Recordings That You Are Considering

[Harry]

That's a fine example of Karajan's art Bill.

[marvinbrown]

I'd like some feedback on this set:

 

  Reviews I have read rant and rave that it is one of the best recordings on the market....any truth to that??

  Thanks
  marvin

[bhodges]

I'd like some feedback on this set:

 

  Reviews I have read rant and rave that it is one of the best recordings on the market....any truth to that??

  Thanks
  marvin

Although I have not heard the entire box, I bought some of the recordings when they were initially released, and still like them a lot: IIRC Symphonies 1, 4, 5 and 7, most coupled with some of the tone poems.  In particular, Ashkenazy does the Seventh very well, which might be my favorite of the symphonies, and he seems very much inside the sound world of Tapiola.

--Bruce

[Drasko]

What is the context? Looking for some particular piece or you want to check out Karajan's Strauss or already familiar with Karajan's Strauss and want to expand or looking for some good Strauss in general?

[Bogey]

What is the context? Looking for some particular piece or you want to check out Karajan's Strauss or already familiar with Karajan's Strauss and want to expand or looking for some good Strauss in general?

Wanting to expand, Miloš.  I have these two and enjoy them considerably:

 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I'd like some feedback on this set:

 

  Reviews I have read rant and rave that it is one of the best recordings on the market....any truth to that??

I'd echo Bruce's praise of this set. It's a winner.

There are other Sibelius recordings that might come closer to the Nordic chill of the music, but even with a 'hotter' approach Ashkenazy really excels. 

[M forever]

Wanting to expand, Miloš.  I have these two and enjoy them considerably:

 

So if you already have those two, why do you wonder if you should get the third? Then you have the entire collection. Beyond that, you should also get Karajan's Neujahrskonzert in Wien (1987), as well as those with Kleiber (1989, 1992) and Harnoncourt (2001, 2003). There are also these wonderful and extremely stylish discs:





and, of course, the many recordings with the WP and concertmaster Willi Boskovsky, who for many years led the Neujahrskonzerte from the solo violin, like JSII himself.

[mozartsneighbor]

Wanting to expand, Miloš.  I have these two and enjoy them considerably:

 

I would go with Karajan's 1987 New Year's Concert. It's the one of the most enjoyable recordings in this genre -- it even counts with a beautiful contribution from Kathleen Battle. I think it is also available as a DVD.

[Bogey]

So if you already have those two, why do you wonder if you should get the third?

Does not mean there is not a dud in the grouping and I rather ask than find out the hard way.

Beyond that, you should also get Karajan's Neujahrskonzert in Wien (1987),

OOP, but a great number available on the secondary market.  Maybe put this ahead of the other recording.

Never considered a Strauss recording from Nick.  Hmmm.  Love all my other stuff I have on the shelf from him.  A bit more detail, if you have the time.  Try to compare it with the HvK for me.

[Bogey]

I would go with Karajan's 1987 New Year's Concert. It's the one of the most enjoyable recordings in this genre -- it even counts with a beautiful contribution from Kathleen Battle. I think it is also available as a DVD.

See above. 

[Drasko]

Wanting to expand, Miloš.  I have these two and enjoy them considerably:

Haven't heard the disc in question, but I'll just mirror M's point, if you already have the other two and enjoy them there isn't much reason not to get the third one, those are three LPs worth (bit short on playing time) recorded at the same time, early 80s, and aesthetically and acoustically should be from the same mold. Possibility of a dud, if you enjoyed the other two, is fairly small, I'd say.

'87 New Year's concert is really superb, contains some of my favorite Karajan (like Annenpolka) in general. Doesn't look OOP to me:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Years-Concert-Vienna-1987/dp/B000LC4B5C

I'll second on the Kleiber, but am unfamiliar with Harnoncourt (although I'm quite certain I've seen at least one of his New Year's concerts on TV, but that is such an untimely hour), will have to check it out.

Here are few Strauss tips:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000006KAN
http://www.amazon.com/The-Strauss-Dynasty/dp/B0000023FN
Well, this second one isn't much of a tip since you'll have to fight me when some decently priced copy surfaces  

[Que]

Cheap as chips at jpc, and I'm into recorder music lately. 
But does somebody here know if this is any good?



Q

[Opus106]

Interesting collection, James. I have not come across any composition for the Bassoon by J. S.

[Wanderer]

Given that I already have Wand's BPO and KRSO Bruckner, is this worth my while? Does it add anything different or better to his other interpretations?

[Lilas Pastia]

American Record Guide reviews 6 and 9 in its latest issue. To them it's more of the (very good) same. I suspect there is more difference to be found in the orchestral playing than in the actual conducting.

[M forever]

Wand's basic approach to these pieces did in fact not change very much over time, but as he was someone who developed his interpretations from within the score rather than applying a general idea of how it should sound and then fitting the details in that context (or not, as is the case with most baton heroes), he studied and restudied these scores constantly and rehearsed extensively even with orchestras with which he had already performed the same works (with which both he and all the orchestras he worked with were very familiar to begin with) every single time he put them on the program.
So while basic parameters like tempo choices and relations did not change much overall, the details and the way he put them into relationship with each other did in fact change quite a bit over time, depending on a number of factors, such as the orchestra he worked with and the way it played, or simply how he saw the piece at that time.
In addition to that, Wand was also very aware of the fact that while it may be possible to achieve or at least approach single, overall more or less completely convincing performances of such complex pieces, it is not possible to find a single "perfect" and "correct" way to interprete them, so he consciously approached them from slightly different angles over time and reviewed his interpretative concepts rather than just repeating the performances he had done before. He didn't talk about all that much, but he did actually say that he wanted to keep re-approaching inexhaustible works like the 9th in different ways to show how each time, new aspects of this immensely complex work can be revealed. But for him these revelations were inside the music and had to developed from within, not through drastic superficial changes like completely different tempi.
If you compare his Cologne and his Berlin 9ths, for instance, you will find that they are actually quite different in the way a lot of the detail is handled and consequently, in the overall sum of all these details. What they have in common is how compellingly everything fits together and how "logically" and "naturally" the music unfolds. The tempi and tempo relationships overall aren't that different either. But the overall impression and "message" of the music is.
So basically, whether or not you want to check out these additional recordings (and remember, there is also a bunch more with the NDRSO, as well as videos from concerts) mostly depends on how deeply you are interested in the music. Every Wand peformance I have heard live and on recordings brought me new and different detail insights into these pieces. And since basically all of them are also very coherent, it's not just random detail, but often a very different realization of the same musical structures - without losing the meaningful context of that structure.

[Wanderer]

Thank you both for your answers. I have great respect for Wand and not one of his interpretations I've so far heard strikes me as remotely thoughtless, random or what have you; he indeed approaches the music from different angles, illuminating different aspects each time, even if the general vision - subtly variant in each interpretation -  may be perceived as being the same. I was trying to establish that these recordings don't fall short of his usual excellence; I guess they don't. I'm also interested in the NDRSO cycle, but I'll wait for RCA to properly reissue those.

[Grazioso]

Any word on the sound quality of the Wand set? Are they live or studio recordings? From when?

[ezodisy]

Lazar Berman's Carnegie Hall recordings.

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2781176

[M forever]

Any word on the sound quality of the Wand set? Are they live or studio recordings? From when?

The recordings from Munich are all live recordings from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. I only know the 4th and 9th which are both quite good sonically, rather up-close and a little drier and brighter than what most of his NDR reordings sound like, reflecting the different acoustics of the Philharmonie am Gasteig (which aren't so great which is why many of the recordings made there are rather close-miked). I think these recordings were all made by the Bavarian Radio and I would expect them all to be very solid technically. The two I know are, in any case.