BaL 21.01.12 - Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition

[LeMartinPecheur]

All their listed recordings are the standard E.EE except Koussevitsky who gets the dreaded 'I' (recording quality 'below standard'/ historical) and zero stars overall...

For those not familiar with the EMG Guide, even a no-star 'mention' was an honour. They didn't attempt to rate all recordings, just ones worthy of serious collectors' attention - good/great performance and good recording.

So great-performance ex-78s historical-reissue LPs would often get the 'I - zero star' mention.

The I/E/EE/EES ratings were for recording quality: I unsatisfactory/ historical, E suitable for small reproducers, EE for large, EES state-of-the-art hifi demonstration quality, and more than a hint of a serious risk of cartridge mistracking and speaker cones popping if you played such discs on an inferior system. OOOH, those were the days!!!!

[cloughie]

For those not familiar with the EMG Guide, even a no-star 'mention' was an honour. They didn't attempt to rate all recordings, just ones worthy of serious collectors' attention - good/great performance and good recording.

So great-performance ex-78s historical-reissue LPs would often get the 'I - zero star' mention.

The I/E/EE/EES ratings were for recording quality: I unsatisfactory/ historical, E suitable for small reproducers, EE for large, EES state-of-the-art hifi demonstration quality, and more than a hint of a serious risk of cartridge mistracking and speaker cones popping if you played such discs on an inferior system. OOOH, those were the days!!!!

My memory obviously does not serve me quite so well, however i do remember it as one of the great Decca recordings which captured the bass drum superbly.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Sounds as if the Abbado/ Berlin account requires further investigation. He has recorded some very fine Mussorgsky before - excellent Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, plus a wonderful disc with Night on Bare Mountain in a choral version.

The reviewer spent a lot of time on the Dudamel DVD. I'm surprised, given the pictorial inspiration for the work, that nothing more imaginative has been done in terms of artwork/ animation. I remember Rattle and CBSO giving concerts with an artist creating live pictures in response to the music, but don't think it made it to DVD.

I enjoyed what I heard of Karabits and the Bournemouth SO.

[DracoM]

Thought Walsh played a tad too safe with Abbado - not to frighten the horses? For me the Karabits was top quality.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Thought Walsh played a tad too safe with Abbado - not to frighten the horses? For me the Karabits was top quality.

The Abbado's been round for quite a while (1994). I imagine DG may well have it due for mid-price reissue at some point. I'm pleased that Karabits is receiving good notices for his work at Bournemouth. I enjoyed their Khachaturian disc, also on Onyx.

[gradus]

As is remarked earlier in the thread apropos Silvestri, I like the piece mostly because of the 'tremendous din' at the end, so I am very happy with Solti and the CSO who make a wonderful racket in a suitably vivid Decca recording. As a bonus the LP has the lovely Tombeau de Couperin.

[cloughie]

As is remarked earlier in the thread apropos Silvestri, I like the piece mostly because of the 'tremendous din' at the end, so I am very happy with Solti and the CSO who make a wonderful racket in a suitably vivid Decca recording. As a bonus the LP has the lovely Tombeau de Couperin.

The CD I have is even better, the coupling is his CSO Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, which includes wonderful 'raspberries'.

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm pleased that Karabits is receiving good notices for his work at Bournemouth.

Their Prom performance of Rachmaninov 2 I very much enjoyed, very classy I though - both in the hall and listening again afterwards.

[Ferretfancy]

There's a curious orchestration by Michail Tushmalov ( 1861-1896) which I have on LP, which claims to be his work as the first orchestrated version with contributions from Rimsky Korsakov. The recording was made by the Munich PO under Marc Andreae on the BASF label. It's rather unusual,as it leaves out Gnomus,Tuileries and Bydlo altogether, with some of the Promenades. Does anybody else know this version ? The orchestration is rather unimaginative considering that Rimsky Korsakov had a hand in it. He conducted the first performance of this version in November1891
I doubt if this version has ever appeared on CD, it's coupled with the Scherzo in B flat, the Intermezzo in modo classical, and the Ceremonial March from The Capture of Kars

I didn't hear this BAL, did the reviewer mention Slatkin's Proms performance where each picture was played in a different composer's orchestration? I remember the concert, but I'm not sure if any of the Tishmulov was included. I've got enough versions as it stands !

[HighlandDougie]

I haven't heard it (currently in transit in Heathrow) but Abbado and Mussorgsky is a great combination. Like Abbado, Karabits (whom I assume SW liked from earlier posts) favours the original Night on Bare Mountain (and chucks in Tchaikovsky's Little Russian for good measure), all in excellent sound

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Abbado, like Sir Colin Davis, has achieved a good number of BaL recommendations.

[Barbirollians]

Rather an odd BAL - classic recordings of the past just junked wholesale - that always puts my back up ! Was impressed by the Abbado and Karabots extracts though.

[Panjandrum]

Just listened to Jansons and the Oslo PO from 1989, and completely fail to see where Stephen Walsh gets the idea of there being fade-outs between each tableau. For sure, there are momentary pauses, as before Limoges, but never any suggestion that this recording isn't a complete take (with the inevitable edits). One only has to listen to the stentorian brass attacca at the start of the Catacombes to put the lie to this assertion. Probably a case of incomplete listening on the part of the reviewer; listening to one or two extracts and coming to a completely erroneous position.

[visualnickmos]

.....Incidentally, I think that the Philharmonia/Ashkenazy listed above as Ravel is, in fact, Ashkenazy's own orchestration.

I listened to this (Ashkenazy's) orchestration today. Very appealing, it is too. I was very pleasantly surprised. Needless to say, his recording of the original piano version is peerless.