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Berlioz Symphonie fantastique with Janowski/Pittsburgh (just a short post)

I was pleasantly surprised by one of my latest Pentatone SACD's to arrive, the Berlioz Sf and King Lear Overture with Janowski and the Pittsburgh SO from 2010. It's got a lot more life in it than many other recent recordings of the Sf I've heard and in fact compares well with such classics as Paray and Munch IMHO. Lots of arresting accentuation in this in-concert performance, and the Soundmirror engineering keeps the instrumental placement very consistent, with an impressive deep bass which nevertheless remains extremely clear. (I'm not always a fan of Soundmirror's efforts, but this one seems great.) A couple of posters on Amazon hear this performance as somewhat mellow, but I don't hear it that way at all - there's a lot of audible detail in the performance which, nevertheless, does not sound unnaturally pushed forward by the conductor (or by the engineers - who, I suspect, used lots of microphones, as is so common in "live" recordings these days!). In addition, Janowski's performance of the "King Lear" Overture is the best I've ever heard of that work bar none - incredibly clear textures and nuanced phrasing are combined with the sometimes revelatory balances of a conductor who also seems to know how to impart, when necessary, the feverish energy which Berlioz' music needs! I also looked up Dave's review on Classics Today, and, what do you know - we agree on this recording (10/10). ;-)



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Topic - Berlioz Symphonie fantastique with Janowski/Pittsburgh (just a short post) - Chris from Lafayette 10:43:22 02/21/21 (18)

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