I remember this recording causing a fair amount of disagreement when it first came out. It seems like Boulez does this when it comes to Mahler. My own opinion is that Boulez makes you hear a familiar piece like the Mahler 7 with new ears. The playing of the Cleveland Orchestra in this recording is fabulous as is usual with this orchestra. This is one of the finest of the Mahler/Boulez cycle (check out Mahler 4 with Boulez, also expertly played by the Cleveland Orchestra).
Jul 25, 2010
ashkenazy's brahms
I have heard many of Askenazy's recordings as conductor including the excellent Strauss series he did in Cleveland. I had not until now heard any of his Brahms cycle from Cleveland, however. The performance of the First Symphony is great due in no small part to the Cleveland Orchestra's superb execution. Ashkenazy's interpretive ideas are fairly mainstream here. He does, however, take the first movement repeat, something that is still often ignored. The imaginative filler is Dvorak's Othello Overture. Excellent performances of both works and a vivid recording from Cleveland's Severance Hall make this a highly desirable disc. I will be sure to get the other releases in this Brahms series.
Glenn Gould - Complete Goldberg Variations: A State of Wonder [New CD]