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Discussion: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique - Paray

Posts: 14
Page: 1 2 next

Post by flyingdutchman October 16, 2005 (1 of 14)
Get this one folks. It is absolutely the most terrifying Symphonie yet!

Post by tream October 16, 2005 (2 of 14)
flyingdutchman said:

Get this one folks. It is absolutely the most terrifying Symphonie yet!

I agree that this is one heckuva performance.

Post by akiralx October 17, 2005 (3 of 14)
flyingdutchman said:

Get this one folks. It is absolutely the most terrifying Symphonie yet!

Yep, this is really good, I agree - though strangely enough the most sucessful movements for me are iii and v. The placement and tangible realism of the solo oboe in the Scene aux champs is wonderful.

Similarly I found the detail and realism in the finale, with the orchestral effects like col legno bowing etc really excellent.

Recording is very good (I listened in three channels), though it must cede to the Monteux Franck/Stravinsky SACD which just sounds incredible - and what a performance of the Franck Symphony.

Of the 6 or 7 MLP/LS classic reissues I've got, that is the best I would say.

Post by Castor October 17, 2005 (4 of 14)
flyingdutchman said:

Get this one folks. It is absolutely the most terrifying Symphonie yet!

Excellent review Dutchman! Will definitely order NOW.
Thanks.

Post by Johnno October 17, 2005 (5 of 14)
Actually this was one MLP that bypassed me (meaning that I didn't intentionally avoid it -- the opportunity to hear it has simply never arisen) so I'm certainly looking forward to receiving it. (The two sets I've ordered are on their way now). I've got a number of performances on both LP and CD already and I guess my favourite if the Colin Davis/Concertgebouw on Philips.

Post by akiralx October 18, 2005 (6 of 14)
Johnno said:

Actually this was one MLP that bypassed me (meaning that I didn't intentionally avoid it -- the opportunity to hear it has simply never arisen) so I'm certainly looking forward to receiving it. (The two sets I've ordered are on their way now). I've got a number of performances on both LP and CD already and I guess my favourite if the Colin Davis/Concertgebouw on Philips.

Yep, the Colin Davis II recording is also good, the first I owned - in fact I don't find the Paray particularly demonic, just a very well-played idiomatic account with plenty of flair and understanding. I've certainly heard more elegant accounts of the waltz and more ominous versions of the Marche au Supplice. It's the absence of playing to the gallery in these 'parade' movements that makes the Paray more symphonic and more satisfying to me.

Post by syan December 9, 2006 (7 of 14)
The best performances of this work is Markevich on DG as well as Scrowaczewski - Scherchen for mono. Paray does not convince and the recording substracts the mystery and fantasy of the work. Sorry...!

Post by Arthur December 9, 2006 (8 of 14)
flyingdutchman said:

Get this one folks. It is absolutely the most terrifying Symphonie yet!

Castor said:

Excellent review Dutchman! Will definitely order NOW.
Thanks.

I can't help being reminded of De Selby! (-:

Post by sgb December 10, 2006 (9 of 14)
Arthur said:

I can't help being reminded of De Selby! (-:

This disparagement of the Syan review reminds me of the advice that a former professor had given me when I'd asked him to review a college term paper I had just completed. After I handed it to him, he held it as if to estimate a weight, frowned, and then counted the pages. Then he replied to me that mine appeared to be an average paper, deserving only an average grade. I protested that he hadn't bothered to read it, to which he replied, "I don't have to: it's too short. If you want a better grade, add several more pages to your paper, even if you've already said what needed to be said." I thanked him and left his office feeling dejected.

Syan's terse review is an adequate assessment of a possible/plausible reaction to Paray's interpretation of the Symphonie Fantastique -- at least as far as he or she is concerned -- and they are somewhat akin to my own impressions, too. In fact, I was so disappointed with the performance when I first bought this on CD back in the 1990's that I decided not to upgrade to the SA-CD version when it became available. Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, and I fail, even now, to understand why it is that so many find it necessary to denigrate other music enthusiasts for he length of their reviews.

Post by Castor December 10, 2006 (10 of 14)
Arthur said:

I can't help being reminded of De Selby! (-:

I don't get this.

FD posted a full review of this disc, and it was that to which I was referring when I said I would order the disc, not his brief enthusiastic comment at the start of this thread.

syan posted an opinion on this thread not a review - so what is the problem Arthur?

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