Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Daniel Barenboim, Chicago Symphony Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture; Capriccio Italien; Romeo & Juliet; Francesca da Rimini

Amazing "Francesca"!

emmkay | NY | 10/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While the CD as a whole is a gorgeous showcase of just how great the Chicago Symphony and Barenboim sound in Tchaikovsky, the disc is worth the price of admission for the recording of "Francesca da Rimini" alone. Not only is the maddeningly rhythmically difficult evocation of hell played with amazing precision and great emotional involvement, but the clarinet solo in the middle section is absolutely superlative. When I first got this CD, I replayed Francesca just to hear this stunningly beautiful solo again. Phrasing, tone, color and dynamics are utterly otherworldly."

Very Clean and Pleasing Sound

gobirds2 | New England | 11/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I were to choose one American orchestra for consistency of excellence and sound over the past forty years, it would have to be the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. When on vinyl Tchaikovsky's `1812 Overture' and `Capriccio Italien' were like bookends recorded numerous times over. They sound very good here. The `Romeo and Juliet Overture' has always been a powerful composition and it is good to hear it included as well. `Francesca da Rimini' is neither here nor there for me aesthetically yet being a vinyl type of fellow the more that can be included on a CD the better as long as it sounds palatable. Barenboim's work on this recording sounds very good."

Chicago Symphony does 1812 and MORE!

Christopher Tune | No. Hollywood, CA USA | 03/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The right orchestra is often the key ingredient to getting a particular classical recording "just right". The Chicago Symphony is known as an orchestra of "virtuosos". There are many recordings out there to prove this. This orchestra is perhaps not as interpretively warm as some of the best European orchestras (I'm thinking Vienna Phil and Concertgebouw) so I look for orchestral music based upon the demands upon the players and orchestra alike -- making it a point to look for Chicago recordings when the demands upon the soloists and sections are extreme and need the confidence and athleticism of the virtuosos.



When I feel a work is very sophisticated and needs extra interpretive subtlety, I then look first to those Euro orchs I mentioned above. I've seen instances where the opposite attends. I have an excellent "Pines of Rome" by the Berliner Philharmoniker, and so on.



The idea above is for a starting place to go looking and listening.



Here we have the reliable orchestral showpieces in Tchaikovsky Ouvertures. The 1812 is a great place to hear the Chicagoans crank it up and yet not split notes, or goof up at all. They are comfortable at ff and fff volume.



This would be a good introduction for someone desiring to hear what the Chicago group is all about, and would fill that needed place for the Fourth of July "whiz - bang" sound fest music.



Best to go out and hear all the world's major orchestras. . . .Anyway I like this one!"