|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
67.161.34.228
A few days ago we had a thread about Brahms, and the idea of acquiring Rattle's D2D set vs. perhaps some classic performances, and I went in for the classic performances, indicating that I was interested in the van Beinum stereo Concertgebouw 1st. Bought the Epic "Stereorama", and I am glad I did, although I wouldn't mind finding a good Philips set.
Anyway, van Beinum's interpretation is very interesting (and great string playing, by the way). The sonic perspective is a little more distant than I would like - the front of the balcony, when I prefer to be in the 12th row - but still very clear.
What makes his performance interesting is that he is clearly a conductor that leans towards the "objective" side of things, yet there are plenty of places where I believe he diverges from the score - ritards in transitional passages, and an acceleration of tempo in the finale, as examples - yet nothing seems like he is hammering home "his" Brahms = Brahms still comes across as Brahms.
What a loss his death was - he was in his late 50s. Had he been given another 12 years to the biblical 70 we would have had many fine performances in stereo.
I have the Philips mono set "the Art of van Beinum" which has many fine performances in it, although I miss the stereo perspective. Anyone have other recordings of van Beinum they treasure?
Follow Ups:
....no Brahms, but a lot of fine performances. This set can be picked up very cheaply, and is highly recommended.
I had a double LP set (a box, not a gate-fold) of the van Beinum performances of the Brahms 1st and 4th Symphonies, which, IIRC, I picked up at a local Walgreen's drug store (!) which was selling cut-outs. (This would have been in 1966 or 1967.) At that time, I was very happy with this album from both the performance and the engineering points of view. Even earlier, I used to have van Beinum's album of the Brahms Haydn Variations and the Two Overtures (also picked up as a cut-out - maybe at J. C. Penney's). Van Beinum's performances of these three works on this album were my imprint versions of these works.
Actually, I think I had the mono versions, rather than the stereo versions shown here (courtesy of google images). I also had van Beinum's collaboration with Grumiaux in the Beethoven Violin Concerto - another recording I picked up as a cut-out and which I thought was excellent at the time. I really liked all of these recordings.
I have the Beethoven violin concerto with Grumiaux/Galliera, which was the stereo remake - I believe that van Beinum has died before then. The version with van Beinum was said to be quite different. And it would be VERY interesting to hear more of his Brahms. From what I can see, the 4th was done in stereo, but the 2nd and 3rd are mono only. I think the Academic Festival Overture, et al, was also in stereo.
The acoustics in Medinah Temple are outstanding on the London Boxed set.
Opus 33 1/3
I must have gotten this at a thrift store for a buck or less.
But after a good cleaning this turned out to be well balanced and spacious recording with an above average instrument separation and atmospheric air. Performance wise, it is fast and lyrical the whole orchestra dancing on their toes. One of the most sophisticated Nutcracker I have heard and surprisingly sounding fresh. Excellent focus on micro-dynamics and details of each instrument making the tune easy to follow and more involving than many wall paper saccharine sweet rendition of this familiar score. In regards to tempo this is my ideal. Playful but there is a sense of magic, too. Van Beinum makes sure each tune sets strong moods and colour like walking around at the World's Fair visiting different pavilions. A great build to the finale. Van Beinum's reading gave me a second lease in this over played score for me.
I am also partial to his Bruckner's 9th. ( this was my first listen ) This is a very natural sounding mono recording.
Another of my fave is his Britton's Four Sea Interludes from Peter
Grimes. It has the more colours and liveliness than Britten or Gilulini sets.
Not certain of the vintage, but this is a decent digital clean up job from the 50s
recording. Immediate and natural sounding with minimum amount of digital artifacts.
It is a pity he passed so young. I feel that he was a worthy successor to Mengelberg and makes me wonder what he could have done if he lived a little longer.
.
because the inner sleeve of the Epic features Andy Warhol artwork, which drives the price of the Epic up higher than the Philips, which is probably a little better.
.
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: