Customer Reviews

Rimsky-Korsakov: Sherherazade; Russian Easter Overture; Capriccio espagnol

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Rimsky-Korsakov's hyperlush orchestral textures and surging Romantic dynamism are perfect fodder for the unrepentantly luxuriant Ormandy, who straps himself to the mast for this cinematic soundstorm. As magical a sensualist as Ingres or Swinburne-- and every bit the lovelorn idealist-- Rimsky-Korsakov attains at least one kind of ne plus ultra in "Scheherazade", and, no matter how many times it is recorded (being something like the Romantic equivalent of "The Four Seasons" in popular exposure) or how much Modernistic carping is showered on its gorgeous sonic billows, it will forever endure undiminished. A rhapsody on the power of Nature and the mortal pain of Love, it stands triumphant as the Mother of All Tone Poems. Yes, and the "Capriccio espagnol" and "Russian Easter Festival Overture" are thrilling too.

I have a mid-fi stereo set up with a marantz integrated amp, b & w speakers, a sony ES cd player, and $600 in cables connecting the works, and the limitations of the transition of an analog recording to a digital recreation are evident. When listening to the Russian Easter Overture, there is a lot of "noise" (hiss, etc.)when the orchestra is playing softly, such as in the beginning. Given that the beauty of this recording (for me at least) is the way Rimsky-Korsokov was able to gently lift the listener with ebbs and flows of stringed magic during the quiet periods, this "noise" is disconcerting. Otherwise, the pieces are great, just not the recording.

This is a great CD. I found the recording quality good and the playing excellent.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote great music, and the powerful performance here does him justice. If you like him, you will enjoy this CD.

Certain works lend themselves to the specialty of the conductor and orchestra, and of these meetings of fortune and talent, there is no better match than Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov with Eugene Ormandy conducting the legendary Philadephia Orchestra. In Ormandy's portfolio of strengths is an astonishingly lively bass section. The double bass is a massive instrument that seems to need to gather strength before it can be heard. Not Ormandy's, the string bass positively snap to life with their rich, warm sound -- the counterpoint, in fact, is so quick yet expansive that it feels as if there is this incredible beheamoth held in check by a musical master. Another strength of Ormandy is his exquisite sense of a time signature. This recoding never loses pace; no matter how busy or romantic or dramatic or profound, every instrument is absolutely on beat. Rimsky-Korsakov's compositions turn upon expert timing, the intersection of one line building as another fades, the periodic insertion of strategic silence, the transitions of melody of and counterpoint throughout the orchestra. Ormandy fulfills all these challenges to qive listeners the quintesential Scheherazade.

Si hay imaginación hecha música, Scheherazade es el caso, simbad, el principe y la princesa, nos llegan a los oídos de una forma elocuente, directa y genial, son sonidos que nos llevan a otros tiempos y otros mundos. Ormandy hace que eso ocurra ademas con una belleza y fuerza incomparables, este director lleva a su orquesta a lo máximo de eficiencia.
El capricho Español es una obra rusa con aires mediterraneos, es rica en expresión y alegria. La Obertura para la Pascua Rusa, es una procesión, una marcha, una liturgia de música religiosa, bella, delicada, apasionada.
Eugene Ormandy dirigió la Orquesta de Filadelfia por mas de cuarenta años, y con ella alcanzo lo que se llamo "Sonido Filadelfia", es decir una calidad conocida y reconocida por todo el mundo, en belleza pulcritud y exquicitez. Ahora bien, esto ocurrio entre los años 30 y 80, lo que hace que a veces sea desconocido para muchos, pero gracias a estas colecciones podemos disfrutar de estas grabaciones a precio economico y de excelente calidad.

This is a great CD. I found the recording quality good and the playing excellent.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote great music, and the powerful performance here does him justice. If you like him, you will enjoy this CD.

Sheherezade. Philadelphia. Eugene Ormandy. What else is there to say? BUY IT.