one of the greatest orchestral recordings ever

[Gabrielshorn]

Originally posted by dorkus
oh, almost forgot two other incredible orchestral performances in my collection:

Stravinsky Rite of Spring, Cleveland/Boulez - get the 1960's recording on Sony, NOT the later one on DG. THE definitive Rite of Spring.

Actually, another recording of Rite of Spring that is really outstanding, preformance-wise, is the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Antal Dorati.

[Gabrielshorn]

I love the CSO/Reiner recording of Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade. I also have a video tape of the CSO with Reiner doing Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphosis that is spectacular. The Minnesota Orchestra/Oue recording of Strauss Alpine Symphony is one of the best ever. I love the passionate playing of the Cleveland Orch./Szell in their 60s recording of Strauss Don Juan, Death and Trnsfiguration and Til Eulenspiegel. The horn playing on "Til" is wonderful!

[fdegrove]

Hi guys,

Actually, another recording of Rite of Spring that is really outstanding, preformance-wise, is the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Antal Dorati.

Ah,Ah!
And would that be on Mercury Living Presence vinyl by any chance?

I love it when Dorati is conducting,emotional without overdoing,never too cerebral.

Too bad all that vinyl is now probably sitting with collectors that probably never listen to their records in the first place.

Do any of you listen to chambermusic BTW?

See you,

[jackinnj]

1)due to the urging of forum members I purchased the re-re-issued Szell performance of the Dvorak Slavonic Dances. I should never go into Tower Records before the Met Opera !

2) Mercury Living Presence -- I amassed a collection via EBay -- about 6 of the recordings which had been favorably re-reviewed in Brit and US hifi mags. Initially (in the late 1999) there werent' that many people looking for them on Ebay so you could buy 'em for a buck. I don't know if this has changed.

Jack

[dice45]

Jack,
for many unknown Mercurys this has not changed much. Many were outstanding recordings but not up to the standard performance-wise. With Dorati as exception in many cases, not in all.

But those records with fancy performances **and** fancy recording call fancy prices meanwhile. >$100 easy.
My buddy Peter had somehow laid his hands on a white Promo of the "Vienna 1908-14" i raved about above. I congratulated him .... months later it turned out he wanted to tease me, he did not like the music. He was very fond of the Prokofiev "dance of the 3 oranges" of which he had a copy having only inferior condition. So, still teasing me, he said that if i could lay my hands on a mint minus copy of this record, he would be willing to trade. He considered my chance to get it to be zero. I asked if he meant it serious.
3 weeks later i had it, from ebay. $155.
He got what he asked for and i got my Vienna promo.

Many talk bad about ebay today. Particularly in Germany. I do not.
Before ebay, the 3 oranges as well as the Vienna were $800 - $1000 or more and $2000 as promo.

Such prices still happen for real collectors items. Task Johanna Martzy; the right British Columbia pressings of certain Dvorak and Bach recordings climb well over UKP 600 per record.
Recently the complete J.S.Bach violin sonatas/partitias went to $1800 for 3 records. Should you wonder if this is only a collectors item or if she also plays well, well, who am i to judge if $1800 are justified ... all i can say is: she is one of the few i can stand playing this Bach stuff. She does it extremely well, just, it is very romantic. I have it on CD.
Just like Pablo Casals on the cello. Yes, Martzy and Casals are of the same kind, looking at their approach.
My other preference for Bach is Henryk Szeryng and Otto Büchner (playing with a round bow), and Anner Bylsma on the cello. I guess i raved about them elsewhere

For $1800 i would order another record and still have money left for a big fat Lundahl transformer order. The record would be the Carmen Suite, LSC-2449.

[whiteSE]

I have been collecting the Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo CD re-issues and I like them all.

Interesting to note that the early releases of Mussorgsky's Pictures sounds more somber and solemn than the newer Reference Recordings relese by Ouji. It seems that the character of the music was artificially lightened...

To me the older versions have a sense of cloudy days, while the new ones as being sunny,,,,I prefer the old versions.

If the last movement of Pictures (The Great Gates of Kiev) doesnt move you emotionally, dont know what will....