Search - Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky :: Bruno Walter Conducts Tchaikovsy, Dvorak, Smetana

Sensational

David Saemann | 10/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I had to hazard a guess, I think that the Standard Symphony Orchestra on this CD is actually the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Don't quote me on that. If you haven't heard Bruno Walter live, you haven't heard Bruno Walter. As much as I love his Columbia Symphony version of the New World Symphony, this live recording is head and shoulders above it. There is such vigor and passion thoroughout, with the ripest orchestral playing. The last two movements are just thrilling. The sound takes some getting used to--the discs this performance was recorded on are very noisy in the first three movements, and there is some awkwardness in the sound at the beginning of the finale. But this is an experience of the New World that you won't have elsewhere. The Smetana is excellent, too. Walter recorded the Bartered Bride Overture in 1938 in London (available on Dutton), but the build up to the coda is so much more exciting in the live version. The Moldau is inimitable, a truly idiomatic performance. As for Romeo and Juliet, it is highly exciting. Walter secures the richest and most passionate string sound from the orchestra. The drama is palpable throughout. In spite of the limitations of the recorded sound, all Bruno Walter fans will want to hear this CD."