Re: Ozawa Bartok on Philips
- From: jrsnfld@xxxxxxx
- Date: 29 Nov 2005 22:43:41 -0800
bpnjensen wrote:
> Allen wrote:
>
> >bpnjensen wrote:
> >> Morning all - just got a CD of Ozawa and BSO playing Bartok's Concerto
> >> for Orchestra and Miraculous Mandarin on Philips. Any thoughts on this
> >> recording? I'm pretty unfamiliar with Bartok in general, and while it
> >> sounds "OK" on first listen, I'm not sure what to compare it with...
>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Bruce Jensen
>
> I had Ozawa/BSO doing Mandarin on a Philips LP and let it slip through
> my fingers. As it was perhaps my favorite Mandarin, I can't explain why
>
> I let it go, and I missed its first CD release. Is this a new CD that
> you have, or a used one? If new, I would be grateful for its number and
>
> also the source from which you acquired it, as I haven't been able to
> find a listing for it. This is not necessarily a specific
> recommendation
> to you for this performance, as Ozawa affects different people in very
> different ways.<
>
> Allen - the URL below is an Amazon link; it is the recording on CD from
> 1995 - it lists as Polygram, but the copy I have is under the Philips
> label (I know, same thing). The Concerto performance is live.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/aq2d2
>
> I got it used and old (but playable) at a local record store here in
> the SF Bay Area. My local library also has a copy. The second-hand
> sellers on the URL want $35 for their used copies (!) so somebody
> thinks it's fairly valuable.
Somebody is nuts--either the seller or the person who buys it at that
price. But you did well to get it. I did as well--bought it used at
Amoeba about two years ago and have maybe seen it used only two other
times in about 10 years.
Like the earlier DG performance, Ozawa's Mandarin has wide dynamic
range and I suppose I could go for a little more "body" to the
orchestral sound in the quiet passages--you really do benefit from
cranking this up--but it is an excellent performance and clear,
delineated sound. This is the kind of piece that makes you appreciate
the color of the orchestra and its ample virtuosity.
The Concerto is also terrific, but keep in mind that the great reason
to have this Ozawa performance is that he uses the original ending of
the Bartok, not the more common revision that Bartok made after the
premiere. I wonder if they actually used the same parts the BSO had for
the premiere under Koussevitzky.
This could not really be a first choice Concerto for Orchestra, because
of the ending. On the other hand, it could be the best second choice
out there.
--Jeff
.
- References:
- Ozawa Bartok on Philips
- From: bpnjensen
- Re: Ozawa Bartok on Philips
- From: Allen
- Re: Ozawa Bartok on Philips
- From: bpnjensen
- Ozawa Bartok on Philips
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