Vienna Philharmonic: 1957-1963

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Anton Bruckner / Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Herbert von Karajan, conductor): Allegro moderato

2. Scherzo. Allegro moderato

Disc: 2

1. Symphony No. 8 (continued): Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend

2. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell

Disc: 3

1. Gustav Mahler / Symphony No. 9 in D Major (Dmitri Mitropoulos, conductor): Andante commodo

2. Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers Etwas täppisch und sehr derb

3. Rondo. Burlesk Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig

4. Adagio

Disc: 4

1. Tod und Verkldrung / Death and Transfiguration Tone-poem for Orchestra Op. 24

2. Richard Strauss / A Hero's Life, Op. 40 (Böhm, conductor): Lebhaft bewegt - The Hero

3. Etwas langsamer - The Hero's Adversary

4. Lebhaft bewegt - The Hero's Companion

5. Lebhaft - The Hero's Battlefield

See all 7 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Rich in historical and musical significance, the performances in this collection feature the Vienna Philharmonic at its finest. Here you'll find the great Herbert von Karajan conducting Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, a work which has enjoyed a close association with the orchestra since its 1908 Vienna premiere. Dmitri Mitropoulos leads Mahler's Ninth Symphony - eerily, just one month before the conductor would suffer a fatal heart attack while conducting the same composer's Third Symphony. And Karl Böhm brings a personal touch to two tone poems by his close friend Richard Strauss. All of these performances are set against the lively backdrop of late 1950s and early 60s Vienna, a time of hope and newfound optimism following the war and occupation.

Tracks:

Anton Bruckner / Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Herbert von Karajan, conductor): Allegro moderato
Scherzo. Allegro moderato

Tracks:

Symphony No. 8 (continued): Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell

Tracks:

Gustav Mahler / Symphony No. 9 in D Major (Dmitri Mitropoulos, conductor): Andante commodo
Im Tempo eines gemlichen Llers Etwas tisch und sehr derb
Rondo. Burlesk Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig
Adagio

Tracks:

Tod und Verkldrung / Death and Transfiguration Tone-poem for Orchestra Op. 24
Richard Strauss / A Hero's Life, Op. 40 (B conductor): Lebhaft bewegt - The Hero
Etwas langsamer - The Hero's Adversary
Lebhaft bewegt - The Hero's Companion
Lebhaft - The Hero's Battlefield
Mg langsam - The Hero's Works of Peace
Mg langsam - The Hero's Flight from Reality and Fulfillment

Album Description

Rich in historical and musical significance, the performances in this collection feature the Vienna Philharmonic at its finest. Here you'll find the great Herbert von Karajan conducting Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, a work which has enjoyed a close association with the orchestra since its 1908 Vienna premiere. Dmitri Mitropoulos leads Mahler's Ninth Symphony - eerily, just one month before the conductor would suffer a fatal heart attack while conducting the same composer's Third Symphony. And Karl Böhm brings a personal touch to two tone poems by his close friend Richard Strauss. All of these performances are set against the lively backdrop of late 1950s and early 60s Vienna, a time of hope and newfound optimism following the war and occupation.

Customer Reviews:

The Vienna Not-So Philharmonic.......2006-04-23

This set offers an enticing prospect: three podium greats conducting an illustrious orchestra in rarely heard live recordings of works by composers that the conductors were renowned for interpreting. The packaging is deluxe -- an 84-page booklet with plenty of background and commentary in three languages on the special historical interest of these recordings. I played the fourth CD first, the Strauss/Bohm, which proved to be a quite good performance in acceptable sound (for a live performance of that era). Then came the experience of the Bruckner/Karajan and the Mahler/Mitropoulos. The sound on these performances is gratingly harsh and murky, as if heard on a cheap radio that is not quite tuned in. My disappointment with the Mahler, which was the performance that I anticipated most, was extreme. Releasing these often painfully distorted performances does a disservice to the Vienna Philharmonic. We know that even great ensembles miss the mark from time to time, but that doesn't mean that such egregious work should be offered to an often unsuspecting public under the rubric of "historical value." No degree of historical interest will make these performances worth the time it took to produce them or to listen to them.

If only I had read the other reviews about this set before I made my purchase. You have now been informed.

The caveats are true.......2005-09-25

The three composers on tis collection--Bruckner, Mahler, and Strauss--all require great sonics and great orchestral playing to make an impression on CD. As they stack up here:

Bruckner 8th: Karajan's tamest performance of a symphony he speciaized in. All four of his studio recordings are more spirited, and the boxy mono sound he gets here doesn't help much. But if the other Karajan performances didn't exist, this one would be considered very fine.

Mahler 9th: Awful suond, scratchy and shallow with not even a hint of Mahler's orchestral colors. To boot, the orchestra doesn't play very well--in many ways you might think this was their 1938 recording under Walter! Dmitri Mitropoulos was a great Mahlerian, but he is heard to better effect on the Mahler broadcast box set from the NY Phil.

Strauss tone poems: I don't own a single Bohm recording, and the Tod und Verklarung reminds me why--this is a choppy, brusque reading without atmosphere. But suddenly the Heldenleben is electrifying, and it is in the best sonics of the set. A truly amazing reading that outdoes Karajan's commercial recordings for passion, intensity, and commitment. Who would have thought?

If you can get this set used for a cheap price, it is well worth it once you know what you are in for.

A Mixed Bag.......2005-06-12

This collection is a very mixed bag, both in terms of sound quality and in terms of content. I guess you have to be a real German culture fanatic to appreciate it fully.
It's peculiar how so many Mahler fans detest Bruckner, and vice versa, despite both composers' love of large orchestral canvasses, their unmatched genius with the brass sections, etc. Bruckner lovers despair of Mahler's "progressive tonality," his almost-pantheistic existentialism and his fondness for slopping things up with musical banalities. Mahler fans, by contrast, hear in Bruckner's music vague streams of melody sitting atop a mound of harmonic sludge. So people who will buy this for the magnificent architecture of Brukner's 8th, so carefully delineated by von Karajan, are likely to be rebuffed by the magnificent realization of Mahler's leave-taking in his 9th, as executed to near perfection by Mitropoulos. Although the playing is always what you would expect from the Vienna Philharmonic, the recorded sound is not up to snuff for the Mahler 9th, marring an otherwise brilliant performance. Indeed, once you've heard the way Mitropoulos conducts this symphony, you can't be satisfied with the way anybody else does it, including Leonard Bernstein.
What gets overlooked in the Mahler vs. Bruckner argument, unfortunately, are some really good performances of Strauss' "Todt und Verklarung" and "Ein Heidenlieben" by Karl Bohm. Bohm's approach to Richard Strauss is neither as heroic as Karajan's or as classical as Toscanini's. Lacking Karajan's gift for calculated emotion or the sheer electricity of Toscanini, he steers a middle course, presenting the music on its own terms and letting it speak for itself. It's not a brilliant conception, just a thoughtful one, and, as such provides a nice contrast to whatever way you're used to hearing these pieces interpreted.
There's some very solid music-making going on here, even though Karajan will not make a Bruckner fan out of anyone who already isn't one already, the limitations of the recorded sound spoil an otherwise brilliant Mahler 9th, and Bohm sticks steadfastly to a "middle ground" with "his" Strauss.

A glorious collection of live VPO performances.......2004-07-18

I have to disagree with the previous reviewer. While it is true that the sound is not up to modern standard, that is not what one buys this set for. The Mitropoulos 9th has the worst sound, but it is an electrifying performance by a master conductor who would be dead within one month. Boehm's Strauss performances are invaluable given his close relationship to the composer, even if they are a bit too swift and objective for my taste. The Karajan Bruckner 8th is excellent, even if it is topped by at least one of his studio sets. I love Andante's documentation, and the sense of history that accompanies these performances. If you have a special interest in the Viennese orchestra style, or any of these conductors, you will love this set.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Dfa Holiday Mix 2005 [Import]

King Solomon/I Wish I Knew

Jersey Boys [Cast Recording]

Haydn: Symphonies 83 "The Hen", 101 "The Clock" & 104 "London"

Live: A Ticket for Everyone [Live] [Import]

Jazzical Class

Jazz Corner of the World [Import]

Fiordaliso

Fiesta Tejana, Vol. 2

Quiet Storm Memories

In Session

1. Anton Bruckner / Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Herbert von Karajan, conductor): Allegro moderato
2. Scherzo. Allegro moderato

1. Symphony No. 8 (continued): Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
2. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell

1. Gustav Mahler / Symphony No. 9 in D Major (Dmitri Mitropoulos, conductor): Andante commodo
2. Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers Etwas täppisch und sehr derb
3. Rondo. Burlesk Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig
4. Adagio

1. Tod und Verkldrung / Death and Transfiguration Tone-poem for Orchestra Op. 24
2. Richard Strauss / A Hero's Life, Op. 40 (Böhm, conductor): Lebhaft bewegt - The Hero
3. Etwas langsamer - The Hero's Adversary
4. Lebhaft bewegt - The Hero's Companion
5. Lebhaft - The Hero's Battlefield