Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra — complete their cycle of Schumann s four symphonies, — presented together in a specially-priced 2-CD set. — The Gewandhaus Orchestra under it s Music Director — Riccardo Chailly b... more »rings generations of authentic romantic
style to performances of all four Schumann symphonies.
These symphonies, recorded in the wonderful acoustic of
the Gewandhaus itself, include the revisions made by
the composer Gustav Mahler a lifelong supporter
of Schumann and his symphonic writings.
Since Chailly took charge at the Gewandhaus, the orchestra
has received consistently excellent reviews for their playing
and interpretations of the works of the great Romantic
composers. The orchestra was invited for the first time this
summer to appear at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall
Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra
complete their cycle of Schumann s four symphonies,
presented together in a specially-priced 2-CD set.
The Gewandhaus Orchestra under it s Music Director
Riccardo Chailly brings generations of authentic romantic
style to performances of all four Schumann symphonies.
These symphonies, recorded in the wonderful acoustic of
the Gewandhaus itself, include the revisions made by
the composer Gustav Mahler a lifelong supporter
of Schumann and his symphonic writings.
Since Chailly took charge at the Gewandhaus, the orchestra
has received consistently excellent reviews for their playing
and interpretations of the works of the great Romantic
composers. The orchestra was invited for the first time this
summer to appear at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall
and sold out the concert!
CD Reviews
Very unusual Schumann -- laid back, compact, reserved
G. Brown | 02/20/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Riccardo Chailly is doing wonders with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, finding hidden potential and reserves of excitment in the orchestra. He earned much priase for a previous CD of the Schumann Sym. #2 and #4. There was the novelty of hering Mahler's revised version of the scores, even though the touches seem minimal to all but the most experienced listener. But the performances themselves felt sleek and updated. Now we have the other two symphonies, the "Spring" and the "Rhenish" to fill out the cycle.
The same style is applied to the new installments. I'd describe Chailly's approach as reserved nobility. He doesn't allow the music to run away with its own Romaantic frenzy the way Bernstein does, nor does he clip its wings so drastically as Szell. There's lots of full-blooded expression here, yet the contour of the music is very controlled. Fans of Chailly will recognize and appreciate this control; those of us who love a more unbuttoned Schumann will be less thrilled. But with such good sonics from Decca and the orchestra playing so well, this new cycle stands out as one of the best in recent years."
Mahler made a good up-grade
R. G. W. Brown | Tustin, CA, USA | 04/04/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Mahler got it right. Many small changes to the orchestration, here and there, make Schumann's Symphonies all the more enjoyable. He sorted out some weaknesses and lightly re-scored in places for even better results. This is super-polished Schumann, not Mahlerized-versions.
Having performed all of these symphonies with various orchestras over the years, it has been a delight for me to discover the Mahler editions, especially in these fine performances by the Gewandhaus and Chailly - ebbing and flowing beautifully, full of nuance and detail - most entertaining and polished.
You will enjoy these performances a great deal if you enjoy Schumann.
"
Schumann arr Mahler.......With a little help from Chailly
P. J. Ross | uk | 03/21/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is an interesting set of discs,possibly more of curiosity value than a primary recommendation for these symphonies.
Chailly made an earlier recording of these works for DECCA,but with the concertgebouw orchestra and in Schumann's own orchestration.Listening to these discs I am not at all sure that Mahler knew best in this case.
My own view is that the enterprise excellently charts the current state of the relationship between the Leipzig orchestra and its music director and showcases the now apparently revitalised orchestra's marvellous playing aided by a typically lucid DEECA recording. I think that these discs should be purchased as an ADDITION to an existing first choice,but NOT a first choice itself"
Chailly, good, but Decca, bad
Javier Bezos Lopez | Madrid, Spain | 04/02/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Two questions to Decca: why have not been #1 and #3 issued separately, and why has the Genoveva Overture included with #2 and #4 been removed? Weird. Thanks to Decca, I drop a star. That said, I own #2/#4 and they are very modern performances, clean, fast, dramatic. They are among my favourite versions (with Sawallisch).
As to the Mahler arrangements vs. original scoring: For many years I have been trying to convince myself Schumann scoring was not that bad, after all. But I can't -- orchestration is not only about textures, but also about building melody, rhythm, harmony, and so on, and except in a few cases (#2, mov. III, Adagio, with a very inspired Schumann, indeed), the composer seem unable to use effectively the orchestra for that. IMO, Mahler improved the symphonies (and he didn't touch #2/III at all), even if the way Mahler changed the harmony at the end of #2/IV sounds, well, wrong to my ears."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1