Customer Reviews

George, Szell, Dvorak: Three Great Symphonies ( Symphony No7;Symphony No8;Symphony No9)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While Szell was conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, his name was closely associated with the music of Dvorak. Szell's recordings of the Slavonic Dances and the three "great" symphonies have been part of everyone's classical record library since they were released. These performances are beautifully captured in these re-mastered discs and the packaging by Sony is wonderful as usual. The orchestration of Smetena's "From My Life" is an interesting and effective period piece that shows Szell's total mastery of writing for orchestra. A great recording you should have in your collection! Too bad Sony has not released Szell's old Columbia recording of Dvorak's Piano Concerto!

Though Sony doesn't give you a break on price, these two discs are well worth the money. Superb renditions of Dvorak's 7th, 8th, and 9th symphonies and some extras (the Carnival Overture, the Smetana) plus great packaging. Old fans of this music tell me that the engineers have worked sonic wonders here; all I know is that it sounds good. Hard to believe that this is the first time this 7th has seen the light of day on CD, but there you have it.

Tremendous re-mastered sound, an unequalled caliber of orchestral talent and one of the greatest conductors of the century all combine to make this THE set of Dvorak 7-8-9 to have. There's none better.

Sony has done well to reissue these recordings of Dvorak's best known and loved symphonies, given wonderful treatment by Szell and his well-drilled Cleveland Orchestra. These are recordings to treasure and hear again and again. Szell proves once again to be one of the finest Dvorak interpreters of the twentieth century. The lilting rhythym of the strings at the start of the second movement "Poco Adagio" of the Seventh symphony are really something to hear. The gorgeous, opulent string tone that dominates the third movement of the Eighth symphony can almost sweep you away in its beauty, and the furious rush to the end of the final movement is as amazing for the technical demands it must have placed on the players as it is for power to thrill. Here I am reminded that EMI has reissued Szell's other fine recording of the Eighth from 1970-this recording from 1958 is by no means of inferior sound quality and I think it is a better performance. The Ninth here is again from 1958 and is also very successful if not as well recorded in my opinion. The bonus tracks here, the Carnival Overture, the Bartered Bride Overture and Szell's own orchestral version of Smetana's "From My Life" Quartet are more than just fillers. They are all highly enjoyable in their own right, as I don't think I've heard Carnival and the Bartered Bride played with so much energy and life. Although Sony has done wonders for the sound, as one might expect it is not immaculate. The final few bars of the Allegro con brio from the Eighth seem to become a little distant and somewhat faint and there are some parts of the Ninth where some of the brass and timpani seem to be far away. These are small reservations in the end, although if you are looking for a modern recording in fine digital sound and solid performances I recommend the Dohnanyi with the Cleveland Orchestra on Decca. However, I will treasure these Szell recordings.

Not only is this the most passionately and perfectly played Dvorak and Smetana I've ever heard, it is sonically head and shoulders above the Columbia/Sony reissues we had to suffer through for so many years.

The Cleveland Orchestra is quite simply on fire here, Szell is inspired, one of the great musicians of the century, and the sound reflects the bright, spacious feeling of Severance Hall.

Let's just hope that Sony continues to clean up the scores of remaining Szell/Cleveland recordings they have in their vault for digital release. Music making of this caliber is of historical importance.

Postscript--After several more listenings I notice that in the wildly intense mono recording of Smetana's Bartered Bride overture there are moments where Szell can be heard driving the string section attack by singing the parts in a mad voice reminescent of Glenn Gould or Bernstein in their wackiest moments of musical transport. And his orchestration and performance of "From My Life".... Szell an Ice Cube? Stereotypes and reportage from third rate journalists die hard. This is music making of such barely contained passion and frenzy that even after thirty years of listening to it I still find new things to marvel at...

All the other reviewers have said basically summed up what needs to be said about these recordings - the razor sharp precision, the amazing orchestral balance, the powerful dynamics. The Cleveland Orchestra under Szell was something unlike anything else in the world of music. Highly Recommended.

I divided this review in 3 sections for you to get what you want fast: Music, Packaging and recording.

Music: The precision, tempo an overall spirit of the recording is simply perfect.
This is one of the recordings one can listen to again and again, never really getting tired of it (and we all know these Symphonies a little too well :)). I am glad of having written this without knowing that a top Amazon reviewer, "J. Buxton" said the same, so well: "These are recordings to treasure and hear again and again".
The finale of the 7th is fantastic. So is Szell's own orchestration of the "from my life" string quartet. It's good to listen to it by G. Kemerer on the CD of the same title, and once you know it well, enjoy the orchestra. The first and third movements are my favourites. I find the other movements jarry, but Michael Charry's detailed explanation (on the CD) may offer a clue with the composer's emotional state when composing it. I hate the Carnival overture, but that's the piece, not the version. At 7:07 I am afraid they are out of tune, but it's only a detail.
What is it with the Cleveland orchestra? I got hooked with von Dohnanyi's symphonies on Decca, I didn't know what Prescott Cunningham Moore says: "The Cleveland Orchestra under Szell was something unlike anything else in the world of music". Thanks to Amazon I realized I was not alone at thinking this was a masterpiece. Being far off the centers of thought, and not in the music community, it serves me as a connection to a learned community.

Packaging: Paul Bunkerr and Horner are right, it is classically good. I especially like the "vintage" feel and photos of the "principal timpanist" (!), who looks like a great guy, the trumpets and the oboists. A violinist's hairdo on page 24 is also an interesting "piece of time". Szell's photo is just perfect. The details of where and how each piece was recorded make me want to avoid any "budget" label ever again!
Again, the print of the CD itself is perfect in its old fashioned graphic design. I don't usually look much to those things after it's in the multiple disc tray, but I've taken this on a trip, and only then, having time for focusing, I cherished Sony's attention to detail.
First violinist Joseph Wechsberg's autobiographical reminiscence of his "rivalry" with our friend George is funny, short and well written.

Recording: I am glad to learn through "Bruce Horner" that the sound engineers worked its magic here. It sounds to me like a good late 70's recording. Yes, it lacks a bit of "punch", but if you expect a recording from Callas to sound like the latest diva of the year... J Grant replied perfectly to them on the "J N M" review's comment. Kevin Orth writes: "the sound reflects the bright, spacious feeling of Severance Hall".
Overall, I can hardly think how this recording could have been improved.
Agree that if you want a modern sounding recording, Decca's set does sound newer after all. They are usually on offer. Unlike this little gem.

This set contains the most technically accomplished performances of these works. Just listen to the hair-raising coda of the 8th symphony's last mvt. Truly virtuosic.

I was fortunate to have first heard the recording of the Dvorak 9th on the original issued Epic vinyl recording (back then it was still listed as the 5th Symphony), and it was from the beginning one of my favorites. Through the years I added to my vinyl collection several Epic recordings by Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra including the 8th (originally issued as the 4th) as well as the Schubert 9th. I found these recordings exhilarating and emotionally charged from a performance point of view, as well as exceptionally recorded. (Even though part of Columbia Records, it seems that the recording engineers at Epic were far and away better at capturing the sound and feel of the performance and ambient quality of the concert hall-in this case the wonderful Severance Hall. Most important, the engineers were able to obtain a warmth of tone which sometimes was missing from recordings done on the Columbia label, as well as a better and more natural balanced presentation of the orchestra. Their recordings were-and still are-the closest to the storied Mercury "Living Presence" recordings done at the same time, which, in my view are sometimes even better than the modern fully digital recordings done today.)

It was then with great joy that I came upon this collection of reissues of the 8th and 9th Symphonies along with the 7th, Carnival Overture and the two offerings by Smetana. Having heard the originals, I can say that the transfer to digital CD is almost perfect. (Do miss the occasional pop and slight hiss from the vinyl recordings but I guess I'm a bit old-fashion in that respect.) The engineers have retained the full range of tone and most importantly the a warmth of the sound which was the hallmark of the Epic sound.

I will admit that there are some other notable recordings of these symphonies, most recently, the splendid Marion Alsop/Baltimore Symphony recordings of the same three symphonies, as well as classic recordings by Paul Paray/Detroit (his treatment of the final notes of the 9th left me in tears when I first heard it), Reiner/Chicago and Karajan/Berlin. Interestingly, the more recent recordings by the Cleveland with Dohnányi have almost the same feel and emotional intensity as the Szell recordings.

Even so, this set is a totally satisfying offering, and welcomed addition to anyone's musical collection.

While these recordings of Dvorak's last three symphonies may not surpass the great one's of Talich or Ancerl, they are close. The Smetana is also excellent. As always, Szell is adept at getting exactly what he wants out of his superb Cleveland Orchestra. The sound is very good throughout, even on the two mono selections (Smetana).