Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Karl Münchinger, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra :: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Cantatas

Building Munchinger's authority in this repertoire

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 12/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These recordings date from 1950 and are in mono. They are historical in the best sense insofar as Munchinger, one of the world's greatest Bach conductors in the postwar era, proceeds in crisply articulated performances of the Brandenburgs and cantatas that eschew any semblance of romantic overindulgence typical of the period.



Munchinger, who rose to prominence with stereo recordings of Bach orchestral and choral music during the 1960s, never unleashed a better set of Brandenburg concertos, in my opinion. These performances, which probably sounded revloutionary in their time for their clarity, Baroque ornamentation and style, today comfortably ride the fenceline between the Speedy Gonzales period fanatics and those that insist Herbert von Karajan's way with these concertos is the correct way.



Suzanne Danco was a soprano that rose to prominence in the 1950s. She has a pleasing though somewhat boomy soprano that is fairly well matched to Bach. She does not have the colortura palette the best modern sopranos exhibit in Bach's joyous Cantata BWV 51, but neither is she a slouch to be dismissed. As an addition to wonderfully performed historic Brandenburg Concertos, her two soprano-led cantatas make a highly attractive filler on Disk 2 of this set.



I have been more impressed by this set each time I played it and more confident that this is not only a historic recording but one I can live with over time. Munchinger recorded the concertos two more times but never did them better than here. This set is not only a reminder of how wonderfully Bach could be interpreted in the 1950s, it is a set that is competitive today with the very best interpretations in sound that is more attuned to 1965 mono than 1950 one channel source."

Not up to expectation

Mohiwu | VARESE, VA, IT | 01/21/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I had this same performance of Münchinger on vynil discs. Hoped to receive a sort of re-mastered performance on DVD, in short hoped for a better execution. But the sound is in mono and very flat.

In short: am not satisfied."