Kondrashin was easily my favorite Russian conductor. His Beethoven 4 was my first recording (Seraphim), and it's still one of my faves. And of course, his Kalinnikov 1st (Melodiya/Angel) easily outshined its replacement by Svetlanov. Yes, this Scheherazade is absolute stunning. Such a tragedy that he was struck down so young.
Dear Mr. Hurowitz, Your new reference recording series is truly exceptional. I purchased two copies of this CD while living in the USA, and I have two more copies back home in Belgrade, Serbia. All of your thematic series are fantastic. Thank you for your work and dedication to music.
Scheherazade is one of my absolute favorite pieces. Kondrashin's recording is wonderful, I agree and a great choice as a reference recording. My personal favorites are the Kempe recording and the RPO (so sumptuous) and the Silvestri and Bournemouth (so colorful) and Ansermet and Paris (so elegant). The Ozawa with Boston is quite beautiful too. I know many people love the Reiner but when I listen to that recording it seems stiff compared to the ones I mention.
I bought this on LP when it first came out and now have it on CD. It has always been my go to reading. Great choice for Scheherazade reference recording. Fully agreed about the original album art. On LP, a real treasure to be enjoyed.
I was introduced to Scheherazade in 1960s England. I absolutely loved the violin solo and the piece has remained one of my favourites to this day. Nobody ever mentioned to me the Beecham recording. It wasn't on my radar. I bought the Reiner recording and that remains my first love, for this piece anyway. It is really important that British music lovers are not tarred with the same brush as the snobbish critics. Reginald Bridgecottage is no friend of mine!
My favorite recorded Scheherazade 🥰. Glad you also think so highly of it. (I think Segerstam with the Sinfónica de Galicia here in RU-vid is incredible too, but, alas, it's not available on disc as far as I know)
To me happened something that is quite common I guess, wich is Ithe first recording I heard is the one I like the most. I`ve heard others (Reiner, Haitink, Karajan just to name a few) but I keep coming back to Maazel with the Berlin Philarmonic. Altough, while I`m writing this I` m listening to the 2nd movement of your reference recording and I am ejoying it a lot. Thanks
I have a pretty up and down listening relationship with Karajan, but I've always felt his Scheherazade from the late 60s was about as perfect an expression of what he and the BPO were capable of at their best moments--up there with his Sibelius 4-7, which I think they did around the same time.
Never heard Kondrashin's recording -- will need to search it out. I saw him leading the LAPO in a wonderful concert concluding with a magnificent _Firebird_ . Less than two weeks later, I opened the newspaper and found his obituary.
I've made this comment before, but I'll add it every time Dave mentions this album. This is a terrific recording from first note to last. The performances are great and (although I don't know anything about the timpani) the recording really captures the hall.
If someone does not likes Scheherazade it is only because he or she haven't heard it, or died and was not told about it. Now, Kondrashin's with the Concertgebow has always been among my favorites, specially the second movement, actually I consider it the best second movement ever recorded of this piece. In the fourth I still love Stokowski's in the Phase 4 series with the LSO, with those tam tams added. And that CD is coupled with those excellent recordings with Markevitch.
It wasn't only in Britain that the Beecham RPO disc was lauded. Hiigh Fidelity and R.D. Darrell, for one, also loved the Beecham recording. BUT stereo had just come in and the EMI (Angel here) was one of the first stereo versions EVAHH and that probably had something to do with it. (I haven't heard it again in a couple of decades but its on my bucket list to give it a spin.) The Kondrashin CD is a jewel which I bought prompted by a Dave video. There are a select few, very few, Scheherezades that make me forget its repetitiousness and just wallow in it and Kondrashin is near or at the top of the list. But so is Ormandy stereo with Brusilow's wonderful violin playing.
I don’t know if there is a reference recording for Capriccio Espagnole. I have versions conducted by Temirkanov, Ormandy, Dorati, and now Kondrashin. I love each and every one. But I got Kondrashin for the reference recording of Scheherazade on David’s recommendation. Boy am I glad. The Capriccio Espagnole (which my favorite by RK) is a rollercoaster. It’s powerful, passionate, fast and will blow your hair backward. (Well, not Dave. It will blow my totally gray hair backwards.) Dave - I can’t than you enough for this channel and your website. You’ve reignited my passion for the beauty of classical music and I’ve been listening for decades. Since I was a little kid listening to live from the Met by the Texaco Opera on Saturdays.
Yes, we ALL love Scheherazade! I first heard it as a kid in a Utah Symphony concert. I don't know how I got away with it, but I brought a reel-to-reel tape recorder with a bunch of tapes and recorded the concert from my seat. The symphony program had an advertisement inside recommending we all go out and buy Seiji Ozawa's recording on LP with the Chicago Symphony. I listened to my pirated recording until I could get to a record store, where I couldn't begin to afford the Ozawa recording, but purchased a Vienna State Opera Orchestra recording instead, conducted by Mario Rossi for about two dollars. I remember loving it. Today, I have no idea what that recording sounded like but it probably prepared me to love every recording I've heard since.
FOLLOWUP: Hunted down and BOUGHT (FLAC, download) that old Mario Rossi/Vienna St. Opera recording -- guess what it cost me? $2. Not bad, really. He takes brisk tempi and maintains an exciting overall performance. My next recording, from a public library, was Stokowski's London Phase-4 Stereo. That was quite a contrast. Now, listening to Ozawa's Chicago Symphony recording. Definitely a larger orchestra than Rossi's. All in all, those billion recordings of Scheherazade are all pretty lucky -- if you play all the notes, you're going to get a pretty good recording. The music simply works!
@@kellyrichardson3665I just downloaded the Kondrashin in hi-res 96/24 quality, as well as standard flac quality. Dave was not exaggerating it's greatness.
I expected some mention of the Phase 4 Stokowski, if only because I seem to recall every reviewer mentioning that version -- and the Reiner -- every time the topic of Scheherazade came up back in the '70s. But I suppose that rendition was too controversial when it first came out to be considered a reference recording. It's still my personal favorite, thought the Kondrashin is indeed superb.
Heh was just listening to Bernstein/NYPO of this a little while ago, as I found out the senior level of the local youth orchestra is playing this on Sunday and I wanted a quick refresher.
The Bernstein recording was my first which my dad bought me when I was about 8 years old and my introduction to "Classical Music". Since that day and 60 years later this Bernstein recording has remained my "favorite recording".
Beecham was certainly the "go to" version back in the day, albeit that a respected publication drew attention to the "thin" string tone. I have a number of recordings, on LP and CD, the latest being from an Istanbul, Turkey ensemble - certainly worth checking out by anyone unfamiliar with its existence.
The Kondrashin is terrific, it's just too bad they couldn't couple with his RCA recording of Capriccio Espagnol. Now that was one exciting recording! So many good Scheherazades and my favorites are Monteux, Goosens, Mackerras, all coincidentally with the London Symphony Orchestra. But definitely NOT the LSO recordings from Svetlanov or Stokowski!
The Kondrashin and the Reiner are my two favorites. Reiner, I think, has the most intense storm. But I think I actually do like the Kondrashin more. It's been a while.
For Rimsky-Korsakov, I must say that I simply adore the 3 CDs by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra on Naxos. I also quite like the Suite recordings made my Neeme Järvi... 40 years ago now! Can't say I like his symphonies however. On a complete other note, I just discovered Bartok's Suite No. 1 on Tomas Dausgaard's recording on Onyx (1905 version). I expected a short work for orchestra, not 40 minutes of beautiful, energetic and sometimes humorous music! Why is this not played more often?
Scheherazade, oh yes! Always a favorite with me. But my own "reference recording" for it is on ... Reference Recordings: Jose Serebrier conducting the London Philharmonic. Also comes with the Russian Easter Overture. For both, you really need a recording with a lot of oomph, and this one has oomph in spades.
(If you haven't already done one) how about a video topic of 10 or so best recordings on Philips. They were such a fine label, and now that would re reissued on Decca people would know what to keep an eye out for 😊
I don't know about the cd release, but I'm just now listening to the original 1980 lp of Kondrashin on Philips and there is plenty bottom end! I wonder if they stripped out something in the transfer to cd. The tam tam crash is weak, yes, but still present.
Am I the only one, who think we are in dire need of a Kondrashin box?! 🤔 PS. I just heard one of the Overflow-Sibelius-posts...and discovered to my great delight, no, I'm not the only one! Let's hope the message reaches the higher echelons of executive power in the record industry...or that "someone" might drop a word to the splendid people at Australian Eloquence! 🫠
Thank you for this video. It's very interesting, and I do agree that, while the older Reiner and Beecham productions have got more attention recently with the vinyl resurgence, this one is universally recognised as an example of a great Scheherazade, which cannot always be said for those two others. By the way, will you make a video on the new Vienna Octet box from Eloquence? I've heard that Eloquence will also be putting out a box of the collected recordings of the New Vienna Octet and the Vienna Wind Soloists, which should also be very interesting.
I'm sure most of us predicted this one. It hits all the descriptors of the reference recording, which is, as you say, not necessarily better than the other great ones, and maybe not even any given individual's personal favorite, but it's played to perfection, smooth as hell, with the great Krebbers doing his thing.
Hi Dave, great video! Awesome *** How do you feel about Leonard Bernstein version? Leonard Bernstein New York Philharmonic ML 5387 - Thank you in advance * Awesome work
The LSO/Previn remains a favorite for its drama and pacing, but primarily for the sweet solo violin sound of John Georgiadis. Is there a post-1980 recording that you believe might become a reference?
With whom, exactly, does it remain a favorite? ;) If there have been any since 1980 that might become a reference, no one is discussing them as such (although there have been some excellent versions).
The Previn LSO recording is quite good -- and a billion times better than his recording with Vienna which is one of the worst recordings of the piece. Haven't decided which is worst that one or the Boughton and English String Orchestra.
Thanks Dave (I must live in cave) I've long had the spectacular Reiner recording, but per your recommendation I'm now going to get the Kondrashin recording - that's one I've never even heard of before. How are you for the works of Ernst Krenek?
Thoughts on Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations as a reference recording? It's probably the most well-known version of the work, which also catapulted it to fame, but given Glenn Gould's very particular style and sonics I'm not sure how reference-y it is
