# Recordings of Symphonie Fantastique



## Aramis

SF besides being one of greatest symphonies ever written it also one of those that have so weird and complex score that can be recorded over and over again and conductors will always be able to make something entirely new with it - it's bottomless pit. That's amazing thing and I start this thread so we can share our thoughts about various recordings.

I recently discovered Dudamel's with LA Orchestra. It's fresh, clear and well balanced. I think it's my current favourite.

My first one was Karajan's and it was in times when I liked everything he recorded the most because it was enough for me that it's made by my hero to consider it ultimate and greatest interpretation. Now I think his SF is good but not greatest. 

There is also Solti. It's very good, dreamy at the beginning and crazy at the end, he exposes tuba notes in coda, that makes it less dramatic and more comical. And his Marche au Supplice is extremely intense. 

Colin Davis is important figure for Berlioz and his recordings were milestrone for me but to tell the truth I can't remember how good was his SF.

Munch. I didn't listen too carefully yet but I guess it's decent recording and not much more. 

And I have big gap which is Bernstein. I must hear his SF as soon as possible. Knowing his ways I expect something stunning.


----------



## Geronimo

It's also one of my favorite symphonies. But I only know this one, which I like a lot. But I can't compare with other recordings. For all I know it's the worst version ever. Or the best...


----------



## Edward Elgar

I have the Colin Davis / Vienna Phil recording which is amazing.

I always hate it when conductors are so precise in the last mvt. If I was conducting this piece I'd just let the musicians go wild as if they too were possessed by a witches curse.

The Davis recording is the closest I've heard to how I imagine the sound of hell to be.


----------



## Delicious Manager

I enjoyed hearing _Symphonie fantastique_ on period instruments for the first time. I have always despaired that modern orchestras insist on replacing the two ophilceides with wholly miscast tubas - instruments of the wrong pitch, bore and timbre. B-flat baritones (but NOT euphoniums) would far more closely approximate the sound of Berlioz's ophicleides. I was also pleased to at last hear the difference between the conical-bored, valved cornets and the cylindrical, natural trumpets. Also, the stopped notes on horns that Berlioz so cunningly exploited but which are totally lost in most modern performances.










Colin Davis' old Philips recording deserves its accolades, as does Charles Munch's pioneering account from the mid-1950s. Another recording which received great plaudits when released was the one with the ORTF conducted by Jean Martinon, now repackaged on CD with _Symphonie fantastique_'s companion piece _Lélio_. A curiosity of this recording is the inclusion of an _obbligato_ solo cornet part in the second movement (_Un bal_); something Berlioz added as an afterthought, but which, to my ears, doesn't work at all.


----------



## Aramis

> I always hate it when conductors are so precise in the last mvt. If I was conducting this piece I'd just let the musicians go wild as if they too were possessed by a witches curse.


Uhm, I guess you're not going to be great conductor with such attitude  Yes, it has to be wild and mad but "letting musicians go wild" is not the method. This movement has some genious colorustics and there is no place for barbaric frenzy, it would destroy everything, the character of this movement must be achieved by well-thought and intelligent realisation of the score.

Like in piano repertoire, the most furious and wild movements are always spoiled by pianists who think that banging the piano is how you get this kind of expression.


----------



## Aramis

Delicious Manager said:


> I enjoyed hearing _Symphonie fantastique_ on period instruments for the first time. I have always despaired that modern orchestras insist on replacing the two ophilceides with wholly miscast tubas - instruments of the wrong pitch, bore and timbre. B-flat baritones (but NOT euphoniums) would far more closely approximate the sound of Berlioz's ophicleides. I was also pleased to at last hear the difference between the conical-bored, valved cornets and the cylindrical, natural trumpets. Also, the stopped notes on horns that Berlioz so cunningly exploited but which are totally lost in most modern performances.


I have bad experiences with Anima Eterna but I know that champion of Berlioz's music - Gardiner, also made period ensamble recording. I think I'll get it. Have you heard it?


----------



## World Violist

I've heard the older Davis recording (Concertgebouw) and all I can really remember is that it drew me into it very well. Very natural-sounding recording.

I've also heard the Gardiner recording, which... didn't particularly do that. I was expecting something on the level of his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage recordings, but it just wasn't there.

There have been some great things said about MTT's older version. I've seen his "Keeping Score" on it and that was very fascinating and he brought out the best in the SFSO, but I've never heard the old recording. I probably should but don't particularly care to.


----------



## Delicious Manager

Aramis said:


> I have bad experiences with Anima Eterna but I know that champion of Berlioz's music - Gardiner, also made period ensamble recording. I think I'll get it. Have you heard it?


Yes, I know the Gardiner recording (much better than van Immerseel's), but I couldn't find anything from it on YouTube.


----------



## joen_cph

Still have to learn to appreciate this work, not one of my favourites; builds up to some climaxes that perhaps could be better off I feel. But some old recordings should also be mentioned:

LP Berlioz:"Symphonie Fantastique" f.Ork. op.14 (1827)/Scherchen,LSO/westm mono 56 xwn 18279
LP Berlioz:"Symphonie Fantastique" f.Ork. op.14 (1827)/Paray,DetroitSO/mercury mono mg 50254
LP Berlioz:"Symphonie Fantastique" f.Ork. op.14 (1827)/Beecham,ORTF/angel s60165

- the Paray perhaps being the most interesting, as far as I recall.

There´s also an early Bruno Walter, I think from the 30s, were he has employed a piano in the orchestra for some extra effects ...


----------



## emiellucifuge

I agree with Mr. Elgar, the Davis is really the top-recording.

Berlioz wrote the music to sound hellish so theres no need for the conductor to embellish it. Ultimate precision is needed even more here I would say in order for Berlioz's intentions to shine through - the the tempos can be liberal


----------



## Rangstrom

Yes, Gardiner using the instruments that Berlioz wrote for makes for an exciting performance. I do find the overall sound on the Gardiner CD rather harsh so I still listen to the Solti on LP periodically. But not that often for either one. For most warhorses I probably take them out for a spin every other year or so. There is just too much to listen to.


----------



## Aramis

I just have the Bernstein recording. So far I've listened to the lecture. Bernstein as always explaing everything wonderfully and this lecture is no exception, but for me - old Berlioz veteran - didn't tell too much new things.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto

My version is Roger Norrington's with The London Classical Players (on period instruments). I will also buy Gardiner's version eventually. (Norrington's CD come paired with _Les francs-juges_, Op. 3 - Overture).

I've listened to modern orchestras playing this and the contrast with Norrington's was much leaner sound, and the inner wind and brass instruments could sing more individually. Norrington used an antique ophicleide in _Dies irae_, which was an instrument that has now died out but used in Berlioz's day, and originally scored for the work.


----------



## jhar26

My fave is the Charles Munch recording with the Boston Symphony.


----------



## david johnson

ormandy/philly with deeper bells than usual is very fine.

dj


----------



## tahnak

Aramis said:


> There is also Solti. It's very good, dreamy at the beginning and crazy at the end, he exposes tuba notes in coda, that makes it less dramatic and more comical. And his Marche au Supplice is extremely intense.
> Colin Davis is important figure for Berlioz and his recordings were milestrone for me but to tell the truth I can't remember how good was his SF.
> Munch. I didn't listen too carefully yet but I guess it's decent recording and not much more.
> .


I have a large collection of Symphonie Fantastique. I will rate the recordings in order of my recommendation:
1. Sir Colin Davis - Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam - Philips
(No one comes close to this Davis rendition).
2. Bamberger Symphoniker - Jonel Perlea- Classics Forever
3. Royal Philharmonic - Rene Leibowitz - EMI
4. Gennady Rozhdestvensky - Moscow Radio Large Symphony Orchestra - Melodiya
5. Zubin Mehta - London Symphony Orchestra - Teldec 
6. Seiji Ozawa - Boston Symphony - Odyssey
7. Charles Munch - Paris Conservatoire - RCA
8. Sir Georg Solti - Paris Conservatoire - London
9. Herbert Von Karajan - Berliner Philharmoniker - Deustche Grammophon
10. Leonard Bernstein - New York Philharmonic - CBS


----------



## Lipatti

tahnak said:


> 1. Sir Colin Davis - Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam - Philips
> (No one comes close to this Davis rendition).


How does this compare with Davis' other recording made with the LSO?


----------



## Aramis

I got the Gardiner. It's interesting but also sounds like it would be performed in some school gym, not real concert hall with professional acoutic effects. Much of the coloristic effects are spoiled and sometimes you don't hear the most interesting parts (skeletons at the beginning of the coda).


----------



## Guest

I have the Davis recording on Phillips, and it is a good one. 

I also have the Anima Eterna, which is not bad, but not the first one I go to. I prefer Gardiner for a HIP rendition. 

My favorite, though, is the Tilson Thomas recording earlier mentioned. This is really a great recording.


----------



## scytheavatar

http://www.amazon.com/Symphonie-Fan...JQY3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294968831&sr=8-1

No one mentioned this?


----------



## Edward Elgar

Aramis said:


> Uhm, I guess you're not going to be great conductor with such attitude  Yes, it has to be wild and mad but "letting musicians go wild" is not the method. This movement has some genious colorustics and there is no place for barbaric frenzy, it would destroy everything, the character of this movement must be achieved by well-thought and intelligent realisation of the score.


Oooh! Cold man! 

The last mvt. is a barbaric frenzy (well, the last couple of minutes). It should sound as though the earth is splitting apart. Obviously the score should be realized, but performed in a way that emphasized the more contemporary aspects of the piece. I.e. unusual chords, unusual chord spacings, poly-rhythms and extended techniques.


----------



## Aramis

Not barbaric at all. It's very sophisciated. I agree that it should be taken in more contemporary way than other works from 30's of XIXth century but still, I don't see how unleashed and uncontrolled (as you proposed) army of musicians that create orchestra could emphasize anything.


----------



## drth15

There are three Bernstein SF recordings, all memorable:

1963 New York Phil. This one is in the 'Bernstein Century' series. A surprisingly straightforeward perf with a tremendous last movement. The sound is stil great as well. Disc contains Lenny's famous 'Berlioz takes a trip' lecture, prepared for his 2nd recording....

1968 New York Phil remake. This was released briefly on CBS's old 'Great Performances' , a quicker, more fluid perf, less powerful but w more fantasy.

1976 Orch National de France -EMI. Things get out of hand occasionally, but this perf really flies. Sounds like long or even single takes.


----------



## Edward Elgar

Aramis said:


> Not barbaric at all. It's very sophisciated. I agree that it should be taken in more contemporary way than other works from 30's of XIXth century but still, I don't see how unleashed and uncontrolled (as you proposed) army of musicians that create orchestra could emphasize anything.


Maybe we are thinking along different lines. I didn't mean "uncontrolled" as such, I simply meant they should be allowed to take certain liberties towards the end of the piece in order to express its savagery. I don't think the last mvt should sound sophisticated at all. I think the first, second, third and fourth mvts should sound sophisticated. Just not the last. That's my preference.


----------



## Vaneyes

VPO/Davis (Philips, 1990)


----------



## Itullian

I want to revive this thread for more opinions. any other favorites out there?

i love this work. i love the liszt piano transcription as well. on youtube too.


----------



## itywltmt

The thread mentions quite a few *very good *to *excellent *renditions.

I have heard most of the recordings mentioned, and (with the posible exception of the Colin Davis recordings), _the "French" conductors _win the day on this one IMHO.

The recording I treasure is the Dutoit/MSO recording of the 1980's. I heard Dutoit conduct this in Montreal _twice_, once early in his tenure (late 70's) and once more "tuning up" for that recording. Even better live!

Speaking of the MSO (and I rely on memory here), I believe Mehta's last concert as MD in Montreal (at Expo 67) was of SF with the combined MSO and LA Philharmonic...

Not a fan of period Berlioz, but having said that, not a fan of period _anything_...

Factoid of little interest but to me: I remember hearing SF on CBC radio shortly after the Toronto SO moved to Roy Thomson Hall (that would have been early 1980's). I can't remember who was conducting, but I do remember there was quite a fuss over the "bells" that the TSO had acquired for the performance, and they played archival snippets from (among others) Ozawa conducting the TSO, with a different set of bells - I think they played 3 or 4 snippets in total. I found that very/very interesting, and ever since, I have made a point of listening for the bells (during the _dies irae _of the Fifth movement) every time I hear the work...

BTW, SF is featured in my blog this week - full of scary favourites:
http://www.talkclassical.com/blogs/itywltmt/413-trick-treat.html

(The performance is the broadcast of what would become the 1976 Bernstein/ONF recording).


----------



## Itullian

i love his "Berlioz takes a trip" talk, classic.

and that performance too. boo


----------



## MarieBerlioz

Hello everybody, I'm looking for the full version of this very short extract of Dies Irae heard in this cartoon "le fantôme d'halloween" http://wismo.ch/bonus/kotcot.php
I love this interpretation but I can't find it nowhere ! Thanks a lot in advance if you can help me.
Friendly,
Marie


----------



## Guest

Listening to the Davis/RCA version on Youtube, I'm impressed at how scary the final movement sounds. Has anyone else recorded better since this classic?

Another question. This symphony seems quite a leap from what went before, yet it's only 6 years younger than Beethoven's 9th. Who else was composing 'program' symphonies at that time? Or was something else (opera?) bridging the gap?


----------



## omega

One of the best, if not _the_ best:








I wanted to have my own version of it, so I bought another recording by Sir Colin Davis:







Is it a huge disappointment: it has not the energy of the previous recording, and it is overall too polished and mannered, especially in the last movements.

By the way, this version is interesting:







With period instruments, this Symphony sounds completely different... maybe too different? I think it is a curiosity rather than a real reference.


----------



## DiesIraeCX

The recording I own and enjoy very much is by Sir Colin Davis/Royal Concertgebouw. However, my favorite recording is by John Eliot Gardiner (on period instruments).


----------



## DiesIraeCX

MacLeod said:


> Listening to the Davis/RCA version on Youtube, I'm impressed at how scary the final movement sounds. Has anyone else recorded better since this classic?
> 
> Another question. This symphony seems quite a leap from what went before, yet it's only 6 years younger than Beethoven's 9th. *Who else was composing 'program' symphonies at that time?* Or was something else (opera?) bridging the gap?


Ahem, Beethoven. :tiphat:

Symphony No. 6, the first programmatic work of its kind.

On a side note (not addressed at you, MacLeod). The creator of the Romantic song-cycle (An die ferne Geliebte), the Programmatic symphony (the Sixth), a symphony with vocals (the Ninth). All major stylistic attributes of the Romantic Era, yet those few claim he wasn't the most crucial figure in the transition from classical to romantic?


----------



## DavidA

David with the Concertebouw 

Karajan with BPO

To avoid: Norrington and the Classical Players - most unidiomatic, a complete flop.


----------



## joen_cph

> This symphony seems quite a leap from what went before, yet it's only 6 years younger than Beethoven's 9th. Who else was composing 'program' symphonies at that time? Or was something else (opera?) bridging the gap?


Some other, mpstly earlier contemporary composers writing symphonies with a programme were, on top of my head,

- Dittersdorf (Die Rettung Andromedas, etc.)
- Gossec (works with revolutionary programmes)
- Neubauer (Coburg´s Sieg über die Türken, etc.)
- Spohr (several, from no.4 Weihe der Töne 1832 onwards)

They must be said to be less original, however.


----------



## Funny

I grew up with the Ormandy / Philadelphia Orchestra version and heard at least five or six Big 5 recordings in the course of my early years, yet when I heard my first historical-instruments version (I'm pretty sure it was Norrington), my jaw dropped at rehearsal number 80 in the last movement. This is the memorable moment where the whole orchestra suddenly blasts repeated quarter notes in hemiola, then is joined by brass, still in hemiola, bringing in an arpeggiated diminished seventh chord before blasting back into the witches' dance. Every orchestra I'd heard up to that point played these quarter notes as though they matched up. For the first time in Norrington's I heard that the brass actually comes in off the beat from the rest of the orchestra (the brass are actually on the beat, while the rest of the orchestra is playing off the beat) making a much wilder, almost Straussian effect than I'd ever heard previously. In short, and speaking to the previous discussion on this, the effect was more barbaric because the playing (and acoustics, perhaps) was more exactly accurate. Now I don't trust Ormandy or most of his contemporaries on this one anymore.


----------



## Headphone Hermit

DavidA said:


> Karajan with BPO
> 
> To avoid: Norrington and the Classical Players - most unidiomatic, a complete flop.


For neither the first, nor I suspect, the last time, David A and I are diametrically opposed

I think Norrington's is a tremendous version which explores the sublety of Berlioz' writing and orchestration with unparalleled insight and leads to excitement, vision and excitiement ... whilst Karajan smoothes the work over as if Berlioz in 1829 was writing for the Berlin Phil of the late C20th and misses almost all of the cultural context of the piece

Which version suits your ears is up to you


----------



## phlrdfd

A couple favorites are Munch/BSO/'54 and Monteux/San Francisco Symphony/'51, which I have on Preiser.


----------



## DavidA

Headphone Hermit said:


> For neither the first, nor I suspect, the last time, David A and I are diametrically opposed
> 
> I think Norrington's is a tremendous version which explores the sublety of Berlioz' writing and orchestration with unparalleled insight and leads to excitement, vision and excitiement ... whilst Karajan smoothes the work over as if Berlioz in 1829 was writing for the Berlin Phil of the late C20th and misses almost all of the cultural context of the piece
> 
> Which version suits your ears is up to you


Sorry but if I came to the work through Norrington's performance I would consider it one of the dullest pieces ever written. At that stage 'authenticity' appeared to be everything to Norrington and he completely misses the romance and fire of the piece. Conducting by numbers. Hopeless!
I see the usual remarks about Karajan. The performance on my shelves belies them.


----------



## Guest

joen_cph said:


> Some other, mpstly earlier contemporary composers writing symphonies with a programme were, on top of my head,
> 
> - Dittersdorf (Die Rettung Andromedas, etc.)
> - Gossec (works with revolutionary programmes)
> - Neubauer (Coburg´s Sieg über die Türken, etc.)
> - Spohr (several, from no.4 Weihe der Töne 1832 onwards)
> 
> They must be said to be less original, however.


Thanks for these suggestions, which I've been trying out on Youtube. The Dittersdorf was very pleasant...for about ten minutes, but didn't seem to go anywhere.


----------



## science

I have heard: 

- Munch 1954
- Paray 1959
- Beecham 1961
- Bernstein 1963
- Davis 1974
- Karajan 1975 

My favorites, probably predictably, are Bernstein and Davis. But I humbly suggest that Munch and especially Paray get a little less credit than they deserve.


----------



## Triplets

science said:


> I have heard:
> 
> - Munch 1954
> - Paray 1959
> - Beecham 1961
> - Bernstein 1963
> - Davis 1974
> - Karajan 1975
> 
> My favorites, probably predictably, are Bernstein and Davis. But I humbly suggest that Munch and especially Paray get a little less credit than they deserve.


I second the Paray, my first choice


----------



## Mahlerian

DavidA said:


> Sorry but if I came to the work through Norrington's performance I would consider it one of the dullest pieces ever written. At that stage 'authenticity' appeared to be everything to Norrington and he completely misses the romance and fire of the piece. Conducting by numbers. Hopeless!
> I see the usual remarks about Karajan. The performance on my shelves belies them.


I dislike both Karajan and Norrington here. Karajan's is dull and monochrome, Norrington's strikes me as rather inert.

For period performance I would favor Gardiner, and for contemporary instruments I would favor Davis/Concertgebouw.


----------



## DavidA

Triplets said:


> I second the Paray, my first choice


The first recording I ever got of this was by Paray on a ten Bob LP. Played for all it was worth too!


----------



## KenOC

Paray absolutely smokes the Symphonie! Not literally, of course.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

KenOC said:


> Paray absolutely smokes the Symphonie! Not literally, of course.


_Absolutely_!

Tremendously animated performance. . . I just wish that he had access to the likes of the Concertgebouw or Chicago for the recording session.


----------



## JACE

Headphone Hermit said:


> For neither the first, nor I suspect, the last time, David A and I are diametrically opposed
> 
> I think Norrington's is a tremendous version which explores the sublety of Berlioz' writing and orchestration with unparalleled insight and leads to excitement, vision and excitiement ... whilst Karajan smoothes the work over as if Berlioz in 1829 was writing for the Berlin Phil of the late C20th and misses almost all of the cultural context of the piece
> 
> Which version suits your ears is up to you


I'm with you, HH. I love Norrington's performance. 

My other faves are Munch, Scherchen, Davis, and Bernstein (1968).


----------



## Headphone Hermit

JACE said:


> I'm with you, HH. I love Norrington's performance.


Phew - thought my ears were faulty :tiphat:

BTW, I also have Gardiners, Davis' and a fantastic version on Dutton by van Beinum from 1946


----------



## Guest

With Davis/LSO on offer at Prestoclassical (only £4.60 +p&p) and recommended by Radio 3, my mind is made up!

Mind you, having now discovered the ophicleide, I'll want an HIP version too!


----------



## Vaneyes

MacLeod said:


> With Davis/LSO on offer at Prestoclassical (only £4.60 +p&p) and recommended by Radio 3, my mind is made up!
> 
> Mind you, having now discovered the ophicleide, I'll want an HIP version too!


Of C. Davis' SFs, I think his finest is with VPO (Philips, rec. 1990). For those interested, it's currently available for 2.25 GBP + P (Very Good condition) at UK Amazon Marketplace. :tiphat:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...+berlioz+Symphonie+Fantastique&condition=used


----------



## erho

Opinions please?


----------



## realdealblues

erho said:


> View attachment 90195
> 
> 
> Opinions please?


Terrible! Thin anemic sound, he slows down for absolutely no reason in measure 33, the tempos drag or feel completely static. It's a truly lifeless recording.


----------



## Pugg

realdealblues said:


> Terrible! Thin anemic sound, he slows down for absolutely no reason in measure 33, the tempos drag or feel completely static. It's a truly lifeless recording.


Amen to this. ..............


----------



## Phil loves classical

Ah, my favourite Symphony. Here's to those who agree this is the most original Symphony ever! I tried to listen to every recording available, and have like 8 different versions I bought. Favourite has to be Jean Martinon's. Powerful, spontaneous, but not rushed. I can't go back to Dutoit's or Munch's after listening to Martinon's. Never liked Davis's Concertgebouw's version, even though it is the general consensus in most books I've seen. Never was a Bernstein fan for this or any other work: good for the extroverted qualities, but never much for subtlety. For those who don't care about sound, Monteux's 1930 version, supposedly the closest to the Berlioz's intentions, is a very detailed interpretation.


----------



## Becca

FWIW - There is an interesting performance of the Symphonie Fantastique on YouTube from the 2013 Proms with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Mariss Jansons. What is noteworthy is that they seem to be using some original (?) instruments...

View attachment 92313


----------



## jegreenwood

Triplets said:


> I second the Paray, my first choice


To be honest, I didn't care for SF (having owned Munch and Davis/Concertgebouw) until I heard the Paray from the MLP box.


----------



## Pugg

jegreenwood said:


> To be honest, I didn't care for SF (having owned Munch and Davis/Concertgebouw) until I heard the Paray from the MLP box.


One of the very best.


----------



## Phil loves classical

Just bought and listened to Monteux's 1930 version, the suppposedly closest recorded version to Berlioz's intentions. Wow, a great wealth of detail and articulation not heard in any other version, and I heard lots. A must hear/have!


----------



## KenOC

My favorite Symphonie Fantastique is the one by Paul Paray and the Detroit SO, recorded many years ago as a Mercury Living Presence release. The sound is still great, and every line is clearly brought out,


----------



## Brahmsianhorn

Monteux 1930
Beecham
C. Davis 1974


----------



## Becca

I like the Martinon/ORTF although I do think that the optional cornet parts at the start of the Un Bal movement are way to prominent (Klemperer, one of the few to use the cornets there) gets it about right.

For another interesting recording, there is a version by John Barbirolli and the SWR Symph. done around 1969 from a live concert which has excellent sound. While the last 2 movements are taken a bit slower than usual, they remind me of one of those nightmares where everything seems to be moving in slightly slow motion, thereby making the nightmare that much worse.


----------



## Pugg

KenOC said:


> My favorite Symphonie Fantastique is the one by Paul Paray and the Detroit SO, recorded many years ago as a Mercury Living Presence release. The sound is still great, and every line is clearly brought out,


50% agree the other 50 % goes to the Muti recording with the B.P


----------



## DarkAngel

I have a huge collection of symphonie fantastique and discovered this almost unkown "french" 1970s Bernstein version many years ago that is ultra dramatic even more than his NYPO, the final movement is really thrilling.....Amazon USA sellers extremely cheap


----------



## Phil loves classical

Just listened to the Mackerras version with the Royal Philharmonic again. Amazing: great playing, great sound (recorded in 1994), and above all great performance. Very spontaneous. This used to be my favourite version and is now again. I don't want to knock down other versions, but I found Munch, Paray, all of Davis's and some others to be a bit dry after knowing the piece so well.


----------



## Pugg

Phil loves classical said:


> Just listened to the Mackerras version with the Royal Philharmonic again. Amazing: great playing, great sound (recorded in 1994), and above all great performance. Very spontaneous. This used to be my favourite version and is now again. I don't want to knock down other versions, but I found Munch, Paray, all of Davis's and some others to be a bit dry after knowing the piece so well.


Going to give that one a try later.


----------



## Phil loves classical

Pugg said:


> Going to give that one a try later.


Gotta be my desert island disc if I can pick only one CD to take with me. I can't live without this work. The music is a drug to me, just as Berlioz was on opium when he composed it. Abrupt changes in rhythm throughout, a very unique piece of music.


----------



## Oldhoosierdude

I have listened to this symphony in the past on Amazon prime. Abbado and a live Tilson Thomas production. My thoughts were that it was an ok symphony and I didn't understand all the adoration . Them I recently heard part of the Munch BSO rendition, don't know what year. I didn't even think it was the same work, it sounded so much better to me. Also heard part of mackerras version, sounded great. I could actually purchase one of those.


----------



## The Wolf

Who knows the recording with Cluytens (Philharmonia Orchestra-EMI)??...well worth it??

https://www.discogs.com/Hector-Berl...chestra-Symphonie-Fantastique/release/8099155


----------



## Oldhoosierdude

Surprise to me, I already had the Mackerras recording on one of those big box downloads from Amazon. I also picked up a disc by Charles Dutoit. Highly recommended.


----------



## philoctetes

Abbado with Chicago is a sleeper, I especially like the horns and winds. And I prefer the later Munch in stereo.

I have the Cluytens box but haven't really listened closely enough to distinguish those two versions yet.


----------



## Oldhoosierdude

I know the hip thing can elicit automatic gag reflexes from some, but I like the Immerseel rendition also.


----------



## regnaDkciN

Oldhoosierdude said:


> I know the hip thing can elicit automatic gag reflexes from some, but I like the Immerseel rendition also.


Never thought of Immerseel et. al. as "HIPsters" before... :lol:


----------



## starthrower

I've had the Telarc recording for decades, but I recently picked up Stokowski stereo, and Ozawa on Philips.


----------



## DavidA

philoctetes said:


> Abbado with Chicago is a sleeper, I especially like the horns and winds. And I prefer the later Munch in stereo.
> 
> .


Both there are good. Munch is tremendous


----------



## geralmar

I feel obligated to warn against purchase of the IMP CD that purports to be the early 1950s recording by Willem Van Otterloo and the Berlin Philharmonic. The Van Otterloo recording was very much admired in its time and I remember enjoying the L.P. when I was in high school and college. When I bought the IMP CD "reissue" I was disappointed to discover it does NOT contain the once esteemed monophonic Van Otterloo recording. Instead it is a workaday performance by an indifferent conductor and orchestra, provenance unknown, and recorded in routine but unmistakable stereo. Ignore the enthusiastic Amazon reviews-- the reviewers could not have actually listened to the CD.


----------



## NLAdriaan

I can highly recommend this recent reading of SF. Concertgebouw under its former Chef Daniele Gatti.

It remains a miracle that this piece was composed just two years after Beethoven died, Brahms wasn't even born yet!

As there are clear links to the idea of Beethoven's Pastorale, it is interesting to listen to both works. Berlioz wrote the SF in a turbulent phase of his life, after hearing Shakespeare (Hamlet and Romeo & Julia) performed and reading Goethes Faust. Turned down by the Irish Shakespeare actress Harriet Smithson, years later to become his wife. It's really worthwile to get hold of Berlioz's memoires, they are a great read. He writes about the failed first attempt to perform the SF, which went sour because there were too many (130) musicians and not enough stands for the sheetmusic, hilarious.

It seems that Opium too was a direct influence on writing parts of the SF. So the SF is also Beethoven on acid:angel:. Curious what would have become of Beethoven's work if he was to use the same goods


----------



## vincula

I've got another Dutch take on this work from one of my favourite conductors of all times: Eduard Van Beinum.









Regards,

Vincula


----------



## starthrower

DarkAngel said:


> I have a huge collection of symphonie fantastique and discovered this almost unkown "french" 1970s Bernstein version many years ago that is ultra dramatic even more than his NYPO, the final movement is really thrilling.....Amazon USA sellers extremely cheap


Now available in the 7 CD set Leonard Bernstein: An American In Paris on Warner Classics.


----------



## flamencosketches

I never quite connected with the Berlioz SF. I have Colin Davis/LSO, which is OK, but I've heard the Davis/Concertgebouw and I think it's way better. Either way I'm not sure if Davis will be the conductor to break me through with this work or not. I want to try the Munch/Boston and a few other older recordings.


----------



## Simplicissimus

flamencosketches said:


> I never quite connected with the Berlioz SF. I have Colin Davis/LSO, which is OK, but I've heard the Davis/Concertgebouw and I think it's way better. Either way I'm not sure if Davis will be the conductor to break me through with this work or not. I want to try the Munch/Boston and a few other older recordings.


FWIW, I recommend Paray/Detroit SO, 1959, Mercury Living Presence. I have a three-channel SACD and it's a sonic adventure of the first order, mostly due to Paray's high-power, exciting interpretation actually. The others in my collection are Munch/Boston and Ozawa/Boston, both very good but Paray just really hit the target for me.


----------



## flamencosketches

Simplicissimus said:


> FWIW, I recommend Paray/Detroit SO, 1959, Mercury Living Presence. I have a three-channel SACD and it's a sonic adventure of the first order, mostly due to Paray's high-power, exciting interpretation actually. The others in my collection are Munch/Boston and Ozawa/Boston, both very good but Paray just really hit the target for me.


Good call; I have the Paray/Detroit Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony and it's by far my favorite, but I've heard nothing else from that conductor or orchestra. I'll try and find it.


----------



## Simplicissimus

The story handed down to me about Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is that 1) Paray was an exceptionally good orchestra director who knew how to hire the right musicians and how to motivate them; 2) Detroit was in Paray’s time flush with money from the U.S. auto industry, and wealthy patrons funded the orchestra lavishly. This made the DSO, for a time, a world-class orchestra. I personally tend to like Paray’s interpretations of the French repertoire, and almost all of the Mercury recordings are sonically excellent (Paray made about 70 of them).


----------



## flamencosketches

Simplicissimus said:


> The story handed down to me about Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is that 1) Paray was an exceptionally good orchestra director who knew how to hire the right musicians and how to motivate them; 2) Detroit was in Paray's time flush with money from the U.S. auto industry, and wealthy patrons funded the orchestra lavishly. This made the DSO, for a time, a world-class orchestra. I personally tend to like Paray's interpretations of the French repertoire, and almost all of the Mercury recordings are sonically excellent (Paray made about 70 of them).


70?! I'm guessing the vast majority of them never made it to CD...?


----------



## jegreenwood

flamencosketches said:


> 70?! I'm guessing the vast majority of them never made it to CD...?


The Absolute Sound in 2015:

The third and final Mercury Living Presence CD collection was recently released. With the addition of the 53 CDs in this album, all of the remastered recordings supervised by Wilma Cozart Fine in the 1990s are included in the three Mercury box sets. *That includes nearly every recording made under the Mercury Living Presence label.* Volume 3 contains a lot more that will be of value to music lovers and audiophiles.

I recall reading this or its equivalent somewhere. But now I'm not sure it's correct.

http://mercury.lacyway.com/

Perhaps the distinction is between Mercury Living Presence and Mercury.


----------



## Oldhoosierdude

jegreenwood said:


> The Absolute Sound in 2015:
> 
> The third and final Mercury Living Presence CD collection was recently released. With the addition of the 53 CDs in this album, all of the remastered recordings supervised by Wilma Cozart Fine in the 1990s are included in the three Mercury box sets. *That includes nearly every recording made under the Mercury Living Presence label.* Volume 3 contains a lot more that will be of value to music lovers and audiophiles.
> 
> I recall reading this or its equivalent somewhere. But now I'm not sure it's correct.
> 
> http://mercury.lacyway.com/
> 
> Perhaps the distinction is between Mercury Living Presence and Mercury.


The Mercury Living Presence sound was and still is remarkable.


----------



## Joachim Raff

Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan
Recorded: 1975-02-21
Recording Venue: Philharmonie, Berlin

This is my overall favourite recording. The finale is a deal breaker. Some of the best recordings ever recorded are let down by the bells. Total orchestral dramatics at the beginning of the final movement then a 'little ding'. Simply does not suit the music. 
Karajan is the version gives us deep tolling funeral bells that makes the hairs on the back neck stand up.


----------

