A Remarkable Recording
J. Rich | 02/17/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bernstein was a great conductor of Nordic music, specifically Sibelius and Nielsen. I loved his Sibelius recordings for both Columbia and Deutsche Grammophon. It seems his Nielsen recordings have not been given their fair treatment from Sony hence why this recording of my two favorite Nielsen symphonies is out-of-print. All of this sounds crazy that Sony didn't release this recording and his recording of symphonies 3 & 5 as part of the more recent "Bernstein Century" series. I mean these are outstanding performances why not include them in the series? All of Bernstein's Nielsen recordings are now out-of-print thanks to the marketing geniuses at Sony. I was lucky enough to find a used copy of Symphonies 2 & 4 from a Marketplace seller for a good price.
The performances on this recording are simply outstanding. Bernstein has this music in his veins. Of particuar interest for me was hearing my favorite Nielsen symphony, which is the 2nd performed by a conductor I have admired for so long. The emotional intensity which Bernstein was renowned for (and criticized for) is here in this performance and the end result is one of the finest performances of the 2nd I have ever heard. The performance of the 4th "The Inextinguishable" is also brilliantly played. The NY Philharmonic play with vigor and fire all the way through. The audio quality is good, but not excellent, which is typical of Columbia recordings during the '60s.
Many people talk about Bernstein's tendency for emotional excess and use this as a criticism against him as if playing with feeling and heart is somehow a bad thing. It's obvious Bernstein's detractors were looking for whatever excuse they could to devalue the compelling and raw passion he is able to muster on the podium. I say let his critics talk. To quote Jean Sibelius "Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic."
As I said, if you can find this recording used for a good price don't pass it up, these are incredible performances. Highly recommended."