Schumann Symphonies

[scottder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel Besides the Penguin Guide and Gramaphone Good CD Guide, the Classic Music Web site has huge archive of new and older reviews.....just click on each month or use search feature: Music Web

Thanks for the link DA!

 

[Tyson]

OK, first a word about how I listen to and rate performances. For me, I find that many performances fall in to a particular type of perforamance, ie: Driven, Romantic, Lean, Lush, Structural, Episodic, etc. Within each type of performance, I have a hierarchy of preference for the recordings I've heard. For example, Karajan's 60's beethoven cycle and Szell's 60's cycles are in a similar vien as Gardiners 90's cycle. Of the 3 I prefer Gardiner. Likewise, Walter's 70's cycle is in a certain style, as is Barenboim's most recent cycle. Of the 2 I perfer Walter. I would put Walter and Gardiner on similar levels of overall excellence, but in very different interpretive styles. And I wouldn't want to be without either of them.

Overall impressions of the Sawallisch set is that I like it quite a bit as a "driven" interpretation of the symphonies, but within that style I prefer Szell (especially in the latest remastering, which gives him even better sound), and above Szell I would place Gardiner. Both of these guys are very much driven sounding and focused on structure, but both find more time to stop and smell the roses during the incedental and slow music.

Of the slower and more romantic interpretations, there is Kubelik, Bernstein, and Barenboim. In this style, Barenboim is so far above the others it is almost funny. While Kubelik is just plain boring and Bernstein is willful to the point of losing the musical pulse, Barenboim somehow manages to keep the music flowing even at a slower pace. His rhythms are more sprung and his excursions in to the incedental music make you feel like you are on a guided journey, not like a person who has lost his way ala Bernstein.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Sawallisch is certainly the most driven and "exciting" of the bunch, but I feel he loses some of the subtle and the beautiful in his performances that Gardiner, Szell, and Barenboim all do better in bringing out. Still, he's better than Karajan (who I didn't even bother including), Bernstein, and Kubilek, so he's certainly no slouch in this music. Just not to my taste as much as the others.

 

[DarkAngel]

Tyson
How about a list showing your current ranking of three best Schumann Sets. Mine remains:

1)Sawallisch/EMI GROTC
2)Szell/Sony Heritage
3)Gardiner/Archiv

 

[scottder]

Ok, Schumann has grown on me, didn't grab me off the bat. Sometimes I need to put something away and listen again on a different day. I am quite enjoying th Szell set of these symphonies. Is there tape hiss? Yes? But when the performance is this good its quite easy to see past this. I'll give more impressions as time goes one. I'd love to hear peoples choice for individual symphonies (you're making your own box set, which performances do you put on it?).

Scott

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottder Ok, Schumann has grown on me, didn't grab me off the bat. Sometimes I need to put something away and listen again on a different day. I am quite enjoying th Szell set of these symphonies. Is there tape hiss? Yes? But when the performance is this good its quite easy to see past this. I'll give more impressions as time goes one. I'd love to hear peoples choice for individual symphonies (you're making your own box set, which performances do you put on it?). Scott

I was the same way long ago......Schumann at first seemed just OK, but not as immediately appealing as Beethoven or Mozart say. But after time and getting some good performances I really like these now and find them very refreshing and exciting.

Did you figure out how to navigate Music Web?
1)select the month you want to see
2)On month page select which part you want
-Part 1 (newest)
-Part 2 (A-B)
-Part 3 (C-L)
-Part 4 (M-R)
-Part 5 (S-Z) etc

There is an amzing aount of stuff there once you learn how to find it.

 

[scottder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel I was the same way long ago......Schumann at first seemed just OK, but not as immediately appealing as Beethoven or Mozart say. But after time and getting some good performances I really like these now and find them very refreshing and exciting. Did you figure out how to navigate Music Web? 1)select the month you want to see 2)On month page select which part you want -Part 1 (newest) -Part 2 (A-B) -Part 3 (C-L) -Part 4 (M-R) -Part 5 (S-Z) etc There is an amzing aount of stuff there once you learn how to find it.

Indeed, the layout of the site sucks, which is a shame, given the content. But still has great info, thanks!

Scott

 

[Tyson]

My ranking would be 2 categories, the Romantic, and the Structural.

Romatic:
1)Barenboim
2)Kubelik

Structural:
1)Gardiner
2)Szell
3)Sawallisch

I put Gardiner and Barenboim at a tie overall for first place, but with very different interpretive profiles. Next overall would be Szell, then Sawallisch, then Kubelik pulling up the rear.

 

[xchagg]

Bumping an old thread; I was looking for some advice for my first Schumann Symphonies set and this came thread pops up in search

For anyone else looking to grab a set, the Barenboim is available at Yourmusic for $11.98 (Link). The Bernstein/DG/VPO is on sale @ Towers for $14.99 (Link).

The Barenboim set from YM is the cheapest, and has garnered quite a bit of praise too.

 

[Bunnyears]

The best bang for the buck is the set by Zinman on the Arte Nova label. They are going at amazon for the bargain price of $11.98 (amazon) and can be had from the partners for $7 and change new.


They are highly rated by Classicstoday (10/10) for those who care.

These are very different from the Barenboim set (also 10/10) which I also have, and complement them perfectly. Where Barenboim falls into the romantic Austro/German tradition, Zinman uses a modern orchestra in a more historically informed manner. At these prices you should get both sets.

 

[xchagg]

Thx Bunnyears, grabbed the Zinman from Amazon, $10 shipped

Guess the Barenboim will have to wait for awhile; don't want to grab two sets and find out I don't really like the symphonies themselves lol.

 

[Bunnyears]

I wouldn't wait too long on the Barenboim as they are on the Teldec label (under the Warner Classics umbrella), and Warner Classics is not going to be around too much longer! They are going to fold Warner Classics into Rhino, but whenever a record company does something like this there are always loads of things that are "deleted from the catalog."

The story was on Gramophone's website on June 2.

In a move that has surprised the classical record industry as much as the people involved, Warner Classics has, in essence, ceased to be an active record label.

Matthew Cosgrove, who has steered Warner Classics and created a respected niche label that has attracted musicians of the calibre of mezzo Susan Graham, pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Nikolay Lugansky, conductors Daniel Barenboim and Sakari Oramo, had left the company (and it is thought that he will be announced at the new Vice President of A&R at Deutsche Grammophon within the next few days).

Warner Classics is being rolled into Rhino, Warner's reissue division, though it is unclear at the moment of the parent company's ambitions in the classical music world. This move by Warner reduces the so-called majors in the classical record arena to just EMI, Universal and Sony-BMG.

If you are thinking of getting anything from Warner Classics, or one of their associated labels (Teldec, Erato, Elatus or Apex) better hurry up and BUY!

 

[jagorev]

I got the Barenboim set recently. It is stunning. I have little to say apart from "I love it." Thanks for the pointer!

 

[Bunnyears]

Barenboim's Schumann just sounds so young and vigorous to me. That and the Zinman really are tops afaic.

 

[augustwest]

"I just realized I do have another Sawallisch performance--his Brucker 1st on Orfeo. I listened to it recently, and was unimpressed. Not sure whether by Sawallisch or by Bruckner."

The Sawallish Bruckner 6 on Orfeo is outstanding.


- augustwest

 

[mbhaub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyson Romantic: 2)Kubelik

Which one? DG or Sony?

BTW: Sawallisch was never known as a conductor to storm the heavens and really get the adrenilin flowing. He is however a superbly musical conductor, who knows the traditions and how to make an orchestra sound fabulous. A couple of years ago he did the Franz Schmidt second symphony in Philadelphia that was magnificent and powerful beyond words. Utterly thrilling. Too bad it wasn't recorded for posterity. So the man can raise the roof when he wants.