Search - Lorin Maazel, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Richard Wagner :: Tannhäuser Without Words

So what........

Timothy Mikolay | Pittsburgh, PA | 09/07/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As you gaze on this album cover, with Maazel gazing right back at 'ya, it's quite difficult to take this album seriously.

The performing is quite good but what's the point of this album? I've listened to it once and sorry to say that was probably the last time (unless I put a CD player in my car and need to listen to SOMETHING like this while I cross Ohio on I-80 in the dead of night).



Maazel left Pittsburgh in 1996 but for some reason his terrible recordings with the orchestra (Saint-Saens' organ symphony, Resphigi's Pines of Rome, his Sibelius cycle and this one) are still laying around at Amazon for about $3. Doesn't say much, does it? The orchestra gives its all for Maazel and they are to be commended for executing an exciting reading of this over-played and over-recorded music (Steinberg recorded Tannhauser music with the Pgh. Symphony as well), but the end result is a CD that will hold no special place in the catalog because it offers nothing new and is just a big, bland picture of Maazel himself..........ZZZZZZZZZZ"