Search - Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Vassil Kazandjiev :: Masters Of Classical Music: Wagner

Amy Z. from TIPTON, IA
Reviewed on 12/10/2011...

I had this as a tape in high school and have always loved listening to it. I would highly recommend it. :)

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Weltanschauung..und...Weltansicht...

08/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are very good to excellent performances and interpretations...plus there is the added bonus that the placing of the microphones emphasizes portions of the orchestral sections' playing that you might not usually hear in "mainstream," brand-name orchestral playing and conducting...bands 1 through 4 are played by the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vassil Kazandjiev; bands 5 through 8 are played by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gyorgy Lethel... ...the string playing in the Prelude and Liebestod from *Tristan und Isolde* is a case in point...this combined piece is a long one for any orchestra...and to my mind and aesthetic hearing is an excellent test of an orchestra's and conductor's discipline, tonality, and ensemble cohesiveness...in this recording, the Prelude and Liebestod are played by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra as conducted by Gyorgy Lethel... the recording itself is excellent...excellent sound and microphone placement...the strings are "up front" so one gets a better presentation of their beauty and emphasis...while the woodwinds and brass are "behind" them...slightly less emphasized, but still very audible...the effect is different and more interesting than the usual recordings that one might listen to...which most often tend to be dull...as if the orchestra is simply going through the piece instead of intensely and passionately experiencing it...this recording is of the intensely experiencing sort...and all parts of the orchestra can be heard... even the low note emphasis of the large brass... ...the lowest and softest parts are still excellently audible, clear, and clean...not dampened into muted fuzziness or inaudibility...each portion of the melodic line as it interweaves through the sections is distinct, clear, and cohesively organic, passionate, "erotic," and involving...this is a beautiful, spiritual, yet compelling interpretation and performance...to my ears, it is better than Szell's and the Cleveland Orchestra's on "Wagner Without Words" (which sounds cold, objectified, distant...rather than close and intimate...); it is closer to that of Mariss Jansons and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra on the Seraphim Classics "Wagner" (Jansons' version is a bit too treble and edgy for my taste)...though this version does NOT match the harmonic beauty and intensity of Karl Bohm conducting the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra on the "Prelude"...[Bohm's interpretation of the "Liebestod" with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on the same 2 CD set by Deutsche Grammophone does not match the "Prelude"]..."