Mendelssohn Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 - Charles Munch - BSO -Living stereo 82876-71616-2 (2006) SACD rip to iso (2.53GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac tracks 3ch (1.75GB), & 2ch (1.23GB) | Scans | DR | +4.33dB Gain SA-CD.net review by ramesh July 10, 2006 1. Scherzo from Octet, Op. 20 ( Rec. 7/60 ) 2. Symphony No.4 ( Rec. 2/58 ) 3. Symphony No. 5 ( Rec 10/57 ) One has to chuckle at some covers. The picture depicts the Arch of Titus, with what possibly is a pine tree at the edge of the photograph. Yet, when one turns to the jacket of Respighi's 'Pines of Rome' in the same SACD series, what does one see? Very few, if any pines. This SACD of vintage Munch performances also includes a cherishable bonus, the famous scherzo from the octet. It is interesting to compare the 'Italian' symphony to Szell's 1962 performance, also on SACD. The only deficiency in the Munch is the absence of the first movement exposition repeat, which Szell observes. Szell's performance could well be described as 'brilliant', the outer movements bursting out of the starting blocks and maintaining this pace to the end. Some might find this verging on the militant. Munch's tempi are less fleet. Indeed, all the movements in this disc strike a happy medium. The orchestra is recorded slightly more closely than Szell's Clevelanders. The string sound of the Boston orchestra consequently sounds fuller. The woodwinds have a slight but appealing nasality which I gather represents the orchestra's Gallic tinge during the Munch era. The brass has presence and bite, without blare. Throughout the performances of both symphonies, I was reminded of Munch's conducting of Berlioz. Szell's phrasing sounds leaner, more streamlined, and aimed to contain longer stretches of music. In contrast, Munch's style, especially amongst the strings, presents more highly moulded and articulated phrasing. Every now and then, the strings will 'dig in' over some notes, before relaxing the pressure to allow details from the woodwind to suddenly shine through. One is reminded here of Berlioz's orchestration and melodic writing, with the quicksilver and unexpected handovers of melody from one set of instruments to another. This is not to say that Munch's performance is maverick, nor that he moulds the music in a style at odds with the composer's intentions. The shifts in emphasis are subtle, but audible if one is alert. In other words, there is more to discover the more one listens, unlike some superficially more exciting renditions. ( Szell is brilliant and not superficial, although charm is jettisoned along the way.) Munch's inner movements may in principle lean towards the stately, but because of the detailed perspectives, especially from the woodwinds, there is so much of interest that one welcomes unhurried tempi. These comments I aim mainly at the 'Italian'. I am almost certain he weaves the same individual magic in the 'Reformation', but as I barely know the piece, I'm not familiar with the standard interpretative formulae for these nuances. This is the first time I have actually found the 'Reformation' symphony semi-interesting, so it must function as an enthusiastic welcome. The sound has remarkable little tape hiss, and is typical of the Boston recordings from this source. The strings are warm and solid, the brass not as piercing and obviously virtuostic as at Chicago, the stereo spread rather wide but without a hole in the middle, the orchestra bathed in a lush but not overresonant acoustic. Copyright © 2006 Ramesh Nair and SA-CD.net --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Review by Peter November 14, 2006 This is another addendum to Ramesh's excellent review above. Mendelssohn's music seems to be enjoying somewhat of a renaissance in recent years and hardly a month goes by that another important recording appears of his music. He started working on the "Italian" symphony in 1830 on a visit to Italy, and eventually completed it in 1833, after some difficulty. He composed much of his music with such facility that it is perhaps surprising that this wasn't one of those works he tossed of between breakfast and morning coffee. The "Italian" is in fact earlier than the "Hymn of Praise" or the "Scottish". The first movement is quintessentially joyous and it isn't difficult to imagine the Italian countryside in Summer as its inspiration. The second is said to have been inspired by a solemn procession of pilgrims in Rome or possibly Naples. The third and fourth are dance movements, the last a Saltarello which is an energetic Italian skipping dance. I have only just discovered that Mendelssohn wasn't happy with the final product and intended to revise both the first and last movements; the symphony was first performed after his death. The "Reformation" symphony was written before the "Italian" in 1829 (finished in 1830), to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Protesant Reformation and, I guess, is a homage to Martin Luther, as the last movement is based on a chorale written by Luther. The first movement is famous for its inclusion of the "Dresden Amen" which Wagner used, too, in "Parsifal". Munch's Living Stereo recordings of Mendelssohn are nearly 50 years old and wear their age lightly. The Reformation gets a fine performance and recording, as does the "Italian" though while strings are excellent (if a little too toppily recorded) the rest of the orchestra seems balanced too far back and is overwhelmed by them. The Octet movement, in its arrangement for orchestra for the 1st symphony, appears on CD/SACD for the first time and demonstrates Munch's ability to produce filigree - really outstanding playing. Fans of Munch or Living Stereo need not hesitate. Fans of the "Italian" may prefer Linn's more modern recording and performance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================================= foobar2000 1.1.12a / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1 log date: 2012-05-31 17:17:06 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Analyzed: Charles Munch, conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra/Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5; Octet: Scherzo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DR Peak RMS Duration Track ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DR11 -0.58 dB -16.36 dB 8:05 01-Allegro vivace DR13 -3.22 dB -21.47 dB 5:56 02-Andante con moto DR13 -3.10 dB -21.06 dB 6:26 03-Con moto moderato DR11 -0.33 dB -17.03 dB 6:06 04-Saltarello: Presto DR11 -0.01 dB -17.06 dB 10:43 05-Andante; Allegro con fuoco DR12 -4.10 dB -21.70 dB 4:12 06-Allegro vivace DR14 -4.93 dB -26.49 dB 3:24 07-Andante DR10 -1.42 dB -15.66 dB 8:56 08-Chorale ('Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott'): Andante con moto;Allegro vivace DR14 -13.58 dB -31.78 dB 4:09 09-Octet in E-Flat, Op. 20 - Scherzo: Allegro leggierissimo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Number of tracks: 9 Official DR value: DR12 Samplerate: 88200 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 24 Bitrate: 2437 kbps Codec: FLAC ================================================================================= Checksums for iso: 024072168399f578effaa5b8160e02ec *Charles Munch, conductor - Mendelssohn Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5.iso Checksums for 3ch flacs: 394758265fe439422c2170deef8bb47f *01 Allegro vivace.flac 24f6797a9696d57c1a378294047b0e28 *02 Andante con moto.flac 01e016ab21decc548b662880380f4352 *03 Con moto moderato.flac b3d8101dd807989dfa559496590c1b4e *04 Saltarello Presto.flac 68977144803b443444d68001cbd415a2 *05 Andante; Allegro con fuoco.flac eeff40fd23c4d102d227529ec60eaaeb *06 Allegro vivace.flac 7b376d45da6ef30e963a324aa62a746a *07 Andante.flac 8bee0494d85aea876cf388665f791533 *08 Chorale ('Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott') Andante con moto;Allegro vivace.flac 07801d2daa66e1c55678a386547b786c *09 Octet in E-Flat, Op. 20 - Scherzo Allegro leggierissimo.flac Checksums for 2ch flacs: 5edf78d44bdd6be787d3c0cb075e7809 *1 Allegro vivace.flac 26073da3b8961f31b967f7ccf353050e *2 Andante con moto.flac 2c43b071ea487ceaf817e622ddc92b25 *3 Con moto moderato.flac 1b6f9488f9a09c04e44da7e43adc44ea *4 Saltarello Presto.flac 552ef2aed1a2e9cc1c7d50324d281d88 *5 Andante; Allegro con fuoco.flac 2e7933a66756126eb614b0213aa9b90e *6 Allegro vivace.flac 10baf9336728fdb64ce24274caa5dd82 *7 Andante.flac a447096900506dedde83c3859be5f84c *8 Chorale ('Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott') Andante con moto;Allegro vivace.flac a8f435f4ea74cec8a24846a828413d2f *9 Octet in E-Flat, Op. 20 - Scherzo Allegro leggierissimo.flac