Symphonies 1 & 2 [Audio CD] Brahms; Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra
CD Reviews
A forgotten conductor......................
yazdanbuksh | India | 04/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Most people don't even know Ormandy let alone a conductor of Brahms, but the fact is that he is a wonderful conductor and has put his heart and soul (as a conductor of brahms should be) into the two symphonies. My heart goes out to this under-rated conductor, his music is a bit blury at certain places but can be over looked when considering the overall symphony. At the end of the first symphonie eugene will leave you in tears only to make you smile again with the second. The hayden and handel variations can't get better. Give him a chance you won't regret it.(I prefer him over karajan and szell as well as abbado)"
Ormandy's Brahms: Majestic and Romantic
bob flagg | forestville, ca United States | 07/26/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gramophone Magazine called these Ormandy performances "majestic." American Record Guide(Nov/Dec '99)notes the "magnificent" orchestra playing and Ormandy's "rich, warm, and romantic view of Brahms." International Record Collector (autumn '99), speaking of the complete set of symphonies from which these performances are drawn, asserts "Ormandy's final statements on these works, central to his conducting for fifty years, are unsurpassed." I agree with all these comments. The first two symphonies of Brahms (Sony still owes us cds of Symphonies 3 and 4 and the German Requiem) are given ravishing performances by Ormandy and his great orchestra. The slow movements are heartfelt, the tempi natural and convincing, and the finales of both symphonies particularly compelling in majesty(#1) and excitement(#2). The recordings are from the late sixties with full warm sound. The non symphony pieces are well done, too. Stokowski's Overture peformance is appropriately dramatic, the Variation pieces under Ormandy are on the lighter side but very enjoyable, the Academic Festival Overture in Ormandy's hands is musically exuberant and the ultimate in orchestral virtuosity."
The best Haendel variations in the next two thousand years
"The Haendel variations may be the best perfomance achieved by this great conductor.
Don't think it twice.
In the original version for keyboard , there are two giant versions Julius Katchen and Michael Ponti (live), but in this case the arrangement was made by Edmund Rubra and the result was a winner.
The Philadelphia Orchestra sounded involved in an epic atmosphere , a happy weird comittment with dyonisiac force , telluric conviction , and glorious climax.
Forget any other recording in the market."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1