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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)
- RE: Berlioz Symphonie fantastique with Janowski/Pittsburgh (just a short post) - Tom 13:29:30 02/23/21 (13)
- Yes - you're right! Especially on the third note of the theme - Chris from Lafayette 09:42:05 02/24/21 (12)
- Interesting comment about Berlioz counterpoint. I've enjoyed Berlioz for decades but haven't delved that deep - jdaniel@jps.net 16:07:59 02/24/21 (8)
- There's a fair amount of counterpoint in Berlioz music - Chris from Lafayette 19:17:15 02/24/21 (7)
- Sounds like a perfect time to begin exploration of the Berlioz Operas. I don't know any. - jdaniel@jps.net 08:04:56 02/25/21 (6)
- Berlioz Operas - Kal Rubinson 13:27:25 02/27/21 (4)
- I have a good selection of Berlioz opera on LP - oldvinyl 13:41:07 02/28/21 (0)
- RE: Berlioz Operas - Chris from Lafayette 16:26:06 02/27/21 (2)
- I really enjoyed Davis' first B & B on Lp. - jdaniel@jps.net 17:06:19 02/27/21 (1)
- You are indeed! [nt] ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 01:45:29 02/28/21 (0)
- I've seen a couple of them live - Chris from Lafayette 11:16:13 02/25/21 (0)
- Those four sub-sections..... - Tom 11:33:55 02/24/21 (2)
- So I dug out my "Norton Critical Scores" version of the score. . . - Chris from Lafayette 18:23:09 02/24/21 (1)
- Impressive nonetheless. Thanks! nt - Tom 09:24:44 02/25/21 (0)
- RE: Berlioz Symphonie fantastique with Janowski/Pittsburgh (just a short post) - pbarach 04:47:11 02/22/21 (3)
- I just listened to Janowski's Brahms Fourth (with the PSO) a couple of days ago - Chris from Lafayette 13:32:34 02/22/21 (2)
- RE: I just listened to Janowski's Brahms Fourth (with the PSO) a couple of days ago - pbarach 13:41:33 02/22/21 (1)
- I even heard some of that Beethoven set too! - Chris from Lafayette 13:55:56 02/22/21 (0)