# La Chronique du Disque (January 2014)



## itywltmt

En français 

For those unfamiliar with our monthly recordings review - If *Sound Quality* (SQ) and *Overall Impression* (OI) grades need further context, feel free to visit earlier posts in this series.

My acquisitions for January









*Sibelius The Simphonies Paavo Berglund*
[Torrent]​
The late Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) has demonstrated himself to be a versatile conductor, but he remains "typecast" as a _Scandinavian _conductor. In fact, I recall Berglund visiting Canada about 20 years ago and having pre-shipped his own set of partitions for a Sibelius symphony for the orchestra to use… Berglund has recorded three complete sets of the Sibelius symphonies, two for EMI. The first, an analog set, was done with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra between 1972 and 1978. A second EMI set with the Helsinki Philharmonic, dating from the mid-80's, was digitally recorded and forms the majority of this great Sibelius anthology, completed by Berglund's classic Bournemouth recordings of the _Kullervo _Symphony and additional recordings of the tone poems dating from the same period. Because the music evolves audibly and communicates authentic emotion along the way, the performances under Maestro Berglund are extremely compelling and deeply enjoyable. The recordings of the _Karelia_ Suite, _Valse triste_, _Finlandia_, and the other tone poems are more than filler, though the real substance of this superb set is found in the symphonies, and they are recommended as essential listening. *SQ = A, OI = A*









*SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Symphony for Strings (arr. by R. Barshai)*
[eMusic]​
The father-son duo of Maxim and Dimitri Shostakovich Jr. have recorded both of the elder Dimitri's piano concerti with a "purposely augmented" I Musici de Montréal quite a few years ago. Both the concerto performances (the _first _on a separate recording) are excellent, though they don't necessarily stand out in a very crowded discography. We note that the second concerto was originally intended for Maxim to perform as a pianist, and so there is a little bit more oomph in this recording that you don't necessarily get anywhere else, dare I say… I Musici's regular conductor at the time, the late Yuli Turovsky, often programmed some of Rudolf Barshai's transcriptions of Russian masters (part of the old Moscow Chamber Orchestra repertoire Turoovsky used to perform during his tenure there). The filler "String Symphony" is one of those less-performed gems. I like this quite a bit! *SQ = A, OI = A*.









*Mahler: Symphony No. 1; Rückert-Lieder*
[Torrent]​
If there is one piece that probably has a more substantial discography than Shostakovich's first piano concerto, it has to be Mahler's _Titan _Symphony. Not only has it been recorded by almost everybody, almost everybody is taking a second stab at it by including the rejected "Blumine" movement. This recording features just one of these reconstructed performances, dating from the glory days of Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony. This recording must date quite a few years, as the BSO recorded on DG but for a short period of time, in the late days of analog stereo. Maybe it's my imagination, but there is a distinctive sound to the woodwinds of the BSO at Boston's Symphony Hall, and that distinctive sound comes through whenever I hear the orchestra. I'm not sure if I like Mahler's _First _with the Blumine re-instated… It's not bad, but I don't think it adds much to the symphony, who's high point really is the transition from the _Frere Jacques_ canon motif of the third movement to the rousing finale, and the very distinctive rhythmic choices that make up the final coda of the symphony. The filler recording of Fiesher-Dieskau singing the Ruckert-Lieder is just as good as the Symphony, and one more example of the power of the late great baritone projecting the emotion of the text. Worth the download! *SQ = A-, OI = A*









*Offenbach in America*
[eMusic]​
In preparing for a montage coming soon to the Podcast, I went shopping for an Arthur Fiedler recording that tries to stick to the "classical" concert repertoire, and stumbled onto this recording of Offenbach favourites. For all the respect and admiration we may have for Arthur Fiedler and what he has done to make classical music accessible, it remains that Fieldler was, at best, an adequate conductor. He can carry a tune - rather, he can lead the orchestra in a tune - but he doesn't stray much outside the written notes; there isn't a lot of musicianship here. He is saved, more often than not, by the fact he leads musicians that are part of one of the best symphony orchestras in the world, and what he lacks in music vision is made up by the virtuosity of the band. This is not to say that Offenbach wrote great music - he too could carry a tune, though… Fielder's _Orpheus in the Underworld_ will not compare favourably to what Ansermet (or even Charles Munch) could do, but it's not to say that these are bad… The recording is a transfer from analog, and not an analog remaster, but it is pretty clean. *QS = A-, OI = A-*.









*Martha Argerich - The Collection*
[Torrent]​
Saving the best for last… This massive download is NOT an official Argerich collection, but is likely a music lover's bundle of over a dozen great recordings from the great Argentinian pianist, covering her very early days (her debut recording is included) all the way to more personal, late-career recordings (including a coupling of the Chopin concertos with ex-hubby Charles Dutoit conducting the Montreal Symphony). We hear her as a soloist, as a chamber player (the grouping includes her excellent complete Beethoven violin sonatas with Gidon Kremer) and with orchestra (yes, I have her landmark recording of the Ravel/Prokofiev concerti with the recently departed Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic). The recordings are from DG, Philips, and EMI, and include a few "rarities" (like this very interesting recording of Tchaikovsky's First with Kiril Kondrashin conducting). This set will have you smiling for days! *SQ = A, OI = A*.

*January 31, 2014, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will feature a new podcast "Theme and Variations: The Orchestra Edition" at its Pod-O-Matic Channel .Read more January 31 on our blogs in English  and in French.*


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