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Ralph Moore's Berlioz Requiem Survey
Posted by Alan Cook on February 18, 2022, 12:31 am
Thankyou Ralph Moore for your Berlioz Requiem Survey. I assume that you are aware that Valery Gergiev conducted 2 Performances of it in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with combined forces from the Mariinsky Theatre and the CBSO, on 14th and 15th October 2009. John Quinn reviewed the 2nd of those performances for Seen & Heard and there is a link to that review from his recent review of the Pappano recording for MWI. However what John did not mention in his review, and therefore you may not be aware of, is that EMI Classics used those performances for an experiment in 'Instant Recording'. You could order a CD recording of that evening's performance on arrival at the hall and could collect your CDs, of the performance you had just heard, in the foyer afterwards. As I recall we had to wait for about 15 minutes for them. I attended both the performances and purchased the recordings of both of them, which I still have. There are definitely some differences, but not very significant, between the two performances. I should make it clear that the recordings were only of the Berlioz - not the Prokofiev Cantata which made up the first half of both the concerts. It was clear from EMI at the time that these were 'Limited Edition' recordings, not for general release, though I have, from time to time, seen copies in second-hand CD shops. However since it seems clear, from the survey, that Gergiev has not made a 'commercial' recording, I would have thought that the existence of these recordings was worth a mention.
I have exactly 11 recordings of this fantastic - it is Berlioz after all - work - and the recording which first made all of my spine tingle was the Boston Munch. It is often the case that it's that after First Love in music, there is nor can be no other. I love the Inbal, the first two Davis recordings, the Fremaux, the Bernstein, and even the Ozawa. I once owned the Abravanel - a conductor who did sterling work in the deserts of Utah, famous until then simply for Mormons - God bless em in their white shirts and black suits - but I must admit that on rehearing it today via Spotify, all I came away with was a deep sense of US provincialism. As for the tenor aria, the sound of a tenor voice is, after all, a subjective matter. I love Peter Schreier, for example, I bet you don't...Best regards. What a great work, what a great work. The ending always simply slays me into a slobbering mess. All in all, Hector B is quite possibly the most underrated musical genius of the lot. ( I admit that when I understood that Hector B was largely untutored, that he had a penchant for auto plagiarism, he rose appreciably in my estimation. In a weird way, he pre-dated Mahler. Yes, Berlioz also encompassed the universe...)
Previous Message
Thankyou Ralph Moore for your Berlioz Requiem Survey. I assume that you are aware that Valery Gergiev conducted 2 Performances of it in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with combined forces from the Mariinsky Theatre and the CBSO, on 14th and 15th October 2009. John Quinn reviewed the 2nd of those performances for Seen & Heard and there is a link to that review from his recent review of the Pappano recording for MWI. However what John did not mention in his review, and therefore you may not be aware of, is that EMI Classics used those performances for an experiment in 'Instant Recording'. You could order a CD recording of that evening's performance on arrival at the hall and could collect your CDs, of the performance you had just heard, in the foyer afterwards. As I recall we had to wait for about 15 minutes for them. I attended both the performances and purchased the recordings of both of them, which I still have. There are definitely some differences, but not very significant, between the two performances. I should make it clear that the recordings were only of the Berlioz - not the Prokofiev Cantata which made up the first half of both the concerts. It was clear from EMI at the time that these were 'Limited Edition' recordings, not for general release, though I have, from time to time, seen copies in second-hand CD shops. However since it seems clear, from the survey, that Gergiev has not made a 'commercial' recording, I would have thought that the existence of these recordings was worth a mention.
Well, we can certainly agree about Berlioz, Dieter,even if we must part regarding Solti in opera and Peter Schreier. De mortuis and all that, and he had a great career while I am a nobody, but no, I cannot abide his piercing, constricted whine. As for Abravanel being "provincial", maybe that rawness is what I love about that performance - and the sound is fantastic; perhaps Spotify didn't do that justice.
Previous Message
I have exactly 11 recordings of this fantastic - it is Berlioz after all - work - and the recording which first made all of my spine tingle was the Boston Munch. It is often the case that it's that after First Love in music, there is nor can be no other. I love the Inbal, the first two Davis recordings, the Fremaux, the Bernstein, and even the Ozawa. I once owned the Abravanel - a conductor who did sterling work in the deserts of Utah, famous until then simply for Mormons - God bless em in their white shirts and black suits - but I must admit that on rehearing it today via Spotify, all I came away with was a deep sense of US provincialism. As for the tenor aria, the sound of a tenor voice is, after all, a subjective matter. I love Peter Schreier, for example, I bet you don't...Best regards. What a great work, what a great work. The ending always simply slays me into a slobbering mess. All in all, Hector B is quite possibly the most underrated musical genius of the lot. ( I admit that when I understood that Hector B was largely untutored, that he had a penchant for auto plagiarism, he rose appreciably in my estimation. In a weird way, he pre-dated Mahler. Yes, Berlioz also encompassed the universe...)
Previous Message
Thankyou Ralph Moore for your Berlioz Requiem Survey. I assume that you are aware that Valery Gergiev conducted 2 Performances of it in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with combined forces from the Mariinsky Theatre and the CBSO, on 14th and 15th October 2009. John Quinn reviewed the 2nd of those performances for Seen & Heard and there is a link to that review from his recent review of the Pappano recording for MWI. However what John did not mention in his review, and therefore you may not be aware of, is that EMI Classics used those performances for an experiment in 'Instant Recording'. You could order a CD recording of that evening's performance on arrival at the hall and could collect your CDs, of the performance you had just heard, in the foyer afterwards. As I recall we had to wait for about 15 minutes for them. I attended both the performances and purchased the recordings of both of them, which I still have. There are definitely some differences, but not very significant, between the two performances. I should make it clear that the recordings were only of the Berlioz - not the Prokofiev Cantata which made up the first half of both the concerts. It was clear from EMI at the time that these were 'Limited Edition' recordings, not for general release, though I have, from time to time, seen copies in second-hand CD shops. However since it seems clear, from the survey, that Gergiev has not made a 'commercial' recording, I would have thought that the existence of these recordings was worth a mention.
Yes, Dieter, Berlioz's Requiem is a wonderful piece! In fact it's arguably the greatest work in the genre. My 17-year-old self first heard it in December 1959 at the Royal Albert Hall. Unfortunately, that was the only Beecham concert I ever got to, but what an effect it made! .... I was blown away. Happily, that very concert is preserved on a single CD (BBC Legends BBCL-40112) .... well worth seeking out! By the way, there's a very fine film from 2011 entitled 'The Tree of Life', directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, the final sequence of which features music from the Berlioz Requiem, to intensely moving effect.
Yes, Dieter, Berlioz's Requiem is a wonderful piece! In fact it's arguably the greatest work in the genre. My 17-year-old self first heard it in December 1959 at the Royal Albert Hall. Unfortunately, that was the only Beecham concert I ever got to, but what an effect it made! .... I was blown away. Happily, that very concert is preserved on a single CD (BBC Legends BBCL-40112) .... well worth seeking out! By the way, there's a very fine film from 2011 entitled 'The Tree of Life', directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, the final sequence of which features music from the Berlioz Requiem, to intensely moving effect.
Thank you, Alan; it was precisely because that recording was not generally available - and indeed I neither own it nor have heard it - that I did not include it, as something always has to give in those surveys.
Previous Message
Thankyou Ralph Moore for your Berlioz Requiem Survey. I assume that you are aware that Valery Gergiev conducted 2 Performances of it in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with combined forces from the Mariinsky Theatre and the CBSO, on 14th and 15th October 2009. John Quinn reviewed the 2nd of those performances for Seen & Heard and there is a link to that review from his recent review of the Pappano recording for MWI. However what John did not mention in his review, and therefore you may not be aware of, is that EMI Classics used those performances for an experiment in 'Instant Recording'. You could order a CD recording of that evening's performance on arrival at the hall and could collect your CDs, of the performance you had just heard, in the foyer afterwards. As I recall we had to wait for about 15 minutes for them. I attended both the performances and purchased the recordings of both of them, which I still have. There are definitely some differences, but not very significant, between the two performances. I should make it clear that the recordings were only of the Berlioz - not the Prokofiev Cantata which made up the first half of both the concerts. It was clear from EMI at the time that these were 'Limited Edition' recordings, not for general release, though I have, from time to time, seen copies in second-hand CD shops. However since it seems clear, from the survey, that Gergiev has not made a 'commercial' recording, I would have thought that the existence of these recordings was worth a mention.
I had Colin Davis 1 on LP, Robert Shaw on CD, Davis 3 on Sacd and Norrington on Sacd, which i found rather good. But I agree that Pappano trumps them all.
Thank you for your remembrance of Gergiev's Birmingham performances of the Grande Messe des morts. I am a Berlioz Requiem maniac, and I am determined to track down every performance of the work issued in media "round and flat" (as I decided even before the CD era).
Through eBay, I have been able to obtain a copy (actually two) of the 15 October 2009, the one with the white cover. The 14 October 2009 (black cover, I believe) has eluded me. If there are shops in the UK that might be able to provide me with this missing one, I'd dearly love to know about them. I will suspend my distaste for Gergiev (which I need not explain) in this sole instance. (He did conduct and bang-up "Roméo et Juliette" here in Los Angeles a couple of decades ago.)
I've been able to obtain issues made "exclusively" for performers and/or subscribers and ostensibly not for sale. I have any number of LP issues going back decades, including many live readings from US educational institutions: for example two (!) conducted by composer Karel Husa from his days at Cornell University, and Donn Weiss' 1972 performance at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), in which I sang. My total is nearly 60.
If it would not be in total violation of the rules here, I'd appreciate it if the editors could supply you with my contact information, although I am easily findable on certain social media.
As an aside, I'll note that one memorable performance of the work that I attended was that of Bramwell Tovey at the Hollywood Bowl, surely one of many reasons to regret the loss of this gifted conductor.
M.
Previous Message
Thankyou Ralph Moore for your Berlioz Requiem Survey. I assume that you are aware that Valery Gergiev conducted 2 Performances of it in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with combined forces from the Mariinsky Theatre and the CBSO, on 14th and 15th October 2009. John Quinn reviewed the 2nd of those performances for Seen & Heard and there is a link to that review from his recent review of the Pappano recording for MWI. However what John did not mention in his review, and therefore you may not be aware of, is that EMI Classics used those performances for an experiment in 'Instant Recording'. You could order a CD recording of that evening's performance on arrival at the hall and could collect your CDs, of the performance you had just heard, in the foyer afterwards. As I recall we had to wait for about 15 minutes for them. I attended both the performances and purchased the recordings of both of them, which I still have. There are definitely some differences, but not very significant, between the two performances. I should make it clear that the recordings were only of the Berlioz - not the Prokofiev Cantata which made up the first half of both the concerts. It was clear from EMI at the time that these were 'Limited Edition' recordings, not for general release, though I have, from time to time, seen copies in second-hand CD shops. However since it seems clear, from the survey, that Gergiev has not made a 'commercial' recording, I would have thought that the existence of these recordings was worth a mention.