Blind Comparison: Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

[TheGSMoeller]

We are two days from SantaClaus Day, so I say results wait until Wednesday/Thursday, Daniel, let me know if you can post them or if you need me to.

If anyone else wants to participate in between this time, group A and C could use several more, otherwise we shall move on.

Thanks you, everyone!!

[madaboutmahler]

Thank you for doing all three groups, Francis!

Yes, shall we say that votes will be counted on Thursday, 10.00 England time?
Results should then be posted on the Friday.

Greg - thank you so much for being so organized when I have been away!

[Sergeant Rock]

Yes, shall we say that votes will be counted on Thursday, 10.00 England time?

10 AM or 10 PM?

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Group C

1 - C4
2 - C1
3 - C5
4 - C3
5 - C2
6 - C6

Sorry, I can't contribute much commentary. I'm not feeling well enough today--a chronic condition that makes typing uncomfortable sometimes. I will say that C4 and C5 are, interpretively, what I expect from a Symphonie fantastique (with C4 taking the top honor due to superior sonics). C1 places high because it has the best sound of the six and a performance that seems to be HIP influenced--which I like.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

C5: This has more than one instrument with the bell plays (or is it multiple bells?)

I hear a piano reinforcing the bells.

Sarge

[madaboutmahler]

10 AM or 10 PM?

Sarge

10 PM England time. Thanks for your vote, Sarge, and hope you feel better soon!

[trung224]

 Group A:
A4
A5
A2
A1
A3
A6

[TheGSMoeller]

Daniel, you doing the results? Or do you need me to?

Cheers, friend.

[madaboutmahler]

Group A:
A4
A5
A2
A1
A3
A6

Thank you for your vote!

Is there anyone else wanting to post a vote this evening before the deadline?

[TheGSMoeller]

Round 1 results will be posted tonight, and round 2 links will be sent hopefully no later than Wed-Thurs.

Thank you all, and Happy New Year.

[TheGSMoeller]

Results for Round 1:


18) A6 Boulez/Cleveland Orchestra 1997 (5% of possible votes)



Quotes from participants:
"The final movement is another snooze." 
"...nothing to see here."

The sad looking figure on the cover just about sums it up, making last place. Boulez probably wouldn't care anyway. This one may contain the cleanest performance of the lot, but heavily lacks in excitement.




17) A3 Norrington/London Classical Players 1989 (20%)



"The tremolos to start the finale are outstandingly creepy; the cellos and basses superb" 
"...a most 'interesting' bell - the off-tune dinner-gong from hell - quite effective."

Period Instruments? Not in this comparison. Not many negative vibes towards this one, but not many positive either. Perhaps Norrington's account with Stuttgart would have faired better, maybe we will find out, maybe not (<---suspense)




16) B3 Munch/Boston Symphony Orchestra 1954 (24%)



"This seems to be a chamber orchestra...its account introduces phrasing and stresses I've never quite heard that way elsewhere"
"Good climax but rushes through the idée fixe."
"Cautious, deliberate, rather thin tone."

The oldest recording used in this comparison is toast. Questions arose concerning sound, ability of the performers and even size of the orchestra. Resulted in not munch. 




15) B5 Minkowski/Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre members 2004 (24%)



"...there's a lot of attention to detail...the recording is lifeless..."
"A glossy orchestra on autopilot."
"...atmospheric but languorous opening"
"Overall neat but rather bland."

If anything, Minkowski won for the most creative responses. This live performance was a mixture of two groups, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (modern instruments) and Les Musiciens du Louvre wind players (period instruments). Did any of that make a difference?





14) C1 Ticciati/Scottish Chamber Orchestra 2012 (35%)



"Everything seems monochrome to me."
"sweet and delicate and well-articulated."
"only one word: dull."

First the oldest, now the youngest. Ticciati's 2012 SACD recording is the most recent used in this comparison, but being a chamber orchestra, it's fate was sealed from the beginning as one of the three smaller-ensemble performances kicked out this round. Are there any left? Did Orpheus Chamber Orchestra record fantastique?




13) C6 Abbado/Chicago Symphony Orchestra 1984 (40%)



"The phrasing and tempo is not special, but the playing is very powerful"
"the brass-heavy mix is a bit stodgy-feeling for me."

Powerful and heavy don't seem to be enough for our Berlioz-ians, they want passion! Adios, Abbado. Great cover art though.


Great results and comments from Round 1. Thank you again for your patience. December ended up being a busy month for many of us and it delayed much of this. Hopefully Round 2 excerpts will be ready by week's end. Round 2 will feature the Waltz and March of the symphony and should make for another interesting contrast.
Out of these dismissed recordings I was a bit surprised the Minkowski was so low, perhaps because I'm a Minkowski fan to begin with, or maybe it's just that I immensely enjoy this energetic take on Berlioz's grand opus, but I've been returning to Minkowski and Co.'s performance quite a bit in the past.

Thank you again, and goodnight, moon.

[aukhawk]

Fascinating.  Thankyou Greg and Danial for all your hard work, it's been fun, interesting and instructive.
I'm a big admirer of Boulez, especially his DG recordings - but I placed him plumb last in his group! 
And I've got the Norrington recording yet failed to recognise it, after hearing about 10 others 

[madaboutmahler]

Thanks for posting the results, Greg - very enjoyable to read! I personally was hoping you would all keep Abbado in for a little longer

And yes, hoping to get the Round 2 links out to everyone by next weekend.

Thank you everyone!

[Sergeant Rock]

17) A3 Norrington/London Classical Players 1989 (20%)

Well...this is embarrassing! My favorite Sf bites the dust and I helped kill it, rating it last in group    But in my defense, it's the middle movements that have always made Norrington and the LCP's performance special to me. I wonder if the results might have been different had we started with Un Bal and Marche instead.

After seeing the results, I relistened to the clips, trying to figure out why I rated it so low. I think the out of tune bell figured heavily in my negative reaction. But right after listening, I took some trash outside literally at the stroke of 12 and I heard, in the distance (about a kilometer away), our village church bells....and they sounded just like the LCP's! Can I change my vote? 

Edit: I'm sorry to see Munch gone too. That's also a favorite of mine...although in this case I didn't help eliminate it.

Sarge 

[Brian]

Edit: I'm sorry to see Munch gone too. That's also a favorite of mine...although in this case I didn't help eliminate it.

I rated Munch quite highly and explicitly said I wanted it to advance. We just have better taste 

[TheGSMoeller]

Well...this is embarrassing! My favorite Sf bites the dust and I helped kill it, rating it last in group    But in my defense, it's the middle movements that have always made Norrington and the LCP's performance special to me. I wonder if the results might have been different had we started with Un Bal and Marche instead.

After seeing the results, I relistened to the clips, trying to figure out why I rated it so low. I think the out of tune bell figured heavily in my negative reaction. But right after listening, I took some trash outside literally at the stroke of 12 and I heard, in the distance (about a kilometer away), our village church bells....and they sounded just like the LCP's! Can I change my vote? 

Edit: I'm sorry to see Munch gone too. That's also a favorite of mine...although in this case I didn't help eliminate it.

Sarge

Perhaps you'll find a new favorite along the way, Sarge. I was upset to see Minkowski gone so quickly, although I didn't vote. Not to diminish this too much but I'm sure the results would be somewhat different with other excerpts or even using the entire recording.

[Brian]

It's something we encounter every time, of course. Remember the early demise of Kubelik's Mahler First for similar reasons?

[TheGSMoeller]

I rated Munch quite highly and explicitly said I wanted it to advance. We just have better taste 

You rated it fourth out of six, you can't be greedy and have all of them advance. 

[Sergeant Rock]

Perhaps you'll find a new favorite along the way, Sarge.

I quite liked the Ticciati/Scottish Chamber performance. My favorite Amazon seller has a like-new copy for €11. I might grab it.

Sarge

[aukhawk]

I personally was hoping you would all keep Abbado in for a little longer

By my reckoning it must have been a very close thing, between Abbado and C3