Composer: Claude Debussy, Modest Mussorgsky,
Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Garaamopon
Size: 1.43 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
La Mer, L.109
01. 1. From Dawn Till Noon On The Sea
02. 2. Play Of The Waves
03. 3. Dialogue Of The Wind And The Sea
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Pictures at an Exhibition
Orchestrated By Maurice Ravel
04. Promenade
05. Gnomus
06. Promenade
07. The Old Castle
08. Promenade
09. The Tuileries Gardens
10. Bydlo
11. Promenade
12. Ballet Of The Chickens In Their Shells
13. Samuel Goldenberg And Schmuyle
14. The Market-place At Limoges
15. The Catacombs (Sepulchrum romanum)
16. Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
17. The Hut On Fowl’s Legs (Baba-Yaga)
18. The Great Gate Of Kiev
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Boléro, M.81
19. Boléro
Here’s an album that is a great choice for listeners who are building a great classical music collection. The works included, Mussorgsky, Ravel, and Debussy (added to the original LP) are all time-honored staples of the art. Herbert van Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic do not disappoint providing lush, lively performances of all three composers’ material.
One benefit of this recording that some listeners might find useful, all the individual suites of PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION are divided up as individual CD tracks. Some recordings, such as Lorin Maazel’s fine production on Telarc digital, present the entire suite with no individual tracks. With a work like this, some times it’s enjoyable to just play a track or two. Karajan’s rendition provides the all the drama and suspense when needed, the grandiose spendlor of other segments, and the humor and playfulness for other segments. It’s a well-balanced most effective presentation of the popular orchestral version of the compostion.
Karajan’s treatment of Ravel’s BOLERO is a nicely balanced, even-keeled performance, that builds to the full orchestral climax at the end building suspense and anticipation as the tune progresses through its paces.