Repertoire: The WORST and BEST Schumann Symphony Cycles
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- Опубліковано 10 чер 2020
- The Schumann symphonies have been very lucky on disc--and very unlucky too. Performances tend to be either very good or very bad, with nothing in between. We take a look at the best and the worst, and give you all the information you need to make informed choices among the substantial crop of complete cycles.
i grew up in the Cleveland area and was raised,, aswere, by George Szell. I believed then and believe now that Szell was the greatest of all conductors. He thought these symphonies were underrated and programmed them often. I have heard many of the recording suggested here but still come back to the Szell. If any recordings could , for Szell, be a labor of love, it is these.
Thank you so much for this survey. For years, I passed up the Sawallisch Dresden set, as I already had a few Schumann cycles, and that conductor rarely holds my interest. Following your video, I immediately listened on Naxos Music Library, and wow!, I was blown away!!! Such amazing clarity, and perfect phrasing throughout. Delicious winds and pointed brass!
This is great! Love your description of the Karajan sound! Thanks for the heads up on the Thielemann as I have not heard them, but have long had them on my radar, but now I won't have to worry about them. I love the Sawallisch set!
The final movement of the Rhenish is absolutely glorious. The slow down of tempo for the chorale section and then letting it go off like a train is exhilarating. Never bored of it.
Nice evaluations. Kubelik Berlin Phil. # 2 is my all time favorite, and for me the best example of having the orchestrations become dimensional in a very good way. Recording is also top.
Thanks David , another wonderful talk .
Kubelik with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra remains my favourite - humane, responsive and utterly beautiful accounts. I agree that the Zinman is great, though, and the Sawallisch is a classic.
Please, more Schumann! Especially the piano pieces.
I'm so glad I discovered your channel, David. Your enthusiasms are very contagious! And I enjoy your sense of humor and have urged my friends to tune you in! Indeed, your talk on Haydn's London symphonies today has made me want to dip back into the Haydn waters, which have never been smooth sailing for me since . . .forever. Perhaps now, in late middle-age, they will speak differently to me. (I actually studied with a noted Haydn scholar, Edward Olleson, but even so, I never could warm to the symphonies when young. It has taken your talk today to motivate me to revisit them! Thanks!)
Thanks for the recommendations - have somehow struggled with Schumann for a long time. Liking what I hear from Sawallisch and Staatskapelle Dresden so far.
Just listened to Barenboim’s Spring Symphony (Teldec Box) and Sawallisch’s Overture, Scherzo, and Finale (same box you have). Barenboim’s sonics lack some clarity that Sawallisch’s (did I spell it right.) has in abundance. As you said, the Schumann is a very enjoyable piece. I almost, but not quite, don’t miss a slow movement. Wonder if he ever thought of adding one? By the by, the Barenboim performance I liked, too, sonics aside. The EMI goes back to the Lp days. Keep spurring me on to explore the ocean of my collection: 4500+ cds and 2500+ Lps. Yes, 83 years of insane love of classical music. 🤓
Dear Mr. Hurwitz, thanks for the recommendations! The sawallisch is really amazing as you say! It just floats and never stops flying. Never heard such a wonderful Schumann. I think one of the secrets of why the recording works so well because is that it seems as though the mikes are placed a bit further away from the orchedtra and they let the Hall speak for itself, that’s why it is so transparent. This is something that engineers have seemed to forger… They allways place the miles so close now…
I really like your videos. Please keep posting! I hope you can cover some obscure composers. I'm learning so many things about these pieces that I've heard a million times. For Schumann I like the 1986 Capriccio recordings with Neville Marriner and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart.
I'm listening to the Bernstein Vienna Phil set now. Holy cow! Amazing!!!!!! Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Thanks David. My favourite composer, I think the Zinman is great too
I love Schumann !, With 20 seconds of listening to Sawallisch, I realized that you were right. ! beautiful, thank you
It's already been mentioned, but I'd definitely want Boult's cycle in the mix - it's often thrilling. I grew up with Paray (and still like them a lot) but for a combination of great modern sound with musical energy and transparency, I think Zinman's Zurich set is just about top of the list (great as Sawallisch and Bernstein II are).
I have Zinman both on Telarc and on Arte Nova, and I like them both. Somehow I find they can live together very well. I would not know which one of the orchestras plays “better” (I think I might prefer the strings of the Tonhalle Orchestra. And the recordings overall.), but the interpretative (and recorded sound) differences are of course there to hear.
Hi Dave, as I said, I love your explanations to my beloved classical pieces and it's funny to listen to your pronouncing of german titles. I am a german citizen and thank you for being that sympathetic guy. I adore you're sentence: Keep on listening. I do, I promise.
By the way, a lot of the qualities that make the Staatskapelle's Schumann cycle with Sawallisch so special are also to be found in their underrated set of Beethoven symphonies with Blomstedt. I hope you can review that sometime.