Conducts Berlioz

Munch (Artist), Berlioz (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 12, 1996)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 8
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003G1I
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,040 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Charles Munch's rousing yet elegant way with Berlioz was amply documented by RCA Victor in the fifties and sixties. Much of this material has turned up on CD before, yet the greater presence and definition of BMG's 20-bit transfers tip the scales in favor of this eight-disc compilation. The slight tape dropouts marring an earlier reissue of the 1954 stereo Fantastique, for instance, are remedied, though I still prefer Munch's more disciplined, character-filled 1962 remake (BMG 09026-61721-2). And why the mono Roméo et Juliette again, while the 1961 stereo version still awaits CD transfer? No complaints, though, about the magnificent 1953 Damnation, the delicate and tender L'Enfance du Christ, and Victoria de Los Angeles' gossamer Nuits D'été. And tenor soloist Léopold Simoneau's gorgeous Sanctus is worth the price of the 1959 Requiem. The various overtures filling out the set, as well as Harold en Italie, are superficially exciting, but lack the finesse and proportion Colin Davis brings to this repertoire. Excellent annotations. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Performances From the Past, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Conducts Berlioz (Audio CD)

I had been waiting for this 1959 recording of the Berlioz Requiem to be remastered and released on CD. No release since can compare with this one! Unfortunately, this work was not released on its' own, but was included with several other works by Berlioz as recorded by Munch and the BSO over a period of years. The sound is therefore a bit dated, however with this newly remastered release, I was able to hear things that I couldn't hear i the original releases. All in all, a very excellent selection- well worthwhile for those who appreciate the older BSO.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have Set, February 25, 2005

By 

Corlyss M. Drinkard (Nibley, Ut.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conducts Berlioz (Audio CD)

Other conductors do this repertoire, of course, but this set contains recordings of one master by another, who was born to conduct this music. Munch is the iconic Berlioz conductor just as Gieseking was the iconic Debussy interpreter. No fan of Berlioz or Munch should be without these masterful recordings. It was inspired of RCA to combine them all in one box for a reasonable price.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Always in the right spirit, but sloppy and dated, September 17, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Conducts Berlioz (Audio CD)

This set really doesn't hold a candle to the complete Berlioz with Colin Davis on Philips, or to many great readigs of the individual pieces. Despite Munch's reputation, his Berlioz is often hectic and sloppy. The choral work is particularly disappointing, since he had to rely on either the Harvard-Radcliffe or New England Conservatory choruses, there being no professional group in Boston at the time. The highlight of this box is the Romeo and Juliet, one of two recordings Munch made for RCA in Boston, and the overtues are bliazingly done. I also like the L'Enfance du Christ veyr much, and Munch's Symphonie fantastique holds up. But overall the deficits in dated sound make this a valuable historical set rather than a definitive modern one.