Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Giorgio Federico Ghedini :: The NBC Broadcast Concerts, December 1949 - January 1950

Guido Cantelli -- A Testament to Greatness

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 02/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Testament label has generally been associated with high quality reissues of classic mono and stereo performances languishing in the EMI or Decca vaults. However, this 4CD set featuring Guido Cantelli's NBC Broadcast Concerts (from December 1949 and January 1950) is something altogether new. Sure Testament has rescued many of Cantelli's vintage studio recordings from obscurity, introducing him to a generation of classical listeners not even born when the conductor tragically died at the age of 36 in 1956. But this partnership with the Estate of Guido Cantelli will provide connoisseurs with rare recordings for years to come, as many more releases are planned for the future.But let's get to the title at hand. There are three things that I love about this set. First, because Cantelli left us with so few studio recordings, just hearing him play more music in the first place is a miracle. Second, many of the works featured here are earlier accounts of pieces he later did record in the studio -- Hindemith's Mathis Der Maler, and Mozart's 29th and Beethoven's 7th Symphonies in this case. It is delightful to experience Cantelli's multiple accounts of these works, something we take for granted with conductors like Furtwangler, Bernstein or Karajan. Finally, it is great to hear Cantelli tackle such diverse material with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, from Bach, Handel and Haydn to Stravinsky and Hindemith.With that being said, there are also three things that keep me from giving this set a fifth star. First, the mono sound is very good, but certainly will not be of a high enough quality to please everyone. Second, each disc has been structured to include one day's broadcast performance, for example the four featured here are December 24 & 31, 1949 and January 7 & 14, 1950. The unfortunate result of showcasing each day on its own disc is that they each log in at (comfortably) under an hour. In fact, the broadcasts are short enough to squeeze this set on to three discs, but of course performances from different days would overlap on a given disc. Which brings me to my third and final point, when paying full-price times four discs for this title, surely many of us (yours truly included) would rather pay less and deal with combined sessions on only three discs.In all, though this is a welcome release and I look forward to the issue of Cantelli NBC Broadcasts from later in the 1950s. In this era of homogenized collections, it is essential for a label like Testament to continue to save the future of classical by rescuing great music from the past."