Rimsky Korsakov :Scheherazade

[Barbirollians]

I have always been more than happy with the lovely old Kletzki and the rather more shaped but splendid Beecham .

Bought for a song yesterday a second-hand copy of the RCO/Kondrashin in a charity shop- a magnificent , I imagine once a demo, recording of the piece and what a beautiful performance . Krebbers playing and that of the woodwind in particular is stunningly sensuous.

Any other favourite performances of this old warhorse ?

[HighlandDougie]

Haitink/LPO - with Rodney Friend doing the solo honours - but Kondrashin best of all

[Bryn]

I have always been more than happy with the lovely old Kletzki and the rather more shaped but splendid Beecham .

Bought for a song yesterday a second-hand copy of the RCO/Kondrashin in a charity shop- a magnificent , I imagine once a demo, recording of the piece and what a beautiful performance . Krebbers playing and that of the woodwind in particular is stunningly sensuous.

Any other favourite performances of this old warhorse ?

No, you have just got mine.

[Mandryka]

I was given the Ansermet recording of this for a Christmas present when I was 16 - my tastes in those days were centred around Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan, so I was a bit bemused, but came to enjoy the R-K.

Other than that, I've only heard the Beecham and Karajan recordings: I'm particularly fond of the latter (Karajan was, among other things, an outstanding conductor of 'pictorial' music, of which this is a prime example).

[Tony Halstead]

Constantin Silvestri, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra ( No, I'm NOT playing on it...), originally on EMI 'Studio' ... trying to compete with the much-maligned and multi-miked Decca 'Phase Four'.
A wonderful performance notable for ( among other things that were 'conductor-attributable') superb solo instrumental contributions by such as
1) Gerald Jarvis ( violin)
2) Alan Turner ( 'cello)
3) Laurence Beers ( flute)
4) Roger Winfield ( oboe)
5) Raymond Carpenter ( clarinet)
6) Eric Butt ( bassoon)
7) Nicholas Hill ( horn)
8) Rodney Senior ( trumpet)

[Petrushka]

Kondrashin, Haitink, Karajan, Beecham all superb plus Rudolf Kempe and the RPO now in Testament. Cheeky of Kempe to want to record a Beecham favourite with 'his' orchestra but he succeeds magnificently.

I believe that Karajan's recording is a rare (perhaps unique?) example of him recording a work he never performed in concert.

Another favourite on my shelves is Fritz Reiner and the Chicago SO.

[Barbirollians]

The Kletzki is marvellous but could do with a reissue and a better remastering. The CFPCD rather lacked the warmth of the original analogue recording . Hugh Bean splendid in the violin solos.

The Kondrashin in the Classic FM Full Works CD I picked up has , to my ears , two cracking fill ups of Capriccio Espagnol and Russian Easter Festival overture with the LSO and Markevitch . Much earlier recordings obviously .

[PJPJ]

I believe that Karajan's recording is a rare (perhaps unique?) example of him recording a work he never performed in concert.

I don't think he ever performed Tchaikovsky's symphonies 1 to 3.

The forthcoming Silvestri box will have the Rimsky which seems not to have been available for some time.

[pastoralguy]

No contest for me!

Neemi Jarvi with the SNO and the orchestras leader, Edwin Paling as the lady herself.

[visualnickmos]

This is a work that for some reason, I cannot decide if I like it or not! What's going on?

[Barbirollians]

Is this an Icon box of Silvestri?

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Is this an Icon box of Silvestri?

It sure is! Long overdue...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Constantin-Silvestri-ICON-Complete-Recordings/dp/B00ACHXHII/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357512086&sr=8-1

[Stanfordian]

I have always been more than happy with the lovely old Kletzki and the rather more shaped but splendid Beecham .

Bought for a song yesterday a second-hand copy of the RCO/Kondrashin in a charity shop- a magnificent , I imagine once a demo, recording of the piece and what a beautiful performance . Krebbers playing and that of the woodwind in particular is stunningly sensuous.
Any other favourite performances of this old warhorse ?

Hiya Barbirollians,

You certainly had good luck with your charity shop find. All I seem to see in the music sections of the charity shops that I visit are CDs by Richard Clayderman and now-defunct 1990s pop girl bands.

My prefered recording of Scheherazade from my collection is Lorin Maazel conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker on DG.

[richardfinegold]

Reiner

[Barbirollians]

It sure is! Long overdue...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Constantin-S...7512086&sr=8-1

Excellent and I see an Icon box of Toscanini's 1930s HMV recordings too . Just would like to see an ICON Kletzki box now .