Notes and Editorial Reviews
One of the most famous recordings ever made, and one of the most important, this truly legendary performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks belongs in every serious record collection. The brainchild of the young Charles Mackerras--a conductor whose curiosity is exceeded only by his innate musicality--virtually every horn, trumpet, oboe, and bassoon player in London got together for a single night in April 1959, and (so the story goes) fortified with plenty of drink, let loose the musical barrage captured on this CD.
Certainly, as Mackerras himself points out, he would conduct the Overture more quickly today, and to a degree the sonics cloud over the loudest passages, but what fun this still is, and how bold
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and exciting it all sounds! The couplings, other Handel works largely arranged by Mackerras, also reveal his special affinity for this composer; but it's the Fireworks Music that remains the reason to get this disc. Rarely is it possible in the history of music to be able to point to a specific event and say: "There! This performance changed the way we think about a familiar piece of music." This is one of those times.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351 by George Frideric Handel
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Wind Ensemble
Period: Baroque
Written: 1749; London, England
Date of Recording: 04/1959
Venue: St. Gabriel's Church, London, England
2.
Berenice, Regina d'Egitto, HWV 38: Overture by George Frideric Handel
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1737; London, England
Date of Recording: 04/04/1956
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
Notes: Arranged: W. G. Whittaker
3.
Concerto a due cori no 2 in F major, HWV 333 by George Frideric Handel
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Pro Arte Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: circa 1746-1747; London, England
Date of Recording: 03/25/1959
Venue: St. Gabriel's Church, London, England
4.
Concerto in F major by George Frideric Handel
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Date of Recording: 1976
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
5.
Concerto in D major by George Frideric Handel
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Date of Recording: 1976
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
6.
Water Music, HWV 348-350: Suite by George Frideric Handel
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: circa 1715-1717; London, England
Date of Recording: 04/04/1956
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
Notes: Arranged: Harty
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