Honegger symphonies

[Thomas Roth]

I have never heard nos 4 & 5 played so dull. There is not an ounce of energy. How can you make this wonderful music sound so lethargic and lifeless?

[Sir Velo]

I think they tended to die out with the advent of central heating?

Shiver me chimblies!

[Thomas Roth]

Nos 2 and 3 were better, but not top notch. The playing is quite scrappy at times and as a whole this was a complete waste of money and time. I´m amazed that you can make Honegger sound so boring, but if you like it that way Luisi is your man.

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Nos 2 and 3 were better, but not top notch. The playing is quite scrappy at times and as a whole this was a complete waste of money and time. I´m amazed that you can make Honegger sound so boring, but if you like it that way Luisi is your man.

He manages it too with Schmidt's 2nd, where he makes the fatal mistake of slowing for the second subject group in the first movement, thereby rendering the movement fatally tedious and that recording a write-off in terms of any sort of recommendation.

However, he has done good work elsewhere (Schumann symphonies on Orfeo, for example), so what is it with Luisi?

[soileduk]

It seems this thread has been Trolled into submission. Anyone have anything positive to contribute? My set arrived this week and,in general terms,I'm with JLW and Mr Nichols but then again I probably don't know sh#t from pudding musically speaking.
Peter

[cloughie]

I think they tended to die out with the advent of central heating?

You are forgetting the advent of the wood-burning stove!

[soileduk]

白目 or 噴子

[HighlandDougie]

I probably don't know sh#t from pudding musically speaking.
Peter

Nor, probably, do I but, as a complete set of the symphonies in very good sound, it suits me fine. There are other no doubt better individual performances (Karajan casts a very long shadow in 2 and 3; Munch gave the first performance of 5; and so on) but TR's, err..., trashing of the set is a puzzle to me. Measured and unhurried at times, yes, but, "lethargic and lifeless" and "boring"? Definitely not in my book. That last epithet, "boring" could at times be used to describe Dutoit but Luisi? Mais non.

[soileduk]

I have the Dutoit set and Karajan in 2 & 3 and,of course, the Luisi set so rather an entertaining overview of some good music. After all, what more do we want?
Peter.

[Thomas Roth]

I don´t know what you mean by "in very good sound". This is so close miked that you can clearly hear some imperfections from the musicians - and this is not a world class orchestra, far from it. The cello solo at the end of the Liturgique is painfully out of tune, and that is only one example of several shortcomings from the orchestra members.
I have listened to these symphonies since the early seventies as well as studied the scores and even if there is no one way, or right way to perform them I find Luisi so lacking in energy that it is at odds with the spirit of the music. This is Honegger, not Bruckner.

[Barbirollians]

Just because someone disagrees with your view or the prevailing view does not make them a troll - soileduk .

[Thomas Roth]

I saw that comment too and thought it so rude and disrespectful that I didn´t want to reply to it. But now I have.

[soileduk]

Whatever

Just because someone disagrees with your view or the prevailing view does not make them a troll - soileduk .

[soileduk]

So, why did you?

I saw that comment too and thought it so rude and disrespectful that I didn´t want to reply to it. But now I have.

[Barbirollians]

So, why did you?

Two posts much more troll like than any other on this thread and indeed I wondered whether you were Lauren from the Catherine Tate Show


Going back to the topic at hand forumites I have Honeggers 2-4 in performances I am pleased with - any particular recommendations for completing a set without duplication ?