Search - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky, Sergey Rachmaninov :: Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Artur Rodzinski

Resurrection of excellence!

Mary Jo Magar | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | 05/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" series is one of the best "deals" to be found in classical selection. All the recordings are amazingly remastered, and even where the sound quality is poor, there is the unmistakable quality of a past standard of excellence, both in orchestration and production, that is difficult to match today, despite so much technology. It is as though global fascination and reliance on technology has dehumanized much of cultural expression. In fact, a perfect metaphor for this entire series lies in Strauss' tone poem "Tod und Verklarung," so beautifully presented on this particular CD (Volume 31) of the great Artur Rodzinski: the "resurrection" of these rare recordings at least sweetens, however lamentably, the "death" of their times."

An underrated conductor gets some due

Robert T. Martin | 01/18/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rodzinski was an original who doesn't have a significant discography and certainly not one on a major label. The selections come from 1945 (the Rachmaninov Second Symphony) to the year of his death, 1958 (the Richard Strauss pieces) so the sound varies quite a bit but the transfers here are all pretty good even if they don't represent the highest sonic quality available for their time. The performances however are very good. The William Tell Overture is incredibly exciting, the Rachmaninov (in a cut performance considered perfectly acceptable for the time) is lean but intense and the Wagner excerpts are maybe too quick but are certainly individual and have considerable power. I can't say I would rate any of the performances first choices except perhaps the Russian Easter Overture which is pretty overwhelming and also has the best sound. I've always liked Rodzinski's work and this release is welcome. It appears to be available solely from third party sellers but is worth seeking particularly for people interested in exploring the amazing conducting talent working during the mid-20th century.



By the way several years ago EMI issued a two disc set of the maestro's recordings under their Artist Profile series. That set included the Russian Easter, Khovanschina Prelude, Dance of the Seven Veils and Death and Transfiguration which are included in the CD under review here. The Artist Profile discs did not include the Rachmaninov nor the Wagner. However, it did have outstanding performances of Falla's Ritual Fire Dance, excerpts from the Three Cornered Hat and orchestral arrangements of works by Granados and Albeniz. These are wonderful, highly atmospheric performances in gorgeous, wide ranging and weighty sound. Also included is a first rate Russlan and Ludmilla overture and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. This compilation is out of print. However, it is available from ArkivMusic.com They apparently have obtained license to burn the CD's from EMI. This set would rate an unequivocal 5 stars.

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