# Best Sounding Orchestral Recordings



## patrick76 (Dec 26, 2014)

I would be interested to know which orchestral recordings are your favorites in terms of sound and mix. Recently I've been listening to the Saving Private Ryan score and really like the sound of that album.

Best regards,

Pat


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## Stiltzkin (Dec 26, 2014)

If you're talking any orchestral recording then this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rscJQmOVeEI

It's just got something about it that to me just sounds beautifully done - it's crisp, warm and big without going over the top.

If just film then I'd have to go with star wars episode 1 - anakins theme especially is recorded especially well.


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## patrick76 (Dec 26, 2014)

Yes, thank you! It even sounds good on youtube. I may have to pick up that one on cd.


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## ScoringFilm (Dec 26, 2014)

Pat,

Shameless plug, however my blog has lots of examples and discussion on this very subject!

http://scoringfilm.net/

Justin


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## patrick76 (Dec 26, 2014)

Thanks for the link! Just checked it out very briefly and seems very impressive and in depth. Looking forward to going over it all. Nice resource.


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## Tatu (Dec 26, 2014)

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Eine-Alpensinfonie-An-Alpine-Symphony/dp/B000001GK2 (http://www.amazon.com/Eine-Alpensinfoni ... B000001GK2)


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## ModalRealist (Dec 26, 2014)

The seven-album collection of Masamichi Amano's score to Giant Robo has to be one of my favourite recordings of all time, although it perhaps isn't so "modern" in its taste. A beautiful golden tone to it though. Cranked up to eleven on a good hi-fi setup and it's pure orchestral heaven. The orchestral portions of Yoko Kanno's score to Macross Frontier have a fantastic, billowing crispness to them (and are a hilariously efficient and inspired rip-off of Mahler and John Williams).


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## ed buller (Dec 26, 2014)

ScoringFilm @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> Pat,
> 
> Shameless plug, however my blog has lots of examples and discussion on this very subject!
> 
> ...



wonderful site. Most informative....thank you very much.

Reference recordings are wonderful sounding CD's They where made by the engineer in charge of the recordings for the first QLSO library ( Keith .o.Johnson) . Which is why they still sound so good nearly 12 years later.

The Rite Of Spring is particularly good 

For modern film scores you really can't go wrong with Alan Meyerson . His balancing of low end is soooooo good. Check out Gladiator , Inception, Dark Knight, Game of Shadows

e


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## RiffWraith (Dec 26, 2014)

Stiltzkin @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> If you're talking any orchestral recording then this:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rscJQmOVeEI



Wow - that sounds great!

'The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey' sounds really really good. The strings are to die for. I haven't delved into the 2nd film that much yet...

Cheers.


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## tokatila (Dec 26, 2014)

Stiltzkin @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> If you're talking any orchestral recording then this:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rscJQmOVeEI
> 
> ...



You can find that on spotify too. And anything you can find from Telarc, Opus 111 or Harmonia Mundi is usually golden. 

I am especially fond of this Four Seasons recording by OPUS 111 - Europa Galante and Fabio Biondi (sry, Spotify only): 

http://open.spotify.com/album/07bvhwKUj6c1bKwKC4FOu3

Some examples from Harmonia Mundi:

20th century string quartets:
http://open.spotify.com/album/4ewq8Zn3Lpxnacu2AH0Hs4

Piazzolla: Historie du Tango:
http://open.spotify.com/album/4kszsH5IDJBeN6RBPgpvix

Mendelssohn: Midsummer's Night Dream:
http://open.spotify.com/album/41enDKTDyemOUeDZ1ztKYn

Romantic: Greatest Masterworks of 19th Century
http://open.spotify.com/album/3T3nUyuozn0XRc9W1pAyvL

Telarc:

Bolero: Music of Ravel, Borodin and Bizet
http://open.spotify.com/album/1CaamXpLxmtifN8HpLepvW


o=<


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## tokatila (Dec 26, 2014)

And yeah, from Reference Recordings:

Stravinsky : The Rite of Spring, etc. (This is pretty awesome!)

http://open.spotify.com/album/6JyfaMiWBx8xE4b5vjRPqw


And these Ravel Orchestrations:

http://open.spotify.com/album/35fmi0TLiCJY6JSQJF7mdM


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## Stiltzkin (Dec 26, 2014)

tokatila @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> Stiltzkin @ Fri Dec 26 said:
> 
> 
> > If you're talking any orchestral recording then this:
> ...



Yeah spotify is where I heard it, I didn't know you could link to spotify from here so I just found it with a quick google search xD

It's just so clean without being too harsh in the 4k mark - really quality work.


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## Boneking (Dec 26, 2014)

Recordings of Chandos records-mostly of classical works (the genre not the period) and a few soundtrack recordings of Rosza, Korngold etc- offer great sound
https://www.chandos.net/-


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## jmiliad (Dec 26, 2014)

RiffWraith @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> Stiltzkin @ Fri Dec 26 said:
> 
> 
> > If you're talking any orchestral recording then this:
> ...



Desolation of Smaug is even better. Well, different maybe not better, depends on your likes.
You can check out a brief documentary of the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRAbSX1ySeY

In the CD notes it says that they placed mics on the corners, balconies etc in Wellington Town Hall, NZ where the recording was made. 

Nice stuff


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## Mahlon (Dec 26, 2014)

RiffWraith @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> Wow - that sounds great!
> 
> 'The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey' sounds really really good. The strings are to die for. I haven't delved into the 2nd film that much yet...
> 
> Cheers.



Totally agree. Those first 8 measures... And what a lyrical effluence the first four are. I can listen to only the first four, and all's right with the world. Goodness Greystoke! Genius, those measures.

Mahlon


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## kgdrum (Dec 26, 2014)

Stravinsky conducting Stravinsky with the Columbia Orch(Rite of Spring) on SACD this is truly breathtaking!


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## RiffWraith (Dec 26, 2014)

Mahlon @ Sat Dec 27 said:


> Totally agree. Those first 8 measures... And what a lyrical effluence the first four are. I can listen to only the first four, and all's right with the world. Goodness Greystoke! Genius, those measures.



Yeppers!


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## jemu999 (Dec 26, 2014)

ScoringFilm @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> Pat,
> 
> Shameless plug, however my blog has lots of examples and discussion on this very subject!
> 
> ...



Great site Justin… 

any new posts coming on the site??


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## pavolbrezina (Dec 27, 2014)

Insane sound!!!


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## marclawsonmusic (Dec 27, 2014)

If you like strings... 

http://youtu.be/ihx5LCF1yJY

I would love to find a CD recording of this.


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## ScoringFilm (Jan 19, 2015)

jemu999 @ 27/12/2014 said:


> Great site Justin…
> 
> any new posts coming on the site??



I tend to post when I have free time which, unfortunately these days, is not much!

I planned to do a new post on reference recordings for other genres and ensembles (wind, brass, vocal).

Soon hopefully,

J


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## Dryden.Chambers (Jan 19, 2015)

Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis. The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis at Gloucester Cathedral

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihx5LCF1yJY


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 19, 2015)

kgdrum @ Fri Dec 26 said:


> Stravinsky conducting Stravinsky with the Columbia Orch(Rite of Spring) on SACD this is truly breathtaking!



The recording may be good but I used to own that on vinyl and I think Stravinsky was not a very good conductor. Boulez did a much better job IMHO.


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## Greg (Jan 19, 2015)

JNH's Maleficent!


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## chibear (Jan 19, 2015)

For the _best_ orchestra sound, especially in the strings, you have to back to ADD IMHO. Specifically back to the old Szell, Reiner, Bernstein, and 60's-70's Karajan recordings where they hung 2 mics in front of the orchestra and maybe a couple of solo mics. Same reason why vinyl is creeping back up. Some people are wanting to listen to music rather than technology.


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## rgames (Jan 19, 2015)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jan 19 said:


> The recording may be good but I used to own that on vinyl and I think Stravinsky was not a very good conductor. Boulez did a much better job IMHO.


Definitely - also, the 22-CD collection of Stravinsky's works shows that the other guy (Kraft?) was the preferred conductor in that set.

My favorite recent recordings for overall sound are the Chandos recordings of Vaughan Williams' symphonies with the LSO. The engineering on those recordings is superb. If you're building a template, that's a good sound to emulate: it has a good balance of size and clarity.

rgames


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## pavolbrezina (Jan 19, 2015)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jan 19 said:


> I think Stravinsky was not a very good conductor.



>8o


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## David Donaldson (Jan 19, 2015)

Greg @ Tue Jan 20 said:


> JNH's Maleficent!


Quite a few years ago I came across a BBC series on great conductors from the past. it was awesome. I assume it was this one which is apparently now available on DVD
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238044/
It really went into the different characters and styles. One bit that stuck with me was Karajan who used to really piss orchestras off by conducting with his eyes closed.


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## David Donaldson (Jan 19, 2015)

In the above post I was trying to quote the bit about Stravinsky not being a good conductor not the quote I seem to have.


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## chibear (Jan 20, 2015)

pavolbrezina @ Tue Jan 20 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jan 19 said:
> 
> 
> > I think Stravinsky was not a very good conductor.
> ...



It's the truth. There was nothing that struck more terror in a professional orchestra than having to play the Rite of Spring with Stravinsky conducting.


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## Hanu_H (Jan 20, 2015)

I think this Gustav Holst - The Planets by Yoel Levi CD has always sounded great.

http://www.discogs.com/Gustav-Holst-Yoe ... se/4837274



-Hannes


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## kgdrum (Jan 20, 2015)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon 19 Jan said:


> kgdrum @ Fri Dec 26 said:
> 
> 
> > Stravinsky conducting Stravinsky with the Columbia Orch(Rite of Spring) on SACD this is truly breathtaking!
> ...



I enjoy hearing the actual composers perspective & vision,the rhythmic feel and pacing imho is really interesting, hear this on a great system and I think you might change your mind.
Boulez is probably my favorite composer for modern orchestral works but for me hearing the composers take on his own work is really interesting.
If you get a chance try to find it again and give it another listen you might be surprised!


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## kgdrum (Jan 20, 2015)

Chailley or Boulez conducting Works by Edgar Vares are really great recordings and vastly different interpretations of these unique orchestral percussion oriented pieces.

/\~O


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 20, 2015)

kgdrum @ Tue Jan 20 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Mon 19 Jan said:
> 
> 
> > kgdrum @ Fri Dec 26 said:
> ...



Composing and conducting are two different skill sets.. Great composers are not always great conductors with the skills to communicate their "take on their own work" well. There is far more clarity in Boulez's version than Sravinsky's IMHO. He is simply a more skilled conductor.

I listend to the Stravinsky version several times and it was interesting but once I got the Boulez version, I never did again.


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## kgdrum (Jan 20, 2015)

Understood but I think these were remastered when they were released as SACD and CD and the sound quality on a great system is simply incredible.
If you listened to it years ago on a mediocre system and the turntable wasn't set up well you might not know what I'm talking about.
The thread title is The Best Sounding Orchestral Recordings , not the Best Conductors......
While we might both prefer the Boulez interpretation for me hearing the composers vision of his own work is priceless, Stravinsky had a rhythmic feel and pacing that I'm sure tortured the people in the Orchestra to perform but for me it's simply amazing.
I had the privilege to hear this on some of the best playback systems in existence $300k + etc.....in treated listening rooms.
Can we can agree to disagree? o-[][]-o


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 20, 2015)

kgdrum @ Tue Jan 20 said:


> Understood but I think these were remastered when they were released as SACD and CD and the sound quality on a great system is simply incredible.
> If you listened to it years ago on a mediocre system and the turntable wasn't set up well you might not know what I'm talking about.
> The thread title is The Best Sounding Orchestral Recordings , not the Best Conductors......
> While we might both prefer the Boulez interpretation for me hearing the composers vision of his own work is priceless, Stravinsky had a rhythmic feel and pacing that I'm sure tortured the people in the Orchestra to perform but for me it's simply amazing.
> ...



Sure. But a not so hotsy totsy performance that was pristinely recorded, whether played back on a great sound system or not, does not IMHO fit my definition of a "Best Sounding Orchestral Recording" where perhaps it does yours, so we may be talking past each other in that regard.


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## David Donaldson (Jan 20, 2015)

I just saw Mr Turner and thought that the score by Gary Yershon sounded great. A small orchestra of around 12 maybe (how small can it be and still be called an orchestra?) 
As well as the score itself I really liked the sound of the recording. I particularly liked the cue that was used a number of times which started with the really high pitched almost electronic sustained sound. There was Sopranino Sax credited so i assume that's what was playing it.
It reminded me that Sax can be a really useful instrument. After playing in a band that had two competing Sax players in it for years I thought I had heard all the Saxophone I ever wanted to hear.
And what a fantastic film. I loved it.


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## re-peat (Jan 20, 2015)

One of the great, and best sounding _“Sacre”_’s on disc, in my opinion, is *Jonathan Darlington with the Duisburger Philharmoniker* (Acousence, Living Concert Series 21710, coupled with Debussy’s _“La Mèr”_).
I say ‘on disc’, but if you want the full experience (which is nothing short of mind-blowing when heard on a good system), best to go for the high-res digital download (used to be available in the Linn Records store, but not anymore sadly), or buy the DVD-release which contains the same high-res FLAC-files.

Also very good (but less sparkling than the Duisburger): *Rattle’s 2013 version with the Berliner* (on EMI, now Warner). Or *Yakov Kreizberg with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo* (available as a high-res download, on the orchestra’s own label OPMC). Not quite my favourite interpretations, but only because of a few minor details and some tempo-choices which I always anticipate differently. And another excellent (performed and sounding) version: *Tugan Sokhiev with the Orchestre Du Capitole De Toulouse* (on Naïve).

I used to like *Boulez with the Cleveland* (on CBS Masterworks) very much as well. That was the (vinyl) version I grew up with. Soundwise a bit dull perhaps, but certainly an electrifying recording/performance that still stands strong. Stronger, I find, than Boulez’s more recent version, also with the Cleveland, on Deutsche Gramophone.

I have never heard much recorded proof for the wide-spread notion that Stravinsky is a poor conductor. On the contrary: to my ears, the definitive versions of, say, 75% of Stravinsky’s output are all included in the *Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky *box-set. Particularly in his chamber music and the many works for smaller ensembles, his conducting is, in my opinion, up there with the very best.
While his _“Sacre”_ may not be the most breathtaking version on disc — it’s still a very good performance though —, he certainly has one of the best-ever _“Petrushka”_’s in his recorded legacy. And _“Petrushka”_ is, as every conductor knows, at least as difficult a work to pull off well, if not more so, as the “Sacre”.
My favourite _“Petrushka”_ however, is *Riccardo Muti with the Philadelphia Orchestra*, on EMI. (Which I always thought strange, cause just about every other Muti recording disappoints or annoys me in some way or other.)

Another combination that never disappoints in Stravinsky, is *Ilian Volkov with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra* (on Hyperion). Theirs is definitely the best _“The Fairy’s Kiss”_ available (perfect performance), and they’ve also recorded great and good sounding performances of Stravinsky’s works for piano and orchestra (with Steven Osborne as soloist). Nothing much wrong with their _“Jeu de Cartes”_, _“Agon”_ and _"Scènes de Ballet”_ either.

Slowly back on topic, while staying with Stravinsky: stellar sound in the new ECM recording (2015) of several orchestral works (_“Monumentum”_, _“Danses Concertantes”_, _“Concerto in D”_ and _“Apollon Musagète”_), performed by the *Stuttgarter Kammerorchester conducted by Dennis Russel Davies*. Very good.
And even better, performance-wise: *Yuri Bashmet with the Moscow Soloists* (on Argo). Besides _“Apollon Musagète”_ and the _“Concerto in D”_, this disc includes Prokofiev’s _“Visions Fugitives”_ in a superb arrangement for strings. (Listen to this recording a few times and you’ll never touch a sampled strings library again or, if you do, only with extreme reluctance, tedium and frustration.)

And entirely back on topic: the recording I always select as a reference for supremely recorded orchestral sound (and another one of those recordings which always feed my ever increasing dislike of samples and mock-ups): the *Freiburger Barockorchester conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado* in the _3rd and 4th symphonies_ of Schubert, released on Harmonia Mundi.

One of the most amazing sounding albums I purchased in recent years however is a jazz album: *Ricardo Izquierdo “Ida”* (2014, Plus Loin Music). At the moment, and possibly for some time to come, this sits, quite comfortably even, on the number one spot in my list of best-sounding recorded music. Sensationally good music too.

_


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## chibear (Jan 21, 2015)

As the references keep on popping up, I think the illusion of what a conductor contributes to a performance should be addressed. As I know there are other performers on this board, I'm surprised this hasn't been dealt with long before now.

There are good conductors who are poor musicians; great musicians who, while they try, are not very good conductors; competent stick-wavers; and out and out frauds, and the real deals. From my experiences over 4+ decades, out of a sampling of 100 conductors you will get maybe 5 real deals, 40 stick-wavers, 40 who fall into either musician category and 15 whose major talent lies in the area of self-promotion.

*Explosive fact 1* While a good conductor can elevate a performance, a professional orchestra can play and play very well without a conductor. In fact if an orchestra loses confidence in a conductor, especially in standard repertoire, it will tacitly take the performance from he conductor. The smart conductors will go along with it, the stupid ones will try to retain control, the idiots will think they are doing it. A great conductor will know when to loosen the reigns, so to speak. My favorite Karajan quote: "Conducting an orchestra is like riding a big powerful horse. You control it...but not too much."

*Explosive fact 2* Many conductors (not all, so save the litany of exceptions) have ended up as such because they could not make it on their chosen instrument. This includes a few names you would probably recognize, one of whom had a stall in the men's washroom in the music school dedicated to him after graduation (removed when he became a "big" name)

*Explosive fact 3* Stravinsky could not conduct (i.e. did NOT have the stick technique) the more complex of his compositions. I got that bit of info from players who worked on that much-referred-to Stravinsky box and members of the CSO facing a Rite performance conducted by him.. What you are hearing is an orchestra pulling together to save a performance (and the conductor's behind)

Even the greats have a talent for making fools of themselves in front of musicians. I could tell some Solti stories I experienced first hand while working as an extra in the CSO during my student years.

END of Conductor Expose


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## re-peat (Jan 21, 2015)

Not really very explosive, these explosive facts of yours, are they, Chi? You present these ‘facts’ as if you’re divulging insights which will shake the music world to its core, and then it turns out that your findings have all the resentful chagrin of a former orchestral musician with a grudge, and all the explosive power of a blancmange. Some conductors are frauds? Orchestras can get through a piece perfectly well without a conductor? Stravinsky lacked some baton-waving prowess?
Is that it? That’s your dynamite? I don’t want to upset you, but there’s more explosive power in the barcode on the back of a Norman Lebrecht book than there is in your entire post.

Anyway, I’m not really interested in ‘explosive facts’ about conductors, I’m interested in musical facts. 
Whether Stravinsky could wield a baton in accordance with the proper rules of conducting or not, is completely irrelevant. Fact is, and the recordings show it, that he was somehow able — whether by charisma, sheer musical authority or whatever strange conducting technique he might have adopted — to coax excellent performances from the players and the orchestras which he fronted.

Fact is also that, somehow, the man was able to sustain a conducting career, spanning several decades, that put him, again and again, in front of all the major and most prestigious orchestras all over the world. (True, he did it mostly for money-making reasons, but that doesn’t change the fact that he succeeded.) Not a likely thing to happen, I would think, if all that Stravinsky could manage on the rostrum was to make a fool of himself.

_


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## Ryan (Jan 22, 2015)

I find the recordings of John Ottman's - Jack the Giant Slayer very enjoyable. But, sure there are great recordings out there. Right now I' sitting in my living room listening to Gustav Holst!


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## chibear (Jan 22, 2015)

> You present these ‘facts’ as if you’re divulging insights which will shake the music world to its core



Nope, this is general knowledge in the working music world. The only cores it would shake would be orchestra boards and audience members who hold conductors in some mystical awe.



> your findings have all the resentful chagrin of a former orchestral musician with a grudge



Ha! I carry no grudges. Any issues I've had with individual conductors have been settled one way or another by the time they left town.......In fact, one of my friends is a conductor :mrgreen: 



> Fact is also that, somehow, the man was able to sustain a conducting career, spanning several decades, that put him, again and again, in front of all the major and most prestigious orchestras all over the world. (True, he did it mostly for money-making reasons, but that doesn’t change the fact that he succeeded.) Not a likely thing to happen, I would think, if all that Stravinsky could manage on the rostrum was to make a fool of himself.



Actually he didn't make a fool of himself in the recordings or orchestral performances. Except for the downbeat and cutoff, he was pretty much ignored by the orchestras. His agents and promoters were smart enough to put him in front of musicians who could carry him. He was hired as a conductor for his name. Nothing more. Any brilliance you hear is from the collective musicians.

I think we have found yet another area where we can agree to disagree. Fact is I studied with, spoke with, worked with, and drank with people who experienced his conducting 'genius' You're not about to change my mind.


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## Daryl (Jan 22, 2015)

The subject of conducting is, to me, a very interesting one, not least because of the fact that I spent 10 years earning my living almost exclusively as an orchestral conductor, and have been conducting professional orchestras for 26 years. However, maybe there should be a spin-off thread to discuss conducting, so that we don't pollute this one.

D


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## chibear (Jan 22, 2015)

If someone start's one I'll be glad to contribute. There's a lot (even some positive stuff!) I could share.


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## Red (Jan 23, 2015)

The Rite of Spring by Karajan (although Stravinsky hated his version) is one of my favorite recordings ever!!.


Actually, any recording by Karajan is incredible.


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## chibear (Jan 24, 2015)

> Actually, any recording by Karajan is incredible.


BIG ++1 to that. I've been a big Karajan fan for decades. His interpretations sometimes stray from what is considered standard, but he always had a reason and was willing to discuss it. 

In the spirit of the OP, it would be interesting to discuss why his recordings are so unique. One of the biggest reasons was *Orchestra seating* As opposed to 'modern' orchestra seating where trumpets are put stage left and horns stage right for the the reason of 'sonic interest' (as was explained to one of my teachers by a London tech), Karajan (his standard seating, that is) put trumpets stage right in line with violins, then trombones and tuba, who ended up near the basses. Horns were placed stage left of the woodwinds in tandem near violas and cellos. The result was an incredible homogeneity of sound with trumpets reinforcing rather than competing with violins and horns especially settling into an area of the orchestra with instruments that had similar registers. He often experimented, though both with seating and video. There is an early B&W video of Beethoven 5 done with orchestra almost surrounding him. I could never get my head around the seating, but the _sound_ was incredible, with a clarity in the lower strings in the scherzo I have yet to experience in any performance or recording since (including later recorded performances of Berlin/Karajan). He, DG, and Sony were pioneers in both orchestra micing techniques and videography. Rumor is Sony has a vault of yet-to-be released videos from those years.


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## Red (Jan 24, 2015)

chibear @ Sat Jan 24 said:


> > Actually, any recording by Karajan is incredible.
> 
> 
> Rumor is Sony has a vault of yet-to-be released videos from those years.




My god ! 
I would pay more than double of standard dvd price to see his rehearsals.

Karajan had more of a voice than the composer themselves.
His autocratic method was what made that happen.

and his charisma is the reason why he was able to have full autocratic control 
of the Berlin Phil.
for 35 years!

"Contract for life" indeed!

A true example of a conductor.


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## tmm (Jan 26, 2015)

Greg @ Mon Jan 19 said:


> JNH's Maleficent!



+ 1


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## Hannes_F (Jan 26, 2015)

Little anecdote about Karajan if you don't mind. My grandfather wanted to be a professional musician (was an amateur pianist and conductor) but then decided to study architecture. His doctor in the early years was Dr. Ernst von Karajan in Salzburg, father of Herbert. Dr. Karajan told my grandfather (about the same age as Herbert) he wished his son would take a 'solid' job too instead of music and whether my grandfather could not perhaps influence Herbert a bit that way - from one young man to another. Luckily that plan did not work out. 

Herbert actually studied mechanical engineering for three semesters before entirely switching to music, but it is not passed down in our family annals whether my grandfather had anything to do with that ...


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## chibear (Jan 26, 2015)

Hannes_F @ Mon Jan 26 said:


> Little anecdote about Karajan if you don't mind. My grandfather wanted to be a professional musician (was an amateur pianist and conductor) but then decided to study architecture. His doctor in the early years was Dr. Ernst von Karajan in Salzburg, father of Herbert. Dr. Karajan told my grandfather (about the same age as Herbert) he wished his son would take a 'solid' job too instead of music and whether my grandfather could not perhaps influence Herbert a bit that way - from one young man to another. Luckily that plan did not work out.
> 
> Herbert actually studied mechanical engineering for three semesters before entirely switching to music, but it is not passed down in our family annals whether my grandfather had anything to do with that ...



Kind of like the orchestral version of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOOmu1Rz17Y (this) 8)


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## ScoringFilm (Feb 20, 2015)

All the London Symphony Orchestra recordings at Abbey Road are fantastic (i.e. Star Wars etc). Final Fantasy Symphony has just been recorded by the LSO and is released next week:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

J


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## Jacob Cadmus (Feb 20, 2015)

For live performance, I really like this recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhd5Mp9LEQM

And for film score, I'd have to go with this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgFvMYHfD9Q


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## chopin4525 (Feb 23, 2015)

chibear @ Wed Jan 21 said:


> As the references keep on popping up, I think the illusion of what a conductor contributes to a performance should be addressed. As I know there are other performers on this board, I'm surprised this hasn't been dealt with long before now.
> 
> There are good conductors who are poor musicians; great musicians who, while they try, are not very good conductors; competent stick-wavers; and out and out frauds, and the real deals. From my experiences over 4+ decades, out of a sampling of 100 conductors you will get maybe 5 real deals, 40 stick-wavers, 40 who fall into either musician category and 15 whose major talent lies in the area of self-promotion.
> 
> ...



I do agree with part of the things you exposed but not the underlined one: conductors who possess a very fine hearing know exactly if you're not doing well and will never accept a bad performance especially from professional musicians. Here's an example of Toscanini (hardly an idiot but a hot tempered and perfectionist conductor) yelling at the orchestra during a rehearsal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxh-o9ENW5o

The way most good conductors see it: if you don't play well, you'll play again only after you stayed up on that. :lol: 
It is also a question of respect.


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## chibear (Feb 23, 2015)

Ya, I was venting and probably wasn't clear. The first sentence was referring to the posers, the second to the 'real deals' who do have the respect of musicians. That being said, the second sentence was referring to fine conductors' ability to step back and 'let' a performance happen, rather than micro managing every detail from the podium. This has nothing to do with individual musicians performance but rather a respect for the ensemble. BTW product quality concerns in professional orchestras are very often highly political, but that's a WAY different topic.



chopin4525 @ Mon Feb 23 said:


> chibear @ Wed Jan 21 said:
> 
> 
> > As the references keep on popping up, I think the illusion of what a conductor contributes to a performance should be addressed. As I know there are other performers on this board, I'm surprised this hasn't been dealt with long before now.
> ...


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## Will Blackburn (Feb 24, 2015)

marclawsonmusic @ Sat Dec 27 said:


> If you like strings...
> 
> http://youtu.be/ihx5LCF1yJY
> 
> I would love to find a CD recording of this.




Is this not the same thing? 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vaughan-Williams-Symphony-Fantasia-Ascending/dp/B000088DT2


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## dcoscina (Feb 25, 2015)

Esa Pekka Salonen's Bernard Herrmann CD is very well recorded. Great interpretation too.


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## todo10 (Feb 25, 2015)

Not that this is orchestral recordings, but I've noticed that Alan Silvestri's work particularly the strings, sound startlingly crisp, present, and very well placed in the mix consistently. I've heard a rumor that he brings in his own racks of Millennium Preamps for his orchestral recording dates. I don't know if that is true or not and it may not even matter. But the proof in the pudding is the actual sound production, writing, and end result - I'm continually impressed with his work on many levels.

Case in point: his suite from _Forest Gump_, End Credits from _Contact_, End credits from _Cast Away_.

Best,
Frederick


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## germancomponist (Feb 25, 2015)

admin @ Wed Feb 25 said:


> Not that this is orchestral recordings, but I've noticed that Alan Silvestri's work particularly the strings, sound startlingly crisp, present, and very well placed in the mix consistently. I've heard a rumor that he brings in his own racks of Millennium Preamps for his orchestral recording dates. I don't know if that is true or not and it may not even matter. But the proof in the pudding is the actual sound production, writing, and end result - I'm continually impressed with his work on many levels.
> 
> Case in point: his suite from _Forest Gump_, End Credits from _Contact_, End credits from _Cast Away_.
> 
> ...



Thanks for reminding, Frederick! I too like the "sound" and compositions very much.


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## wesbender (Feb 26, 2015)

I'm (generally) a big fan of BIS releases. If you like detail, clarity, balance and quite a lot of dynamic range in your orchestra recordings, it's hard to find another label that does it better.

Plus, many of them are SACDs, if you're set up for that.

(and speaking of Stravinsky, http://www.amazon.com/Stravinsky-Rite-Spring-Petrushka-Igor/dp/B004QI1556/ (this one) is a current favorite of mine).




marclawsonmusic @ Sat Dec 27 said:


> If you like strings...
> 
> http://youtu.be/ihx5LCF1yJY
> 
> I would love to find a CD recording of this.



As far as I'm aware, the only place to find that recording is the companion CD to the July '99 issue of BBC Music Magazine (vol. 7, number 11).

I happened to snag one on ebay not too long ago, they still pop up there from time to time.


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