Enescu Symphony 3 etc. from Ondine

[eschiss1]

I've heard two other performances of the symphony, I think (the one we have in the downloads section, and the one on Marco Polo (coupled with the symphonie de chambre on a 1988 CD- can't recall if I returned it because it was a damaged CD or a library CD!...  might be on Naxos now but I don't think it is ...).

There've been others on Olympia, Chandos, etc. (haven't heard them yet, I believe, but others have, I expect.) How does the Lintu compare (may as well ask now even though it's possible no one here yet has heard it and another recording/performance of the work often enough to say?) Would be interested to know.

[DennisS]

Reading this thread on Enescu's Symphony no 3 made me check to see what CDs I had of Enescu. I found that I had a double CD of his suites and rhapsodies and also a CD of Study Symphonies 1 and 4 (kindly given to me by a friend). I particularly liked the study symphonies but did not at the time go on to explore the symphonies (probably because at that time, I was buying so many CDS that I was restricted by how many  I could buy : nothing much has changed since then as I still buy many CDs each month!!!). The enthusiastic comments on the new Lintu Ondine recording of Enescu's symphony no 3 prompted me to check this work out. As already reported, there are quite a few versions available and it's difficult to decide which version to buy if one only wants one version of the work. I have discovered that the timings of this work vary on the versions I found with timings given. The Lintu Ondine version is 46:11, Rozhdesvensky BBC PO 54:42, Mandeal Bucharest PO 50:20, Orchestre de Monte Carlo Foster 49:49 and Mariinsky Orchestra Gergiev (live perf. on Youtube, also still in downloads UC) 51:29. As is obvious from these timings, the Lintu version is faster (much faster) than all the other versions. I will be very interested to read fellow members' s view on this latest version, before purchasing the work.

[sdtom]

As Alan says it is a must buy and I agree.
Tom

[sdtom]

What are the forum thoughts about the Arte Nova and the EMI releases of Enescu? They seem to be quite reasonable but I have little experience with the Monte Carlo  Symphony and Budapest orchestras in regards to Enescu. The releases seem to be quite reasonable. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Tom

[LateRomantic75]

The Arte Nova recordings are fine, but they lack the conviction and vitality of Rozhdestvensky's recordings on Chandos. I'm not familiar with Foster's recordings on EMI, except for that of the masterful opera Oedipe (one of my favorite operas).

[chill319]

Enescu's symphony 1 is a much greater work than Cristian Mandeal would lead you to believe on Arte Nova ANO 373140. The download in this site's archive, poor as it is sonically, gives a far better idea of what Enescu wanted us to hear. I'm much keener on Mandeal's Symphonies 2 and 3, perhaps because I came to the recordings expecting much less of the Bucharest Philharmonic in its traversal of these virtuosic scores. In the event, the players do themselves proud. But if symphony 1 is any yardstick to judge by, Rozhdestvensky on Chandos has greater insight into the music.

[sdtom]

Any thoughts on the Marco Polo series? I just saw these this morning on the Naxos website.
Tom

[LateRomantic75]

I've only heard the MP recording of Symphony no. 1 and the Sinfonia Concertante. The performances are certainly more than serviceable but, again, not on the same level as Rozhdestvensky on Chandos. Do you own the Chandos recordings, Tom? If not, I would encourage you to look into those first.

[sdtom]

I will look into the Chandos recordings
Tom

[sdtom]

I was able to get the downloads from Naxos at no charge so I guess I can certainly start with those but I'm still interested in the Chandos recordings.
Tom

[sdtom]

I just received from Naxos the Ondine recording of the 1st Symphony of Enescu. It is coupled with the Concertante. Any thoughts on the recording?
Tom

[sdtom]

I also have a question. Is anyone familiar with his 5th symphony? I saw a CD available on CPO.
Tom

[eschiss1]

The 4th and 5th are completions (made in the 1990s) by Pascal Bentoiu. Broadcasts of them have been uploaded here from an Enescu Festival (an alternate radio broadcast of the 5th was also uploaded here but is the same as the recording conducted by Ruzicka that has now been released on cpo and has, I assume, since been removed )

Ruzicka will be conducting the 4th symphony this year at the Enescu Festival, I gather.

According to an online Enescu catalog--


Unfinished drafts of the--
    4th Symphony (complete 1st movement and fragment of the 2nd movement, 1934) [E minor?]
    5th Symphony in D Major for tenor, female choir and orchestra, last movement on verses by Eminescu (1941)

The 5th symphony- as completed by Bentoiu anyway; haven't seen Enescu's drafts, so I have no idea how much of this is Enescu and how much is Bentoiu- has a very effective funereal march within...

These symphonies by Enescu completed by Bentoiu shouldn't be confused of course with Bentoiu's own 7-plus symphonies

[sdtom]

I also noticed that Dennis mentioned study symphonies of 1 & 4. Are these the same symphonies or different?
Tom

[Alan Howe]

They are different. They predate Symphony No.1. Only Nos 1 and 4 have been recorded.