Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 02/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Upon further inspection of this set, buyers should be aware that some of the discs are mislabeled. CD3 is actually CD4, CD4 is actually CD5 and CD5 is actually CD3. And it's not just my set as I have confirmed the same problem with friends who own it. The music is still beautiful, it's just in the wrong order."
Missed the "Royal Editions," Get This!
Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 01/27/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This five-disc French Import from the "Columbia Legends" series collects all of Leonard Bernstein's performances of Haydn's 12 "London" Symphonies, originally recorded between 1958 and 1975. This music was most recently available in Sony's "Royal Edition" series as two separate volumes. In case you missed one or both of those aforementioned titles (I only previously owned 100-104), this set is the one to get now as the "Royals" have been out-of-print for a few years. Bernstein's accounts of Symphonies Nos. 100-104 were my first, so they will always hold a special place in my heart. But even as I have expanded my collection to include acclaimed performances by Dorati, Davis, Jochum and Beecham among others, the Bernsteins still stand out for their power and precision. For Symphonies 93-99 I was reared on George Szell, but Bernstein's renditions are every bit as good. Even though I should have gotten all these Symphonies years ago, they were certainly worth the wait."
"In spite the fact Charles Munch reached a unequaled peak with the 104th Symphony, Scherchen, Beecham and Colin Davis share deserved honors, I must recognize the devoted inspiration and sublime charm gotten by Bernstein those days with the New York Philharmonic.
Leonard Bernstein achieved an overwhelming artistic feat with the Symphony No. 97 of Joseph Haydn. You won ` t get another similar performance with such burden of stamina, imperial breath and supreme expressive elegance.
Forget about any other 97th. You just listen and then, I guess, you will agree with me.
"
Splendid Haydn from Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 09/12/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have heard Bernstein's recordings of Haydn's "Paris" symphonies with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a separate Sony collection and have no doubt that these are splendid too. Critics and music lovers alike have tended to minimize Bernstein's strengths as a conductor of Classical music, overlooking his fine conducting of Haydn and Mozart and praising instead his advocacy of Mahler's symphonies and the work of great 20th Century American composers, most notably Aaron Copeland. But I truly treasure Bernstein's excellent conducting of Haydn's and Mozart's scores, which are as fine as the best I have heard from the likes of Herbert von Karajan, Karl Bohm or Sir Colin Davis. And speaking of Sir Colin Davis's excellent Phillips recordings of the London symphonies, I have no doubt that Bernstein's are equally superb. If I am critical of Bernstein's New York Philharmonic Orchestra recordings at all, it is only for technical reasons that they lack the expressive richness of sound I have heard in his later Deutsche Grammophon recordings, most notably those with the Vienna Philharmonic and Concertgebouw orchestras."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
