Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 / Capriccio Italien ~ Szell

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

 

 

The Performace: The Cleveland Symphony displays their usual excellence - disciplined, accurate, and beauty of sound. Szell's interpretation sounds unique to my ears - very different from Mravinsky and Muti, but no less authentic or beautiful in a layman's opinion.

The Sound: This recording was remastered with the new Direct Stream Digital (DSD) technology and Sony's SBM process. The recording has a warm, bassy sound and a wide stereo image. Just a little bit of tape hiss which is natural for a recording this old. Real nice.

I hope Szell's Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos get the same remastering treatment one day.

I smiled at the comment made by another Amazon reviewer that George Szell wasn't known for romantic longing. He was warm for an ice cube. This famous Tchaikovsky Fifth has been admired for over forty years for the polish of the Cleveland Orch. and Szell's disciplined refusal to give in to emotional indulgence. The reading is what it is, and now Sony has done the decent thing and remastered the original hissy, shrill sonics so that they sound quite up to date.

With hindsight, I'm not sure bleaching the romance out of Tchaikovsky is all that admirable, but when the LP came out, there was no Mravinsky to compare it to, or Karajan for that matter. Bernstein hadn't yet made his super-charged NY Phil. recording, either. That means we lacked the full measure of the Fifth's tragedy and soul. In that context the Szell reading came as a revelation, which some listeners continue to believe it still is.

Those interested in recent recordings only of the Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony have several excellent choices, of which the most noteworthy include interpretations conducted by Daniele Gatti and Valery Gergiev. And then of course there are the classic "vintage" recordings from the likes of Mravinsky, Karajan and Bernstein. To these one should also add Szell's late 1950s recording with the Cleveland Orchestra, which remains noteworthy for being among the swiftest, least emotional interpretations of the 5th symphony that I've heard of. Much to Sony's credit, this relatively recent re-issue sounds quite superb due to state-of-the-art digital remastering (via Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and Sony's proprietary SBM technology) that's made this a sonically richer recording than earlier LP and CD versions, emphasizing the rich sonorities of The Cleveland Orchestra's polished, brilliant performance under Szell's no-nonsense direction, which emphasizes a strict adherence to Tchaikovsky's score, without resorting to emotional over-indulgence. The orchestra's performance of Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien" is equally appealing too, for which I must observe that it remains one of the best recorded versions of this work as well. So potential purchasers interested in superb performances of two of Tchaikovsky's most popular orchestral works should be quite interested in this recording, now a venerable classic from Sony's classical music vault.

This recording by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra of the Tchaikovsky 5th, is one of my favorite Tchaikovsky recordings of all time. The precision and balance of the Cleveland Orchestra, is unmatched and Sony did a good job on the remastering. Ormandy, Dorati, Pletnev and Mravinsky are also good Tchaikovsky conductors, but everyone should have this Szell recording.

This was the first version of the Tchaikovsky 5th I had heard, and was instantly a fan of both this disc and the music itself. My collection also presently has versions by Mravinsky and Pletnev, but neither can match this recording. Mrvainsky would be the way to go if you want a traditional Russian approach, but Szell's recording remains my reference recording for this work. One can debate if Tchaikovsky actually intended for such strict following of the score and a largely unromantic approach, but I prefer a high degree of technical ability from an orchestra and a conductor that knows how to take advantage of that technical ability. Szell delivers in that regard.

With the Capriccio Italien, I have now heard versions by both Pletnev and Szell. The Pletnev recording (17:15) is a bit longer than the Szell (14:45), but again, I prefer the precision oriented approach of Szell's Cleveland Orchestra. Pletnev makes his version a little more drawn out, but Szell is straight and to the point, no need for excess.

Szell doesn't approach the music with the
same kind of fanaticism as Mravinsky. But that does not mean Szell is not exciting! Szell always builds up to the climaxes proper, doesn't miss any important and expressive detail, summons tremendous power from the orchestra when the music asks, and...the Cleveland Orchestra! If for any reason you think Szell is too "cool" in this music, the sheer virtuosity of the orchestra should more than make up for it.
In short, Szell offers a different view that's as enjoyable as Mravinsky's (to me, the reference version with its barely contained zeal) and that's probably more well played. Completely recommended!

Where to begin with this phenomenal performance of Tchaikovky Symphony #5? The incredible woodwinds, especially in the 2nd and 4th movement. The "beyond belief" brass at every dynamic. The changes in string tone throughout. The clarity of detail, perfectly in tune, that only Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra could achieve?

Yeah, you're thinking another pristine clinical Szell performance. Anything but! This has to be one of Szell's most emotional performances. Every choice he makes seems absolutely inevitable. As Myron Bloom (principal horn on this recording) remarked (and I`m paraphrasing): Once the notes and dynamics were taken care of - then the magic happened. And pure magic happens here.

And then add on the recording of Capriccio Italien. This isn't an orchestra, this is an orchestra wallowing in its own virtuosity. Perfection with lots of personality. To cite one highlight of something usually overlooked in most performances: the phrasing of the flute echoes in the second theme makes me grin every time I hear them. And it justs keeps getting better.

This release is also the best these recording have ever sounded with plenty of bass and a wide dynamic range. Hard to believe they were recorded in the late 1950s.

Get it before it goes out of print again!

There are a lot of excellent qualities to this disc/recording. The DSD remaster makes this older recording sound quite good, but of course it is not in the same league as more modern recordings, from a technical standpoint. There is improved detail in the low register and at extremes of volume, but there is still some cloudyness that persists. Most of my conern centers around the brass playing. When playing as a group, the brass can sound excellent and wonderfully balanced while at others there seems to be a complete lack of attention, generating odd balances and inconsistent phrasing. The horns sound good, but at multiple times seem to lose their place. The low brass sounds quite anemic, lacking power and refinement. The trumpet, especially 1st chair sounds very bright and immature throughout the majority of passages where it is taking the lead. This is incredibly distracting, especially in the big moments when the trumpet is in charge. The strings on the other hand sound excellent throughout, with great balance, unison of playing, and power. I can't say that I have a problem with the interpretation by Szell, but the brass playing is really not up to par. Regardless of the remastering, the inadequate brass playing prevents me from recommending this recording. There are multiple modern versions of equal interpretational merit with much better sound and playing.