Search - Hector Berlioz, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Dance of the Sylphs; Dance of the Will-o'-the-Wisps

Not one of Karajan's high points

Michael B. Richman | 04/24/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Few conductors are actually fully comfortable in all areas of the classical repertoire and Karajan despite his prolific recording career is no exception. The sound of the orchestra is essentially the same as in all Karajan/Berlin recordings of German repertoire. What Karajan fails to realize is that Berlioz requires a completely different approach, not least because of his unique orchestration and its demands on orchestral color, phrasing and ensemble playing. The BPO have proven themselves more than capable of mesmerizing performances of French repertoire under other conductors. But this recording is disappointing not only because of Karajan's failure to connect with the score, but also because of an unusual (for the BPO) amount of imprecise and messy ensemble playing and bad balancing."

Hard to Believe

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to believe that Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic didn't make a better performance than the account presented here. Karajan made one of the great mono recordings of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique with the Philharmonia for EMI in 1954 (see my review), but this stereo version, originally released in 1965, while not awful is certainly below the level of excellence that I'm accustomed to from this conductor and orchestra. Even at a budget price, it isn't a great value -- for that try Ormandy on Sony Essential Classics, or even better, Cluytens on the original EMI Seraphim Series (see my reviews of both)."