Korngold Symphony

[Glazier]

 

Not being a fluent french speaker (!),can anyone tell me what this radio programme is actually called in english? I mean 3pm,uk time,not in France. The programme should be listed on the website of the station. It's lightweight & nice to listen on the way to the shop,but not (extremely)annoying like Classic FM,and the French language is,um,rather nice!

I just had a look at France Inter's web site.

They have a classical programme called les grands concerts, but there was no sign of anything unsung.

http://sites.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/lesgrandsconcerts/

The national orchestra which is associated with radio france has its information in a PDF:

http://sites.radiofrance.fr/chaines/concerts09/abonnes/index.php?IDA=94

Presumably the concerts are recorded and broadcast, so watch out for the Zemlinsky Lyric Symphony in the spring.

[Pengelli]

Thanks. It's just a change from R3,if you're out walking & LW uses less batteries. Prorammes usually have a theme. One week it was women composers & I heard part of the Alice Mary Smith symphony,but unfortunately something came up. They must have a powerful transmitter.
I'll have a look at that PDF. Haven't heard the Zemlinsky.

[M. Henriksen]

A new recording of Korngold's Symphony on its way. This time from Ondine:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Erich-Wolfgang-Korngold-Symphonie-op-40/hnum/2661277


Morten

[mbhaub]

Thanks for the heads-up. Open wallet. Extract money...
The Korngold is following the same pattern as the Schmidt 4th: another recording with a 2nd-tier orchestra, a generally unknown conductor, and plain old DDD sound. Both works need advocacy by big names, on big labels (are there any left?) and in SACD sound. Maybe the chance for the Korngold to every become mainstream is long past; too bad the likes of Karajan, Solti, Klemperer, Ormandy, Szell, Bohm and a few others didn't do it.

[Alan Howe]

It's great that the symphony is getting some recordings. However, one need not have any reservations about, for example, the recent recording on Pentatone. I can assure friends that the Strasbourg orchestra perform to world-class standards and that the sound quality is wonderful. We may not know much about conductor Marc Albrecht either, but, after this CD, we should all sit up and take notice. It's also in SACD!!

[alberto]

I have attended three concerts conducted by M.Albrecht (son of conductor Georg Alexander A.) in about five years  with Italian Radio Orchestra (Bartok-Bruckner, Mahler, R.Strauss).
Any time he appeared a very good technician who succeeded in getting good results (above the average level) from an orchestra he didn't know well and met one time in two years.

[mbhaub]

I just had to re-awaken this thread. One week ago the new Ondine recording of the Korngold symphony was delivered. I've been listening to it over and over. I just gotta say this: this is a terrific recording...with one complaint. The orchestra plays quite well (the Helskini Phil), the conductor, Storsgard,  was unknown to me obviously knows, and clearly loves, this music. The whole symphony is just beautifully done, and there are details I can see in the score but I've never heard in any of the other recordings. Any misgivings are gone. Of the eight or so versions I have, this one is one of the very best. THe complaint: the bass clarinet has one of the edgiest, harshest tones I've ever heard. It almost sounds like there's a squeak just ready to pop out. It never does, but the edgy sound grates on the ear when listening with headphones.

The diskmate- a previously unknown, and unrecorded  work (Dance in an olden style) is delightful - Korngold at his best. The slow, melancholic middle section is beautiful beyond words. This one short work by itself is worth the price of the disk, and essential for Korngold fans.

I don't know what Ondine's secret is, but given this recording and the sensational new Mahler 6th that company is on a roll!