Interesting to hear your views on that. I have yet to listen to the symphony but I felt similarly disappointed listening to The Isle of the Dead which accompanies it.
That was one of Mr Preview’s best ever recordings (along with, surprisingly, the Vaughan Williams symphonies on RCA - also with ‘his’ LSO). I must try to find a copy, if it’s still in the EMI catalogue).
Poor old André - I don’t suppose that he’ll ever get over being ridiculed on live TV by Eric Morecambe (who was playing all the right notes, just not in the right order)!
Yes, the Previn Rach 2 is a classic and I doubt it will ever be surpassed. I haven’t yet heard the Nezet-Seguin Rach 2 (The Ashes and Wimbledon reduce my listening time at the moment!). Some other performances of this symphony I enjoy include Pappano, Slatkin (I forget who on this forum recommended this one to me - but thank you), V Petrenko and Jansons. Ashkenazy also made a quicker but impressive recording, I think with the Concertgebouw.
Actually I don’t think he was ridiculed at all. If anything he grew from showing everyone how he was willing to take part in such a comedy sketch.
It also showed us how Eric Morcombe was actually a very competent pianist. And it was good fun to watch too!
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Sorry, you’re absolutely right, David, I have mischaracterised the sketch.
Mr ‘Preview’ took it all in very good spirit, and I remember seeing several of ‘his’ LSO players in stitches.
It’s difficult to think of any other leading conductor at the time who would have been game. Just imagine the “Screaming Skull” Georg Solti’s reaction! Or Herbie von Corrigan!
One of the downsides of the original CD was EMI’s rather opaque recording quality. However, it has been remastered and the newer version opens out the sound beautifully, at least to my ears. It’s currently available as a hi-res download (sorry Graham!) at a bargain price from Presto.
Another LSO/Previn recording which just grabs hold of you and won’t let go is his performance of Walton’s first symphony. There have been other very good versions since, but none is quite as exhilarating as Previn’s.
Roger
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Absolutely. 
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I was wondering where to post this, but it’s all Beatles and Prog Rock in the what are you listening to and download threads.
This on the other hand is really unusual and compelling. I bought a download so I could listen to it on holiday when I might not have mobile coverage. It’s kind of Chopin, but there’s a lot more going on here.
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Thanks so much for that tip: much appreciated. Bought, downloaded, listening…much better in re-mastered version.
I discovered that I purchased the original LP almost exactly 48 years ago: on 22nd July 1975.
Stephen
Synchronicity here Roger. Yesterday was Rachmaninov on vinyl day here. I listened to Previn’s 1973 Second and his 1977 rendering of the 3rd. The latter is not a work I’ve really engaged with previously, but this was riveting listening.
I discovered I’ve an abundance of these on Vinyl now as well as on digital.
I played the Angel issue of the 2nd yesterday. It will be interesting to compare with the other 2, one of which is digitally remastered, DMM pressing. I’ve generally found these to be inferior to originals, but my mind is open.
I also discovered I have the 3rd twice as well, both charity shop finds. I played the EMI issue yesterday. Great sound.
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That brown-sleeved EMI Previn/LSO Rach 2 was widely regarded as one of the best available sounding records around forty-odd years ago, and was very widely used as a demonstration disc in hi fi shops (or, at least, those that weren’t playing The Blue Nile or the latest Dire Straits recording).
As a result, I have probably heard the whole LP a number of times, but never the whole performance in one sitting!
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I don’t do vinyl these days, but your comments hint at the quality of the original master tapes and I presume that was a factor in making the remastered digital version such a sonic success. I seem to recall that a long time ago I had the recording on a cassette tape and that was even less transparent than the early CD.
Incidentally, I do think the movements of the symphony benefit from being heard together and in the correct sequence. For example, the tail end of the dancing scherzo sets the scene perfectly for the long drawn-out melody that starts the slow movement and the cumulative effect exceeds the sum of its parts. All in my opinion, of course.
Roger
I was browsing through the new releases in Roon and came across this, Duello d’archi a Venezia - Chouchane Siranossian, Venice Baraoque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon.
Beautiful recording that sounds incredible over headphones… real sense of space and very dynamic. Really enjoyed it from beginning to end!
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Such a great performance in my opinion, I also love the recording as well… so powerful with great details. I haven’t listened to it, but this one seems interesting as well.
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Cheers, I’ll add that to my queue for the weekend as well!!
I was so impressed with the album I linked above that I’ve listened to it twice today and took a look to see what other albums they’ve been involved in. There are quite a few but I also queued the album below. I had a quick listen and it seems promising as well! Looks like my weekend is sorted 
Bach Before Bach
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Maestro Leonard Slatkin is a customer of my Naim dealer, and when they were at his house for an installation recently, he gave them autographed vinyl copies of a recording he did live of the Tchaikovsky 4th with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. They loaned me one to bring home to play, so I am listening now. It’s on red vinyl, same as color fo the DSO logo.
I like it quite a bit, but it hasn’t affected my love for the early 60s DGG of Mravinsky/Leningrad live.
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Those Mravinsky recordings of Tchaikovsky symphonies are quite something.
Mravinsky recorded two of the last three in mono for DGG (with another conductor - Sanderling? - for the third of them), then went on to re-record the last three in stereo when the Leningrad Philharmonic were in Vienna in the early 1960s for some festival performances. (They were not ‘live’ recordings, to my knowledge, although Erato and others have released big boxes of ‘live’ Mravinsky performances. I think that Mravinsky was difficult to coax into recording studios.)
Showing their unfailing wisdom (not!), DGG deleted those three stereo LPs, and now any collector has to scrabble around trying to find ‘good’ old pressings. Utter madness on the part of DGG, when they have so many undistinguished Tchaikovsky performances in their catalogue!
High voltage Mozart from Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov, intense but deeply musical and long term satisfying.
Cheers
EJ
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I found it a mixed bag, but it does include some very good performances. There’s a discussion about it up thread.
Roger
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That’s a very cool record to own JDP. Nice 
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