Search - Charles Ives, Zubin Mehta, Christoph von Dohnányi :: Ives: The Symphonies / Orchestral Sets 1 & 2

A great set

Joe Barron | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States | 08/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ives' four symphonies beautifully summarize his growth as composer. Unlike Brahms' four, they are not all fully mature works. Each one freezes a moment in his development. The first is student work, much in the manner of Dvorak and Tchaikovsky (with paraphrases of each), and the most vibrant American symphony written to that time. The Second does what many musical nationalists of Ives' day thought an American symphony should do -- apply native themes to European models, but as much fun as the result is, it was a dead end for the composer, and he never attempted anything like it again. Mehta and the LA Philharmonic give energetic and fully romantic readings of each, which came as a pleasant surprise to an long-time Ives fan who thought he'd heard all these works have to offer.



The Third comes closer to the mark. It consists of American themes woven together with ingenious counterpoint into wholly original forms. It is a jewel, and just the kind of pretty, low-key piece that brings out the best in Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.



The Fourth is the masterpiece, the work Ives struggled toward all his life. Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra do a creditable job that stands up well to the competition from Stokowski and Tilson Thomas. I especially liked the engineering in the second and fourth movements, which captures some details others don't. (I'd never heard the wind machine before.)



As a bonus, you also get Ives' great orchestral sets, both in fine performances with Dohnanyi. The No. 1, better known as Three Places in New England, is the more famous, but the Second is sublime.



This reasonably priced set is a great, convenient way to acquire some of Ives' best music all at once."

Do Not Hesitate!

Daniel R. Greenfield | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 03/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For quite some time, I had been looking for just such a compilation of all the Ives symphonies. When I saw this newly released compilation from Decca, I bought it without a moment's hesitation. And I am very glad I did: This set has very quickly become one of my favorite recordings. Not only the four symphonies, but also the two great orchestral sets 1 and 2 are included as well. Unquestionably, it is these two orchestral sets that make this compilation such an outstanding bargain and, really, an absolute MUST HAVE for anyone even remotely interested in modern classical music. Each of the symphonies is very well performed, though none of these are what I would call the Definitive Recordings. However, the Mehta performance of the First is exceedingly good, and I don't really see how it could possibly be improved on. . . Dohnanyi's performance of the Fourth is a little restrained for my tastes, but it is nonetheless an interesting interpretation. Dohnanyi more than proves himself a able interpreter of Ives in his performances of the two orchestral sets, which are, without a doubt, the highlights of this album. J. P. Burkholder's liner notes add some very interesting insights into each of the works.Based on the overall quality of these individual performances, I would give them four stars. However, considering that each of these two CD's contains almost 80 minutes of Ives, and considering the inclusion of these wonderful orchestral sets, this compilation is very worthy to be rated at five stars."

Amazing

Sungu Okan | Istanbul, Istanbul Turkey | 10/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 2-CD set is really good, and contains his complete numbered symphonies (except, Holidays Symphony [No. 5]) and Orchestral Sets...First Symphony (D minor!) is a study work, written in school years, so he didn't abandon the principles of harmony(!)Second Symphony (F Major, except the last chord of music!) contains themes of some famous composers (Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak) and last chord is hysterical of course...Third Symphony is a winner of Pulitzer, and written for a chamber orchestraAnd Fourth Symphony is one of the best compositions by Ives.
Especially 2nd movement is terrific...He used some popular tunes and marches of USA (as usual!) and divide 2 part to the all orchestra. Even so, this movement requires two conductors for orchestra only (!). Orchestration is amazing (ex. quarter-tone piano, more two normal pianos, bells, gongs, large woodwinds, 6 horns, 6 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 tubas etc...) and choir requires...All performers are very good. Especially Dohnanyi and his Cleveland Orchestra (in 4th Sym.), Zubin Mehta and his Los Angeles PO (in 2nd Symphony) are excellent...In other words, this set is a must have for all Ives fans.
Highly recommended..."