Schumann – The 4 Symphonies – Leonard Bernstein , New York Philharmonic Orchestra

 

Release Date: November 16, 2001 Label: Sony Number of discs: 2 Composer: Robert Schumann Performer: Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

It's surprising that mention is still made of the difficulties conductors allegedly have with Schumann's so-called "muddy" orchestration when these recordings (and several others) have been kicking around for nearly 50 years. The Third in this set has always been a favorite, with excellent playing and genuine atmosphere, but the other symphonies, and the Manfred, I discovered to be equally fine. True to Bernstein of this era there's lots of fire and attention to inner detail but few of the eccentricities he was prone to in some later recordings. The adagio of the Second is taken slowly and this might be a harbinger of things to come, but it works well here and was probably very thrilling back in the Sixties when these were first around. Although the contemporaneous Szell set is universally praised and I love it for it's unsurpassed beer and schnitzel Germanic qualities, this one is more exciting and probably will appeal to contemporary audiences a hair more (although you really shouldn't live without Szell if you love Schumann). It's not quite as hair-raisingly energetic as the Paray set from the same era--released on Mercury and temporarily out of print--but it's better recorded and I think possibly a bit better played here. (The Paray is still mandatory too!). All in all this strikes me as the best of all the available older integral recordings of these works. I prefer the older recordings too because they always seem to have more of what I can best describe as "feeling." A real gem.

 

flac, scans