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Bargain barbirolli

Joseph Reichmann | Los Angeles | 05/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a 10 CD set of Barbirolli recordings made in the 1930s with a few pieces in the 1940s. There are no notes and the sound, obviously, is not up to present standards. However, this is a set that should not be missed. The orchestras are the N.Y. Philharmonic and several English ones.

Sir John was a great accompanist and half the set contains performances by famous artists of the 1930s. Fritz Kreisler plays both the Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos, Jascha Heifitz plays (on two CDs) a Mozart, a Vieuxtemps, a Wieniawski, the Glazunov, and the Tchaikovsky concertos. Nathan Milstein plays the Bruch.

The pianists include Edwin Fisher and Robert Casadesus playing Mozart concertos, Wilhelm Backhaus playing the Grieg, and Arthur Rubinstein with Chopin's No.1.

All of these concerto performances are superb and worth having even if you have more modern versions by the same or different artists.

The Barbirolli performances without soloists are not uniformly outstanding. Schumann's 4th symphony, Haydn's No. 83, and Mozart's No. 33 are all acceptable. Beethoven's No. 4 is charming. The final movement of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique excites (listen to those chimes). Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 is beautifully played as is Respighi's Fountains of Rome.

But,first prize goes to Sibelius' symphony No 2 which is truly magnificent with the N.Y. Philharmonic. I believe that this is Sir John's first recording of many of this symphony. There is no other conductor that has ever come close to beating him in this work. [...]"

Big disappointment -- Great music, horrible transfers

John Grabowski | USA | 07/05/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In all fairness, it was cheap. So my wallet didn't suffer much when I saw this in Salzburg last spring and impulsively decided to pick it up. I didn't expect much in the way of documentation, and didn't get any. But while there are many performances of historical value here, the transfers are so awful in most cases as to render much of the contents unlistenable. The sound does vary from work to work, suggesting this set was compiled from a wide variety of different sources, but most of it undoubtedly could be improved. Not only that, but sometimes the sound varies significantly from *movement to movement.* I am tolerant of old sound, but some of this--much of this--has been made even worse by the overly-zealous application of noise reduction that makes the records sound like they're being played in another room, under thick carpet.



The Beethoven and Brahms violin concerti with *Kreisler* were two I was really looking forward to, but the sound is so bad as to make them unlistenable. The Brahms has been filtered for noise reduction so much that it has NO treble left. The Beethoven isn't much better. Other terrifically-played performances of Mozart and Haydn are impressive in their execution, but terrible in their presentation. Barbirolli was definitely more crisp and precise earlier in his career, however, and stylistically I prefer these to his later, broader recordings.



I just need to find better transfers. I can't even really recommend these "for the price."



Postscript added later: Actually I can tink of one good use for these CDs. (Seriously! This isn't leading to a joke about beer coasters.) Since the set is very cheap, one could buy it to find old or rare Barbirolli performances that may be of interest, to then look for those particular performances in better tranfers. Thus it's a cheap way to explore a lot of JB, with the intention of getting better editions later, if they exist. Otherwise...well, yes, drink coasters."

Barbirolli--Heifetz

Long Player | Delray Beach, FL United States | 02/13/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The Barbirolli-Heifetz transfers were not very good. Much better on Naxos Historical discs. The Milstein Bruch concerto was enjoyable. It was the first recording of the Bruch that I ever heard, and is still my favorite (nostalgia?)."