Search - Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Klemperer :: Symphony 5 / Symphony 98

Odd, But Terrific Coupling

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 01/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I took my time when it came to selecting my Tchaikovsky Symphonies on CD. There are some great twofers available for Symphonies 4-6 (notables include ones by Karajan, Markevitch and Mravinsky), but I instead settled on the amazing single disc releases of Symphonies 4 & 6 by Leonard Bernstein and Fritz Reiner respectively. Of course this left me without a Symphony No. 5. I was all set to buy George Szell's "Great Performances" recording, but I had slight reservations since it only had the 5th on it and it was a first generation CD. Then I came across this "Klemperer Legacy" title. My only experience (at that time) with Otto conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra was on a wonderful version of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6, but I knew he was a conductor of merit. But it was the fact that the 98th Symphony was one of the few late Haydn Symphonies I did not have on disc that pushed me over the top to buy this title. The Haydn recording is from 1960 and the Tchaikovsky from 1963, and both the performances and the sound are excellent. I am sure there are performances out there that are equal to, if not better, than this one, but despite the fact that this is an odd coupling, I have never been disappointed by making this purchase."

Sonic stars

picture goer | 05/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I`ve heard Karajan and Mravinsky. Both fine but this one by Klemperer is sonically superior and very musical. If you have heard Klemperer`s Brahms Symphony 1 you`ll know what I mean. The competition is simply irrelevant. You just get absorbed by the music from start to finish. Of course, Mravinsky`s trumpet section is unbeatable."