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Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Autor von Rossini Overtures • Norrington

18+ Werke 42 Mitglieder 1 Rezension

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Beinhaltet den Namen: Orpheus Chamber

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The Four Seasons [Music Sound Recording] (1725) — Orchestra, einige Ausgaben425 Exemplare
Piano concertos no. 23 and 24 (sound recording) (2000) — Orchestra, einige Ausgaben23 Exemplare
Mozart: Wind Serenades K. 375 & 388 (1987) — Orchestra — 22 Exemplare
Emanon (2018) — Performer — 5 Exemplare
Rodrigo & Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concertos (1989) — Artist — 5 Exemplare
Symphonies for Strings Nos. 8 - 10 — Artists, einige Ausgaben3 Exemplare
Mendelssohn (2019) 3 Exemplare

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This is an outstanding release from Deutsche Grammophon (Universal). The recordings made by the conductor-less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the label, from the mid-80s up to recent years, maintain an impressive quality of musicianship and recorded sound quality. This overall quality, along with the choice of repertoire, makes this a very appealing set.

The earliest recording in the box dates from 1982 and was, I believe, first released on the Pro Arte label. It is a very fine Stravinsky "Pulcinella" (with Dumbarton Oaks and the 8 Instrumental Miniatures). Just to be clear, it is the Suite from the ballet, not the complete score, so does not include the vocal numbers. The most recent recording is a Mendelssohn disc featuring the 2 piano concertos performed by Jan Lisiecki (2019). These are good performances but perhaps lack the sparkle of some others (E.g. Hough on Hyperion). This disc also includes a "First International Release" of a very good "Italian" Symphony.

For me the highlights in this box are quite numerous and fall into 3 categories: 1) series of recordings by certain composers that are of exceptional quality; 2) singleton discs of familiar repertoire of great quality; 3) really interesting repertoire that you don't see recorded often, especially to this degree of excellence.

The first group is dominated by several releases devoted to both Haydn and Mozart. I will say straight off that if you love these two composers, you will surely enjoy this box. The 7 Haydn discs feature 16 symphonies and 1 overture. These are bright, vibrant, loving performances. Even if you own complete cycles from Dorati, Fischer, Naxos, or others, these performances will still surely delight. What makes these discs particularly wonderful is the choice of symphonies: 22, 44, 45, 48, 49, 53, 60, 63, 73, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 91, & 102. Sometimes the dizzying wealth of symphonies in a complete Haydn cycle can leave you frozen for choice if trying to explore. These singleton discs allow you to pick one and get a 'sampling' from the magnificent legacy of music that Haydn's symphonies represent, away from the more familiar 90s and 100s works. The Mozart 'chunk' comprises 10 discs. These include 3 discs of the wind concertos featuring soloists from the ensemble. These are all consistently excellent. I particularly appreciate the horn concerto performances. (The 2nd Flute Concerto, which is really the Oboe Concerto, is not included, but the Andante K.315 is.) There are 4 discs of various serenades and divertimenti, including "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", "Serenata Notturna", and the "Gran Partita" Serenade. These are all excellent recordings. You would be right to assume that Orpheus are utterly ideal in this repertoire. Still with Mozart, we get a disc of "Sinfonie Concertanti", a disc featuring 3 symphonies (29, 33, 40), and a disc entitled "A Little Light Music" which features the "Musical Joke", several German Dances and various other slight pieces. Outside period instrument performances, all these Haydn and Mozart discs are outstanding and possibly cannot be bettered (matched, perhaps, but not bettered).

Some discs that stand out for me, among the discs devoted to fairly 'standard' repertoire include a wonderful Prokofiev "Classical Symphony" disc (with Bizet Symphony in C and Britten "Simple Symphony"). This has long been my go to for the Prokofiev. It is just about perfect in terms of tempi, energy, virtuosity, and recording quality. The Bizet is wonderful, too. You'd have to go far to find better performances of either of these works. The Copland disc is also exceptionally good. I have always preferred the full orchestra version of "Appalachian Spring" (a work I adore) but Orpheus's Suite version is the best I've heard and immediately won me over to the qualities of this arrangement. The disc also includes an outstanding "Short Symphony" (something of a remarkable feat without a conductor), as atmospheric and effective "Quiet City" as you'll hear, as well as the "3 Latin American Sketches", a work I was unfamiliar with but now thoroughly enjoy. Staying in America, their Ives disc is excellent. There's a wonderful Rossini Overtures disc. Rossini is not a composer I usually pay much attention to, but the Orpheus won me over completely with their vibrant, energetic performances. The same can be said of a fantastic Respighi disc. It features the "Ancient Airs and Dances Suites I & III", "Three Botticelli Pictures", and "The Birds". I recently bought the Respighi complete orchestral works box on Brilliant and found it to be excellent, aside from these aforementioned works, which are merely good. Of course, Orpheus bring the style and panache that they require to really shine with Neoclassical charm. Disc 50 gives us clarinettist Charles Neidich performing the 2 Weber Concertos and Concertino, along with the Rossini "Introduction, Theme & Variations". Neidich (who also performs the Mozart Concerto) can have a somewhat 'bright' tone that I don't always enjoy, but his musicianship is excellent and his sound suits these works in a 'chipper' kind of way. This is up there with the best discs of these central works of the clarinet repertoire.

The third category I suggested was that of interesting repertoire. The very first disc in the box is a Bartok and Janacek disc featuring Bartok's "Divertimento" and "Romanian Folk Dances". These are wonderful performances of wonderful (but less often heard) pieces. They are accompanied by Janacek's "Mladi" (Youth), a great piece for winds. This is a superb disc and a great way to kick off the 55-disc box. Beethoven's "Creatures of Prometheus" is disc 2. While the overture is well-known, the complete ballet music is much less common. This is as good a performance as any music collection will need. There is a brilliant Kodaly and Suk disc which includes the latter's Serenade for Strings and the former's "Hungarian Rondo" and "Summer Evening". These last 2 were not known to me and are both great pieces. Needless to say, the performances are excellent. Mendelssohn is represented by 3 discs. There is a wonderful concerti disc with Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer, a beautiful disc of String Symphonies 8, 9, & 10, and the previously mentioned Piano Concertos disc. While I have my reservations about the last of these, the other 2 are nothing short of superb. There are a couple of Richard Strauss discs including less common works: "From the Workshop of an Invalid" and "Happy Workshop" (aka, the 2 "Sonatinen") as well as the "Divertimento" and "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme". There are also 2 excellent Stravinsky discs (alongside "Pulcinella"). Orpheus does "Orpheus" superbly. They also assemble a great disc of miniatures. This last includes the wonderful "Scherzo a la Russe" for jazz band. Finally, I'd like to mention 2 discs (51 & 54) of various works. No.51 is a kind of journey around Europe with music by Wagner (Siegfried-Idyll), Turina (La oracion del torero), Wolf (Italian Serenade), Puccini (Crisantemi), Berlioz (Reverie et Caprice), Sibelius (Valse triste), and Dvorak (Notturno). When was the last time you listed to Turina's "La oracion del torero"? Disc no.54 is the Orpheus 'contemporary' music disc (it's less contemporary 30 years later, obviously). It is called "Points of Departure" and includes interesting and engaging works by Fred Lerdahl, Jacob Druckman, William Bolcom, and Michael Gandolfi.

Now, as far as low-lights are concerned, there aren't many, and most just reflect my very subjective tastes. The Dvorak Serenades disc is a bit 'limp' to my tastes. Three of the Mischa Maisky discs are not my favourites: the Saint-Saens, the Schumann, and the Tchaikovsky. Personally, I find Maisky to be too 'wayward' and 'waffley' for these works. (For both the Schumann and Tchaikovsky works, I thoroughly recommend Jan Vogler's recordings). I do like the Vivaldi/Boccherini Cello Concertos disc, however. Maisky has a romantic approach but can't become too indulgent in these Baroque pieces. Gil Shaham is a soloist I do very much enjoy, but his 'Romances' disc and "Four Seasons" disc don't appeal to me. Finally, disc 55 is a Decca release from 2001 called "Wayfaring Stranger" with Andreas Scholl singing folk songs. He is a good singer, but I will never listen to this disc.

This 55-disc box is an incredibly high quality release featuring one of the best conductor-less chamber orchestras performing music that is right in their wheelhouse. The recordings are splendid. The box itself is attractive and sturdy, though lacking in inserts to stop the contents moving about (I added a couple of foam squares). The booklet includes thorough tracklistings, which are not included on the backs of each paper sleeve. (The paper sleeves just give the titles of the works, as well as soloist and recording date information.) There is also a brief essay by Jed Distler (Classics Today) about the ensemble as well as several cool photos from the orchestra's history. I will also add that several of the original disc covers are beautiful and quite iconic, including the stylized Orpheus logo text cut presumably from polystyrene that graces several of their covers.

This box is a very worthy purchase for those who care for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, for those who care for this type of repertoire, for those wishing to get certain works to fill out their collection, for audiophiles who appreciate high quality recordings, and for those who just appreciate wonderful music played and presented wonderfully well.
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RaphaelMarsonet | Sep 20, 2021 |

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