Complete Tone Poems 1

Liszt (Artist), Haitink (Artist), Lpo (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 1994)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000417S
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,645 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See for yourself, January 6, 2000

By 

Mauricio (São Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Tone Poems 1 (Audio CD)

Liszt is one of the most underestimated composers of all time, but I'm sure that anyone who listens carefully to recordings like this can change his mind. The only problem I see in understanding this pieces is that their richness (in all senses) make it necessary to listen to them again in order to understand them more deeply. Yet I can say that the exact same thing is true with Beethoven, Bach, Mahler, and all the other hyper-estimated composers. Looking closer, the problem must be that this pieces are almost never played, so it's difficult to know them before you buy a record like this. I say, don't let yourself go with the general prejudice against the Lisztian inovations : the two recordings by Haitink and the other two by Kurt Masur with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester are a necessity to every curious listener. Each poem is a masterpiece, and you'll hear the orchestra sound like you have never imagined.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but pales in comparison with Mazur, September 6, 2004

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Tone Poems 1 (Audio CD)

I enjoyed these poems but the "authenticity" was lacking in my opinion. Liszt is one of those composers beloved by the public but scorned bt the "experts" - another case of being so smart you don't know anything. The Symphonic Poems are one of those ultra-Romantic creations that seemed to spring fully-grown from the pen. Each one is related to a story or mood, although with the level of knowledge from today's education few would recognize let alone understand the connection.

How many people could even tell you who Prometheus or Goethe or Schiller was much less how the piece related to them? Les Prelude was good (not great) as was Orpheus. Mazeppa, the most dramatic of the set, came off sultry rather than scintillating.

Then again, I am comparing everything to the incredible recording by Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Those two sets are the apex of Liszt recordings (MHS only).

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but..., March 3, 2002

By 

Alexander Cronin (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Tone Poems 1 (Audio CD)

While the recordings on this CD are nothing to complain about, the quality on several of the songs is slightly staticky, and sounds mildly muffled (not as much ambience and echoing as needed to make these songs have full effect, especially on Mazeppa). Unless you really want the Symphonic Poem No. 1, you'd do better to stick with other recordings. The first of the poems is very hard to find and this is the reason I bought this CD. Unfortunately, it falls under the staticky song category.