely, an example of the Maestro at his best: perfectly judged tempi, every detail present, and yet everything breaths naturally, without the rigidity that hobbled so many of his later efforts. Unfortunately, the sound here is harsh and strident, but can be tamed with a graphic equalizer.
The other recordings here vary in quality, but none are less than acceptable. The Walter/Wagner items, some dating back to the '20s, are particularly good, sounding much more modern than the more recent ones. The performances are all "important," as we musical historians say, and belong in any collection broad enough to include such things. And, as "JiYu" points out, the price is right. For what you would normally pay for a single CD, you'll find much more than 1 CD worth of pleasure here."
