Franz Schmidt Symphonies 1-4 (P.Järvi)

[Alan Howe]

It's a very fine set indeed, for the reasons you state. I'd certainly recommend it to newcomers to Schmidt's music.

[hyperdanny]

a considerably less enthusiastic, to say the least,  further review of the cycle on Musicweb, by Dan Morgan.

[Mark Thomas]

I'm told by someone associated with the site that MusicWeb's policy is to hand out review samples almost on a random basis to their large bank of reviewers. The result is that quite often people with an antipathy to a musical era, or with no real interest in the music end up reviewing CDs, and the CD doesn't get reviewed by the site's "expert" in that area. Might as well give me a jazz or Hip Hop CD to review! Consequently, I never rely wholly on a MW review, and especially the largely negative or wildly positive ones. It may be that Dan Morgan knows his Schmidt, in fact it reads as if he very much does, but there's no guarantee at MW.

[terry martyn]

I agree,Mark.   Occasionaly in the past, I have been caught out by a particularly positive review (Rob Barnett´s review of the Huber comes to mind)

[Alan Howe]

I'm not sure that the set is anything more than 'good'. In other words, I think it's likely that one can put together a better cycle from individual recordings.

[hyperdanny]

I can't say I agree or disagree with Dan Morgan, because I don't have the set , but his review stroke me as very well documented and argued, especially as far as comparisons are involved.
Of course it's all opinions, what i found very troubling were his remarks about the less than state of the art sound...and I believe that this music can easily become cloying..just like mr.Morgan I had a very hard time getting to "really" like Schmidt, until the Naxos set , very transparently recorded, came along.

[Alan Howe]

The new set is somewhat airlessly recorded, but it's not really a decisive factor - for me at any rate.

[Ilja]

Weirdly, there is another, much more positive review by Stephen Greenbank on the same site. Not the first time I see two wildly contrasting reviews of the same recording on Musicweb.

[Mark Thomas]

That's quite often the case and it rather proves my earlier point...

[adriano]

I agree with you Alan - and tend to prefer Järvi's senior "stronger" interpretations, but I still like the old Rajter recordings - a set which was given to me by the Slowak Radio Symphony as a sympathy gift after my two first recordings :-) But that Decca LP by Zubin Mehta still remains a pristine recording.

[Alan Howe]

I tend to agree. Järvi père is also better recorded.

[eschiss1]

hr-sendesaal - I'm guessing the recording of no.4 might be, then, the same recording that's available on the hr-radio youtube channel?

[M. Yaskovsky]

The transmission of Symphony nr.4 on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_fjFPhrKjw is from the Alte Oper, Frankfurt, not from the hr-sendessaal.

[eschiss1]

You're quite right, so it is. Of course, orchestras will take the same work and perform it in different venues on tour all the time as a regular thing too... and according to https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8798768--franz-schmidt-complete-symphonies the recording of no.4 -is- actually an April 27 2018 concert (same date, same place) from the Alte Oper, though that info could be wrong? (44:32 (DG) vs 47:50 (YouTube), but that could maybe be accounted for by removing applause etc. from the YouTube video...)