In Reply to: Well. . . since your link didn't work (for me anyway). . . posted by Chris from Lafayette on July 23, 2015 at 00:08:00:
"Don't get me wrong, I like Cleveland too, but, for me, Cleveland never has had, for instance, the tonal allure of some other great orchestras - and I have plenty of Dohnanyi/Cleveland recordings."
I think until recently, Cleveland has been victimized by some awful recordings. Save for the Telarc/Soundstream recordings late in Lorin Maazel's tenure. The Szell Bartok "Concerto for Orchestra" was one of only few recordings of the Cleveland Orchestra that I thought was at least decent. Yet Szell totally butchered (literally) the ending of the piece. The best of the rest was maybe the Lorin Maazel recording Rimsky Korsakov's "Scheherazade" (link). But you still need tubes to fully appreciate the recording. (I think this is the best "Scheherazade" to make recording.)
I only say this because in my opinion, the Cleveland Orchestra between 1965 and 1985 had the greatest sound (or "tone") I've ever experienced in a symphony orchestra. A sound that stood out where I'd be able to pick this orchestra out from a bunch of performances. (I can maybe do this with Solti/Chicago too, due to the overpowering brass.) A sound that can even be listened through bad recordings.
The "Cleveland Sound" is present in spades with the "Scheherazade" recording.... Although a lot is lost relative to the vinyl.
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Follow Ups
- RE: Well. . . since your link didn't work (for me anyway). . . - Todd Krieger 19:17:54 07/23/15 (0)