Search - Anton Bruckner, Alexander Glazunov, Franz Joseph Haydn :: Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Evgeny Mravinsky

Not essential Mravinsky

Marc Haegeman | Gent, Belgium | 10/05/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I can definitely agree with the previous reviewer Mr. Richman about the value of the ambitious "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" series in general. However, this issue dedicated to the immense Russian conductor Evgeny Mravinsky is far from being an essential one. Mravinsky's genius has been well documented in the past with CDs from the labels Melodiya, Deutsche Grammophon, Erato, Russian Disc and Philips. This double CD doesn't add anything much and if it wasn't for a thrilling "Francesca da Rimini" and an excellent Glazunov's 5th (both already available on Erato and Russian Disc), this could well be a selection of curiosities for diehard Mravinsky aficionados. The Haydn 88 is too tight for its own good, while the Bruckner 7th doesn't really confirm the conductor as one of the great Brucknerians of the previous century. (Other recordings of the Bruckner 8th and 9th by Melodiya have been more revelatory in this respect.) The opening "Don Giovanni" Overture sounds best of all by its awesome precision.
This being live recordings from the 1960s in Russia the sound quality is nowhere anything to write home about. The 1983 "Francesca" is generally better.
In view of the existing catalogue, not really an essential Mravinsky issue."

Superb, Warts and All

Nicholas T. Follansbee | 07/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"During the year or so that I've owned my set, this collection of Mravinsky-led live performances has been one I've listened to frequently and with the greatest pleasure, this despite its decidedly monophonic sound, very occasionally punctuated by a cough from the otherwise unobtrusive audience.



The second of the two CDs has a hairraising performance of Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini which actually convinces me it is not the schlock it usually comes off as in other performances. There is also the wonderful Glazounov 5th Symphony in what I believe is the most satisfying (certainly the most tasteful) performance currently available (I'm hoping the Fedoseyev someday makes it to CD). Anyone not acquainted with this symphony is in for a marvelous treat. I can't understand its relative neglect. As for the Haydn 88th (first selection on CD-2)it is fine, but honestly not my first choice for this splendid piece.



But it is the first CD that I find most extraordinary. The Mozart Don Giovanni Overture is thrillingly performed. It is followed by the Bruckner 7th. Here I must sharply differ with another reviewer's opinion. For me, this is the greatest Bruckner 7th on record - finer even than the Furtwangler, Walter and Jochum recordings. It isn't perfect; there's a horrendous out-of-tune horn entry just past the middle of the 1st movement that will shock even the most tone-deaf. Yes, things can go wrong in a live performance even when its the Leningrad Phil. But otherwise, this is a wonderfully clear, superbly balanced performance where every voice is heard. The phrasing is deeply felt and completely musical. The concentration never flags, and the overall conception is ideal. The brisk tempo of the last movement may come as a surprise, but it works. The 2nd movement (Adagio) is heartbreakingly beautiful and by itself more than many times worth the modest price of this set."

The first great Soviet conductor to come West--and a titan

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"During the mid-Fifties thaw in the Cold War under Krushchev, the Soviet musicians who made the greatest impact in the West were Oistrakh, Richter, and Gilels. But there were also legends of a great orchestra and conductor, Evgeny Mravinsky and his Leningrad Phil. who had been hidden behind the Iron Curtian for decades. They didn't get too far West, just a few visits that floored London audiences. Here was an unknown titan of the podium. By the time Mravinsky died in 1988, his discography had expanded from a few celebrated Tchaikovsky recordings on DG to several dozen recordings that cover his entire career on LP from the end of WW II onward.



I mention this because buyers of the present 2-CD set are either in for a major revelation if they've never heard of Mravinsky or if they are Mravinsky devotees, mild disappointment becasue nothing new is revealed. Both camps, however, will have to admire Mravinsky's mastery, despite the variable Soviet sound from these live performances (believe me, it could have been a lot worse).



CD 1 begins with a gripping Don Giovanni Over. (1968), which perfectly suits Mravinsky's essentially tragic and highly dramatic musical personality. The rest of the disc is filled out with a Bruckner Seventh in surprisingly good broadcast stereo (1967), a smart choice on the compilers' part. Rarely do we get to hear Russian conductors in standard non-Russian repertoire, but Mravinsky was dedicated to Betthoven, Bruckner, Brahms, and Wagner, not just Tchaikovsky. There are some slips in execution, but this is an inspired reading, often blunt and explosive but just as often lyrical and delicate. If you like conducting with lots of personality, something Bruckner doesn't often receive, you will be very satisfied.



CD 2 begins with a vigorous, slightly militant Haydn Sym. 88 (1968) that shows off Mravinsky the classicist-with-guts. The sonics are noticeably closer and more vivid than anything preceding. Next comes a stupendous Francesca da Rimini that storms the heavens (1983), again in vivid, up-close sound. Here Mravinsky excels himself, delivering the single greatest performance in the whole Great Condcutors series, on a par with the Mahler Sixth from Mitropoulos. It's a shattering 24 min.



CD 2 ends with the only non-masterpiece in the set, Glazunov's Sym. 5 (1968). The work is no more than an exercise in Glazunov's academic weak-tea Tchaikovsky style, but a good deal of Mravinsky's time was taken up, loyal Soviet artist that he was, in making dull state-approved music sound nearly great, as he does here.



I have no hesitation calling this the best set in the Great Conductors series, or at least the 37 I have heard. Five stars, or as many more as you like."