Good Quality, Good Performance, Not Quite Ormandy-ish Though
Shota Hanai | Torrance, CA | 06/24/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Eugene Ormandy has made two (or three or more if I got it wrong) recordings on Respighi's Roman trilogy with the famed Philadelphia Orchestra, each for the different company.This recording was done for RCA Victor and the performance is overall OK. The sound quality is not bad, and the orchestra's sound is rich. The only problem is that the brass and percussion seems to overpower the strings and woodwinds slightly, especially in the 'Pines of the Appian Way. The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of my favorite orchestra, but the performances on this CD seems not quite Ormandy-ish, because in most other recordings I've heard, including the Roman trilogy he did for Sony (which was one of the first Respighi CD's I got), the strings and the woodwinds seems to stick out more, while the brass stayes reserved (or even sadly weak and pale). The overall "boldness" and "balance" in this CD doesn't seems to show the usually colorful and fluttering Ormandy personality.Generally I would recommend the one with Sony, especially on the "Pines" and "Festivas", to show what intrepreter Ormandy usually was during his long years with the Orchestra. "The Appian Way" especially may draw out his trait. Other recordings I would recommend is Bernstein on "Festivals", Karajan on "Fountains", and Dutoit or Maazel (with the Cleveland Orchestra) on "Pines".In my opinion, it's not the best recording in any of the pieces, but it's still a nice CD to stock up to the shelf. It is still one of my favorite RCA discs (I usually avoid RCA discs since some music are arranged completely far from the original performance). Basically, four stars, still good, not bad at all..."
Respighi
Paul J Campbell | Pocatello, Idaho | 03/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a stupendous CD. This composition reveals the true genius that Respighi was. The Philadelphia Orchestra is always good. The tone color is very fitting for the work. I would recommend this CD to anyone who is looking for an adventure. While listening to it, I feel as if I were at the movies.....it's actually better than going to the movies. Way to go Respighi!!!"