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It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

RE: OK...

“so we should search for recordings by:
NHK with Dutoit and Ashkenazy”

You’d have to search the Japanese sites...... NHK recordings are not readily available.......

Anything after the year 2000 would be a good bet, if you can sample the music, and be sure the conductors’ interpretations are to your liking. I generally dig into videos, not just YouTube, but the Japanese video sites as well. (This orchestra was not nearly as good prior to 1995. A lot of performances from before 1995 on YouTube..... Including another Brahms Three, linked below. I really don’t know how this orchestra somehow raised its standards to ionospheric levels, aside from maybe Dutoit having an influence. But he was never full time there like he was with Montreal. Montreal has fallen greatly since his departure.)

There is a great performance of Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Vlad Ashkenazy on YT...... IMO maybe the most underrated conductor, ever. This performance shows off the chops of the NHK.

The problem with NHK with the video sites is their copyright policies are so strict, these performances are gone before we know it. I’d recommend downloading for your personal use, and for your personal use only.

I was fortunate to download the Mahler Five with Semyon Byckhov, which was a performance for the ages. But I missed out on a whole lot, including maybe the best Rach 2 I’ve experienced outside of the Cleveland/Shipway performance. (The Andre Previn performance, which is still accessible, is too “lethargic” for my tastes.)

“NDR with Wand and Dohnanyi (whom you often criticize) and now w the new Dirigent “

Dohnanyi has always done very well with the Brahms Symphonies, and is good with Bruckner..... I do have concerns with the new conductor, Thomas Hengelbrock, however...... I don’t care much for his style- Too “Dudamel-ish” for my tastes...... But the jury will be out.

Gunter Wand was one of the all-time greats, I like his Bruckner too. People tell me his Schumann is top drawer. But I think the NDR wasn’t as good at the time.

“Philly (are the management and other problems resolving?) w Dutoit”

I’m aware of the fiscal crisis with this orchestra...... I just think it has the best playing of the American orchestras, as of right now. I like the winds better than Cleveland, and the brass better than Chicago. Cleveland might have an edge in intonation in the strings, but Philly has an edge with virtuosic cohesiveness. Boston also seems to have improved in recent time.

“Berlin Phil w ? Rattle? Abbado?”

Rattle is kind of like Lorin Maazel when he directed Cleveland........ The orchestra’s standards seem to surface when guest conductors conduct it. I’d recommend the “Digital Concert Hall” subscriptions, if you can swing the funds.

Prior to experiencing NHK’s Hiroaki Kanda, who I’d put in the Marcellus/Lifschey/Mack echelon of wind players, I thought Berlin’s Emmanual Parud was the premiere orchestral flutist.

Abbado was a great combination with Berlin. His Mahler was dynamite. (He was my fave with Chicago as well.)

“Amsterdam w Jansons”

I’m not a big Jansons fan...... (His performances often come off as “stiff” to me.) Like NHK, the RCO seems to be “conductor proof”..... My only concern with the Concertgebouw is it doesn’t quite have the chops of the other bands, but its cohesiveness is unbreakable. This is a great orchestra for Schumann or Brahms.

I liked this orchestra when Bernard Haitink conducted it..........

In contrast to some other bands, I’d say Concertgebouw has been the most consistent over the decades....... Whether it’s the 1960s, 1990s, or today, a good choice.

“Where is Bavarian Rundfunk?”

Not familiar........

“VPO?”

Kind of felt funny leaving this band off the list, but............

Like NHK, the VPO rotates a lot of musicians from performance to performance. The problem is unlike NHK, its “B” and “C” players are a big dropoff relative to its “A” players. A primary reason why I didn’t put this orchestra in my top five. But definitely top ten. String intonation and trumpets were never strong points with this band. But the winds seems stronger than I recall in the past. Its cohesiveness is the strong point. Maybe the best in that regard.

“What will Chicago do w Muti? I love much of Muti's work.”

If Chicago can improve under Muti like Philly did, this orchestra might eventually crack my top five....... I always had the impression this orchestra had great players, but never play well together. Kind of Concertgebouw or VPO in reverse, if you will. (The NYPO has had the problem even worse.) I never liked the playing style of the winds and brass, however. So I might have a bias against this orchestra. (They just play the notes instead of “phrase”.) Someone recently joked with me, after attending a CSO concert, that its trombone section invented “loudness wars”......... The strings IMO have also been a weakness post-Reiner.

“Or Boston w Levine before he got too sick?”

Oh, no, he’s sick?? I mentioned Boston above...... I thought it was now the second best band in America. (I’d put Cleveland at third.)

How is NY w Gilbert (was w Cleveland and NDR in past)?

I like Gilbert....... The NYPO always had top players, but are more individual soloists than team players. It will be interesting if Gilbert can provide a long term solution. This orchestra needs a MD to have a long tenure, and maybe mend its flaws. I do think the acoustics at Avery Fischer Hall have held this band back.



Edits: 06/21/12 06/21/12

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