Lorin Maazel (1930-2014)

[alberto]

I attended to some ten -twelve concerts conducted by Maazel, with various orchestras. The programs were mostly mainstream (the rarest work, as far as I remember, was Tchaicovsky Manfred).
I have very strong memories of a concert with the Pittsburgh Orchestra and eight singers in which he conducted a selection of Porgy and Bess lasting about one and a half hour (of course "Porgy" without chorus loses much, but I had no better occasion).

[Amphissa]

I have the same BluRay. It's The Ring made into a tone poem transcendentally played by the BPO and effortlessly conjured into life by Maazel.

Yes, surprisingly effective.

I believe he became quite tired of the core repertoire over the years, which led to a lot of uninspired performances. It's too bad he didn't extend into less traveled territory musically to combat the ennui. I think he had the incisiveness and musical talent to breathe life into music, when it had his attention. I wish he had turned his eye toward the best of the unsung composers and given us some first rate recordings.

[minacciosa]

I believe that the rounded picture of Maazel is that he was extremely overrated. Every dog has his day as the adage goes, and he (like so many) had exceptional performances, but he was consistently inconsistent. I think he survived for years upon a reputation made too early and buoyed by the mystique of the child prodigy. More years spent purely as an instrumentalist would have been invaluable in the development of a more complete musician.

[eschiss1]

re extremely overrated- can't agree, though some of the rest of what you write makes sense to me.

[Alan Howe]

No, definitely not extremely overrated. His recorded legacy is of too high a standard for that to be true.

[minacciosa]

I hear you; we are in the realm of opinion. I've just never heard a record of his that I really wanted to own, though among the many I've heard his Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet definitely stand out.

[Alan Howe]

Franck Symphony, Tchaik 4, Saint-Saens 3, Wagner/Maazel Ring, Sibelius 4 & 7 (VPO), Bruckner cycle, Mahler 4, Gershwin Porgy & Bess are all superb. IMHO, of course.

[mbhaub]

In addition, it was Maazel who gave us the first, complete, uncut Tchaikovsky Manfred - still a rarity some 40+ years ago.

[adriano]

@mhaub, I am not so sure about that. The 1971 Svetlanov version and the 1965 Markevich versions are also complete. Will have the time to check this with the score only later on these days. Maazel recorded 28-30th of April, Svetlanov is given not precise dates. Only Svetlanov's 2 later versions of 1989 (Berlin PO) and 1992 (RFSO) are cut, unfortunately. As far as I remember, there was also an old Melodya version conducted by Khaikin, Ivanov or similar, which was complete. Just wonder when the Abravanel version was produced and whether the Goossens version is cut or not...

[mbhaub]

I think you're right. I should have remembered the Markevitch. Getting a Melodiya record back then in the USA was next to impossible.

[Alan Howe]

Wasn't the Markevitch originally on Philips?

[Gerhard Griesel]

I like Maazel's brisk pace in some recordings. I have, e.g., a 13 minutes Boléro. He does a 10 minutes Boléro on Youtube, which is perhaps a bit too fast.

[mbhaub]

Bolero is one of those things Maazel's way with could raise serious questions about his taste. The ending on his RCA recording is bizarre to say the least - an uncalled for, and weird sounding change in tempo - so out of the norm. Up to then it was pretty good...

[Dave]

I still have his recording of Massenet's "Thais" which I adore.

[alan850627]

I absolutely adore his premier recording of William S. Lloyd Webber's Tone Poem "Aurora" with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986; it's not as technically precise as the recording by Richard Hickox with the City of London Sinfonia in 1998, but the balance is much better and the phrasing is much smoother.