Berlioz: Harold in Italy

[richardfinegold]

I see that IGI of this parish has rather damned Harold with faint praise in his review of Lawrence Power's recent account with Andrew Litton ( I think)

Leaving aside that for repertory works I would rather here the opinion of someone who likes the work in a written review- I was sent back to listen to the Menuhin/Davis account from 1963 . All that did was remind me how much I like the work and its extraordinarily early Romanticism and I cannot understand who suggested that Menuhin's playing is very poor - it has great character and brings off that Harold as observer context to a tee. The fire of a young Colin Davis too . As Deryck Cooke said in his Gramophone review in Aug 1963 - an absolute winner .

Dutton reissued with 1945 recording from Koussevitsky and the Boston SO and (?Trampler?-disc isn't here at the moment) that sounds great for it's vintage and is my favorite recording...

[Bryn]

Dutton reissued with 1945 recording from Koussevitsky and the Boston SO and (?Trampler?-disc isn't here at the moment) that sounds great for it's vintage and is my favorite recording...

Primrose. I had it in one of its RCA LP manifestations. Stupendously good. Might chase up the Dutton transfer.

[richardfinegold]

Primrose. I had it in one of its RCA LP manifestations. Stupendously good. Might chase up the Dutton transfer.

Thanks for that—had a feeling it wasn’t Trampler—I was at work and we aren’t allowed to surf non work related activities (I have no idea how this site evaded the dragnet...). I haven’t listened to that recording for a few years and only know it via the Dutton remaster, but if you can find it it’s a gem.

[Stanfordian]

I've seen 3 performances of 'Harold in Italy' in the last 5 or 6 years all played by renowned violists but as a work it doesn't do much for me. In fact it's got to the point where I think I will avoid it.

[Mal]

I have, and like very much, Harold en Italie by Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique & John Eliot Gardiner & Gérard Caussé. I much preferred it to Davis/Menuhin (EMI) when I performed a comparison many moons ago.

[jayne lee wilson]

I think the only reason I don't have many recordings is that I simply loved it to death in my off-air taping days...I adored it, recorded it & played it over & over. I didn't much care who played it back then.
For me it's Berlioz at his most tuneful, evocative, rhythmically inventive and energising best.

The only Harold en Italie CD I can find now is a very recommendable one with Tabea Zimmermann/LSO (Live)/Davis...yes it is the Barbican, but it's also Tony Faulkner at the controls, so. (At some point he started using 176.4 kHz to record the LSO Live (multiples of 44.1 make decimation (aka downsampling) easier. Subjectively at least, it seemed audibly beneficial. This may be one of those).

https://www.stereophile.com/reference/104law/index.html

I think an off-air tape of the legendary Primrose is here somewhere... the JEG would be fascinating, but I've probably squeezed the work dry already. Wonderful piece though.

***
You could call it many things really (like several Berlioz hybrids)...Viola Symphony (after Britten); Symphony-Concerto (after Prokofiev..)... for me, I guess it has the feel of a Symphonic Suite (after lots of people..).
The Pilgrims' March often reminds me of the andante con moto from the exactly contemporaneous Mendelssohn 4th, the Italian. Something in the Mediterranean evening air...

[cloughie]

Thanks for that—had a feeling it wasn’t Trampler—I was at work and we aren’t allowed to surf non work related activities (I have no idea how this site evaded the dragnet...). I haven’t listened to that recording for a few years and only know it via the Dutton remaster, but if you can find it it’s a gem.

There’s also the Primrose BSO Munch in the Munch Berioz recent box which is pdg!

[BBMmk2]

I have that Tabea Zimmerman recording too, JlW. Strongly recommended. Must get round to playing some Berlioz again.

[Mal]

The only Harold en Italie CD I can find now is a very recommendable one with Tabea Zimmermann/LSO (Live)/Davis...yes it is the Barbican, but it's also Tony Faulkner at the controls, so. (At some point he started using 176.4 kHz to record the LSO Live (multiples of 44.1 make decimation (aka downsampling) easier. Subjectively at least, it seemed audibly beneficial. This may be one of those).
https://www.stereophile.com/reference/104law/index.html...[/I]

I thought the sound was very good on some of the Sibelius Davis/LSO Live Barbican CDs, 5 & 6 has Tony Faulkner's name on it; this 6 is my benchmark.

[Richard J.]

I have the Zimmermann/Davis LSO Live CD, and the reason I bought it was that I heard Harold in Italy live at the Barbican on 17 February 2003, one of the two performances from which the CD was made. The interaction between Tabia Zimmermann and Colin Davis was fantastic. They were striking sparks off each other in the first movement! The memory of that performance will stay with me for ever, the most passionate account of this quirky work that I've heard.

[Dave2002]

The only Harold en Italie CD I can find now is a very recommendable one with Tabea Zimmermann/LSO (Live)/Davis...yes it is the Barbican, but it's also Tony Faulkner at the controls, so. (At some point he started using 176.4 kHz to record the LSO Live (multiples of 44.1 make decimation (aka downsampling) easier. Subjectively at least, it seemed audibly beneficial. This may be one of those).

https://www.stereophile.com/reference/104law/index.html

Bit OT (or OTT) really, but that article about Tony Faulkner's "experiments" is a very interesting read. I think I should have some of those LSO live recordings - time to look them out perhaps.

[BBMmk2]

I have the Zimmermann/Davis LSO Live CD, and the reason I bought it was that I heard Harold in Italy live at the Barbican on 17 February 2003, one of the two performances from which the CD was made. The interaction between Tabia Zimmermann and Colin Davis was fantastic. They were striking sparks off each other in the first movement! The memory of that performance will stay with me for ever, the most passionate account of this quirky work that I've heard.

The recording is superlative!

[Barbirollians]

I have that Zimmermann recording too and it was very fine as I recall but I have not played it for a while - must dig it out.

[BBMmk2]

I have that Zimmermann recording too and it was very fine as I recall but I have not played it for a while - must dig it out.

Likewise! I have that box set From LSO Live, the That Anniversary edition one.

[Darkbloom]

I agree with the praise for the Davis/Zimmermann recording. I bought it recently and there is a thrilling quality to it that is hard to beat. With Harold, as with most of Berlioz, I think, it helps to know something about the man otherwise it's all too easy to feel bewildered.