Carlo Maria Giulini – The Chicago Recordings (4 CD box set, FLAC)

Composer: Gustav Mahler, Hector Berlioz, Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Bruckner, Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Carlo Maria Giulini
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 4 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: EMI Classics
Size: 1.44 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

CD 01
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.1 in D
01. Langsam, schleppend, wie ein Naturlaut
02. Kraftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
03. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen –
04. Sturmisch bewegt

Hector Berlioz
Romeo and Juliet, Dramatic Symphony Op.17
05. Combat and Tumult
06. Romeo alone – Melancholy

CD 02
Hector Berlioz
Romeo and Juliet, Dramatic Symphony Op.17
01. Scherzo : Queen Mab, or the Dream Fairy
02. Love Scene – Night – The Capulet’s Garden
03. Romeo at the Tomb of the Capulets

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No.7 in A major Op.92
04. I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
05. II. Allegretto
06. III. Presto – Assai meno presto
07. IV. Allegro con brio

CD 03
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No.9 in D minor
01. Feierlich, misterioso
02. Scherzo.Bewegt, lebhaft – Trio
03. Adagio (Langsam, feierlich)

Johannes Brahms
Symphony No.4 in E minor
04. Allegro non troppo

CD 04
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No.4 in E minor
01. Andante moderato
02. Allegro giocoso
03. Allegro energico e passionato

Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird Suite
04. Introduction
05. Dance of the Firebird
06. Round Dance of the princess
07. Dance of King Kastchei
08. Berceuse
09. Finale

Petrushka Suite
10. Russian Dance
11. Petrushka’s Room
12. The Moor’s Room
13. The Shrovetide Fair

RECORDINGS FOR THE TIME CAPSULE

Oh boy do these recordings bring back aural memories!

This was the era when I began to develop a voracious appetite for classical music. Everything was new to me, and my tastes were driven by reviews in Stereo Review and High Fidelity (The Gramophone came my life several years later, as my tastes – and acquisitions – became bit more sophisticated).

I love them all – to the point where I re-purchased several of them during that time, when EMI introduced it’s ill-fated (and realistically doomed) 45 rpm (‘audiophile” pressings of at least two – the Mahler 1 and The Firebird. I seem to recall that the surface noise and warpage of the 45 rpm vinyl obliterated nearly all of the “audiophile” sonic improvements of the time.

The same, of course, can not be said of this set. The sound quality goes beyond anything possible those few decades – particularly now that digital reproduction can convery string tone without the harshness of the early digital era.