Great Recordings Of The Century - Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Borodin: Polovtsian Dances / Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Alexander Borodin (Composer), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Composer), Thomas Beecham (Conductor), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Steven Staryk (Performer), Sir Thomas Beecham (Artist)

Product Details

• Performer: Steven Staryk
• Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Thomas Beecham
• Composer: Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• Audio CD (May 4, 1999)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00000IOBM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #115,013 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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• This item is part of The Great Recordings of the Century Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great performance, not-so-ideal recording technique., August 24, 2003

By	JPH "jph_835" (Fremantle) - See all my reviews

Sir Thomas Beecham's recording was my first Scheherazade CD. In many ways it remains an outstanding performance of Rimsky's beloved masterpiece. There is a pleasing suppleness to the musical phrasing, an irresistible propulsion from start to finish, and much attention to detail. Having had access to the CD section of a music library, I have hear many other Scheherazades and few, in my opinion, manage to even equal Beecham's reading. Mackerras' and Kondrashin's modern versions are its main rivals. Get all three of these if you can, each is indispensable in its own way.

With regards to the recording acoustics, there has been an on-going tendency of lovers of Beecham's disc to proclaim its superiority over Mackerras, Kondrashin's or any other modern digital version by citing Beecham's attention to detail. In actuality that has a lot to do with the primitive closely-miked recording techniques employed by 1950s EMI engineers. As a result you get to oooh-and-ahh when you hear the delicious close-up bowing of the cellos and violas in the quieter passages of the first movement. However, when the rest of the orchestra (especially the brass) start joining in, you then realize (horrors!) the congested acoustics of this recording. Be not mistaken, this is a finely-reburbished 1950s recording, but it cannot touch the naturally distanced/proportioned, spacious acoustics of digital discs like Mackerras'. Do not be fooled, like some professional critics have been, that the wealth of close-up instrumental details available in Beecham's CD means that his performance is superior to modern CDs. (This is how we get all of this perpetuated rubbish that ALL vintage 50s CDs can never be surpassed. Hmph.)

In summary, this vintage Scheherazade is one not to be without but ideally it should also not be the single version in your music collection. A finely recorded modern version of Scheherazade is also a must.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily charismatic, September 2, 2004

By	William Mealiffe (Richmond, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is basically the same as the one I wrote for an earlier CD
reissue of this fine recording. Now that it has been rereleased as a
Great Recording of the Century, it will get the attention it deserves.

Beecham's recording of Scheherazade has not been out of print ever since
it was first released in 1958. It is quite simply the best recording of
Rimsky-Korsakov's finest work. The sound quality of the recording is
excellent for its time, and the engineers for the CD have done a good
job. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plays fabulously well, and
Beecham brings out all of the mystery, sensuality and barbarism that
used to be associated with the Orient. The notes that come with the
recording describe it best: "extraordinarily charismatic". It is not an
exaggeration. No one does the violin solos better than concertmaster
Steven Staryk, and Jack Brymer's clarinet solos are also brillant.

As a bonus, this CD also has the best recording of Borodin's Polovtsian
Dances I have ever heard. Unlike most recordings of these dances,
excerpted from "Prince Igor", it includes the choral voices just as they
are in the opera (in English, rather than Russian, though).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ablaze with Color, November 1, 2002

By	"frussianophile" (in some arabian wind) - See all my reviews

Years and years ago I came across Beecham's wonderful recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's most famous piece while listening to NPR. The channel has since gone to talk format, but I still greatly enjoy this classic disc.

Scheherazade is given both space and atmosphere by Beecham and the RPO. The first time I heard it was while driving around on an autumn evening--the leaves the color of gold and flame. I cannot help but feel the same colorscape whenever I hear this piece now.

This disc is loaded with excellent, colorful, wondrous music. At mid-price, this is a "must-have."