Notes and Editorial Reviews
Neither of these pieces is under-represented in the catalogues; but it would be surprising if any of the many available performances could positively be said to be better ones than these. Solti persuades the LSO into their very best; and as in the concerto by intention, and in the suite in effect, the orchestra are collectively the soloists of the occasion, this is the best of starts for the whole enterprise. The drive imparted to the more energetic sections of the music is startlingly effective, no less so than the poetry of the many woodwind soloists in the more expressive sections. The drive by no means results from excessive tempos... I do not hope ever to hear better performances. The recording is very nearly to match; in 1965 it must
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have been amomg the very best.
-- Gramophone [11/1983]
reviewing the Concerto for Orchestra and Dance Suite on LP
It is apt, if ironic, that these very last recordings of Sir Georg Solti, product of sessions in Budapest last June, three months before his sudden death, should make up the perfect valedictory disc... Solti came finally to feel that the story of Bartok’s Cantata profana – about nine sons turned by magic into stags, who finally return home – symbolized his own life-story. The chorus, as I say, sing superbly, with the Romanian baritone, Alexander Agache, a strong and dark soloist... [The Kodály] was a work which Solti recorded in mono right at the beginning of his years with Decca, but with glowing digital sound..., the piece is transformed, particularly with such idiomatic singing and playing... Beautifully written in four cleanly constructed movements, [the Weiner] is a delightful piece full of fresh, crisply conceived ideas, as in the easygoing sonata-form first movement... Solti could never have conceived a more winning last offering on disc. -- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [6/1998]
reviewing Cantata Profana, Psalmus Hungaricus and Serenade in F minor, originally released as Decca 458929
[The Enigma Variations] is a heartfelt, incandescent performance, delicate and subtle in detail, which is the more moving, when Solti refuses to over-emote, for example, in the great climax of "Nimrod", taking it at a flowing speed... [The Peacock Variations] has extra warmth and subtlety, with the rhythmic verve just as infectious as before, in short a joyous performance... The Blacher makes a delightful fill-up... Again the performance is infectious in its pointing of rhythm. Jazzy syncopations are consistently interpreted with a sense of fun, and the element of fantasy in Blacher's sequence of 16 free variations is regularly brought out, ending with a breathtaking account of the final moto perpetuo.
– Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [3/1997]
reviewing the Enigma and Peacock Variations, and the Blacher Variations, originally released as Decca 452853
A superb record—Solti's Haydn series goes from strength to strength. This coupling has the spirit of Sir Thomas Beecham smiling over the proceedings, so elegant and refined is the LPO playing, so graceful the phrasing, so subtle is the adjustment of light and shade, especially in the enchanting slow movement of No. 95. There is stature as well as warmth: both finales are uncommonly strong: that to No. 95 is given a remarkable sense of purpose and structural cohesion, without losing its essential humanity.
-- Ivan March, Gramophone [1/1987]
reviewing Haydn's Symphonies 95 and 104, originally released as Decca 417330
Georg Solti's Mahler Eighth always has stood high on the list of recommendable versions, even for people who don't normally warm to his nervy, high-powered approach to this composer (and just about everyone else as well). A true "sonic spectacular" on LP, the performance originally transferred poorly to CD, where the audio manipulations--the dubbed-in organ part and shifting perspectives of the soloists and offstage brass--were all too obvious. What Decca has achieved in this most recent remastering is a more integrated and natural sound picture, one that allows the listener to focus more on the performance's purely musical qualities, which include an outstanding lineup of soloists (still the best the work has received) and some fabulous playing by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
reviewing the Mahler Eighth, previously released as Decca 000691902
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Orchestra, Sz 116 by Béla Bartók
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; USA
Date of Recording: 1965
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Length: 36 Minutes 5 Secs.
2.
Dance Suite for Orchestra, Sz 77 by Béla Bartók
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1923; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 1965
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Length: 16 Minutes 2 Secs.
3.
Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19/Sz 73: Suite by Béla Bartók
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1919-1927; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 1963
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Length: 17 Minutes 43 Secs.
4.
Cantata Profana, Sz 94 by Béla Bartók
Performer:
Alexandru Agache (Baritone),
Tamás Daróczy (Tenor)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hungarian Radio/TV Chorus,
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1930; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 06/1997
Venue: Italian Institute, Budapest, Hungary
Length: 18 Minutes 48 Secs.
Language: Hungarian
5.
Psalmus hungaricus, Op. 13 by Zoltán Kodály
Performer:
Tamás Daróczy (Tenor)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hungarian Radio/TV Chorus,
Hungarian Radio/TV Children's Chorus,
Budapest Festival Orchestra
...
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1923; Hungary
Date of Recording: 06/1997
Venue: Italian Institute, Budapest, Hungary
Length: 21 Minutes 10 Secs.
Language: Hungarian
6.
Serenade in F minor, Op. 3 by Leó Weiner
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1906; Hungary
Date of Recording: 06/1997
Venue: Italian Institute, Budapest, Hungary
Length: 19 Minutes 58 Secs.
7.
Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Julia Varády (Soprano),
Iris Vermillion (Mezzo Soprano),
Vinson Cole (Tenor),
René Pape (Bass),
Kolja Blacher (Violin)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
Berlin Radio Chorus
Period: Classical
Written: 1823; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 03/1994
Venue: Live Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
Length: 77 Minutes 16 Secs.
Language: Latin
8.
Symphony no 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1806; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 09/1987
Venue: Medinah Temple, Chicago
9.
Symphony no 5 in C minor, Op. 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1807
Date of Recording: 09/1987
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Chicago, Illinois
10.
Symphony no 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Reinhild Runkel (Mezzo Soprano),
Jessye Norman (Soprano),
Robert Schunk (Tenor),
Hans Sotin (Bass)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Period: Classical
Written: 1822-1824; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 1986
Venue: Medinah Temple, Chicago, Illinois
Length: 74 Minutes 42 Secs.
Language: German
11.
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 by Hector Berlioz
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1830; France
13.
Variations on a Hungarian folksong "The Peacock" by Zoltán Kodály
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1938-1939; Hungary
Date of Recording: 04/1996
Venue: Live Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
14.
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma" by Sir Edward Elgar
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1898-1899; England
Date of Recording: 04/1996
Venue: Live Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
15.
Variations on a Theme of Niccolň Paganini, Op. 26 by Boris Blacher
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1947; Germany
Date of Recording: 04/1996
Venue: Live Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
16.
German Requiem, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms
Performer:
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (Soprano),
Bernd Weikl (Baritone)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1854-1868; Austria
Length: 77 Minutes 33 Secs.
Language: German
17.
Symphony no 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1884-1885; Austria
18.
Symphony no 8 in C minor, WAB 108 by Anton Bruckner
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 11/1990
Venue: Live Bolshoi Hall, St. Petersburg
Length: 73 Minutes 59 Secs.
19.
The Planets, Op. 32/H 125 by Gustav Holst
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
London Philharmonic Chorus Women
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1916; England
Date of Recording: 02/1978
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Length: 48 Minutes 48 Secs.
23.
Symphony no 95 in C minor, H 1 no 95 by Franz Joseph Haydn
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1791; London, England
25.
Faust Symphony, S 108 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Siegfried Jerusalem (Tenor)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1854-1857; Weimar, Germany
Date of Recording: 01/1986
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Chicago, IL
Length: 74 Minutes 22 Secs.
Language: German
26.
Symphony no 1 in D major "Titan" by Gustav Mahler
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1888/1896
Date of Recording: 10/1983
Length: 56 Minutes 0 Secs.
27.
Symphony no 8 in E flat major "Symphony of A Thousand" by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Heather Harper (Soprano),
Arleen Augér (Soprano),
Yvonne Minton (Alto),
Helen Watts (Alto),
René Kollo (Tenor),
Martti Talvela (Bass),
John Shirley-Quirk (Baritone),
Lucia Popp (Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna State Opera Chorus,
Vienna Singverein,
Vienna Boys' Choir
...
Period: Romantic
Written: 1906; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 1971
Venue: Sofiensaal, Vienna, Austria
28.
Symphony no 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1937; USSR
Date of Recording: 02/1993
Venue: Live Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Length: 43 Minutes 31 Secs.
29.
Symphony no 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian" by Felix Mendelssohn
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1833; Germany
Date of Recording: 02/1993
Venue: Live Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Length: 27 Minutes 35 Secs.
30.
Requiem in D minor, K 626 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Cecilia Bartoli (Mezzo Soprano),
Arleen Augér (Soprano),
Vinson Cole (Tenor),
René Pape (Bass)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Vienna Philharmonic Chorus
Period: Classical
Written: 1791; Vienna, Austria
Venue: Live St Stephan's Cathedral, Vienna
Language: Latin
31.
Symphony no 40 in G minor, K 550 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Period: Classical
Written: 1788; Vienna, Austria
33.
Le tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1917; orch. 191; France
35.
Symphony no 9 in C major, D 944 "Great" by Franz Schubert
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: ?1825-28; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 06/1981
Venue: Sofiensaal, Vienna
Length: 55 Minutes 11 Secs.
36.
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 by Richard Strauss
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1895-1896; Germany
39.
Pétrouchka by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Switzerland
Date of Recording: 11/1993
Venue: Live Orchestra Hall, Chicago, Illinois
Length: 34 Minutes 49 Secs.
40.
1812 Overture, Op. 49 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1880; Russia
41.
Romeo and Juliet Overture by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1869/1880; Russia
42.
Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892; Russia
44.
Der fliegende Holländer: Overture by Richard Wagner
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1841/1852; Germany
45.
Tannhäuser: Overture by Richard Wagner
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1845/1861; Germany
47.
Belshazzar's Feast by Sir William Walton
Performer:
Ralph Downes (Organ),
Benjamin Luxon (Baritone)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
London Philharmonic Chorus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1930-1931; England
48.
Coronation Te Deum by Sir William Walton
Performer:
Ralph Downes (Organ)
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Winchester Cathedral Choir,
Salisbury Cathedral Choir
...
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1952-1953; England
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