Beautiful old stuff to back up your vinyl
Mark G McCue | Denver, CO United States | 04/12/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"OK vinyl lovers...save the wear and tear on your precious old first editions and have this CD for routine listening or for your car. Yeah, the sound isn't as good as on your top-flight table and cartridge (no other way to get that silken LA Phil string gloss) but at this price shut up and back your collection up. Remember, we're always saying the performance is THE thing.And these are classics. These are tops in any era's catalog, some of the finest things Pennario and Leinsdorf ever did (and their individual lists of great accomplishments are long indeed). The word "classic" gets thrown around a lot......but here it sticks and holds fast. Snap this one up."
An incredible bargain! A thorough delight!
Mark G McCue | 04/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's wonderful that the recordings of the great Erich Leinsdorf are being re-released on CD, finally! And what's more, at the very lowest price range. This disk would be a top recommendation at full price, much less at this paltry sum! The two works included, arguably two of the handful of Tchaikovsky's greatest, are magnificently performed. The recording quality of the concerto is discernibly rougher than that of the symphony. But the concerto is given a performance that compares excellently with the greatest. Leonard Pennario is a pianist of wonderful incisiveness and feeling (someday they'll release on CD his wonderful recording of the Chopin waltzes) and his rapport with Lensdorf is inspiring. But the great treasure on this disc is the recording of the Pathetique-- it'll knock your socks off! The recording has been so perfectly remastered it sounds as if it were made yesterday-- and the performance is spellbinding, heart-wrenching, riveting! The climax of the first movement will take your breath away! No other performance more perfectly captures the lusciousness and beauty with the almost frantic despair that a moments makes the work so gut-wrenching. Leinsdorf and the Los Angeles have made a truly legendary recording! Buy one for yourself -- buy a few to give to friends!"