|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Wait !,
By
This review is from: Bedrich Smetana: Má Vlast (My Country - A Cycle of Symphonic Poems) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Audio CD)
Sir Charles has been a great champion of Czech music for four decades, usually focussing his insight and craftsmanship to Twentieth Century composers such as Martinu and, especially, Janacek. I have hoped he would turn in time to Smetana and he has, with great results. Vysehrad opens with a very sustained tempo. You really feel an epic tale is going to be told. The agitated middle section and the plaintive closing contrast powerfully, with the closing wind solos as eloquent as I,ve ever heard them. Vltava's pictorial sections, as the writer below says, are unmistakeable. They are also beautifully contrasted, with the final peroration a true climax. One thing you will notice is the style of the Czech Phil.'s playing: The soft sections feature great clarity in solo playing and orchestral balance. The grand climaxes feature an unusually warm, blended sonority, like we used to hear in European performances in the 50's and before. Sarka also benefits from this playing, but when the middle dance sequence arrives, it really moves! Bohemia's Fields and Woods is just fabulous! The opening cry from the orchestra is both very powerful and astonishingly clear. The dying strings just before the wind entry, have never 'spoken' so eloquently. The dance sequence again has fresh color and vitality. The last two symphonic poems, Tabor and Blanik, form a single final movement. Many otherwise fine performances, such as Levine's and even Berglund's get a little predictable as the music treads toward the final triumphal march. Mackerras and the orchestra find both real drama and color throughout both pieces. Even the early statements of the Hussite chorale have a feeling of exaltation contrasting well with the suddenly peaceful middle section of Blanik. The end returns to the broad pace which opened Vysehrad, and with the glowing orchestral playing generates a real sense of culmination rather than bombast. Confidently recommended as a great introduction to Ma Vlast or as an addition to a Smetana collection. ( I really suspect that, like me, if you own one Czech performance of this work, you probably own many others.) Talich ( the 1950 performance), Kubelik, Ancerl, and Neumann have all made beautiful recordings of MV. This one easily joins thier ranks.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Great Performances Of Smetana's "Ma Vlast",
By
This review is from: Bedrich Smetana: Má Vlast (My Country - A Cycle of Symphonic Poems) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Audio CD)
Sound quality purists may find this recording objectionable, since it doesn't quite rise to the standards attained by the likes of Deutsche Grammophon or Teldec. However, don't let this dissuade you from acquiring one of the finest recordings of "Ma Vlast" I've heard, ranking alongside classic recordings by Rafael Kubelik. Sir Charles Mackerras is noted for being one of our foremost interpreters of Czech classical music; it was well worth the wait to hear his spellbinding, riveting interpretation of Smetana's tone poem cycle. The Czech Philharmonic's performance is replete with the warmth and atmosphere I have heard in classic 1950's and 1960's recordings made by the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic; it is surely one of the last great orchestras still retaining a classic Central European sound. The caliber of playing is comparable to what I've heard in recent recordings by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Dresden Staatskapelle. The Czech Philharmonic's string and wood sections possess a vibrant, rich tone quite akin to those of these distinguished eastern German orchestras. Fans of 19th Century Eastern European Romantic music should not ignore this fine CD.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Ride!,
By AK Music Lover (Anchorage, AK) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Bedrich Smetana: Má Vlast (My Country - A Cycle of Symphonic Poems) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Audio CD)
After finally listening to the entire cycle I am quite desirous to see what was so wonderfully portrayed sonically. Not having a baseline for the entire cycle I can only conparatively comment on Vltava. Having listened to many recordings of "The Moldeau" over the years, I can state that I have never heard a reading inspire what the program notes describe until this recording! The harp during the moonlight on the water section is enchanting and conveys the spirit of the moonlight in a way I had never heard before. Throughout the entire work I felt as if I was swept along the with the river having no control over what I experience along the way. I saw the two streams join to become a rushing torrent. The peasant wedding left me longing to experience the rest of the festivities. I wanted to linger in the moonlight. I felt the stateliness of Prague. A remarkable interpretation.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
|
|
