José Serebrier, Eugene Ormandy - Charles Ives: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 2 (1999)
José Serebrier, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, The Philadelphia Orchestra - Charles Ives: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 2 (1999)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 400 Mb | Total time: 74:16 | Scans included
Classical | Label: BMG Classics | # 09026-63316-2 | Recorded: 1973, 1974
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 400 Mb | Total time: 74:16 | Scans included
Classical | Label: BMG Classics | # 09026-63316-2 | Recorded: 1973, 1974
While Eugene Ormandy's fame derived largely from his recordings of short, popular pieces, I feel that his strengths lay somewhere else. Case in point: this recording of Ives' Second Symphony, which Ormandy recorded in 1973, strikes me as the work's finest hour on disc, even better than either of the much acclaimed Bernstein versions. Ormandy is totally self-effacing in this score, unlike Bernstein who never lets you forget his (admittedly significant) showmanship. Oddly enough, the Hungarian-born conductor makes Ives' Second sound more American than Bernstein, the quintessential New Yorker, does. Ormandy invests the quotations and near-quotations with an easy grace and a natural flow. Bernstein's emphatic "selling" of the score is absent here. Would Ives have liked it? The story goes that he found Bernstein's performances from the 1950s "too slow." In the second and fifth movements, Ormandy is even slower, although he is somewhat faster in the third movement. What matters is that all of his tempo decisions work, thanks to the affectionate playing of the Philadelphians. I was not prepared to like this recording as much as I now do. Anyone who finds Ives merely noisy will reconsider after hearing Ormandy, who seems to have a genial smile on his face from the first note to the last.
In the 1960s, José Serebrier assisted Leopold Stokowski in making the landmark Columbia recording of Ives' Fourth Symphony. Although Stokowski's recording is a classic, Serebrier's own recording of the Fourth is fully competitive, and in some ways even preferable. Serebrier took infinite pains to prepare the London Philharmonic for the sessions, which were made under trying conditions. He also painstakingly corrected errors and "improvements" that had crept into the orchestral parts over the years. As it is, in a score as complex as this one, any two performances or recordings are bound to be wildly dissimilar. At times, Serebrier's recording will convince you that you are listening to a completely different symphony than the one that Stokowski recorded! The old maestro's version is full of approximations; Serebrier's has the benefit of dozens of hours of rehearsal and recording time. Serebrier also makes more of Ives' dynamic indications and polyrhythmic flights of fancy. Nevertheless, the symphony sounds spontaneous – quite an achievement. The musicians don't always play "nice," particularly in the second movement, and this also is an improvement over Stokowski's version, where his orchestra must be happy just to play the right notes at about the right time! (Interpretation be damned!)
As with earlier High Performance issues, the quality of the recording is revelatory. The dynamic range is wide, and the instruments sound warm and detailed. The only minor disappointment is a hint of distortion in the choral passages in the Fourth's first movement. This problem soon disappears, and nothing else interferes with enjoying these extremely fine versions of Ives' idiosyncratic symphonic masterpieces.–Raymond Tuttle
Performer:
John Alldis Choir (1, 4)
London Philharmonic Orchestra (1-4)
José Serebrier, conductor (1-4)
The Philadelphia Orchestra (5-9)
Eugene Ormandy, conductor (5-9)
Tracklist:
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Symphony No. 4
01. Prelude: Maestoso
02. Allegretto
03. Fugue: Andante moderato
04. Largo maestoso
Symphony No. 2
05. Andante moderato
06. Allegro
07. Adagio cantabile
08. Lento maestoso
09. Allegro molto vivace
Exact Audio Copy V1.6 from 23. October 2020
EAC extraction logfile from 6. February 2023, 15:38
Ives - Serebrier - Ormandy / Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4
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==== Log checksum FA27CA2BED89C9EAAB292367C7F2E3A70BCDF546C04DDF2115B7664826925E63 ====
José Serebrier, Eugene Ormandy - Charles Ives: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 2 (1999)
Thanks to the original releaser