Have you got to 8 and 9 yet, Jayne? Owning the Concertgebouw set, my first thought on seeing this release was ‘On, no, not another one - and posthumous too,- why bother? But your comments to date are certainly making me think I should give this set a virtual spin.
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See #12 above...... suffice to say that the 8th (even only two movements of it, which sounds wrong to me now, see Richard Barrett's finale thread "and finally".....) is stupendous in its intensity, the dark deep tragedy, those unvarnished jagged climaxes as shattering as I've ever heard, as is the sense of exhausted, beatific repose at the end of (ii)....Originally posted by Goon525 View Post
But it should be heard with the scherzo and the previously-described-as "Rosamunde entr'acte" to be truly understood..
(If the CMW/Gottfried in D759 doesn't convince you nothing will...though Venzago is utterly gripping too.)
As you might expect, it is closest to the fine Amsterdam Cycle, but it really does go beyond that in its freshness and definitional intensity. The COE are astounding here..... those wonderful winds delight the ear and move the heart all through...
The acoustic setting is very spaciously set-back, but not over-reverberant; as replayed here (24/48 and CD) it simply adds to the vivid atmosphere of the live event...as I detailed above....
Check out CA's review linked to above....a few minor disagreements but it runs pretty true to form...Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 10-12-20, 15:33.Comment
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Thanks Jayne - and apologies for asking a question you'd already answered - for some reason I could only see the first few postings on this thread earlier today . All there now. I've just started listening, with No 1. I'll report when I'm further into it.Comment
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Well, I’m sort of half way through, if 1-4 can be considered half way. And it really is an excellent listen, completely overcoming my cynicism about why a conductor who has already recorded this stuff with two of the world’s greatest orchestras could possibly need to be represented by a third version. But these recordings have a quite different feel to them with much smaller forces, great freshness, superb rhythmic bounce driving the movements along, and are definitely worthwhile. A pragmatic view taken of repeats, not slavishly including them all. Any caveats? I think the recording is perfectly adequate but no more than that, and I wouldn’t mind a bit more bass weight. It’ll be interesting to see if that’s much of an issue when I get to 8 and 9. I’m really enjoying these sessions.Comment
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So glad to read of your so-positive response!
No problem with the sound here though, which opened up splendidly on a slightly higher-than-usual volume setting. Set back as I described, but very incisive, clear, spacious and atmospheric.
But this was of course Harnoncourt's first complete Schubert Cycle, recorded live in Graz, 3-10 July 1988. (The Amsterdam one was recorded in 1992, the Berlin Phil set from 2003-2006.) This was also the first complete symphonic cycle the COE had worked on with him. That excitement of discovery is palpable, isn't it? How the musical sparks fly between them!
Evidently some special kind of love affair began, as so many subsequent recordings of Schumann and Beethoven with this partnership show. Much as I admire Harnoncourt's Berlin Phil set, I wonder if there's any live COE Brahms hidden away somewhere...
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I just looked up this set on Presto Classical, where there is the following notice:
This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched.Comment
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No such wait with Qobuz, et al.
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Looks OK now...... since you don't use Amazon (where it already seems delayed) I'd get in there quick.......!Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post
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Having listened to 8 and 9 today to complete the cycle, an update on my view. It’s wonderful! I was a bit concerned that the orchestra might sound a bit underpowered, but not a bit of it. It sounds like the string numbers might have been reinforced for these two, but I’m not sure (and Qobuz don’t provide the booklet in this case). At the end of the Unfinished I was convinced that it was the greatest symphony ever written - and you can’t ask more of a performance than that. And my view of the recording has moved up a bit as well - certainly nothing about it gets in the way. Curiously, it’s provided at 48/24 - I don’t think there was much 24 bit recording going on in the late 80s, so not sure why it’s been upsampled. Not even Harnoncourt, probably now my favourite Schubert conductor, can quite save the finale of 6 from being weak and overlong - such a disappointment after the perfection of 5. But this is a terrific set, absolutely worth issuing, even if it is 30 years late!Comment
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No explicit evidence of augmentation in the booklet, but as the COE have a membership of about 60 to draw upon, they probably reduced their numbers for the earlier symphonies.
Of many fascinating comments from the members (some I quoted above) they recall how Harnoncourt started rehearsing sectionally, always working from the bass up, lower strings first, then bringing in the "engine room" violas & violins and so on... so the balance, clarity and weight of the music was very carefully arrived at. This is very audibly true of the Schumann cycle too.
Disagree about 6(iv) though - I think its a great big Rossinian joke (Or several laid end-to-end...). I certainly don't mind hearing most of the punchlines twice!
A very obsessively rhythmical work, clearly leading on to the 9th (with 7 and 8 in the more lyrical vein, although 729 has striking precedents of the 9th as well.......then the remarkable 10th andante...). Gosh, what might he have done in Nos.11 or 12.....Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 18-12-20, 20:17.Comment
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Well spotted, Jayne - thank you - I've got in quick and my order has been cofirmed. Prosit!Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View PostComment
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Crazy situation that the CD rate download costs more than the CD (including the extra for p&p).Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View PostComment
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Richard Wigmore’s lengthy review of this cycle appears in the January Gramophone. It’s extremely positive - indeed it features as an Editor’s Choice - although not without the odd reservation, including, as it happens, the finale of 6 with which I also struggled. But enthusiasts here, amongst whom I am certainly numbered, can rest assured that we’re in good company.Comment
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I've now listened to all of this set. Wonderful: thanks so much for the original heads-up and, too, for alerting me to its coming back into stock at Presto - my preferred supplier now.Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post
Listening to them, I felt as though I'd never heard these symphonies before. So far, 9 the outstanding experience... but early days yet.
[Atm listening to Sibelius 5 on TTN, for the existence of which great thanks....]Comment
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Originally posted by kernelbogey View PostI've now listened to all of this set. Wonderful: thanks so much for the original heads-up and, too, for alerting me to its coming back into stock at Presto - my preferred supplier now.
Listening to them, I felt as though I'd never heard these symphonies before. So far, 9 the outstanding experience... but early days yet.
[Atm listening to Sibelius 5 on TTN, for the existence of which great thanks....]
Agreed - superb recordings.
I only have 9 to go now and 5 is my favourite so far.Comment
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