Saint-Saens - Symphony No.3 in C Minor, Op.78 - Murray, Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra

 

Release Date: October 25, 1990 Label: Telarc Number of discs: 1 Composer: Camille Saint-Saens Performer: Murray, Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

I can pay no higher compliment to this performance by Ormandy, the Philadelphians and Telarc than to say, that this is the only performance that is as perfect and as moving as the Charles Munch/Boston Symphony Orchestra RCA performance from 1959. That CD has the well-earned status as the benchmark of perfection in performance, even after forty years. I've probably owned a dozen recordings of this symphony and this is the one I invariably come back to, along with the one by Charles Munch. However, this one is so splendidly recorded, I believe it is an essential recording. Ormandy gives one of his last & greatest performances, and the Philadelphians clearly want to leave him a legacy, pulling all of the emotional depth present in the Munch/Boston/RCA release. Murray proves why he has earned so much respect as an organist & interpreter of French Organ repertoire. This recording is a little unique in that the recording space sounds quite large, and it has a little more reverberation than most, but Telarc did a magnificent job in being able to pick up so much detail. I cannot say enough about the detail of the woodwinds they achieve while still capturing the Philadelphia Orchestra's famed string (and brass) sections. The only possible way it could be any better is that the fast piano runs in the last scherzo are just a tad more faint than in most recordings due to the reverberation & recording space, but that is an extremely minor flaw compared to the richness of detail found all over this recording. The adagio of this symphony alone is worth the price of this disc. Ormandy, like Munch plumbs the depths of aching, of deep longing & the eventual ecstatic peace that make the adagio as admired as anything written by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or Mahler. I really believe that any of them would have been deeply moved if they heard this peace, and of course Mahler certainly did, and must have admired it deeply! Saint-Saens himself admitted, sincerely & quite humbly, after finishing this symphony, that he could do no more. He had achieved perfection, and Ormandy, Murray & the Philadelphians have paid tribute to Saint-Saens by doing the same.--Amazon

 

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Sibelius - Symphonies 4 and 7 - Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra

 

 

Great news! Arkivmusic.com has gotten its "on demand" hands on the Japanese RCA Ormandy Edition, making these recordings available in North America at far saner prices. Some of these performances are outstanding, nowhere more so than here--one of the greatest Sibelius recordings ever made. Eugene Ormandy's Fourth Symphony is magnificent: gaunt, direct, and unflinching, with stunning string playing and the most intelligent approach on disc to the percussion conundrum in the finale (chimes at the "sonore" climax, glockenspiel everywhere else). Some listeners might prefer a swifter tempo in the scherzo, but this interpretation is all of a piece, taking in the work as if in one sweeping gesture, and Sibelians will understand just what that means.

The Seventh also is a perfectly paced, immaculately played performance, with none of the mannerisms in the pastoral interlude that disturb Ormandy's first recording for Sony. As for the tone poems, there is no finer performance of Oceanides available anywhere, and Pohjola's Daughter is just about as good. Ormandy could come across as a somewhat stiff and unsmiling interpreter, but not here, and particularly not in music that requires an absolutely logical, indeed mathematical approach to tempo relationships between sections. Both in terms of performance quality and programming (Sibelius at his very greatest throughout), it just doesn't get any better.

The Japanese edition apparently used original unaltered sources, meaning the tapes were not remastered in any way, and so vary widely in sound quality--from very good, as here, to virtually unlistenable (Mahler Second). So until someone goes back and redoes them from scratch--and we may have a very long wait--you will have to buy selectively. These recordings, from the late 1970s, stand among the best-sounding of the lot. A magnificent release that you won't want to miss!—David Hurwitz

CD INFO

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The Philadelphia Orchestra Plays Bach (Family)

 

 

Purists will assert that the Philadelphia Orchestra has no business playing Bach. It's too bad they feel that way, particularly when the conductor is Leopold Stokowski, reunited with the orchestra after a hiatus of almost two decades. Eugene Ormandy invited Stoki back in 1960, and MH2K62345 documents the results: confident, suave recordings of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and the conductor's moving arrangements of three Chorale Préludes. Ormandy was an expert arranger and conductor of Bach himself, as can be heard from the balance of this 2-CD set, which contains what used to be Columbia MS6180 ("Bach by Ormandy" – also recorded in 1960) and MS6342 ("The Bach Family" – works by Johann Christian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, recorded in 1957). None of it may be "authentic," but it all sounds luscious enough to make new friends for the music and the performances.

CD INFO

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Ives - Holidays-Symphony-Three Places In New England - Ormandy, The Philadelphia Orchestra

 

 

Eugene Ormandy was a surprisingly dedicated Ives conductor, at least on disc, and a very good one too. This version of Three Places in New England was, if memory serves, the first of Ives' original scoring for full orchestra, and it's quite fine. As to be expected, the Philly players sound terrific, and Ormandy seems to be enjoying himself (he was never noted for his sense of humor). The performance of the Holidays Symphony also stands with the very best; for many years this was the only way to get all four tone poems on disc, with Thanksgiving and Forefather's Day being a particular novelty. The sound is gratifyingly clear and clean for an RCA/Philadelphia production, save for some slight congestion at the entry of the chorus in Thanksgiving. Part of the Japanese RCA Ormandy edition, and now available on demand from Arkivmusic.com, this disc represented a major contribution to the Ives discography when it first came out back in the 1970s, and its qualities haven't diminished at all in the decades since.—David Hurwitz

CD INFO

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Tchaikovsky - Symphony Nr 5 & Serenade opus 48 - Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra

Eugene Ormandy's Fifth is the earliest of his stereo Tchaikovsky symphony recordings for Sony, and it's one of the best. Not only do you get a typically lush, opulent performance, the strings still play with a healthy dose of "portamento" (which means sliding from one note to another). It's a delightfully sentimental style that has vanished completely--now it's considered bad taste. Tacky, maybe, but a great performance nevertheless. You'll just love it. --David Hurwitz

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Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch - Mahler Symphony No 1, Strauss Rosenkavalier Suite

Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch -
Mahler Symphony No 1, Strauss Rosenkavalier Suite
Symphonic | APE, no cue | no log, cover | 1 CD, 324 MB
RapidShare


CD Content
Mahler Symphony No 1 with the long lost original second movement
Strauss Richard "Der Rosenkavalier" Suite

Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra - Piano Concerto Yellow River

Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra - Piano Concerto Yellow River
Orchestral | flac, cue | no log, scans | 1 CD, 206 MB
released 1973 | RCA | RapidShare

In a 1971 letter to President Richard Nixon, Eugene Ormandy suggested a Philadelphia Orchestra tour to China. Two years of negotiations led by Henry Kissinger finally produced an invitation from the Chinese government, and in September 1973 the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first United States Orchestra to visit the People's Republic of China. This State-Department-arranged tour took the musicians to Peking and Shanghai.

The carefully-chosen repertory for the tour included several works by American composers as well as the Yellow River Concerto, with Chinese pianist Yin Cheng-Chung as soloist. Originally created as a cantata by the Chinese composer Hsien Hsing-hai in the 1940s, the work was later rewritten as a piano concerto by a committee of composers from the Central Philharmonic Society of the People's Republic of China. The concerto had received its Western Hemisphere premiere the previous month at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer home.

CD Content
The Yellow River" Concerto
San Pei (Chinese Workers's And Peasant's Match)
The Stars And Stripes Forever
Respighi - Pines Of Rome

Rachmaninov - Symphony # 1-3 - Vocalise - Philadelphia Orch. - Ormandy

Rachmaninov - Symphony # 1-3 - Vocalise -
Philadelphia Orch. - Ormandy
Symphonic | flac, cue | no log, scans | 2 CD, 673 MB
November 18, 1997 | Sony | RapidShare

The main reason for recommending these performances is that Ormandy has the rich, expressive sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra, particularly in the lush strings, that is perfect for Rachmaninov and, further, he was a masterful interpreter of this music.

Ormandy elicits a powerful performance from his Philadelphia Orchestra. In these recordings one will hear the most riveting heights of the string section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The sheer power of the strings is most evident in the riveting finale of the 2nd Symphony, its conclusion has no equal in any other recordings I have heard. You will listen to evocative surges of power and all the contemplative mystery that one would expect to hear from this orchestra.

What else could be expected from the orchestra and conductor that pioneered Rachmaninov's work for so many years? A great first choice for these works.

CD Content

# Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
# Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13 (lost; reconstructed from piano duets and orch. fragments)
# Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44
# Vocalise, transcription for orchestra, Op. 34/14

Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch - Smetana, Dvorak - Moldau and Symphony No 9

Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch - Smetana, Dvorak -
Moldau and Symphony No 9
Symphonic | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 280 MB
January 24, 2006 | RCA | RapidShare

A majestic and gorgeously played "New World" symphony, with an impressively lyrical Largo and powerful climaxes...


CD Content

Smetana - Moldau (Vlatava) - Bamberger Symphoniker - Gustav Kuhn, conductor
Dvorak - Symphony No 9 - Ormandy, Philadelphians
Dvorak - Scherzo Capriccioso - Ormandy, Philadelphians

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (excerpts) - Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (excerpts) - Ormandy,
Philadelphia Orchestra
Ballet | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 376 MB
April 5, 1991 | Sony | RapidShare

I cannot remember ever enjoying a Swan Lake record so much before. This is dazzling playing of the kind traditionally associated with Philadelphia. After their disappointing showing in two recent Tchaikovsky discs I was apprehensive, but the superb panache of the opening of Act 1 bowled me over, and each of the bravura numbers had just the same impact-the Danse espagnole, the Mazurka, the outrageous can-can of the Pas de deux variation. But this is far more than a slick professional job. Ormandy has judged the degree of rubato in the slow numbers very finely: with a less rich-toned orchestra than this more rubato could have been allowed, but as it is soupiness is completely avoided, I think of the violins playing of the opening of the Act 3 Pas de deux with an ecstatic little portamento up to the new phrase, perfectly judged. The melancholy, very Russian melody of the Dance of the Little Swans, too, has the most natural phrasing from the woodwind. Maybe some will want a less high-powered approach than this, but I never find it out of scale. This is highly recommended, particularly for those who have ever been jaded with this score. The choice of numbers could hardly be better : and the recording, both rich and brilliant, is particularly expansive in the stereo version.--Gramophone

CD Content

Swan Lake Suite: Act 1-Scene; Valse (corps de ballet); Pas de trois. Act 2-Scene; Scene; Danses des petits cygnes-Coda. Act 3-Danse espagnole; Dane hongroisc (Czardas); Mazurka; Pas de deux (Variation 1, Coda). Act 4-Danses des petits cygnes; Scene finale.

Meyerbeer - The Skater's
Adams - Giselle

Shostakovich - 5th Symphony ( Bernstein) 1st Cello Concerto (YoYo Ma, Ormandy)

Shostakovich - 5th Symphony ( Bernstein) 1st Cello Concerto (YoYo Ma, Ormandy)
Orchestral | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 303 MB
October 25, 1990 | Sony | RapidShare

This CD has the ultimate Leonard Bernstein performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. He paces the first movement slower than his overrated 1959 recording, giving it time to develop,making the sinister march sound very well integrated into the score and hence, much more menacing. The scherzo is paced and played flawlessly, correcting Bernstein's earlier romp. The Largo is played to maximum intensity and the finale is one of the best "triumphant" recordings out there. It's fast but not too fast and sounds all the more satisfying. The performance all around is very intense and not at all flaccid or plodding, it's just that Bernstein takes his time to develop the themes, with very rewarding results. The sound quality is superb, with great detail and massive brass.
The Cello Concerto no. 1 is played flawlessly by Yo-Yo Ma, under Eugene Ormandy's masterful baton, with excellent orchestral accompaniment.
In short if you were considering Bernstein's earlier performance on "Bernstein Century", skip it and get this one instead.--Amazon


CD Content

# Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
Conducted by Leonard Bernstein

# Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
with Yo-Yo Ma
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy

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