Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly done, March 9, 2003
Yep, this is Bernstein: not unpolished, but not willing to let polish get in the way of emotional drama. However, as other reviewers pointed out, this isn't the melodramatic, overromantic Bernstein of the later years either; these performances manage to almost perfectly combine emotion and technique. Bernstein's sense of tempi and phrasing is top-notch, and the emotional sensitivity he gets out of the always-adept VPO is admirable, particularly in the slow movements. What really makes this CD a winner, though, is that both of these brilliant symphonies have been recorded almost to death over the years, and yet Bernstein still manages to make them sound fresh and new. He clearly knows what the music is trying to *say* to its listeners, and he and the orchestra work in such a manner that the music does not just exist, it *communicates* with listeners. To put that another way: some recordings of these symphonies sound like they're being played by an orchestra, and others sound like the music is creating itself. This CD definitely falls into the latter category. In particular, the finales of both symphonies are stellar, and I've never heard a better slow movement of the "Jupiter." You can't go wrong with this one.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute delight, June 24, 2002
This CD is an absolute must for any serious music lover. True, perhaps the sound quality was not exemplary, but as the other reviewers pointed out it is more than satisfactory. But the main thing about this recording is the performance. It is filled with pathos and drama, far removed from the stuffy versions of Mozart currently being put out; the finale of Jupiter is brilliantly performed, capturing the true magnificence of Mozart's fugato treatment, and the g minor symphony is appropriately dark and dramatic, certainly very different from Schumann's vision of "Grecian simplicity".
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Overall, October 2, 2003
I concur with all the other reviewers: although the sound is not quite up to par, it is more than adequate; but the performances are absolutely top-notch. Bernstein's tempos are perfect, all the repeats are taken, everything is infused with dramatic tension. The G minor is appropriately dark and elegant, its unbearable grief kept in check by an Apollonian temper. The Jupiter is positively...Jovian. This is, overall, my favorite recording of these two magnificent works (followed closely by Britten's and Klemperer's). A must for your classical collection.
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