Search - Max Reger, Otmar Suitner, Franz Konwitschny :: Reger: Works for Orchestra [Box Set]

Marvelous Reger Collection

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 08/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a handy way to acquire the great majority of Max Reger's orchestral music, in authoritative performances originally recorded in stereo in the former DDR (East Germany) between ca. 1965 and 1980. Not all of these performances represent the best available recordings, but they are never less than persuasive and the (analog) sound has been nicely transferred to CD. Reger (1873-1916) is probably the last significant Late Romantic German composer to wallow in obscurity, but he very much deserves your attention if you love the music of masters like Mahler and Richard Strauss. Not that Reger's music is as immediately appealing as theirs. But the difficulties are less important than the rewards. Reger admired Brahms and Wagner and he venerated JS Bach. His music is highly chromatic, densely textured, and almost always richly polyphonic ...... when listening to Reger you get the distinct impression that 19th century romantic music simply couldn't develop any farther. Indeed, Arnold Schoenberg was a great admirer of Reger and wrote rather similarly in early compositions like his (tonal) First Chamber Symphony and First String Quartet. (Reger on his part admired Schoenberg, but rejected Schoenberg's post-tonal experiments.) If this description of Reger's music interests you, acquire this set ASAP: there have been ridiculously few recordings of Reger's music in the 90 years since he died and collections like this Edel set don't come around very often. Meager liner notes are a minor drawback."

Awesome

Carlos Quintero | Caracas, Venezuela | 03/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"




This is for sure the best anthology available of Reger's orchestral

works. A real treasure. Highly recommendable."