Franck: Symphony in D Minor / Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 Reformation

Cesar Franck (Composer), Felix Mendelssohn (Composer), Lorin Maazel (Conductor), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Berlin Philharmonic (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic
• Conductor: Lorin Maazel
• Composer: Cesar Franck, Felix Mendelssohn
• Audio CD (March 11, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GX1
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,811 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Santa Fe Listener has it, September 22, 2007

By 

Wayne A. (Belfast, Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Franck: Symphony in D Minor / Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 Reformation (Audio CD)

The abuse hurled at this recording has always surprised me. I liked it when it came out and years later after finally picking up this CD reissue I like it still. The reviewer "Santa Fe Listener" pegs it perfectly so read his excellent review. It's not your usual Franck or Mendelssohn but it's certainly not incompetent or ill-conceived. The Franck sounds like, say, more contemporary film music and the Mendelssohn isn't as routine as a lot of performances of Mendelssohn. These are two once-cherished composers who pretty much flat-lined through the latter half of 20th Century; as "Santa Fe" points out, Maazel tried to envigorate them.

What bothers me most about this unsupervised editor-less reviewing that transpires here in Amazonia is this notion, alluded to in far too many reviews, that the job of all us amateurs (and, by definition, we is) is to find the "ideal recording." Really, pick through all this writing and see how often we stray from a civilized and sensible "my personal favorite is..." to a rather childish "BEST TANNHAUSER EVER!!!" One of the numberless joys of classical music is learning how many different interpretations can be pulled from a single score; another is how a second-rate orchestra, filled with enthusiasm, can sometimes top the Berlin Philharmonic; another is how an ancient recording in flawed sound can often have more heart and soul than any modern performance; and yet another is how letter-perfect attention to a score is not always the same thing as understanding.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No, really, there are good things to say here, September 10, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Franck: Symphony in D Minor / Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 Reformation (Audio CD)

I have lived wit5h the famed Monteux/CSO recording of the Franck without wanting any other...I must admit, the slithery chromatics and hummable tunes in this symphony wore off pretty long ago. But Mazzel has decided to be fresh-sounding and edgy. It's not your grandmother's Franck D minor, and this is a piece that died out on the concert stage about that long ago. Maazel makes it propulsive and more than a bit gritty. It's a velvet cushion touched with sandpaper and worth hearing.

The same goes for Mendelssohn, who epitomizes Protestant respectability and appealed greatly to Queen Victoria. Maazel, this time with a virtuoso orchestra, tries to make the Reformaiton a piece in the mode of Schumann's Rhenish symphony--a flrry of strings, quick pacing, and romantic trust are the guidelines in this performance, with lots of Schumannesque surges in the dynamics and tempi. It's very much a young turk's reading, and frankly I liked it a lot.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mendelssohn's Reformation, May 22, 2001

By 

RICARDO OJEDA (STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franck: Symphony in D Minor / Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 Reformation (Audio CD)

Parts that I heard before as slow and delicate were rushed. Parts that normally give me goose bumps left me dissapointed. I have high regards for any conductor and any orchestra, as they give us so much beauty while taking so very little from us. But, with due respect, I will continue looking for a better Mendelssohn's Reformation.