Noskowski Symphonies 1 & 2

[JP]

Greetings everyone. Here's Capriccio label's latest release. Boldly, albeit belatedly, treading where Sterling label used to traverse...

Z. NOSKOWSKI
SYMPHONY NO. 2 'ELEGIAC' (1875) · SYMPHONY NO. 1 (1874)
DEUTSCHE STAATSPHILHARMONIE RHEINLAND-PFALZ · ANTONI WIT
C5509 PC: 21 UPC: 845221055091

http://www.capriccio.at/zygmunt-noskowski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Q6l2JGCNc

[eschiss1]

Good on them!!

[Alan Howe]

Very welcome, especially under the great Antoni Wit - although the Sterling recordings are really superb.

[hyperdanny]

fantastic, I really love these, especially the 2nd, and while I agree that the Sterling recordings are great, I am impatient to hear what the criminally underrated Antoni Wit has to say..

[Alan Howe]

Me too. It's just worth emphasising how good the Sterling recordings are.

[hyperdanny]

the youtube video is on the too-short side, but it is actually mildly informative..Maestro Wit comes across as a supernice guy.

[Alan Howe]

Maestro Wit come across as a supernice guy

He's one of the world's most underrated great conductors. Needs to brush up on his German word order, though!!!

[eschiss1]

Has now been announced on Presto Music for release in early August. The Capriccio recording of no.2 is slightly longer than the Sterling (35'16 vs. 33'27; Wit takes longer than Borowicz in 3 of the movements but less time in the Elegia.) Wit and Wroblewski take almost the same time (44'53 vs. 44'33) in the first symphony- one minute slower in the finale but faster in the first two movements (almost no difference at all in the third.)

Looks like this will be, not just the second cycle of Noskowski's symphonies but perhaps the first under the same conductor, by the way...

[hyperdanny]

mine, ordered from musicexport Greece through my Amazon, has been dispatched the other day. I love thse symphonies, especially the 2nd, and I am very curious to hear what Wit makes of them, even if I have nothing to complain about the Sterling. I hope they are "different" interpretations.

[hyperdanny]

I received it yesterday. I have listened to it only once, so take it as a first impression.
It's a great complement to the Sterlings , because it's intepretively different and personal, as you would expect from a great Maestro.
The 1st: I much prefer this one to the Sterling, it's a more cogent and organic view of the piece.
The 2nd is excellent on its own terms, but I retain a preference for the darker, more coruscating Sterling version.
In general, Wit's tempi are pretty similar to the previous ones,  the difference Is almost always on the plus side, they tend to be slightly longer (a minute or so per movement)
Beautifully played (these German "provincial" orchestras never cease to wonder), beautifully recorded and handsomely packaged..first class productions still exist.

[Mark Thomas]

I was going to pass on this one but that's a very encouraging set of first impressions, so maybe I'll duplicate after all. Thanks very much

[Alan Howe]

I'll be buying this, but out of a sense of duty rather than necessity as the Sterling releases are really excellent - lively performances, well recorded.

[hyperdanny]

further listening has, if anything, reinforced my appreciation.
For instance, a session on my primary stereo rig (more state of the art) has furtherly put the spot on the wonderful playing of the Rheinland-Pfalzers......just like in the Stojowski, maestro Wit really makes this orchestra sing.
I'll never get rid of the Sterlings, first of all beacuse the're excellent, and plus there's more music there besides the symphonies, but this is definitely a keeper.
Now I would love to hear these forces in the 3rd, which i think is a very difficult place to realize, and the Sterling, while good, did not quite "do it" for me.

[eschiss1]

It would be nice to compare the three (that I'm aware of ) recordings of the 3rd, including the radio recording (the one I've heard several times) sometimes broadcast over Euroclassic Notturno/BBC overnight. (My mistake btw, no.3 is conducted on Sterling by a conductor named Jose Florencio.)

[Alan Howe]

I'd say that, for any newcomer who just wants the symphonies, Wit would be an excellent recommendation - providing he goes on to record No.3. However, anyone who has the existing recordings on Sterling can remain perfectly content with what they have.

Speaking purely personally I greatly prefer the Sterling recordings. Trouble is, I heard them first and so it's hard to say why, although I think the greater sense of space in the sound-picture has something to do with it. I also sense a greater feeling of exhilaration throughout, but that may be just me. By comparison Wit/Capriccio sounds just a mite earthbound. I'd also say that the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra are a better band than the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz - fuller in sound, better string section, etc. At a guess, the Polish orchestra is a larger body of players than its German counterpart. On the other hand the Capriccio recording is undoubtedly more analytical.