Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Recommendations.

Started by Harry, April 17, 2007, 07:04:57 AM

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I wish Harry would retitle this thread....::)

Anyway...

I wrote a review for the Metzmacher set on EMI:

Hartmann Symphonies Drained Of All Their Energy And Character

Poor K. A. Hartmann (1905 - 1963) hasn't faired too well on CD or, at least, at the time of these Metzmacher performances this seemed to have been the case. There was an earlier Wergo set, which I love, but only had mediocre FM radio audio quality. The saving grace for this Wergo set, however, were the performances with Rafael Kubelik dominating most of this set with his scorching, take-no-prisoners approach, which worked wonders for Hartmann's music. This Metzmacher set, despite getting some 5-star reviews here, is a poorly conceived project interpretatively and is letdown down by subpar audio from EMI. There is no rush of energy in these performances, but it doesn't help that the fidelity also hinders the performances, so it's double-edged sword in this regard --- no matter how you angle it, you're going to get cut.

My suggestion is to track down the Wergo set or the newer set on Challenge Classics (which sees Metzmacher return but in top-form unlike he is here) and skip this EMI set. Hartmann's music needs fire and doesn't deserve to be dowsed in water like it is here in this EMI set.

Maestro267

I beg to differ. I was blown away by the symphonies on EMI. They did enough to convince me that they're thrilling works.

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Quote from: Maestro267 on November 29, 2021, 08:49:39 AM
I beg to differ. I was blown away by the symphonies on EMI. They did enough to convince me that they're thrilling works.

Have you heard other performances of these works, though? The multi-conductor sets on Wergo and Challenge Classics?

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On a related note, I listened the James Gaffigan performances of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies on Challenge Classics several nights and ago and, of course, they blew Metzmacher's performances out-of-the-water. If you haven't heard them or have heard them, but disagree, you definitely need to have your hearing checked.

Symphonic Addict

A work that has impressed me a lot today: Hartmann's Kammerkonzert for clarinet, string quartet and string orchestra (1930-35) from this superb recording:



Seriously a great work, and not only that, but also memorable, quirky, even profound (in the 3rd movement). I was not expecting it to be so lyrical, though it's not devoid of some slight dissonances. A must-hear for Hartmann's fans I reckon.
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Jo498

#205
The Wergo set has decent sound quality for 1960s/70s. A bit dry but not as bad as suggested in #200, I think.
Admittedly, I never tried the Metzmacher as most reviews seemed to prefer the Wergo.
I also have Rickenbacher (koch/schwann) with the 2nd (slower, maybe more sucessful than Kubelik/Wergo + the unnumbered Sinfonia tragica), Fricsay with the 6th (DG 1950s, mono), and the 4th (strings) with Poppen (ECM, that also has the concerto with clarinet mentioned above and the Concerto funebre (violin (Isabelle Faust)+strings), the latter maybe the first Hartmann piece I'd recommend).
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