Customer Reviews

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best version out there, and I've heard several, including the OOP Bernstein - you can't get better than this; not the most generous CD with 55 minutes and no coupling, but worth every penny.

It seems to be the consensus of music reviewers around the world that THIS is the recording of the Symphonie to own. I have to respectfully part with that orthodoxy. While Davis coaxes some very fine playing from the world-class Dutch musicians, the reading seems a little musty to my ears. The interpretation that gets the blood racing (and that's what this music is all about) is the 1968 Bernstein/NY Philharmonic [NOT his 1961 first recording and DEFINITELY not Bernstein's abominable 70's recording with the French National Orchestra]. Regrettably, this recording on Sony/Columbia is now out of print. The conductor and orchestra are in total synch on this potboiler and the audio engineering is excellent. The execution (particularly in the March to the Scaffold and Witch's Sabbath) is utterly hair-raising. If you can find this in the cut-out bins, GRAB IT! No finer recording has been made in the last 30 years.

This recording enjoys an almost total agreement as the absolute reference. I agree. Sir Colin is
the commander conductor in Berlioz, ha has in account three great recordings of the Fantastique, but
this Concertgebouw version is the best of all. It fills all things we want in a great performance:
poetry, imagination, beatifulness, care in detail, drama, ellegant phrasing and brilliant sound.
After hearing this Fantastique, you could fell no need to have another competitor in your collection.
This is the one to get, so buy it with confidence.