I also liked this recording quite a lot. Have to say that Wilson has done a series of quite interesting recordings with this orchestra.
He did write operas. But they apparently weren’t very good. Or at least not very successful.
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Did any survive?
By far the best recording out there of the Organ Symphony!
The sound is amazing!
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I have this disc. I passed on the Analogue Productions version of the Saint-Saens - not my favorite music. But I did purchase the AP version of La Mer. I should do a comparison.
Speaking of AP, I took a chance and picked up the DSD download of this disc.
I have a modest amount of Khatchaturian in my collection, which I enjoy - I even spent some time working on the clarinet part in his trio. I figured that if AP picked that title, there was probably a good reason. Well, at least in my opinion, there was not. The two Galops are fun. (1 ‘l’ is correct - I learned that courtesy of a Sondheim anecdote.) The rest of the music didn’t engage me at all. And although there were some sonic fireworks, I thought the strings sounded quite poor.
To be clear - this has been the exception to the rule on these AP masterings. I also did a quick comparison of the RCA/BMG and AP releases of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and found the AP to be superior.
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A few months ago, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius just clicked. I hadn’t been able to get into it for years! I picked up a copy of Hickox at a charity shop and was then given a copy of Elder’s for Christmas. I have slowly worked my way back to Barbirolli and I found this yesterday in another charity shop. I’m a fan of Tod so this is a lovely find. I don’t need any more versions now and I think they all have reasons to listen but my favourites are the Elder and the Handley I think. That may change of course.
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Interesting, I was listening to Klemperer’s recording of the same works yesterday. EMI LP
I’ll listen to your version (Karajan) and compare
Claude
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Thank you! His operas were not on my radar. In queue for listening.
If I was confined to one version it would be Barbirolli, largely because of Janet Baker’s glorious angel. But I’ll also raise a shout for Paul Mcreesh’s historically informed version which won choral awards in Gramophone and BBC Music magazines in 2024.
Roger
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Camille Saint Saëns · César Franck · Gabriel Fauré · Francis Poulenc | Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 & Other Works | Bruno Philippe, cello · Tanguy de Williencourt, piano | Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Christoph Eschenbach | Harmonia Mundi France CD (2023)
From the CD back cover:
“From the overt Romanticism of Saint-Saëns to the nostalgia-laden modernity of Poulenc, Bruno Philippe takes us on a journey through (almost) a century of French cello music. Alongside Tanguy de Williencourt, he also performs the cello version of Franck’s violin sonata, one of the absolute peaks of nineteenth-century chamber music”.
“You know when every aspect of an album just sings? Well, this is one of those, and not only because cellist Bruno Philippe’s lyricism is as much to the fore as ever.” [Gramophone]
Hearing the cello version of Franck’s violin concerto by Bruno Philippe and Tanguy de Williencourt (his usual partner) is worth the cost of the CD by itself… and then there’s all the other beautiful music. A gem.
To top it off, Harmonia Mundi engineers deliver a terrific sound quality.
Claude
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The Franck works very well on cello. I have versions by Du Pre and Wispelwey.
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Fierrabras is worth the occasional listen but the libretto is incredibly weak, lacking any sense of drama, and Schubert was not (yet) capable of lifting the holes in the text with his music, which is frequently superb but tonally uneven.
Cheers
EJ
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Thanks EJS. I have enjoyed the Say Beethoven so much I have purchased the set (as a download). Above all he often makes me smile with so much mischievous humour. Wonderful playing.
Ahead of Decca’s new SACD release, I listened to the first CD issue of Turandot again after many years. A couple of notes on this famous performance: first, Pavarotti and Caballé made sure this is for the ages. Incredible singing, they inhabit their roles and do a fantastic job. When embedded in this performance, Nessun Dorma isn’t the stadium favourite but a genuinely touching and vocally overwhelming reflection by Calaf on Turandot’s challenge that no-one sleep until his identity is revealed and what the morning will bring; and no other performance integrates Liu’s adoration and Calaf’s single mindedness better (they’re normally just figures moving in their own direction I feel).
On the other hand, I am increasingly bothered by Sutherland’s relatively cloudy delivery. She, too, seems more moved by events than usual, and it’s petty to complain at singing at this level, but I ultimately prefer Ricciarelli (with far more limited resources), Nilsson or Marton.
The recording has always sounded well with a small bit of congestion occasionally (no wonder with these singers 
) but am looking forward to the new issue.
Cheers
EJ
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Forgot to mention, this was one of my b/day presents from my partner. I was once watching a YT video of ‘The pressing matters’ where he reviewed this release. She took a picture whilst I had a potty break. Very thoughtful. Thank you baby.
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The entire cycle is great. I have an OG Philips box of the 7 synphonies and some additional tone poems.
#5/7 were the only ones recorded to 4-track tape, which is why they were picked for the Decca Pure Analogue series. I love #5 for it’s some of its more modern charactertistics, but #2 is still my favorite.
For anyone interested, I have an ongoing thread about the series at the Steve Hoffmann forums. The Tracking Angle classical reviewer Mark Ward is a regular participant. He and I collaborated on starting the thread. Apologies if the link isn’t allowed, but I’ll take my chances since it’s a worthwhile thread to follow.
Here’s another one I started for the DG The Original Sources series. It didn’t start out that way, but turned into the thread for it.
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