Search - Carl Maria von Weber :: Carl Maria von Weber: Overtures

Next best to Kubelik

A Reader | North Bethesda, MD USA | 10/31/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps the finest recording of Carl Maria von Weber's overtures ever made is Rafael Kubelik's with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (DG 136463). Unfortunately, this recording has been out of print for some (or should I say many) years. A few of these pieces (Abu Hassan, Preciosa, Jubel) have been reissued as part of the 8 disk box set "Rafael Kubelik - Rare Recordings, 1963-1974" (DG 000289 477 5838 9), which is an expensive proposition that only dedicated Kubelik aficionados will want to buy.



This disk, with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, is probably the next best. While it omits the Preciosa and Jubel Overtures, it includes one of Weber's most beautiful orchestral pieces (Invitation to the Dance).



Karajan and the BPO play with their trademark precision, but the coldness and near sterility that characterize some of Karajan's late performances are notably absent. The works are rendered with energy and feeling, and Weber's mastery of orchestral textures and timbres shows through fully. The sound quality of the recording, too, is excellent.







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