Recordings That You Are Considering

[HIPster]

An intriguing June release.

Very intriguing!  Thanks for posting it.

The new Pluhar/Purcell Jazz Fusion release. . .
[asin]B00H587YAO[/asin]

[Moonfish]

It's a mixture of first rate performances (particularly the Beethoven concertos and some of the Mahler) with some duds (particularly the Schumann and the Mahler 10) and some simply workmanlike and competent (the Beethoven symphonies and some of the Mahler).  The Strauss I would rate as somewhere between excellent and competent.

Instead of the whole box, I'd suggest
--the entire Strauss cycle, which I got years ago as a box set on Arte Nova
--the Beethoven concertos (all five PCs, the violin and triple concerto as well) and possibly the double CD set of the overtures.  These were also released on Arte Nova.
--Mahler 3, 4, and 9--the latter is actually one of the best recordings of the Ninth I've ever heard, and the only one I'd rate as a "must have".

The rest is, barring the Schumann and Mahler 10, fine as far as they go, but I don't think you'd be missing much, if anything, if you never hear them.

If getting the performances I suggest is more difficult or more expensive than simply getting the box set (and remember that it was not until he started the Mahler cycle that his recordings were released on RCA and not Arte Nova, which means the Strauss and Beethoven may still be available rather cheaply),  then get the box set and be prepared for a bunch of stuff that won't grab you.

Mandatory disclosure:  there is some stuff in that set, such as the Brahms, which I've never heard.

Thanks for taking the time writing this. Very useful information in terms of pondering Zinman's legacy/recordings.  Thank you! For the price of 45 GBP it comes across as a worthwhile enterprise.... 

[Moonfish]

So, hmm, what is the reputation of the LaSalle Quartet in these recordings?  This is unfamiliar territory for me so I am walking on very thin ice. Based on the threads in GMG this is home for most of you..... Opinions?

[asin] B00E5YNBSU[/asin]

[The new erato]

Their Schoenberg and Zemlinsky are absolutely top-notch.

[Ken B]

Thanks for taking the time writing this. Very useful information in terms of pondering Zinman's legacy/recordings.  Thank you! For the price of 45 GBP it comes across as a worthwhile enterprise....

I like the Beethoven symphonies more than Jeffrey. I rate them very highly.
Come to think of it, I heard the Schumann. Ok, not great, good sound.

[kishnevi]

So, hmm, what is the reputation of the LaSalle Quartet in these recordings?  This is unfamiliar territory for me so I am walking on very thin ice. Based on the threads in GMG this is home for most of you..... Opinions?

[asin] B00E5YNBSU[/asin]

I have these in earlier incarnations, and found all of it good.

[Moonfish]

I like the Beethoven symphonies more than Jeffrey. I rate them very highly.
Come to think of it, I heard the Schumann. Ok, not great, good sound.

I wonder why RCA is honoring Zinman with a set of this kind? Or is it just a trend in the megabox industry? Would have preferred a mega Solti or Kubelik instead......     

[Ken B]

So, hmm, what is the reputation of the LaSalle Quartet in these recordings?  This is unfamiliar territory for me so I am walking on very thin ice. Based on the threads in GMG this is home for most of you..... Opinions?

[asin] B00E5YNBSU[/asin]

The LaSalles are top notch in this. Might be a brilliant box of this too. Price compare.
Got the Villa-lobos quartets?

[kishnevi]

The LaSalles are top notch in this. Might be a brilliant box of this too. Price compare.
Got the Villa-lobos quartets?

The Brilliant issues are in fact what I have;  in that incarnation Zemlinsky is peeled off to be alone, and the Big Three, so to speak, are given a set under the title Second Viennese School (or similar phrase).

[Pat B]

I like the Beethoven symphonies more than Jeffrey. I rate them very highly.

I have Zinman's Beethoven 9. It's one of a handful of discs that I actively dislike. I don't mind fast, but there is a difference between fast and rushed. This performance is both. Adding insult to injury, the "alternate" version of the 4th movement (exactly like the regular version, but with one break held for two seconds) is one of the worst gimmicks I know of in classical music recording history.

[Moonfish]

I have Zinman's Beethoven 9. It's one of a handful of discs that I actively dislike. I don't mind fast, but there is a difference between fast and rushed. This performance is both. Adding insult to injury, the "alternate" version of the 4th movement (exactly like the regular version, but with one break held for two seconds) is one of the worst gimmicks I know of in classical music recording history.

That does not seem very promising. Very divided views of Zinman. Was he trying to be "different" in his approach to stand out in the late 20th century cohort of conductors?

[Moonfish]

Any opinions about the Brilliant Classics 2012 release of the Rimksy-Korsakov box? Rimsky-Korsakov is very much absent in my collection apart from occasional recordings of Scheherazade. I would be curious in regards to how you view his music as well as the specific recordings contained in this budget box. Thoughts?

[asin]B008E8XU5W[/asin]

[Ken B]

That does not seem very promising. Very divided views of Zinman. Was he trying to be "different" in his approach to stand out in the late 20th century cohort of conductors?

Pardon my french but he was the first to record a cycle using the new Del Mar. He also is much influenced by HIP despite using modern instruments. That raises some hackles. Probably some on youtube ...

[Moonfish]

Pardon my french but he was the first to record a cycle using the new Del Mar. He also is much influenced by HIP despite using modern instruments. That raises some hackles. Probably some on youtube ...

So a radical conductor..?

[Sadko]

Any opinions about the Brilliant Classics 2012 release of the Rimksy-Korsakov box? Rimsky-Korsakov is very much absent in my collection apart from occasional recordings of Scheherazade. I would be curious in regards to how you view his music as well as the specific recordings contained in this budget box. Thoughts?

[asin]B008E8XU5W[/asin]

About the operas I can say that, as far as I remember, I find none of the recordings very interesting, middle of the road, but often lacking the charm Rimsky's operas can have.

[Pat B]

That does not seem very promising. Very divided views of Zinman. Was he trying to be "different" in his approach to stand out in the late 20th century cohort of conductors?

Yes, very divided. I don't mean to completely dissuade you. I'm just one data point. The question about what he was going for should probably be fielded by one of his admirers. Even they don't necessarily consider the 9th to be a highlight. There are so many choices on the market nowadays that for me, further exploration of his output is very low on the list of priorities. I may eventually sample his Mahler 3 or 9, per Jeffrey Smith's advocacy.

[Moonfish]

About the operas I can say that, as far as I remember, I find none of the recordings very interesting, middle of the road, but often lacking the charm Rimsky's operas can have.

Thank you! Do you think Decca did better in their efforts to build a Rimsky-Korsakov opera collection?

[asin] B004I4HCT6[/asin]

[Moonfish]

Yes, very divided. I don't mean to completely dissuade you. I'm just one data point. The question about what he was going for should probably be fielded by one of his admirers. Even they don't necessarily consider the 9th to be a highlight. There are so many choices on the market nowadays that for me, further exploration of his output is very low on the list of priorities. I may eventually sample his Mahler 3 or 9, per Jeffrey Smith's advocacy.

I guess at the price one can view it as giant sample box. Still, the collection simply means duplications of all the cycles one already has (or rather the nth iteration of a cycle). I guess one really needs to be a Zinman fan to really enjoy the RCA box?

[Ken B]

I guess at the price one can view it as giant sample box. Still, the collection simply means duplications of all the cycles one already has (or rather the nth iteration of a cycle). I guess one really needs to be a Zinman fan to really enjoy the RCA box?

There are several Beet boxes I recommend, all cheap

Zinman. All around for price sound and performance a great set.
Cluytens Big Beethoven. Really big. The first stereo cycle but good sound for its age. Traditionalists will like this.
Blomstedt Good late analog sound, great middle of the road readings.
Gardiner HIP, cool and with it.
Karajan 63

But there are other good ones aplenty.

[Pat B]

Pardon my french but he was the first to record a cycle using the new Del Mar. He also is much influenced by HIP despite using modern instruments. That raises some hackles. Probably some on youtube ...

That was quite a publicity stunt! Zinman was the first to record a cycle using the Bärenreiter Edition on modern instruments. Gardiner's cycle used it and was several years earlier than Zinman's, and Goodman and Mackerras had been using Del Mar's work even earlier. But Zinman's record label was the first to put it on a banner on the front cover.

IMO Gardiner's Beethoven 9 -- which has more HIP cred than Zinman's -- is the low point of that cycle, but it is much better than Zinman's.