Music » Classical Form & Genre Music

Charles Dutoit often sounds better on disc than he does live. The reason for this is simple: he loves to play to the audience, and the result is all kinds of wild gesticulating that the orchestra knows perfectly well to ignore. Sometimes they ignore him completely, to the peril of the performance at hand. In the studio, however, there is no audience and the conductor is free to focus on the music. Dutoit has a real affection for The Planets and his performance is vital, insightful, and recorded in resplendent digital sound. The Montreal Symphony has a particularly powerful trombone section, which adds just that extra drop of energy to "Mars,"Jupiter," and "Saturn." A fine disc. --David Hurwitz

Since its release on LP in the mid-1950s, Fritz Reiner's rendition of the Concerto for Orchestra has stood as the standard against which all other recordings of the work are measured. Even after all these years, the recording remains just as convincing and authoritative. Reiner's superb control of his orchestra and of Bart?k's rhythms and textures is still unsurpassed, even by dozens of subsequent conductors in the digital age. Likewise, the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta shows just what an incredible ensemble the Chicago Symphony was under Reiner's direction. This umpteenth reissue, in RCA's Living Stereo series, promises to be the one to have, its sonics noticeably improved over the earlier CD release in 1989. --David VernierSince its release on LP in the mid-1950s, Fritz Reiner's rendition of the Concerto for Orchestra has stood as the standard against which all other recordings of the work are measured. Even after all these years, the recording remains just as convincing and authoritative. Reiner's superb control of his orchestra and of Bart?k's rhythms and textures is still unsurpassed, even by dozens of subsequent conductors in the digital age. Likewise, the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta shows just what an incredible ensemble the Chicago Symphony was under Reiner's direction. This umpteenth reissue, in RCA's Living Stereo series, promises to be the one to have, its sonics noticeably improved over the earlier CD release in 1989. --David VernierSince its release on LP in the mid-1950s, Fritz Reiner's rendition of the Concerto for Orchestra has stood as the standard against which all other recordings of the work are measured. Even after all these years, the recording remains just as convincing and authoritative. Reiner's superb control of his orchestra and of Bart?k's rhythms and textures is still unsurpassed, even by dozens of subsequent conductors in the digital age. Likewise, the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta shows just what an incredible ensemble the Chicago Symphony was under Reiner's direction. This umpteenth reissue, in RCA's Living Stereo series, promises to be the one to have, its sonics noticeably improved over the earlier CD release in 1989. --David Vernier

Release Date: 2003-05-20, Audio CD, American Gramaphone

Release Date: 1994-11-29, Audio CD, Naxos

Herbert von Karajan was a Strauss specialist, and if ever composer and conductor were united in musical philosophy, then these two were. Both favored making a beautiful, creamy, homogenized sound over just about all else, and von Karajan clearly relished the opportunities this music offered for playing that combined both tonal opulence and virtuosity. His Zarathustra (a.k.a. 2001: A Space Odyssey) is, along with Fritz Reiner's, probably among the two or three best performances preserved on disc, and von Karajan is nearly flawless on the other works as well. More good news: DG has given him warm, rich sound that's much better than their Berlin average. An essential Strauss collection. --David HurwitzThe readings from Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are exquisitely played and splendidly recorded. Von Karajan's way with the music is supple, suave, and dashingly characterful, and his tempos are faultlessly judged. The orchestra is at its best, remarkable for the silky transparency it brings to the texture and the fascinating detail of the solo work--not least, the flute solos by James Galway, then a member of the BPO. The recording has been optimally transferred and presents a solid image. --Ted Libbey

Release Date: 1997-08-12, Audio CD, Philips

This release comes from Sony's immense backlog of famous recordings of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. In fact, these works trace the evolution of the New York Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra in the late 1950s under Bernstein's hand. At this remove in time, we can almost hear New York in these works. Bernstein deftly captures the shimmering glamour of his music, particularly in Overture to Candide and the astonishing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. If you don't own this music--and these performances--you should. --Paul Cook Fancy Free provided Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolf Green with the inspiration for the his hit musical On the Town. The ballet describes the adventures of three sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York City, and does so with music typically jazzy and popular in style. Coupled with the marvelous dance music from West Side Story and the suite from Bernstein's only film score, On the Waterfront, this disc should quickly become the cornerstone of any Bernstein collection. One of the problems Bernstein's music has faced both on disc and in public performance arises from the simple fact that no one played it better than he did. As you can hear for yourself, he's a tough, but perhaps not completely impossible, act to follow. --David Hurwitz

Release Date: 1991-05-10, Audio CD, Deutsche Grammophon

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) produced in 1909 one of this century's most enduring tone poems in The Isle of the Dead. Based on a gloomy painting by Arnold Bocklin (reproduced on the cover of this London CD), it manages to incorporate many of the musical fads of the day without sounding at all faddish. You can hear bits of Wagner and Mahler; but you can also get a whiff of Debussy's Impressionism and a dollop of Scriabin. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Symphonic Dances (1940), a thoroughly joyous orchestral work. Get this for the clarity of the music and the Bocklin cover. --Paul CookVovka Ashkenazy's series of Rachmaninoff recordings with the Concergebouw Orchestra in some way represented his coming of age as a conductor. Although he had made many fine recordings from the podium--notably of Tchaikovsky symphonies--his performances of Rachmaninoff's symphonies and other orchestra works were his first recordings that really challenged the great versions of the past. He conducts these two splendid works with real urgency and personality, and he's aided in no small measure by orchestral playing that is extremely brilliant and fiery. At mid-price, this disc will find a welcome place in your Rachmaninoff collection. -- David Hurwitz

Copland: Billy the Kid; Appalachian Spring