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As I contemplated the purchase of a 10th audiophile repress of Reiner's Mussorgsky, along comes Ansermet's, which turns out to be--in some ways-- a far better recording and performance.The first thing you'll notice about the Ansermet is the palpable sense of hall space. The Brass chorales at the outset are allowed to expand and breathe, and so it goes throughout. Decca always seemed to get great results in Geneva Hall.
Secondly, there's a sense of sadness and grief permeating the Ansermet (Mussy's friend passed early, after all), which is lacking in Reiner's performance. Ansermet's Suisse Romande players are more imaginative as well. The eloquent playing of the Romande's Saxophonist deserves special mention: he actually makes the instrument sound beautiful. : )
Both performances are adequately grand in the Great Gate--with Gong thrillingly present, though once again, Ansermet remembers to add a solemn touch to the grandeur, (pipe organ makes a cameo appearance!), while Reiner's band veers dangerously close to slickness. I'm in awe of Chicago's brass, but not everything need be played in the style of "Joy to the World."
You can pick up the Ansermet as a Blueback, FFSS or FFRR, or as a Decca SPA. I prefer the SPA because Liszt's completely disposable Battle of the Huns is mercifully dropped, (Sorry Teresa, if you're still around), and replaced with Prokofiev's Lt Kije, conducted by "an elderly British man, sent to France to conduct Russian music."IIRC, an amused and incredulous man by the name of Adrian Boult made the comment above, but no worries, his Lt Kije with the Paris Conservatory Orchestra couldn't be more brazen, brash or lively. It's very early Decca stereo, from '55, and once again, a comparison must be made with a US audiophile favorite: Reiner's:
Hands down, the Boult on Decca is a stunner. What vividness and clarity! Just listen to the groaning solo Cello in mov't 2. Front to back soundstaging is incredible as well. One can easily imagine a percussionist shaking sleigh bells about 15 ft back from his speakers. I was so impressed and surprised that I listened to the B side twice. Not to get overly-excited though: there's a touch of hiss and rawness throughout, and no Telarc-sized bass drum is to be found, though its recorded presence varies from mov't to mov't.
Edits: 10/21/14 10/21/14 10/22/14 10/22/14Follow Ups:
I'm sure that Ansermet Decca recording probably sounds fantastic; I am not familiar with it. However, I would find it VERY difficult to believe that the orchestral performance was better. Chicago under Reiner was one of the finest orchestras of the 20th century - the Suisse Romande, not so much. They are only very well known today because of all those recordings Ansermet made, and while some are good, the playing on many of them is atrocious, especially by modern standards, but also compared to many orchestras of the time period.
I also must correct a previous poster - there are no Wagner tuben in the score of Pictures, in any orchestration I am aware of, not just the Ravel, and I have performed all of the famous ones....
There is a rightness to everything Reiner has recorded (or at least, everything that I have heard) that I find very compelling.
Dave
Well, strictly speaking, that is correct. But the OSR is a great example of how the whole can sometimes be greater than the sum of the parts. Their characteristic dry, astringent sound worked well in certain music.
OTOH, I understand the criticism below of their Beethoven 9th. You want heroic, muscular ale pouring forth from a mighty German pewter stein, not warm tea from a delicate Swiss bone china cup.
Us Trombones have to listen with envy when the "C" Tuba-French Tuba-Wagner Tuba- Tuba Mirum (that's a really incorrect moniker) play that gorgeous Bydlo solo. What did you use?
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Hi amioutaline - again, I have never heard of a Wagner tuba ever being used for "Bydlo," and I am a horn player with experience on the instruments (horn players are always the ones who play Wagner tuben, as they require horn mouthpieces). If the tuba player plays it (which they must, when auditioning for an orchestra), they use their F tuba. If they do not actually want to play it, or the conductor doesn't want them to, then normally someone from the trombone section, or perhaps the tuba player, plays it on the euphonium. In my orchestra, the second trombone player plays it on a euphonium. I have actually always thought it would be kind of cool to do it on a Wagner tuba, but I have never heard of this actually happening anywhere. Another famous euphonium solo that I would love to try on a Wagner tuba would be the opening solo in the Mahler 7th symphony (ambiguously scored for "tenor tuba", and there are still raging debates on what instrument he actually had in mind).
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Reiner was a great conductor, but my reaction when I heard the SACD of his Pictures was that it was a little stiff (same with his Scheherazade, which is certainly not the consensus). My experience with Ansermet has been varied - some brilliant and unexpectedly so recordings, like his Sibelius 4th, and his Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, and obviously his Ravel, Debussy and Stravinsky, and yet I found his Beethoven 9th to be unlistenable - the less than virtuoso character of the orchestra is abundantly clear, and their playing is entirely unidiomatic, to boot....it sounds like a caricature of the 9th. But like always with these things, listen for yourself if you can.
But not as, shall we say, idiosyncratic as his reading of Tchaikovky's 6th.
But I love Ansermet and the OSR. The players do make mistakes, hit the sour note or two but I always liked that. Guess it's why I despise Auto-Tune.
___
The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
Edits: 10/22/14
When I was a little 'un listening to classical radio, I thought it almost comical that seemingly every orchestral selection was an Ansermet/OSR record. Lucky for him, his long career extended into the stereo era, and he enthusiastically rerecorded much of the standard repertoire in stereo in his final years, assuring he would NOT be forgotten or underrated. That excellent hall in Geneva didn't hurt, as you say. A fine Pictures and many other things, no question. But contrast Ansermet with the much younger Eduard van Beinum, who died in 1959 and recorded very little in stereo. It is van Beinum who is scandalously underrated, imo.What is underrated by Ansermet imo is his mono material, maybe I'll put some of that on tonight, thanks for reminding me!
Edits: 10/21/14
Get a copy while you can....
"We are all in God's hands... and God is a malign thug."
-Mark Twain
The best part of the score!
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might have a copy of that record from the Stereo Treasury Series, but I've never played it. Had it for years, too, but still unplayed. For shame.
Was lucky enough to find all four Brahms symphonies by Ansermet and OSR last trip to the record store.
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The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
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