Please Suggest a CD Set of Tchaikovsky 4, 5, 6

[MN Dave]

I would say that, in this day and age, the MLP sound is "eccentric but exciting". I only have their Suppe/Auber CD, but it seems to me that, although their acoustics in no way rival those we can enjoy today, they are very exciting to listen to! And, of course, Dorati, Paray and others turned in some fabulous performances for them.

Yes, they sound a bit arid in my experience but much of the music is very desirable.

[BorisG]

Did Boris G just write off a WHOLE LABEL??? 

No, just the OP.

[BorisG]

Baby Gustav crying.

I am sorry now that I was civil to you. You are only a crybaby with little listening experience.

[Gustav]

I am sorry now that I was civil to you. You are only a crybaby with little listening experience.

Personal attacks now? You have sunk even lower than i had imagined, but that's okay. I don't want to pay that much attention to the silly editing job you did there. But, in the real world, you might get arrest by doing that you know. It's called "slander", accusing someone of saying something that he didn't. But, judging from the way you respond to posts in general, i doubt Police will go after you anyways, since up here, we give children one more chance to grow up, and learn from their mistakes.

[Bunny]

You call that harsh? the world I have experienced is at least 1000 times harsher than that, you can't protect her forever.

BorisG,

Thankfully, I don't need protection from people living on the other side of the globe, but I always appreciate kindness. 

Gustav,

I did wonder at the excessive hostility of your response, but realized that you interpreted my opinion of the sound quality of the clips as a personal attack which it was not meant to be.  When, however, you make such broad and sweeping judgments as, "In terms of THE SOUND, i have yet encountered anything better than Dorati/LSO, but, Mercury Living Presence always had wonderful sound, so, i might upload a clip here or two, to show you guys what i am talking about"; you should expect someone will actually listen and make comparisons. 

[BorisG]

Personal attacks now? You have sunk even lower than i had imagined, but that's okay. I don't want to pay that much attention to the silly editing job you did there. But, in the real world, you might get arrest by doing that you know. It's called "slander", accusing someone of saying something that he didn't. But, judging from the way you respond to posts in general, i doubt Police will go after you anyways, since up here, we give children one more chance to grow up, and learn from their mistakes.

Congratulations, you are now a

[Don]

Congratulations, you are now a

That looks horrible.

[BorisG]

That looks horrible.

I do sometimes wonder about this recordings forum. The other forums seem to attract less fruit & nuts.

[Brian]

I do sometimes wonder about this recordings forum. The other forums seem to attract less fruit & nuts.

Clearly you've never been to the Diner.

[Gustav]

Congratulations, you are now a

fruitcake? forgot how to spell?

[Gustav]

I did wonder at the excessive hostility of your response, but realized that you interpreted my opinion of the sound quality of the clips as a personal attack which it was not meant to be.  When, however, you make such broad and sweeping judgments as, "In terms of THE SOUND, i have yet encountered anything better than Dorati/LSO, but, Mercury Living Presence always had wonderful sound, so, i might upload a clip here or two, to show you guys what i am talking about"; you should expect someone will actually listen and make comparisons. 

Nope, you completely missed it, I did not take your comment as a personal attack, a personal attack usually contain certain words and phrases that are quite easily recognizable. You did not attack me, what you did was commenting on sound quality between 2 vastly different recordings, you compared Gatti to Dorati. Which i thought was unfair, and silly, since it doesn't take a genius to figure out that recordings nowadays sound better than they used to be. So, what you said didn't contribute anything to the discussion.

[Gustav]

I do sometimes wonder about this recordings forum. The other forums seem to attract less fruit & nuts.

You participate in other forums as well? What other idiotic thing do you do there? Picking other people's spelling mistakes and upload silly pictures? 

[Don]

Nope, you completely missed it, I did not take your comment as a personal attack, a personal attack usually contain certain words and phrases that are quite easily recognizable. You did not attack me, what you did was commenting on sound quality between 2 vastly different recordings, you compared Gatti to Dorati. Which i thought was unfair, and silly, since it doesn't take a genius to figure out that recordings nowadays sound better than they used to be. So, what you said didn't contribute anything to the discussion.

I don't agree.  There are plenty of recordings "nowadays" that I think don't sound as good as some recordings from a few decades ago.  It has to do with the current love of engineers for a heavy dose of reverberation and bright sound that can result in a somewhat muddy soundstage with inadequate detail.

[Bunny]

Nope, you completely missed it, I did not take your comment as a personal attack, a personal attack usually contain certain words and phrases that are quite easily recognizable. You did not attack me, what you did was commenting on sound quality between 2 vastly different recordings, you compared Gatti to Dorati. Which i thought was unfair, and silly, since it doesn't take a genius to figure out that recordings nowadays sound better than they used to be. So, what you said didn't contribute anything to the discussion.

You brought up the sound quality as a selling point for the Dorati.  If you didn't believe that the sound quality of the Dorati recording was as good as that of the modern recordings, then why would you have so clearly stated that you have heard nothing with better sound?   And worse, why do you still complain when a quick listen can demonstrate that the sound quality of the recording is dated, and while quite acceptable, is nothing extraordinary by modern standards?

If you didn't feel attacked by me, then why should you have reacted to my post with such hostility and insult?  I have not "missed your point."  You belabor that point so heavily that only a moron could miss it; there is no subtlety about your postings.  I merely have stated that in my opinion the sound quality should not be a factor influencing any decision whether to purchase or not purchase the Dorati recordings because the sound quality is not stellar.  You resent that I have stated this opinion, and in fact have said that I should have not have posted that opinion, and that I misused the clips by comparing them (so presumptuous of me  ).  Well grow up!  If you post clips on the internet, you must expect that people will listen to them, and compare them to others that they have available.  The Dorati recordings are fine, but nothing I've heard has convinced me that I need them when I already have the Mravinsky.  I love the Mravinsky, and would have loved to find something in a similar style with better sound quality.  That is not the case with the Dorati.

I am still interested in the Gatti recordings; what I have read has piqued my curiosity.  I am still hopeful that someone familiar with them with some expertise will be able to comment about them so that I can decide whether to purchase at least one of them. 

[Bunny]

I don't agree.  There are plenty of recordings "nowadays" that I think don't sound as good as some recordings from a few decades ago.  It has to do with the current love of engineers for a heavy dose of reverberation and bright sound that can result in a somewhat muddy soundstage with inadequate detail.

This is so true!  There are plenty of modern recordings with mediocre or even poor sound quality which make older recordings preferable. 

[Brian]

I am still interested in the Gatti recordings; what I have read has piqued my curiosity.  I am still hopeful that someone familiar with them with some expertise will be able to comment about them so that I can decide whether to purchase at least one of them. 

Well, I am not an expert by any means and don't have Mravinsky or some of the other legendary readings, but I got the Gatti recordings a month ago and have listened to each of the discs about a half-dozen times. While I may not always agree with what he does - like the move from development to recap, first mvt, Sixth Symphony - I'm always at least engaged and usually fascinated. Absolutely terrific stuff. 

It should be noted that a few other forum members do not share my enthusiasm, though when we played "Name that Orchestra" Gatti's recordings did receive a lot of praise.

[Thomas Crystalstick]

So I have decided to investigate Klemperer's recordings of the Tchaikovsky symphonies, even though they are supposedly "strange." 

I can find his recordings of symphonies 5 and 6 as part of the "Klemperer Legacy" series, but where is number 4?  Has it not been reissued?

[BorisG]

So I have decided to investigate Klemperer's recordings of the Tchaikovsky symphonies, even though they are supposedly "strange." 

I can find his recordings of symphonies 5 and 6 as part of the "Klemperer Legacy" series, but where is number 4?  Has it not been reissued?

I believe 4 was only resissued from LP as part of a 4,5,6 set, now out of print.
A single 4 was available in Japan in 2005.

[rubio]

So I have decided to investigate Klemperer's recordings of the Tchaikovsky symphonies, even though they are supposedly "strange." 

I can find his recordings of symphonies 5 and 6 as part of the "Klemperer Legacy" series, but where is number 4?  Has it not been reissued?

It's still available here:

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/1065673

[rubio]

I recently attended a concert of the Pathetique with Rozhdestvensky/LPO here in Oslo. So I have listened to a few of my recordings of this symphony. First Jansons/Oslo. This sounds like middle-of-the-road, well-played and well-produced Tchaikovsky. I like this box set, but for this particular symphony there is a need for more emotional involvement and perhaps energy from Jansons. He's more succesful in his takes on the earlier symhonies.



So I wanted to hear Rozhdestvensky himself with the London neighbour orchestra - the LSO. This performance confirms that I have a general preference for Russian conductors when it comes to Tchaikovsky in general and the Pathetique specifically. Still, I think one can say that Rozhdestvensky has a completely opposite reading compared to Mr. Pathetique himself - Mravinsky. Both produce emotional readings, Mravinsky just even more so. Rozhdestvensky's take is slow and he pays special attention to small details and musical points. You can expect much more energy and desperation from Mravinsky/Leningrad SO. Both ways are for certain valid, even if Mravinsky for me is in his own league for the Pathetique. 

In Oslo Rozhdestvenky was even slower, but I found it immensely beautiful and touching. An old man's Pathetique. Rozhdestvensky is for me one of the few great living condutors today (especially in Russian repertoire).



The last one was Karajan/BPO. The 1964 perfromance and by some considered to be Karajan's best take on this symphony. I enjoyed it very much. When there is room for beauty Karajan don't let the chance slip, and the BPO strings are as always highly enjoyable. Still, there are several conductors I prefer over Karajan in this music. But why not enjoy them all?