Schmidt Sym 4 - Sieghart
HenryFogel
Symphony, with Martin Sieghart conducting the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz. It is
every bit as good as those posters reported - perhaps even better. This is a
very difficult symphony to conduct -- it needs an almost perfect balance
between the rhapsodic and the taut. Too much of the former, and it is a
shapeless mess; too little freedom and its is stiff and fails to sing. While I
like very much Welser-Moest and Mehta, this recording is at least on their
level, perhaps even finer. Chesky's clear and perfectly balanced recording is a
major asset, but mostly it is Sieghart's balance of the dramatic and lyrical
that seems so right and that makes this such a success. The filler is rarely
heard Burckner -- three orchestral movements and a March in D Minor. Schmidt's
Fourth is a major post-romantic symphony, a deeply tragic work motivated by the
death of the composer's daughter. Sieghart seems to find a wider emotional and
coloristic range in the music than any performance I've heard before.
Henry Fogel
andrew lambert
> From: henry...@aol.com (HenryFogel)
> Date: 27 Jul 2002 20:25:05 GMT
> Subject: Schmidt Sym 4 - Sieghart
Are you familiar with the Sieghart Bruckner Symphony recordings on Camerata?
How would you describe the performance characteristics? Are they worth
owning?
Thanks,
Andrew
Marc Perman
"andrew lambert" <lamb...@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:B96889CF.AC1%lamb...@nyc.rr.com...
I have Sieghart's Bruckner 1st and 3rd. They are spacious,
especially the 1st, beautifully played, not unlike the late Kurt
Eichhorn in the rest of the cycle (perhaps the namesake orchestra
can play these works in their sleep?), and extremely well
recorded.
I've been singing the praises of Sieghart's Schmidt 4th for a
while, and I might as well say how much I like his Mozart
Abduction on Arte Nova as well.
Marc Perman
HenryFogel
>From: andrew lambert lamb...@nyc.rr.com
>Date: 7/27/2002 4:29 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <B96889CF.AC1%lamb...@nyc.rr.com>
I'm not familiar with them, though this Schmidt might tempt me.
Henry Fogel
Marc Perman
"HenryFogel" <henry...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020728041834...@mb-mf.aol.com...
> >Are you familiar with the Sieghart Bruckner Symphony recordings
on Camerata?
> >How would you describe the performance characteristics? Are
they worth
> >owning?
> I'm not familiar with them, though this Schmidt might tempt me.
Besides the Sieghart 1st and 3rd, I find Eichhorn's 7th and 8th
most worth hearing.
Marc Perman
HenryFogel
I'm fond of Eichhorn's Bruckner, and I gather that Sieghart's is in a similar
vein.
Henry Fogel
C. R. Lim
I have made a note to get this at the earliest opportunity! I have long
regarded this work as a special touchstone of the conductor's art.
Unfortunately, few individuals have given us their thoughts on it. I am glad
that you mention Mehta, as his version is sometimes undervalued. Of the
other recordings, I find Rajter too diffuse and ponderous, in spite of
apparent historical connections with Schmidt.
Do you know if Leinsdorf ever played this? I have an air-check of the 2nd
symphony, which he does very well.
Regards,
Bob
(reluctantly, I have now implemented anti-spam measures. To send mail,
remove same.)
John M. Proffitt
henry...@aol.com (HenryFogel) wrote:
Well, yes and no...like Eichhorn, but with a bit more tension or backbone.
From the outset I have greatly admired the Camerata Bruckner symphony set,
even though it uses 3 separate conductors (Theodor Guschlbauer leads the
early d-minor in the set's only analog recording).
Eichhorn's failing health dictated that Martin Sieghart would complete the
cycle, and he ended up recording 1, 3, and 4. Apart from the Camerata
cycle, he has also recorded 5 as a Bruckner Orchester Linz self-published
commemorative disc.
With the exception of Die Nullte, which IMO does not measure up to the
standards of the rest of the set and should have been re-recorded by
Sieghart, the Camereta set's interpretations are never less than top
notch--ranked among the best, I would say. Some, like Eichhorn's 5, 7 and
9, really stand out of a very competitive crowd.
That said, the real star of the Camerata set is is Bruckner Orchestra of
Linz, who play like angels and are captured in as nearly perfect sound as
we are likely to find in Bruckner.
Regards,
--
John Proffitt
KUHF-FM, Houston, Texas USA
<JPro...@kuhf.org>
Marc Perman
>
> I'm fond of Eichhorn's Bruckner, and I gather that Sieghart's is
in a similar
> vein.
The 1st and 3rd are, though I haven't heard his 4th. In addition
to a 5th on another label, is it true that there's a Sieghart 8th
as well? Ramon?
Marc Perman
HenryFogel
>Date: 7/29/2002 8:39 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <ai3gbl$10t8ro$1...@ID-100909.news.dfncis.de>
>
>Mr. Fogel,
>
>I have made a note to get this at the earliest opportunity! I have long
>regarded this work as a special touchstone of the conductor's art.
>Unfortunately, few individuals have given us their thoughts on it. I am glad
>that you mention Mehta, as his version is sometimes undervalued. Of the
>other recordings, I find Rajter too diffuse and ponderous, in spite of
>apparent historical connections with Schmidt.
>
>Do you know if Leinsdorf ever played this? I have an air-check of the 2nd
>symphony, which he does very well.
>
>Regards,
>
>Bob
No - I spoke to Leinsdorf about the Fourth, but he never got around to it.
Henry Fogel
C. R. Lim
> I spoke to Leinsdorf about the Fourth, but he never got around to it.
>
> Henry Fogel
Another of those tantalising "what ifs". Thank you for sharing this.
--
Juan I. Cahis
JPro...@kuhf.org (John M. Proffitt) wrote:
>With the exception of Die Nullte, which IMO does not measure up to the
>standards of the rest of the set and should have been re-recorded by
>Sieghart, the Camereta set's interpretations are never less than top
>notch--ranked among the best, I would say. Some, like Eichhorn's 5, 7 and
>9, really stand out of a very competitive crowd.
Maybe they should have re-recorded "Die Nullte" with the Overture in G
and the four short orchestral pieces that Sieghart includes in his
Schmidt CD. That would have been a "complete" set!!!!!!!!
Thanks
Juan I. Cahis
Santiago de Chile (South America)
Email: jic...@attglobal.net
Note: Please forgive me for my bad English, I am trying to improve it!
Sorach Chanthongkaew
>
> > Date: 27 Jul 2002 20:25:05 GMT
> > Subject: Schmidt Sym 4 - Sieghart
> >
> > Alerted by previous posters, I ordered the Chesky recording of Schmidt's
> > Fourth
> > Symphony, with Martin Sieghart conducting the Bruckner Orchestra of
Linz. It
> > is
> > every bit as good as those posters reported - perhaps even better. This
is a
> > very difficult symphony to conduct -- it needs an almost perfect balance
> > between the rhapsodic and the taut. Too much of the former, and it is a
> > shapeless mess; too little freedom and its is stiff and fails to sing.
It's also a very difficult CD to understand. I've just picked this CD from a
50%-off bin. I like you, I got inspired by the reviews here. Must give it a
couple more listens to give it a proper opinion. From a cursory listen it
sounds very atonal.
regards.