Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

Hector Berlioz (Composer), Charles Münch (Conductor), Boston Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Charles Münch
• Composer: Hector Berlioz
• Audio CD (February 7, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000E1NWJ6
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,482 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Living Stereo Classic, May 11, 2006

By 

Alan Craig (Grand Junction,CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

Well RCA has fufilled a couple of my wishes. This recording of
the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique from Munch and the BSO from
1954 is a classic! Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony recorded many of Berlioz's best works for RCA Red Seal, this and the Requiem are some of their best efforts. Munch's 1954
recording is really a romp, at just over 46 minutes you get a really fast performance, but you never get the feeling of being rushed. As icing on the cake, RCA includes the Love Scene from
Romeo et Juliette Op. 17 as a filler, and what a filler! Some of Berlioz's best music. Now perhaps the RCA people will fufill my next wish and issue Erich Leinsdorf's Living Stereo recording
of Mozart's " Don Giovanni" on SACD. Along with Maestro Leinsdorf's recording with the BSO on Richard Strauss's " Ein Heldenleben" . As for this SACD If you don't already have a recording of the Symphonie Fantastique this is a good one to add to your collection!

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't get any better than this!, February 24, 2006

By 

P. Beltz "Music Lover" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

Charles Munch's performance of this old warhorse to me cannot
be outdone. I have read many glowing reviews of Davis/Concertgebouw,but have never heard it. Maybe someday I
will break down and buy it,but Munch just seems to have the
right idea. I like the sound of the bells in the 4th movement.
Someone told me years back that they were crafted for Munch
per his specifications. With the DSD remastering and SACD the
excitement is even better. Shame on RCA for taking so long to
reissue this treasure.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not the best., July 21, 2010

By 

W. R. Caulk - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

When I first heard this recording on CD it did not impress me at all. I had already owned the 1962 version by Munch and the Boston symphony on a 1988 gold labeled RCA Victrola CD which had far superior sonics (and performance). The remastering for this SACD has greatly improved the sound - but not enough to displace '62 performance which still sounds better and I still like the performance better. For me the only advantage this cd has over the '62 is the sound and use of the bells. From the March to the Scaffold to the Witches Sabbath the orchestral playing is more intense and visceral in the later performance. The brass in particular in the '54 recording is anemic by comparison but this may be a problem with how it was recorded rather than the performance itself.