5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maginificent Mendelssohn - Take 2, November 2, 2003
This review is from: Symphony 4 / Violin Cto / Midsummer Night's Dream (Audio CD)
As I have stated in many of my previous reviews, the Sony Essential Classics series is one of my favorite CD lines, budget or not, in all classical music. With the "Essential Classics Take 2" series, Sony has been able to compete with other two-for-the-price-of-one series like Double Decker and Philips Duo, while at the same time reissuing more brilliant performances from their vast back catalog. Such is the case with this title of the orchestral works of Mendelssohn. In the single-disc SEC releases, George Szell performs Symphony No. 4 and the Incidental Music from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", while the Violin Concerto is done by Eugene Ormandy (with Isaac Stern). Here it is the opposite -- Ormandy performs all the pieces on disc one, while the Concerto is by Szell with Zino Francescatti. Which ones are better? Who cares, they are all excellent and worth owning! The "Take 2" set does offer one exact duplicate however. The account of the "Hebrides" Overture by Szell is the very same performance from the single-disc SEC title (now out of print though). Yet again my question to Sony is with so many legendary recordings at your disposal, why do you duplicate needlessly? It's not just on this "Take 2" title either as both the Sibelius and the Tchaikovsky "Take 2" sets share identical selections with their single-disc SEC counterparts. And I have yet another small grievance, listeners should make sure to program around the alternate Scherzo from Louis Lane's rendition of Symphony No. 1, which is included as disc two's last track. It's nice to have it, but certainly wouldn't be missed. Nobody's going to mistake this "Take 2" title for a "Complete Orchestral Works of Mendelssohn" collection. Despite these minor complaints this is a terrific set, and the budget price makes it a little easier to overlook Sony's shortcomings.
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