100 Symphonies

The crowning glory of this collection rests in Frans Brüggen’s marvelous set of the 12 “London” Symphonies. These, along with some of the lesser-known late works, such as Symphonies Nos. 86 and 90 (with its thrilling horn writing), alone justify purchase of this inexpensive 13-disc collection–but really it’s all pretty fine. One of the more anachronistic aspects of the “authentic-instrument” movement has been that works written to be performed without conductor at all (or in collaboration between concertmaster and players) receive the loving ministrations of “specialists” such as Brüggen (and Harnoncourt, for example) whose inclinations in terms of tempo manipulation and expressive phrasing could make a Stokowski blush. And so we find a finale of Symphony No. 88 that’s even slower than Karl Böhm’s, and when you come right down to it, it’s none the worse for the experience: it makes up in charm what it lacks in sheer energy.

Johannes Brahms: Symphonies No. 2 in D major, Op. 73, No. 3 in F major Op. 90, No. 4 in E minor Op. 98, Serenade No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra (Op. 73); István Kertėsz conductor
Classical | 2 CD | EAC Rip | 687 Mb | FLAC+LOG+M3u | No Cue | No scans | 8 RS links
Publisher: Decca

Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com
This was Istvan Kertesz' last major project. Early in the 1960s, he had conducted the Dvorřak symphonies with such authority that he recorded the complete cycle for London–an epoch-making set that's still highly recommended today. For those recordings Kertesz had the London Symphony Orchestra, but his best recordings were made in Vienna. His notorious dislike of rehearsals was bound to appeal to the equally relaxed and tradition-conscious Viennese, particularly when it came to music they knew well. The result is a real musical love-in, with the orchestra the star of the show and the performance some of the best Brahms that money can buy. –David Hurwitz

Charles Ives – Complete Symphonies offers fresh insights into the music of a radical thinker, creator of what Leonard Bernstein called “his own private musical revolution.” The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s performances of these works at Walt Disney Concert Hall, conducted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, received rave reviews. With their restless energy, myriad colors and textures, irresistible references to popular American melodies and impulsive changes of mood, these symphonies reveal the heart of “a man full of ideas [who] was trying to create something unique,” according to Dudamel. “When you see calm and contemplation, maybe in a moment it’s complete chaos. At the end, what Ives was doing was opening the door to the texture and the personality of music created in the United States. His symphonies are a great gift to the world.”

This double album, recorded in Vienna and in Riga in June 2015, includes all four of the chamber symphonies written in the last decade of Polish-born Soviet composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s life, plus a beautiful new arrangement – by Gidon Kremer and Kremerata percussionist Andrey Pushkarev – of the early Piano Quintet of 1944, heard here in a premiere recording. It is a recording which underlines the importance and originality of Weinberg’s music. For Gidon Kremer, “Weinberg has become a source of unlimited inspiration. No other composer has entered my own and Kremerata Baltica’s repertoire and program concepts with such intensity.” Weinberg’s chamber symphonies are Kremer says, “the most personal reflections of a great composer on his own life and his generation, like a diary of the most dramatic period of the 20th century.”

This 16-disc set contains what is without a doubt the most distinguished collection of Mahler performances ever to have been assembled in one place. DG has sensibly collected all of Bernstein's Mahler for Polygram labels, including the London "Das Lied von der Erde," and all of the orchestral song cycles: "Song of a Wayfarer," "Kindertotenlieder," "Rückert-Lieder," and "Des Knaben Wunderhorn." All of these recordings have been issued separately to general critical acclaim, and despite a veritable warehouse of new Mahler discs in the '90s, Bernstein's versions by and large still reign supreme.

Having heard the sixth symphony on a radio broadcast (albeit missing the second movement because of problems at the station), I decided to go out on a limb and buy the complete symphonies, being completely unfamiliar with Atterberg.
It was a decision I do not regret.

Yannick Nezet-Seguin & Chamber Orchestra of Europe - Schumann: The Symphonies (2014) [2CD] {Deutsche Grammophon}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 521 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 313 Mb
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© 2014 Deutsche Grammophon | 479 2437
Classical / Romantic / Symphony

As Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues to explore the Romantic symphonic repertoire, it becomes increasingly apparent that he has a strong affinity for German composers, something not readily guessed of this Canadian maestro. There might be an underlying connection between his recordings of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, for which he has received considerable attention and acclaim, and this 2014 Deutsche Grammophon album of the four symphonies of Robert Schumann, which shows Nézet-Séguin as a strong advocate for this somewhat discounted symphonist.