The most faithful rendition
Kathy Clark | Holliston, MA | 11/23/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gunther Schuller, renowned author/composer/conductor/musician has in this CD, taken two "popular" classical words, the Beethoven Fifth and the Brahms first and done perhaps the most beautiful and most faithful performance ever recorded. I dare any listener to hear the Brahms First and not realize that this is the most incredible and soul stirring rendition that they have had the pleasure to listen to. Buy this CD and treat yourself to a new aural experience!"
Grow up.
Tyrel_Roo | Arkansas, USA | 08/13/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Because reviewers are apparently incapable of reviewing a recording for what it is without mentioning the conductor's previous work, I suppose I'll have to go on a limb with Schuller's book as well.
If you want, skip this tangent and proceed to the paragraph marked *, where I actually review the recording.
Gunther Schuller's book, "The Compleat Conductor", is likely to offend anybody stuck-up enough to believe that their way is the one and only way. The fact of the matter is that this book is, in a way, a sort of bible to me, and I have had endless success in using it to find truly satisfactory performances of works.
All I'll say is that one has to be extremely arrogant to assume that they can possibly understand the intentions of a given piece than the composer did. I have yet to hear a decent performance of, say, Bartók's second violin concerto; nine times out of ten the soloist is microphoned so loudly that I can never hear what the orchestra is doing (if Bartók had not wanted the listener to hear the bassoons and clarinets, common sense says that he wouldn't have written for them) and there are almost always balance problems so rudimentary it's almost as though the conductor is using the score as toilet paper instead of the document that it is.
*Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the recording itself. I would really like to know about the "lack of energy and imagination" that previous reviewers have mentioned; because to me, this rendition of Beethoven's fifth symphony is the single best I have ever heard. And, trust me, I have heard many, including such legendary (and yet appallingly bad) conductors as Bernstein. Tri-pa-let daaaaaaaaah! *pause* Tri-pa-let daaaaaaaaaaaah! *huge pause*
The Brahms may be a touch academic for my tastes, but as far as accuracy is concerned, it is truly excellent. For casual listening, though, I prefer Toscaninni's.
All I can say is that, if you're offended by hearing what these composers actually wrote, you should consider whether you like them in the first place."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1