Brian: Symphonies 4 & 12

1. Symphony No. 4 for soprano, chorus & orchestra, "Das Siegeslied"
Composed by Havergal Brian
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra with Jana Valaskova
Conducted by Adrian Leaper

2. Symphony No. 12
Composed by Havergal Brian
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra with Jana Valaskova
Conducted by Adrian Leaper

Brian: Symphonies 4 & 12,Brian,Leaper,Czecho-Slovak Rso,Marco Polo,Classical,Classical Composers,Classical Music

Mahler: The Symphonies
Average customer rating:

Very fine but not the very best

An Emotionally Riveting, Fine Mahler Symphony Cycle From Chailly, etc.

The best and most interesting Mhaler cycle

First-rate Mahler, and a tremendous bargain!

Highly professional, hardly cataclysmic

Mahler: The Symphonies

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Mahler | Mahler, Gustav | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Mahler: Symphony No. 6

ASIN: B00092ZALS
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Customer Reviews:

Very fine but not the very best.......2007-03-26

This is a fine contemporary Mahler cycle, but some of Chailly's interpretations are among the slowest on record. For example, symphony no. 9 is incredibly slow. Despite that, most of the recordings in this set are very fine.

With one exception it is the great Concertgebouw Orchestra we hear on these recordings. The Concertgebouw concert hall is famous for its acoustics, but - surprisingly - Decca's recordings are not impeccable. Symphony 2 and 4 both sound a bit dry, lacking in atmosphere. Nonetheless, we get symphonies 3, 8-10 in moving interpretations, and very well recorded. Symphony nos. 5, 6 and 7 are however unconvincing, lacking sardonic character. They are not the recordings you will go back to when comparing them with other fine and recent recordings, such as Barshai and Barenboim (no. 5), Herbig and Sanderling (no. 6) and Barenboim and Gielen (no. 7).

So within a crowded field of Mahler cycles, including the classic sets, Chailly's set is not as consistently convincing as Bertini (EMI) and Gielen (Hänssler). Pick either of these as first choices among all-digital contemporary sets, or go for the classic Kubelik set on DG.

An Emotionally Riveting, Fine Mahler Symphony Cycle From Chailly, etc........2007-03-12

Much to the surprise of music critics and fans, Riccardo Chailly has emerged as one of our most prominent conductors of late 19th Century classical music, especially of Mahler's symphonies. Here in New York City, there is still ample praise for his spellbinding performances of the Mahler 7th Symphony with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra over a year ago. Most recently, his performance of the Mahler 5th Symphony with his current orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, earned ample critical praise from Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times's chief classical music critic. I was present too at the same concert, and heard the finest live performance I've heard of this symphony, and one of the greatest performances I have ever heard of a Mahler symphony.

This Decca box set includes Riccardo Chailly's historically-informed interpretations of Mahler's symphonies, recorded with his former orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (except for the Adagio of the unfinished 10th Symphony, which was recorded much earlier with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra) from the 1990s into the early 2000s. These recordings truly rank among the finest recent recordings of Mahler's symphonies I've heard, with the most notable ones those of the 4th, 7th and 8th symphonies, though the rest are fine in their own right (I concur with another reviewer who observed that the sound quality seems slightly inferior for the 2nd symphony, but otherwise, the recordings are superb examples of Decca's state-of-the-art sound engineering.). Personally, I find the recent cycles from Abbado and Boulez more intriguing, but this is a matter of my own personal taste rather than a negative judgement of Chailly's skills as a Mahler interpreter. Without question, Chailly's emotionally riveting interpretations should be regarded favorably by anyone interested in acquiring a recently recorded Mahler symphony cycle.

The best and most interesting Mhaler cycle.......2007-01-29

When compiling my ideas and opinions of all the best and most hailed Mahler cycles out there, Bernstein, Abbado, Tilson Thomas, etc., I find Ricardo Chailly's to be the best, and most interesting recording of them all. The tone , color of the orchestra and the raw emotion and imagination that Chailly evokes from the players is unmatchable. There are however some questionable solos, particularly in the 5th that were sloppy, and the tempos in the 6th were very constrained and needed more movement. But overall Chailly is a master, and he brought the 8th to my attention like no other conductor out there. Please give it a listen.

First-rate Mahler, and a tremendous bargain!.......2006-07-18

This is as fine a Mahler box available today. First off, you have the magnificent Royal Concertgebouw, as fine an orchestra in the world today, which happens to have a great tradition of Mahler on disc, going back to Mengelberg's 4th recorded in the 30's. Throughout every single performance, they are consistently world class, responding idiomatically to Mahler's unique soundworld. In the 10th, Chailly conducts the Berlin Radio symphony and their playing equals that of the Concertgebouw's. Chailly's interpretations may lack the hysteria of Bernstein's DG Cycle, or the sheer orchestral fireworks from Solti or Tennstedt, but I found Chailly's Mahler to be consistently thoughtful and musically intelligent, more so than his competition. While some performances are better than others, his interpretive thoughts are never less than good. There's only one minor quibble I can think of. No. 2 has some issues in sound, in that it's somewhat over-reverberant, sometimes obscuring detail. But in terms of performance, it receives a fine reading from Chailly. Aside from no. 2, Decca's digital recordings are all of demonstration quality, rich yet detailed. Great Mahler cycles under 100 bucks don't exactly grow on trees, the great ones being Bertini, Bernstein I and Kubelik. This one belongs in that distinguished company. I could go into strenuous detail about each individual performance, but I'll save you the time. Just get this set and hear for yourself! Add together the superb Royal Concertgebouw, Chailly's fine interpretations, first class DDD recordings and a price of about 8 bucks a disc, and this box is just about unbeatable. Buy buy buy!

Highly professional, hardly cataclysmic.......2006-03-16

This set doesn't reach the same level of sheer audacity heard in the Solti, Bernstein or even Kubelik renditions of Mahler's beloved orchestral works, but, needless to say, the Concertgebouw Orchestra doesn't disappoint easily in this repertoire. And for Chailly, who conducted the band for almost two decades, they really are in top notch form. Orchestral execution is very good, sometimes plain marvellous, and the overall sound is nothing short of spectacular.

Then, what is this set short of? It's a question that is not answered easily. Mahler's works require not only a conductor and a band willing to explore and execute several levels of musical greatness, there also has to be the urge to bring out every drop of emotion, symbolism, love, life, death, prayer, aching nostalgia and sometimes just plain desperation. The likes of Bernstein, Gielen and Solti certainly make the best of these important elements, albeit, sometimes, at the cost of orchestral flubs or having to bear the blame for being too 'over-indulgent'.

Well, at least the last qualification doesn't apply to Chailly. His views on Mahler are more cultured, detailed and above all, musical. He let's the music speak for itself without ever crossing the border. This pays good dividends in the most neutral of all Mahler symphonies, the first, and the highly colourfull Third gets what is probably one of the three finest performances ever recorded on disc. The Fifth, although superbly played and recorded, might just lack a certain amount of emotional thrust to really let off, but the Sixth with it's unusually slow first movement comes across very satisfactory without ever being emotionally detached. The Eigth is another highlight in this set with superb vocal contributions as is the Ninth that absolutely belongs at the peak of a high mountain of outstanding Mahler Ninth's. So far, this set is nothing short of fabulous, especially with the equally excellent rendition of Cooke's reconstruction of Mahler 10.

Unfortunately, Chailly's thoughtful and sober approach leaves something to be desired in the symphonies that require just a tad more than just fabulous orchestral playing to make the music a real knock-out. The Second symphony lacks a required amount of overall tension and deliverance at the very end and the Fourth symphony simply sounds weird with a first movement that is stiff on the rubato, but the singing of Barbara Bonney is fantastic. The Seventh could not have made a bigger difference with Bernstein's neurotic all-or-nothing approach. Here Chailly chooses to accentuate elements that really show this work's influence on the Second Viennese School very effective, but as a result is sadly underplaying the finale with brass extremely timid.

To sum up, this may not be the most satisfactory complete Mahler set around, but it surely is one of the best played thanks to an orchestra with a long-standing tradition in Mahler and a conductor who really has put some thought on the music. Certainly worth having, even though you may prefer other conductors/performers in this music.

Vaughan Williams: The Complete Symphonies

Average customer rating:

Best RVW sym set
Vaughan Williams with some steel in its spine
Good readings, great recordings
No problems here either.
No problem here, either

Vaughan Williams: The Complete Symphonies

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000AQ2
Release Date: 1992-10-28

Tracks:

A Sea Symphony (No.1): I. A Song For All Seas, All Ships - Moderato maestoso
A Sea Symphony (No.1): II. On The Beach At Night, Alone - Largo sostenuto
A Sea Symphony (No.1): III. Scherzo - The Waves - Allegro brillante
A Sea Symphony (No.1): IV The Explorers - Grave e molto adagio

Tracks:

A London Symphony (No. 2): Lento - Allegro risoluto
A London Symphony (No. 2): Lento
A London Symphony (No. 2): Scherzo (Nocturne) - Allegro vivace
A London Symphony (No. 2): Andante con moto - Allegro - Epilogue
Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Fantasia (Variazioni senza Tema) - Moderato
Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Scherzo alla Marcia (per stromenti a fiato) - Allegro alla Marcia
Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Cavatina (per stromenti ad arco) - Lento espressivo
Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Toccata - Modeato maestoso

Tracks:

A Pastoral Symphony (No. 3): Molto moderato
A Pastoral Symphony (No. 3): Lento moderato
A Pastoral Symphony (No. 3): Moderato pesante
A Pastoral Symphony (No. 3): Lento
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor: Allegro
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor: Andante moderato
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor: Scherzo: Allegro molto
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor: Finale con Epilgo fugato: Allegro molto

Tracks:

Symphony No. 5 in D major: Preludio: Moderato
Scherzo: Presto misterioso
Symphony No. 5 in D major: Romanza: Lento
Symphony No. 5 in D major: Passacaglia: Moderato
Symphony No. 6 In E Minor: Allegro
Symphony No. 6 In E Minor: Moderato
Symphony No. 6 In E Minor: Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 6 In E Minor: Epilogue: Moderato

Tracks:

Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Prelude: Andante maestoso
Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Scherzo: Moderato
Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Landscape: Lento
Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Intermezzo Andante sostenuto
Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Epilogue: Alla marcia, moderato (non troppo allegro)
Symphony No. 9 In E Minor: Moderato maestoso
Symphony No. 9 In E Minor: Andante: sostenuto
Symphony No. 9 In E Minor: Scherzo: Allegro pesante
Symphony No. 9 In E Minor: Andante tranquillo

Customer Reviews:

Best RVW sym set.......2006-04-07

I've heard most all the avaliable recordings, Mitropoulos, Stokoswki, Previn, Boult, Barbirolli, Haitink, some fine ones there I'll admit.
But in my humble opinion my first recommend is Bryden Thomson.
The London SO has put their whole hearts into this cycle and it shows.
Now as to glitches inn some of the discs. I may indeed have heard one of 2. I can't recall in last nights listen to the 5th, as the volume was low.
I may have heard a tiny glitch.
I'll give the entire set another hearing. If I hear something I'll post a note.
If I don't I'll edit this comment off.

The Bryden Thomson cycle is the definitive RVW set.
While some favor only some of RVW's syms I happen to admire all of them, especially 4,5,6,7.
RVW, a major 20th century comaposer and a student of Ravel.

EDIT: Listening to cd3, at the end in sym 4, there is A FEW GLITCHES, SHARP SNAPS.
I think there may be one other place in the set that has this sharp snap sound.
hummmm, Not sure what to do, I think Chandos ought to call back this set and offer owners new sets.
I doubt if I'll list it here for sale, I couldn't do that. Most likely I'll give the set toa friend, and buy another.
I'll play the new set all the way through, if it does it, I'll send it back to caiman for a refund and buy another.
This is indeed the finest RVW sym set, and no other will do.
Its a shame the glitch is in one of my favs , the 4th sym.

I'll keep you guys posted

EDIT, what i may also do is just order sym 4/single cd. Thats if there are no other glitches on any other cds.
Just a thought.

Vaughan Williams with some steel in its spine.......2005-10-25

However much some of the other complete Vaughan Williams symphony cycles have to recommend them, I don't know that the composer would have cottoned to their tendency to either sentimentalize the music or play up its lyrical elements at the expense of sterner stuff. The late Bryden Thomson did neither, and the result is one of the most clear-eyed, tough-minded, and convincing VW cycles available--comparable to Adrian Boult's almost-complete 1950s series. Paradoxically, that sharp focus actually heightens the sense of mystery in passages such as the opening movement of the Eighth Symphony and the enigmatic final pages of the Sixth. Only "A Sea Symphony" is less than a total success, and even there the expansive final movement impresses. This 5-CD set omits the shorter works that served as makeweights in the individual issues, but Chandos has reissued some of those recordings elsewhere.

Good readings, great recordings.......2004-04-08

Critics worldwide have criticized this set as being too literal, as if to say the symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams need thorough interpreting before they can be great.

I have never understood the charge against this set and have never understood critics that believe the symphonies are not strong enough to stand on their own without interpreter affectation. I agree the cycles by Adrian Boult (both of them) and Vernon Handley are wonderful and perhaps more consistent than this one, but neither conductor read the scores as thoroughly and both sets are a world away from this one in terms of sound.

The London Symphony Orchestra plays wonderfully throughout this set, from the Sea Symphony to the final note in Symphony 9. Meanwhile, they turn in one of the most underrated cerebral performances of "Pastoral" Symphony 3 ever committed to disc, LP, tape or wax cylinder.

The criticism that Thomson was not "atmospheric" in this recording deflects what it actually is: the music Vaughan Williams envisioned in his head at the time he composed it. Vaughan Williams collaborated with Boult in his earliest recordings. He is said to have thought one way about the music, then told Boult, "But you play it the way you think correct." I guess this means there is no such thing as "definitive" Vaughan Williams, eh?

The Thomson recording of 3 is a wonderful, literal, visceral and hyperintelligent reading of music that is normally spoiled by interpretation. Thomson also outstandingly in Vaughan Williams greatest symphonies including the "London" Symphony 2, the wartime Symphony 4 and Vaughan Williams most wonderful creation, Symphony 5.

I was a tad let down by "Antarctica" Symphony 7 when I first heard it. Today, however, it seems to fit well in the Thomson worldview representing the thoughts of Vaughan Williams and not his interpreters. As to the Symphony 9 not being among the best readings in the set, my thoughts are, "Who cares?" It and Symphony 6 are relative small brothers to Symphonies 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, all of which are done extremely well under Thomson's baton.

Since Musical Heritage Society bought recording rights to these works, members of that organization can acquire them for much less than the stated list price here. I once bought the set during a summer sell-down from MHS at the astoundingly low price of $19.99! At that price, no one anywhere could quibble with anything in the set.

No problems here either........2003-06-21

A great set! While perhaps not as consistent as Handley's set (now on CfP), Thomson's achieves some very notable highpoints (particularly the 'London' Symphony and nos. 4, 5 and 6), and his performances are always eloquent and at times revelatory.

No problem here, either.......2001-01-23

This a beautifully played set. I had heard nothing about production flaws until I read the other reviews. The set I bought was fine. When I am feeling particularly like an anglophile, there are few things better to listen to then these performances of the Vaughan Williams symphonies. Thomson shows flexibility and breadth of expression in the diverse sorts of sounds that Vaughan Williams calls for. From what Sir Adrian Boult called the "modal blessedness" of the 3rd, to the jarring and dissonant 4 & 6(Vaughan Williams himself wasn't entirely sure what he thought of the 4th upon hearing it for the first time, "but this is what I meant by it.") with the tranquil 5th in between to the vast, craggy, and often inhuman landscapes of 7,8,9, the Thomson-molded sound can best be described as "British." The pastoral meloncholy, which is a peculiarly British mood, expressed in the early symphonies is dealt with masterfully as is the cool, detached and dissonant music of the later symphonies. Keeping in mind to what degree Vaughan Williams was rooted in English folk music and how oddly indifferent he was to the German symphonic tradition of Beethoven, Bruckner, & Mahler, these recordings, more than any others I've heard seem to express just what Vaughan Williams had in mind. In the midst of applauding Thomson's conducting, I would be remiss in not mentioning the fine playing of the London Symphony Orchestra. The brass in particular are excellent; playing often with the cold clarity and precision called for, and avoiding gushy sentimentality (even in 2,3, & 5). It is an all-round excellent set, and for what it's worth, I highly advise it.

Average customer rating:

Absolutely brilliant stuff
The scariest piece of war music ever written.

Brian: Symphonies 4 & 12

Manufacturer: Marco Polo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000045YJ
Release Date: 1993-11-01

Tracks:

Movement I
Movement I
Movement I
Movement I
Movement II
Movement II
Movement II
Movement III
Movement III
Movement III
Movement III
Movement III
Movement III
Movement III
Introduction - Epilogue - Glockenspiel Solo
Allegro Maestoso
A Tempo Marcia Lento
Adagio Espressivo
Allegro Vivo - Adagio Ma Pesante - Finale

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely brilliant stuff.......2003-03-02

The CD is taken up mostly by the large-scale 4th Symphony. This work was written between the World Wars, and takes a highly original approach to the question of depicting the horrors of war in music. Whereas Britten draws the tragedy of war into a religious context, Brian (perversely considering the psalm text) sets out to horrify with excesses of bombast and brutality. The work is an extended in essay in sarcasm and parody far more scary than anything Mahler ever came up with, because with Brian, you are never quite certain that this IS parody. The thought that these vast acclamations and obsessions with violence could be genuinely-meant is a reflection on the concerns of the period.

There are elements of pastiche Handel, some a capella choral writing, some bits that sound like Mahler, others like Tippett and even later composers like Nicholas Maw, but underpinning it all is the highly distinctive voice of Brian weaving it all into a coherent and forceful whole.

Definitely one of my most treasured CDs (though not one for idle listening).

The scariest piece of war music ever written........1999-09-13

In some ways surpasses Brian's own Gothic symphony. Will frighten the hell out of you...all banners and armor and thunder and glory. Awe-inspiring. The musical antithesis of Britten's War Requiem.