Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture; Beethoven: Wellington's Victory

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

 

 

The 1812 is a good rendition, especially with the hymns being sung, but what really makes this CD is Wellington's Victory.

I originally owned this on vinyl (it was the first album I ever bought, at age 12), and I was disappointed that all 180+ synthesized cannon shots were omitted from the CD, yet the ratchets (to simulate musket fire) were retained. I'd give this CD five stars if the cannon fire were still included. It's got to be the most stirring rendition of Wellington's Victory ever recorded.

The first half, which re-creates the battle of Vittoria, Spain, in 1813 (at which Napoleon was not present), introduces both armies with trumpets on left & right. From there, the sides clash, at an ever-increasing tempo and intensity, until the final French assault is broken, and the battle winds down.

The listener can easily envision the armies colliding, smoke covering the field, and the casualties and exhausted veterans breaking off.

The second half of Wellington's Victory is the Victory Symphony, and that comes through brilliantly. It's noisy, jubilant, about as subtle as a runaway train, but nothing has ever sounded more outright victorious.

Come to think of it...I'll go listen to it again, right now.

I originally purchased this album in the vinyl form (although with a different coupling), and I was so impressed since this was the first time that someone had used the original chorus on this overture. When the vinyl album finally gave out to scratches, etc., I re-purchased in the cassette form (and I still have it). By luck, I happened to find it again in the CD format and I immediately purchased (and it even has a better coupling). I do recommend this album to all those persons who want to hear Tchaikovsky real idea of what the 1812 overture should sound like.

What is the best version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture? I have not heard all of them, but this one, I would venture to say is the best if not one of the best. The playing of the New Philharmonia Orchestra is keen, with a sense of climax, and conductor Igor Buketoff leaves no note by the wayside. The magic is all there... and the original choral parts are included. As for Ormandy and the Wellington's Victory, it is also top rate. The playing is gorgeous, the sound very clean. Top marks.

OK. I've heard better versions of the 1812 overture. This is slightly different because it has choruses where other versions doesn't have them. (Just for making you know, the best 1812 is by the Chicago orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti. The label is Decca). But, the Wellington's Victory really kicks butt! You really feel in the battlefield, surrounded by guns, cavalry and infantry in the infamous battle were Napoleon was utterly defeated. Altough Beethoven despised this work, is one of his best orchestral compositions. If you like warlike music, this is for you.

I ordered thia for my husband and it is a great CD. I am not a fan of this kind of music, but I like it too, and that says a lot.

Of all the renditions of "1812 Overture," this is THE one I still come back to (even on my vinyl copy). Key reasons have been highlighted, but the vocal rendition of "God, Save Thy People" at the beginning is breathtaking and inspiring, and the sound effects for "Wellington's Victory" are awesome.

If you are looking for the way Tchaikovsky and Beethoven would have recorded their pieces today, buy this!

I was in my late teens, was browsing a classical music record shop I frequented at the time, on this occasion wondering how to tell which version of 1812 I might like. There are so many times I've heard this piece, heard one or more sections done perfectly, and then heard other parts botched (in my opinion). But how many times could I convince the shop staff to let me listen to the *whole thing* so I could hear the one I really liked? I can only say I was really lucky with who I asked, because one assistant said to me "You want to hear the best 1812? Trust me, this is *the one*."

I'm not sure why, but I bought it, unheard. I trusted him. And he was right. This is the best I've heard, by far.

My only disappointment with it is that I wish it had been mastered on the CD at a greater overall volume, because the quieter passages are just too quiet, really. It's not a digital recording or master, so if you turn it up, you get too much of the background hiss. But hey, small price to pay.

For "Wellington's Victory" ... well, as I said to the bloke in the shop on a later visit, I don't actually care for Beethoven. (He just dropped to the floor where he was standing, clutching his chest. Made a woman in the shop scream, but it was very funny.) It's a dynamic, clear performance, with great spirit, but the piece itself isn't much to my taste. But after all, that's not what I bought this CD for.

The CD ordered was correctly labeled on box and on CD, problem was the recording was not as described. Vendor provided a refund with no quarrel. Still lost shipping costs both ways.