Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/20/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sir Thomas Beecham may have been an Englishman, but you'd never know it from this recording. After listening to his glorious 1959 account Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," you'd swear he was French. Beecham's golden-age stereo recording with the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise makes a welcome return to compact disc with this reissue, and its inclusion in the "Great Recordings of the Century" series is thoroughly justified. I have many celebrated recordings of Berlioz's great work, including those by Munch, Ormandy, Bernstein, Cluytens, Argenta, and Paray among others, and Beecham's beats them all in capturing the French spirit of this timeless piece. Toss in memorable performances of the "Le Corsaire" Overture (1958), and the Trojan March and Royal Hunt & Storm from "Les Troyens" (1959 & '57 respectively), and you have an essential disc."
Penguin Guide 3 star, Key, Rosette recording
Fred Von Lohmann | San Francisco, CA United States | 07/06/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"According to Penguin's 2005/6 guide, this recording of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique "still enjoys classic status and remains unsurpassed." 3 out of 3 stars, a "key" recording, and Rosette (all the highest accolades Penguin offers to recordings)."
Amazing Performance Restored Very Well Indeed
Aronne | 02/20/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This classic Beecham performance is given a rosette in the Penguin Guide for a very good reason. The performance is thrilling. Beecham never lets the tension drop, making this Symphonie fantastique better than any other I've heard.
It would not be so fine except that EMI did a fabulous job restoring the 1957 recording. Though the recording occasionally shows its age, it is generally in the best sense: this is a robust analogue recording.
The fillers are all as fabulous as the main item, welcome make-weights to this essential Berlioz album. The March from Les Troyens is a rousing arrangement of the work that generally is sung by chorus with Cassandra going on about the destruction of Troy in the foreground. This version is wonderful too (though it can't compare with the original - WOW). The Royal Hunt and Storm is performed with choir (and very well too). Other performances of this work invite comparison to this recording - and rarely is it favorable.
Anyone with a love for Berlioz's music should have at least heard this CD!"
Stylish and very French-sounding, but the recording is thin
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 07/13/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes classics have to be seen with clear eyes. The French radio orchestra that Beecham conducted in 1959 has a delightful Gallic sound, with its saxophone-like horns and spikey woodwinds, but the ensemble can be slapdash, and EMI's recording, which was always rather thin and shrill, can only be improved so far and no farther. Dozens of recordings have emerged in the last four decades that surpass this one for execution and sonics. What, then, about Beecham's part?
Beecham adored Berlioz and brought to his music a special exuberance and freshness that are hard to dduplicate. On stylistic grounds alone, this CD deserves five stars--there's an impulsiveness about it at times that's unique. Beecham came from an age which admired conducting that freely expressed itself, even wehn drastic liberties were taken with the score. For example, Beecham starts "Un Bal" at a steady loud dynamic, leaving little room for building to a climax. In general he's not interested in nuanced shading; his style is a frontal assault, but with many smiles along the way. He's also more interested in the melodic line than in inner detail.
The March to the Scaffold is a high point--Beecham makes the music genuinely grim, with sudden, scary interjections from the brass. Here he's actually aided by the over-bright recording, which makes sforzando attacks more startling. In the same way, the somewhat raw, coarse playing of the orchestra helps make the Witches' Sabbath more grotesque. We're back to Beecham's own Royal Phil. for the Corsaire Over. and Les Troyens excerpts. These likewise display his unbounded energy and affection for the music.
Many listeners (even some not under the sway of British critics) have found a special magic in this recording, one of the must-listens in the Berlioz discography."