Est 1923

Nineteenth Century Orchestral Works

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Franz Liszt, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Jean Sibelius, Bedřich Smetana

Label: Red Seal

Media Format: Cassette

Media Runtime: 0

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: RK60119

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Má vlast, Movement: Vltava, B111 (1874) Bedřich Smetana, Composer
Bedřich Smetana, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
(Les) Préludes Franz Liszt, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Franz Liszt, Composer
Finlandia Jean Sibelius, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Jean Sibelius, Composer
Ruslan and Lyudmila, Movement: Overture Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer
1812 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer

Composer or Director: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Franz Liszt, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Jean Sibelius, Bedřich Smetana

Label: Red Seal

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 60

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: RD60119

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Má vlast, Movement: Vltava, B111 (1874) Bedřich Smetana, Composer
Bedřich Smetana, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
(Les) Préludes Franz Liszt, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Franz Liszt, Composer
Finlandia Jean Sibelius, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Jean Sibelius, Composer
Ruslan and Lyudmila, Movement: Overture Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer
1812 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor, Conductor
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
After Claus Peter Flor's outstanding RCA records of Mendelssohn overtures ((CD) RD87905, 1/89) and the incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream ((CD) RD87764, 10/88), this collection is a disappointment. The Berlin Symphony Orchestra are, on the evidence here, a good well-drilled ensemble of moderate size (to judge by the cover picture), but the violins have not the body and rich homogenity of their colleagues in the Philharmonic, and this affects the big tune they have in Smetana's ''Vltava''. Moreover, the river flows without a great deal of impetus and nearly becomes becalmed when the water sprites dance in the moonlight. The performance finally springs to life at the St John's rapids but taken overall is too easygoing to be memorable.
Liszt's Les preludes is another extremely mellow performance, enjoyable in its central pastoral section, but Flor shirks the melodrama elsewhere. The opening of Finlandia is slow and spacious and nearly gets bogged down in its rich sonority. Fortunately, Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla has a good deal more energy, though I prefer both the Reiner (RCA) and the Solti (Decca) performances (the latter is at bargain price). The music-making, however, springs to life for an extrovert, exciting account of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. There are no canon but the Berlin Schauspielhaus has plenty of bass resonance which makes the brass scoring sound satisfyingly weighty, and ensures that the bass drum tells at the end, alongside the carillon.'

Nineteenth Century Orchestral Works

Má vlast, Movement: Vltava, B111 (1874)

(Les) Préludes

Finlandia

Ruslan and Lyudmila, Movement: Overture

1812

Nineteenth Century Orchestral Works

Má vlast, Movement: Vltava, B111 (1874)

(Les) Préludes

Finlandia

Ruslan and Lyudmila, Movement: Overture

1812

Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.

Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.

Gramophone Print

  • Print Edition

From £6.87 / month

Subscribe

Gramophone Digital Club

  • Digital Edition
  • Digital Archive
  • Reviews Database
  • Events & Offers

From £9.20 / month

Subscribe

Gramophone Reviews

  • Reviews Database

From £6.87 / month

Subscribe

Gramophone Digital Edition

  • Digital Edition
  • Digital Archive

From £6.87 / month

Subscribe

                              

If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.