Post by terence May 11, 2006 (31 of 35)
|
|
thank you fafnir. i ordered it, and will report my findings in due course. it's going to be an interesting listen.
|
|
|
Post by wehecht May 11, 2006 (32 of 35)
|
|
braver said:
I've lived in Philly for a long time and witnessed the rise of Eschenbach -- he has great synergy with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and commanding presence in concert. This disk is superb, and for me, the applause only enhances the feeling of being transported to the magnificent Kimmel Center.
As I commented earlier in this string, the sound of the disc is terrific, about as much like being in my usual seat in Verizon Hall as I expect to get in my listening room, and I agree that the applause tends to emphasize that feeling. I remain unconvinced about the performance, though it has grown on me with repeated listenings. To me Eschenbach remains very much a mixed bag. Some concerts are superb (presumably Ondine will release the Mahler 6th that I very much enjoyed, and that they recorded, though heaven knows we don't need another Mahler 6th with so much repertoire remaining unrecorded), some puzzling, others truly awful (the worst Brahms PC #2 in history, with Eschenbach's protege Tzimon Barto sight reading the piano part, badly, and then treating the audience to a recitation of an atrocious poem from the book he was selling in the lobby). The selections from the "Seasons" supplied as filler are a welcome change from the usual R&J and very nicely played by Eschenbach.
|
|
|
Post by seth May 11, 2006 (33 of 35)
|
|
wehecht said:
To me Eschenbach remains very much a mixed bag. Some concerts are superb (presumably Ondine will release the Mahler 6th that I very much enjoyed, and that they recorded, though heaven knows we don't need another Mahler 6th with so much repertoire remaining unrecorded), some puzzling, others truly awful (the worst Brahms PC #2 in history, with Eschenbach's protege Tzimon Barto sight reading the piano part, badly, and then treating the audience to a recitation of an atrocious poem from the book he was selling in the lobby). The selections from the "Seasons" supplied as filler are a welcome change from the usual R&J and very nicely played by Eschenbach.
I thought that the Mahler 6 was surprisingly straight forward for Eschenbach, but ultimately benefited from him just letting the Orchestra do their thing. The recent "Das Lied" was his best Mahler conducting since the Third Symphony, but the singers failed to deliver. I did not like his 1 & 5. The first movement of the 9th was horribly dragged out, his attempt to have both slow and fast tempos in the 2nd movement didn't work (Gielen, though, knows how to do this), but the 3rd and 4th movements were brilliantly done.
I was really surprised how good his Beethoven was (except for the 6th and 8th). I was expecting it to be highly micromanaged in a desperate attempt to say something new, but instead it's been creamy, transparent and pleasantly fast paced (a lot in common with Karajan's '62 cycle). Either his 3rd or 5th coupled with their electric performance of Salonen's "Insomnia" could have made a great disc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is in response to Daland's review. I only heard this once, at my dad's house on an entirely Magneplanar system(1.6QRs for L&R, CC-3 center and the little satellites that hang from the wall - they are only about 3ft long)
Well while I was wondering if I could ever listen to this recording and enjoy it. I place no fault with the sound I heard. It was the fool conductor whose erratic tempi choices just had me continually shaking my head. Maybe if I buy it and make myself listen to it ten times....maybe, just maybe I will appreciate what Maestro Eschenbach has done here. Seth seems to like it... I will conclude by saying that I thought the sound and the playing were quite wonderful
|
|
|
Post by Allen August 4, 2008 (35 of 35)
|
|
Bought it when it is on sale. But disappointed a little:
There is applause at the end of the symphony's last movement. I do not understand why certain people said there is no applause.
|
|
