Customer Reviews

Bizet: Symphony in C; L'Arlésienne Suites

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4 star:		(2)
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When Beecham came to Australia, one cartoonist depicted him as conducting with a magic wand. Listen to him conducting these colourful Bizet orchestral items and you'll know why. In the "L'Arlesienne" suites, the melodic lines, especially for woodwinds, are beautifully phrased, there is amazing gusto in the Farandole, and the string playing in the Adagietto is like gossamer. The Bizet symphony was recorded in Paris during Beecham's last series of recording sessions. The 80 year old conductor works his magic here too, identifying and eliciting all the freshness of the 17 year old composer's symphony. These are performances to treasure for all time.

British record collectors accept as gospel that this hisotrical colleciton of Bizet's popular Symphony in C and L'Arlesienne Suites is one for the ages. I love Beecham, but his conducting here tends to be loving at the expense of vibrancy and scintillating playing. In fact, the French radio orchestra, though blessed with a delicious Gallic sound, is not an ensemble of great players. EMI's sound is detailed but noticeably thin and edgy at loud volume.

Most music lovers already own favorite versions of the Symphony in C. I swear by the thrilling version from Bernstein and the NY Phil. on Sony. But if you want a relaxed, affectionate reading, Beecham's is certainly favored by many.

Do you really know any other recording that can match with this performance ?
The Symphony in C is a gift for your ears . It is not a deep work but who cares?.
The elegant style and supreme elegance directorial in Beecham makes you to forget the search for the expression, the color and exact intention of the composer .
The Suites ae exquisite though Paul Paray is a serious matcher with the Detroit Symphony .
Beecham was a conductor much better than the great majority of the people think . Another triumphs from his glorious batoon were The Jupiter Symphony ; Sibelius fourth , Delius symphonic works and Liszt Fausto among the most remarkables .

A BBC critic called the sound for this Beecham recording of the Bizet Symphony with a French orchestra "swimmy," which I take to mean over-reverberant (and too loud), which it certainly is. In contrast, Beecham's own RPO is given rather dry sound, but it doesn't matter, because for the two suites, the performance is so full of charm and elan that you ignore the accoustics. The wind playing in particular has so much sunny grace and verve that it puts this performance into a category by itself. The French orchestra, on the other hand, seems to be just simply too big for the Symphony, and the sound too loud, though Sir Thomas still brings his special feeling and love for this piece to the performance. So, this disc contains the best recording of the two suites (though Bernstein, for example, and Marriner, too, are also good), but for the Symphony, get a back up recording by Orpheus Chamber Orch.,or Bernstein,Loboz-Cobos, Martinon, Marriner, or Munch. The notes contain a very funny story about Sir Thomas which is almost worth the price of the whole disc, but the L'Arlesienne is there to sweeten things, to say the least.

Wonderful playing of two thoroughly fun and joyous works. Beecham truly had a special way with Bizet.

Beecham had an affinity with French music and his treatment of both the symphony and the suites here oozes charm and delicacy - what could be more Gallic and refined than his tripping account of the minuet in Suite no.1? He then moves into the most tender and restrained Adagietto you could wish. The slightly thin stereo sound does not always do complete justice to the RPO strings, but how beautifully they and especially the woodwind caress this music. It is possible to deliver this music with more drive and propulsion, but how sweetly Beecham lingers over the pastoral interlude for flutes and oboes in the carillon, transporting us into a gentler, Arcadian world, then seamlessly swells into the mini-finale. At first listening, I thought I could do with a bit more bite in the opening movement of the second suite, but it is after all called a "Pastorale" and I trust Beecham's instincts and so it proved as he eased into the Moorish dance with its light, distant tambourines. Beecham easily encompasses the grander aspirations and denser orchestration of the Intermezzo without becoming portentous and the saxophone is a delight, as are the harp, flute and saxophone once more in the Minuet that Guiraud cunningly lifted from Act 3 of Bizet's "La Jolie fille de Perth". The Farandole is appropriately sonorous and stately, entwining with the "Marcho dei Rei" from the Prelude and building to a splendid climax.

As has often been remarked, l'Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française is not as polished an outfit as the RPO but they play with verve and commitment, watery horns, grainy woodwind and all. Beecham draws out all the sprightly bounce and élan of this little miracle of a symphony, sounding closer in age to the 17 year-old-composer rather than the octogenarian he was when he recorded this piece in 1959.

it's a wonderful c.d. sound quality is excellent and a great price. a definite keeper :)

This was the first recording I ever purchased of a performance conducted by Beecham and it is also certainly the last. Bizet's vibrant Symphony in C becomes utterly flat and lifeless under the baton of this man Beecham. As an extra touch of complete perversity, he races through the elegant stately passages at the beginning of the second movement like he can't wait to get through them. How he got the reputation of being a great conductor is beyond me, and I guess I'll never find out because I am determined never to waste my money on a Beecham disc again after this farce of a performance. If you want a great recording of Symphony in C, stick with Leonard Bernstein, a true maestro!