Berlioz: Complete Orchestral Works [BOX SET]

Thomas Allen (Performer), John Shirley-Quirk (Performer), Roy Jowitt (Performer), Hector Berlioz (Composer), Colin Davis (Conductor), Edo de Waart (Conductor), Renata Scheffel-Stein (Performer), John Constable (Performer), José Carreras (Performer), Robert Tear (Performer), Denis Wick (Performer), Nobuko Imai (Performer), Arthur Grumiaux (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Thomas Allen, John Shirley-Quirk, Roy Jowitt, Renata Scheffel-Stein, John Constable, et al.
• Conductor: Colin Davis, Edo de Waart
• Composer: Hector Berlioz
• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000041MZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,373 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Berlioz was the first Romantic master of the orchestra. His music hasn't been surpassed in terms of sheer brilliance and accuracy of effect. This set includes all of the overtures, the Symphonie fantastique, Harold in Italy, the Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens, orchestral music from The Damnation of Faust and Romeo and Juliet, and the completely insane Grande Symphonie funebre et triumphale. Davis achieved his reputation as a conductor as a Berlioz specialist, and he proves an expert advocate on behalf of this stimulating, bizarre, and totally original genius. The recording quality, so critical in such colorful music, is also very good. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful collection of Berlioz, August 14, 2000

By	"geigespieler" (Havana, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This incredible six CD set features all of Hector Berlioz's purely orchestral music conducted by the great Sir Colin Davis, widely regarded as one of the greatest living Berlioz interpreters. In addition to favorites such as Symphonie fantastique, Harold en Italie and Romeo et Juliette, the set also includes the lesser known Lelio and several other works. The works were recorded between 1965 and 1980, and the sound is wonderful and rich. His interpretations are also lively and full of energy, especially in the overtures.

The Romeo et Juliette included in this set is my favorite of all the recordings of it that I've heard, although I haven't yet heard Sir Colin's more recent recording with the Vienna Philharmonic. The recording of Lelio is also well done. Jose Carreras and Thomas Allen are the featured singers in Lelio's song movements, and the fantasy on Shakespeare's Tempest at the end of the work is fascinating indeed. If you've only heard Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and want to hear more of his works, or are looking for a nice collection of classic Berlioz recordings, then take a good look at this set.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb set, well worth the price!, August 15, 2002

By	madamemusico "madamemusico" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

For those of us who grew up in the 1950s and '60s, the music of Berlioz means Munch and Toscanini: Munch for his incendiary performances of "Symphonie Fantastique," "Romeo et Juliette," "Damnation of Faust," the Requiem and the overtures (among others), Toscanini primarily for his gorgeous reading of "Harold in Italy" but also for his versions of the Roman Carnival Overture and (for those who could find it) the "Romeo" with Gladys Swarthout. These readings had one thing going for them, which was a rhythmic impetus that made even the slow movements exciting. Unfortunately, for those of us who read scores, when we checked these versions against the music we found that Toscanini and Munch had fiddled a bit with tempi and bowing accents in an attempt to make the music more exciting. Is this so bad? Not necessarily, because these conductors had this music in their blood, they were presenting Berlioz as they had processed him over a lifetime of love, and so their fast tempi had little in common with the rattly, jangly readings often turned out by John Eliot Gardiner.

Sir Colin Davis was, and of this reading remains, the greatest Berlioz interpreter of the stereo/digital era. This is no mean feat when one realizes that he now has several competitors in the field, among them James Levine and Charles Dutoit, but in my view only the wonderful John Nelson (whose recordings of the Te Deum and "Nuits d'Ete" with Susan Graham are so wonderful) really comes close. And what makes Davis so great is that, like those legendary conductors of old, he really gets under the skin of Berlioz and makes him exciting while maintaining score tempi. Listen, for instance, to his "Symphonie Fantastique," still the benchmark modern recording after nearly 30 years. Davis also excels in his readings of the Overtures, music from "Les Troyens," and the Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale which grabs the listener and pulls him/her into its vortex of sound.

In the other two symphonies, "Harold in Italy" and "Romeo et Juliette," I sense a lapse of sorts: the slow music is conducted not necessarily too slowly, but with a certain Romantic mushiness bordering on easy listening. This, for me, robs the "Romeo alone" and "Scene d'amour" of its passion, though of course it is wonderful to hear the score in modern stereo instead of Munch's cramped mono, and for me Toscanini's second movement of "Harold," with its peculiar yet engaging walking gait, shall never be surpassed--and, unlike Munch, Toscanini somewhat transcended his mono sound because of the wonderful clarity and transparency of his orchestra. Nevertheless, if I were forced to I would live with this Davis set over my Munch and Toscanini recordings because of their overall warmth and excellent sound.

Other highlights include excerpts from "Lelio" sung superbly by pre-leukemia Jose Carreras (listen to him ascend fearlessly to those high notes--he hasn't done that in nearly a quarter-century!), dramatically astute singing by Patricia Kerns and John Shirley-Quirk in "Romeo," and marvelous interpretations of the Overtures (oh, and you can forget "Rob Roy"...Berlioz decided after one performance that he would never publish it or even bother revising it, hence it is not here). I do question the omission of the Requiem and Te Deum (after all, they ARE "orchestral works"), but with so many riches at such a low price, who cares? Liner notes are sparse, and this is a slimline box which means paper sleeves and no jewel boxes, but so what? For this much Berlioz, so beautifully sung and conducted, the composer himself would gladly have plunked down ...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-Recommending Set, April 2, 2009

By	Aronne - See all my reviews

Philips has gathered Sir Colin Davis's analogue recordings of Berlioz's works into one boxed set. Most often, Philips prefers Davis's earlier recording if more than one has been made for them over the years.

---The Five Symphonies: Symphonie fantasique, Op. 14; Lelio, Op. 14b; Grand Symphonie funèbre et triomphale, Op. 15; Herold in Italy, Op. 16; and Romeo and Juliet, Op. 17

Each symphony is played very well, particularly Herold and Romeo and Juliet. In R&J the sense of passion Berlioz instilled in his music comes over most persuasively. Lelio is given a convincing performance, despite its bizarre structure (it begins with a song for tenor accompanied by the piano and ends with a symphonic poem accompanied by the orchestra and a chorus).

---Seven Overtures (all are here except the unpublished Rob Roy, which is a conglomeration of Herold in Italy and other things): Béatrice et Bénédict; Benvenuto Cellini; Le roi Lear, Op. 4; Les Francs-juges, Op. 3; Waverley, Op. 1; Le corsaire, Op. 21; Carnaval romain, Op. 9. I can note no deficiencies in the overtures. The analogue sound is always sufficient.

---Orchestral excerpts from Les Troyens: Prelude to Act 3, No. 29 Chasse royale et orage - Pantomime, No. 32 Marche pour l'entrée de la reine, No. 33 Ballets. These excerpts are enjoyable Berlioz show-pieces, particularly the Royal Chase and Storm, which here performed with the chorus, as is so vital in this piece. The performance may not be as electric as Beecham's (Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique), but it is still very admirable.

---Other Works: Rêverie et Caprice, Op. 8; Marche Funèbre pour la dernière scène d'Hamlet, No. 3 of Tristia, Op. 18; Marche hongroise & Menuet des follets, both from La Damnation de Faust, Op. 24. Though the Funeral March for Hamlet is taken a bit *too* slowly, the drama is still there. The other works are finely played.

Overall, Sir Colin Davis has done the world quite the favor in becoming such an advocate of Berlioz's music. His natural feel for the medium is very pleasant; this recording cannot be but commended. The Penguin Guide was right when it noted that "This bargain-priced collection of Sir Colin Davis's Berlioz recordings is self-recommending."