Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4; Central Park in the Dark [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import]

Charles Ives (Composer), Andrew Litton (Conductor), Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Dallas Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Andrew Litton
• Composer: Charles Ives
• Audio CD (November 14, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000I8OIHA
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,673 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #7 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Ives, Charles
  • #83 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Symphonies > Modern & 20th Century

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent performances in fine sound, February 26, 2008

By 

Orgelbear - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4; Central Park in the Dark [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

Litton is in sympathy with the progressive nature of Ives's First Symphony and makes the work sound both more polished and less conservative than in past recordings by Gould, Ormandy, and Tilson Thomas. (I haven't yet heard the recent Sinclair recording on Naxos.) This extroverted and confident performance of a student piece modeled on Brahms and his contemporaries makes the most of Ives's unusual modulations and melodic surprises. Litton actually makes this symphony sound like a better piece than it does in the earlier recordings. The new critical edition was used in this performance. One of the most obvious changes listeners familiar with the older edition will hear is the rowdy percussion in the finale's coda.

Litton responds just as naturally to the more rarified philosophy and technical challenges of the Fourth Symphony. This is an excellent performance that stands with the best. However, this is a work that should be heard from different perspectives. Some listeners may feel more sympathy with the hotly transcendent Tilson Thomas performance, and the old Stokowski is still a must-hear. But Litton, too, is a must-hear that finds the mystery of this complex work.

Hyperion's SACD surround-sound is far and away the best recording these two works have received to date. The sound stage is well-defined and has realistic space around it. The sound has bloom and warmth, yet the incredibly dense layers of the 4th Symphony's second movement are still clearly defined. The audiences from these live performances were extremely quiet and well-behaved and do not intrude at all.