Lorin Maazel – Complete Early Berlin Philharmonic Recordings 1957-1962 (8 CD box set, FLAC)

Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 8 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 2.58 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Symphony No. 5 in C minor (“Fate”), Op. 67
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”), Op. 68
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Tragic Overture, in D minor, Op. 81
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Die Weihe des Hauses (Consecration of the House), overture for orchestra, Op. 124
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Contredanses (12) for orchestra, WoO14
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, D. 125
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 3 in D major, D. 200
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 4 in C minor (“Tragic”), D. 417
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, D. 485
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 6 in C major (“Little C Major”), D. 589
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 8 in B minor (“Unfinished”), D. 759
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, K. 16
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 28 in C major, K. 200 (K. 189k)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 41 in C major (“Jupiter”), K. 551
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 4 in A major (“Italian”), Op. 90
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Symphony No. 5 in D major/D minor (“Reformation”), Op. 107
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra (“symphonie dramatique”), H.79 (Op. 17) The Capulets Ball
Composed by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra (“symphonie dramatique”), H.79 (Op. 17) Queen Mab: Scherzo
Composed by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra (“symphonie dramatique”), H.79 (Op. 17) Love Scene
Composed by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra (“symphonie dramatique”), H.79 (Op. 17) Romeo at the Capulets’ Tomb
Composed by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Romeo and Juliet, fantasy-overture for orchestra in B minor (3 versions)
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

# Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Capriccio espagñol (Kaprichchio na ispankskiye temï), for orchestra, Op. 34
Composed by Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 1 for orchestra, Op. 64 bis The Montagues and the Capulets
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, Op. 64 ter No. 4. Dance
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, Op. 64 ter No. 5. Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, Op. 64 ter No. 6. Dance of the girls from the Antilles
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 1 for orchestra, Op. 64 bis No. 7. Tybalt’s Death
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome), symphonic poem, P. 141
Composed by Ottorino Respighi
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Night on Bald Mountain (Noch’ na Lïsoy gore), symphonic poem, edited by Stokowski
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

# Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell), for speaker ad lib & orchestra, Op. 34
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise
Conducted by Lorin Maazel

A Young Lorin Maazel

The most recent batch of DG’s “Original Masters” box sets boasts several titles that will leave classical collectors rejoicing. While “Lorin Maazel: Complete Early Berlin Philharmonic Recordings 1957-1962” is not as essential as the Askenase or Schneiderhan releases (see my review of the latter), it is a welcome edition nonetheless. Maazel was only in his late 20s when he made these recordings, which include performances of Mozart (Syms 1, 28 & 41), Beethoven (Syms 5 & 6, etc), Schubert (Syms 2-8), Brahms (Sym 3 & the Tragic Overture), Mendelssohn (Syms 4 & 5), and more. Overall Maazel’s readings are fiery and quickly paced, causing many critics to dismiss these recordings at the time of their initial releases as the brash, overly enthusiastic statements of a boy conductor. This is just criticism for much of the Schubert, the Beethoven 5th, Tchaikovsky 4th, and Night on Bald Mountain. However, I personally enjoy the majority of these performances. Additionally, the excerpts from Berlioz’s Romeo & Juliet are quite lovely (and better than the other R&J’s contained here — Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev), the Pastoral is refreshingly brisk, and the Capriccio Espagnol is a personal favorite (I previously had it via DG’s “Eternal Russia” collection). Also this earlier account of Respighi’s Pines of Rome is quite good (though his later Decca Legends version outshines it) but I could do without the very pronounced bird calls towards the end of the Janiculum section. Something else this set could live without is the Britten Young Person’s Guide, which Maazel narrates and performs with the ONRTF Paris (hello, not Berlin). A better title to include would have been his account of Harold in Italy, recently included on the DG box set “The Berlioz Experience” (I believe it fits the “Early Berlin” criteria better than the said Brittten does). As is, this is a delightful collection, showcasing the blossoming talents of a conductor who continues to dazzle audiences from the podium nearly fifty years later.