BaL 29.10.11 Dvorak's Symphony no. 8

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

EA - I've just looked up the original Gramophone review by Trevor Harvey which is generally favourable (TH prefers closer integration of speeds in the finale but that's all he picks on), while the EMG Art of Record Buying and Stereo Record Guide/Penguin Guide gave it their top rating, ** and *** respectively. EMG even gave it their special E.EES rating for spectacular recording quality too. I wouldn't have called that a lukewarm reaction!

[Black Swan]

A surprise to me as I also have the Cleveland/Dohnanyi recording and have always been very happy with it. I have now downloaded the Davis/LSO live and will compare them.

J

[Barbirollians]

Anyone who has read his reviews over the years would know that RC does not like the Kertesz set . My ears do - I think it is first rate.

Did not hear it but any mention of Barbirolli ?

[amateur51]

Seeing so many surprised posts, is it possible that Rob has been checking in here de temps en temps to see who the front runners & riders are and has deliberately chosen a ringer to cause us much kerfuffle and dissention?

Of course not! He is a man of admirable discretion and tremendous discernment! - he also has a shedload of CDs and gets paid to listen to them, lucky lad. All power to his selecting elbow

[HighlandDougie]

Not sure that Davis is a ringer but I can only think that the general unavailability of his Concertgebouw recording made RC favour what is indeed a fine performance but is not - at least to my ears - an equally fine recording. Those early LSO Live issues (cf. the recent BAL choice of the recent Symphonie Fantastique) suffer from the Barbican acoustic and, in Davis's case, vocal contributions to the performance (very audible at one point this morning). I think I might stick with the Concertgebouw (and add the Kubelik Munich performance when funds permit).

[Chris Newman]

I have never minded conductors' vocal (Barbirolli, C Davis, G A Noseda, Knappertsbusch et al) or foot-stamping (Alex Gibson) additions to recordings. They add to the live feeling of the event. I went to a rehearsal of Die Meistersinger at Covent Garden and it was just as well that some of the annoyed cries of Josef Krips were in German. What surprised me was that many of the cries were repeated in front of the evening audience. I hope he did not expect the orchestra to add the sound of that action to the ensemble otherwise he had left it too late!!

[verismissimo]

I was surprised that Kertesz, which I have, was dismissed so early - I admire it a lot, and indeed his whole cycle.

Me too, aeolium.

[Alison]

Not fully convinced by the Davis selection - in fact did Rob really say that much about it ??!

[BBMmk2]

Hi BBMaestro

I have that same set (8th only) - it was the first of his 8ths that I purchased. It is not at all bad - perhaps no longer "in print?"

Maybe that's the case. Thank you!

[Nick Armstrong]

Campoli also recorded for Decca: he made a very early stereo LP of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with Argenta and the LSO (SXL 2029), which sells for a great deal of money.

A thread of tangents, this one! Presumably the Campoli recording of the Tchaik referred to by umslop is the one which figured later on yesterday's CD Review in the new Decca box? Sounded pretty darn good to me.

I was rather taken with the brief excerpt of Giulini's Chicago recording (DG). Does anyone else have more to say about this particular version?
Thanks.

Not much of any use save to say that catching up with yesterday's BAL earlier, it was the Giulini that struck me too.

Interesting BAL, though inevitable omissions (including the French fave, the Kreizberg) were slightly frustrating. I thought the LSO Live one was going to get the laurels after it cropped up twice early on. I don't like the sound of those CDs usually. Fascinating contrast between the two Kubelik versions - that's classic BAL territory, and very illuminating. That section of the final movement has never struck me before. Amazing writing, not surprised Elgar was impressed (though he was presumably familiar with a performance closer to the Czech one from Abbey Road in the 30s, complete with soupy Allegretto Gracioso... )

[rank_and_file]

It seems we cannot get rid of Cowan on R3 - he must be earning as much as he can for his retirement, which, as far as I am concerned, cannot come soon enough.

Most reviewers come over with an objective review, where their knowledge of music is worn lightly. Cowan, on the other hand, with no in-depth musical education seems to give a far too subjective review and comes over to me as “aren’t I knowledgeable, can even read a score, or the CD notes, listen to what I think is important, and I can list every recording if you like.” The sort of reviewer who knows the price of everything but the value of very little.

I am not worried about his choice as I prefer other Dvorak symphonies and there are loads of very passable Eights around. I just find his method of review too “me, me.”

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I don't think that's very fair. Rob Cowan is a very knowledgeable and experienced presenter who may well have been compromised by the misguided Breakfast policy. I thought he did a very good BaL on Dvorak 8 and although I didn't agreed with his every word, I thought his overall arguement was well-reasoned.

[Alison]

That is was what I missed on this occasion - an overall argument.

I heard lots of extracts.

[Tony Halstead]

It seems we cannot get rid of Cowan on R3 - he must be earning as much as he can for his retirement, which, as far as I am concerned, cannot come soon enough.

.

Does anyone remember him from the ill-fated 'Classic CD' magazine from about 20 years ago?
A great audible improvement that he has made is that of his 'BBC voice' - now much more svelte and smooth compared to the 'estuary job' when he first appeared on R3.

[Nick Armstrong]

his 'BBC voice' - now much more svelte and smooth compared to the 'estuary job' when he first appeared on R3.

Yes... a friend of mine and sometime visitor to this Parish does a Cowan impression, drawn from those early days - and it's definitely more Bob Hoskins/Phil Mitchell than his current vocals would appear to warrant...