George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra - Dvorak Symphony No. 7 - Smetana, The Moldau etc

 

Release Date: December 19, 2000 Label: Sony Number of discs: 1 Composer: Dvorak, Smetana  Performer: George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

Without doubt one of the greatest recordings of the Dvorak Seventh, perhaps the best, sounds as if newly minted on this lustrous DSD transfer on a Sony Classical SACD. Szell achieves from his Cleveland players a precision of articulation, clarity, and transparency of orchestral textures that is unmatched. Add to that the very tangy Czech-sounding playing he gets from his winds and the white hot intensity of the performance and you have a must-have for Dvorak and Szell fans alike. As a big bonus you get classic performances of other Czech staples adding up to a very generous disc of over 75 minutes (rare from Sony in these reissues). To sample this disc, listen to the "Bartered Bride" overture, perhaps the most thrillingly precise and exciting rendition I have heard. The incredible realism of the DSD transfer means that you can hear all of the orchestral textures with breathtaking clarity (including some amazing bite from the double basses and sharp, incisive tympani) and can clearly hear Szell audibly urging on his forces! Recommended in the strongest possible terms.

 

flac, scans by Waldstein