Rimsky Korsakov :Scheherazade

[LeMartinPecheur]

I hope not too far OT, but also relevant to the recent Joyce Hatto programme and thread, this afternoon I came across in a local charity shop an old Fidelio LP of Scheherazade by that illustrious combination, the Zurich Municipal Orchestra under Havergest, also IIRC known as Havergess. One of the more whimsical creations of Mr Barrington-Coupe I believe.

The first edition of the Penguin Guide to Bargain Records (1966) awards it precisely zero stars so I'm glad I didn't lash out on it!

Slightly more on-topic, the 3-star brigade was PO/ Kletzki, LSO/ Monteux and PCO/ Ansermet.

[Petrushka]

Fabulous performance, dreadful recording.

That just about sums it up, I'm afraid. I went to their Prom performance on a sweltering evening in 1997 and won't forget it. The Philips recording though is absolutely dire. A real disappointment.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

That just about sums it up, I'm afraid. I went to their Prom performance on a sweltering evening in 1997 and won't forget it. The Philips recording though is absolutely dire. A real disappointment.

I've seen Gergiev conduct it three times (Philharmonia, Kirov/ Mariinsky, World Orchestra for Peace) and they were all excellent (the Philharmonia one being unforgettable, paired with an incandescent Firebird). What the Philips engineers were thinking is beyond me - there's seemingly a layer of artificial reverberation which ruins the performance. I think Andrew McGregor described it as a performance recorded in a Turkish bath! It was slightly less troublesome on SACD, I recall, than the red-book CD layer. I wonder if they'd ever consider reissuing it in a remastered form, assuming that the reverb can be removed?

[akiralx]

Chung in Paris on DG for me.

[akiralx]

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

I recall leafing though John Hunt's Karajan concert register and noting that there were quite a few works HvK recorded but did not perform, including various symphonies by Schubert, Bruckner and Sibelius, as well as the Tchaik 1-3.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The first edition of the Penguin Guide to Bargain Records (1966) awards it precisely zero stars so I'm glad I didn't lash out on it!

I'd go back and buy it, if it's in good condition, LMP: I suspect these B-C productions might well earn you quite a few bob from a certain type of collector in the not-too-distant future! (And you'll be helping a good cause, too. - The charity, that is, not B-C's reputation!)

[gradus]

Count me amongst the enthusiasts for this piece under the expert hands of Beecham and Silvestri. I haven't heard many of the other performances cited and am sure that I would enjoy them as long as they or the recordings get the balance right for those fabulous harp glissandi in the The Young Prince and Princess, oft times near inaudible as in a recent Nelsons/Concertgebouw performance

[MickyD]

There's an interesting HIP performance with Midori Seiler and Jos Van Immerseel on Zig Zag....you also get the lovely Great Russian Easter Festival overture and the Borodin Polovtsian Dances.

[PJPJ]

I've seen Gergiev conduct it three times (Philharmonia, Kirov/ Mariinsky, World Orchestra for Peace) and they were all excellent (the Philharmonia one being unforgettable, paired with an incandescent Firebird). What the Philips engineers were thinking is beyond me - there's seemingly a layer of artificial reverberation which ruins the performance. I think Andrew McGregor described it as a performance recorded in a Turkish bath! It was slightly less troublesome on SACD, I recall, than the red-book CD layer. I wonder if they'd ever consider reissuing it in a remastered form, assuming that the reverb can be removed?

Was this Gergiev R-K recorded by Philips engineers? It, I suspect, may well have been bought in. Not that that alters the results, of course, which are worse than dire, and of similar barrel-scraping standard of the dreadful quality of Trifonov's Tchaikovsky PC1 on the Mariinsky's label.

Older recordings of the R-K which still give me much pleasure are Fricsay's and Van Beinum's both in excellent mono.

[Barbirollians]

I look forward to the Silvestri . I wonder what my great uncle who was a great supporter of the Bournemouth Symphony and who counted Silvestri as a friend ( Silvestri apparently once sat down at a piano to try and get him to understand the music of the Second Viennese School ) would make of all those recordings being available so cheaply.

[BBMmk2]

I now see that i have the Beecham and oh yes!! But then the Kondrashinm looks tempting to. These threads are very bad for me!!

[Madame Suggia]

I've got two recordings of Scheherazade; Reiner and Svetlanov

After reading the comments here I'm going to try and borrow Kondrashin from my Mother.

[richardfinegold]

The Reiner has always done it for me. I've heard Beachum, Stokie, Monteux, and a few others, but never been tempted to buy because Reiner just blows them away ( literally-Bud Herseth triple tounging on the trumpet cannot be matched).

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Was this Gergiev R-K recorded by Philips engineers? It, I suspect, may well have been bought in. Not that that alters the results, of course, which are worse than dire, and of similar barrel-scraping standard of the dreadful quality of Trifonov's Tchaikovsky PC1 on the Mariinsky's label.

Older recordings of the R-K which still give me much pleasure are Fricsay's and Van Beinum's both in excellent mono.

Interesting point, PJPJ. I've checked and you're right - it was recorded in the Mariinsky Theatre (not their new concert hall) with 'recording facilities by the Mariinsky Theatre', Russian engineers, then compiled and mastered by Ian Watson and Jenni Whiteside. I suspect it's at the mastering stage that things went wrong - I'm sure the reverb is added as it was never a feature of other Philips/ Kirov recordings. Incidentally, there is (was?) a Kirov recording of Scheherazade from the 2004 Moscow Easter Festival which was an 'iTunes exclusive'. It is very good and coupled with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Well worth investigating (if it's still there).

Re the Mariinsky own label, I've frequently found them a bit underwhelming... until you crank up the volume. I reviewed their most recent release - Shostakovich 7 - and at a high volume (always approached with caution with DSCH 7!) the sound is pretty good. V-e-r-y s-l-o-w tempi from Gergiev, but that's another matter...

[Hornspieler]

The Reiner has always done it for me. I've heard Beachum, Stokie, Monteux, and a few others, but never been tempted to buy because Reiner just blows them away ( literally-Bud Herseth triple tonguing on the trumpet cannot be matched).

Then you haven't heard the Silvestri recording with Rodney Senior playing that trumpet part.

HS