Maazel recorded Berlioz' great symphony in a "Classical" man
Alan Majeska | Bad Axe, MI, USA | 04/28/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra recorded Berlioz's great symphony of 1830 (just 3 years after Beethoven's death!) in 1982, in a more "Classical" manner than some may prefer, but I like his recording of the SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE very much. Telarc offers terrific sound: clean and clear in treble, midrange and bass, and it even sounds great on headphones. (Some very good recordings do not sound good on headphones, in my experience.) Maazel avoids excesses of changing tempos, nuances at cadence points, unnecessary ritards, and just lets the Cleveland Orchestra play the music.
I have read criticisms of this recording, but rate it more highly than some nay-sayers. For those with other points of view there are always other recordings: Muti (EMI), Ormandy (Sony), Bernstein (Sony: New York; EMI: ORT France), Markevitch/Lamoreux (DG) and Karajan (DG)."