I know I'm risking hellfire and damnation even attempting to opine on the best version of this masterpiece, but i thought it was worth the risk. Please be nice to me.
A funny story I heard about the bass drum part was that Toscanini demanded from the bd player more and more volume and the poor guy, who was banging like hell finally said that it cant be played louder so the Maestro crossed the stage, took the bd stick and banged the drum so violently that it tore the skin apart and Toscanini said : "this is how loud I want it!!"
That highlight corresponds to a part of the Dies Irae dress rehearsal that was inserted in the final RCA recording. Toscanini reviewed the rehearsal material and selected some parts that satisfied him and the final editing of the recording was produced. The Requiem rehearsal is available on TH-cam.@@jamesrbutler1
Great video. I'm not a "historical recordings" guy (more a "period performance" guy...), but in this case I'd like to sugest one of my favorites: the Tulio Serafin's 1939 recording, with Caniglia, Stignani, Gigli and Pinza. I have the Naxos edition, and I think it's wonderful.
Thank you for the review! I wanted to point out a rare recording that I love -- Sinopoli's last performance before he died, with the Staatskapelle Dresden. It's rather slow and slightly mannered, as was Sinopoli's wont, but the amount of detail that he gets and the sensitivity he shows in the slower sections of the work is quite refreshing. Great soloists too.
A good review on such a magnificent and emotional work which I can never get enough of satisfaction from a number of these great versions (especially to Shaw's, which is unfortunately neglected). Some worthy modern recordings with the help of HIRES added to the essential collection of this life changing creation IMO are Noseda/LSO, Maazel/Munich and Muti/CSO. There are a few "listen as many versions as possible before you die" works and Verdi Requiem is high on my list.
I haven’t heard the Pappano, but of the ones I know my favorite is Shaw’s terrific performance with sonics to match. Glad you like it so well, too. My first recording of the requiem was Muti’s earlier version which I have on LP.
Abbado did it three times 2001 with the Berlin harmonic Orchestra published by EMI Classics and wow what a dramatic Interpretation, did not belive that Abbado van be so powerfull.
Thanks for the Bernstein tip. I guess I must have been sleeping under a rock, as I actually didn't know he'd made this recording, but it's quite a revelation. Stirring stuff.
I have enjoyed Bernstein's Verdi Requiem since it was brand-new. (If memory serves, it was issued almost simultaneously with one by Barbirolli, a conductor I've never entirely "got"). I see I'm not the only one who sees Lenny's proclivity toward out-and-out excitement to be a virtue in this work. Also: "green-blooded" = "Vulcan" -- secret handshake noted.
For a long time I only had the Shaw, but just before the pandemic hit with the equivalent force of the Dies Irae and shut everything, I picked up Solti's Chicago version from a local charity shop (for anyone on the other side of the pond, that's a thrift store). Got to be honest I haven't listened to it yet, but I've got high hopes now. Certainly the Telarc is spectacular
Cheryl Studer sang flat... often. And it is recorded for all to hear. I never could get over how a conductor, an engineer, and the woman herself could let that pass. Shaw nails it in that Requiem!! So fine. Best chorus period.
I love Abbado/Vienna. Though I don't (to my shame & sorrow) have Fricsay anymore, I remember it as absolutely molten, especially the climax of Libera Me. This was a(nother) fantastic talk, with all highlights hit (even Solti II!).
I was wondering why you haven't ventured into opera. Makes sense. I've always liked the Bernstein and Giulini ones, but it doesn't surprise me that the Pappano is THAT good. I'll check it out. In spite of all the sweaty dramatic moments, my favorite bit in the Requiem is the bassoon quartet section. I love that!
We have heard and enjoyed Bernstein's account but our current favorites are Shaw and the live Giulini on BBC (with Shuard, Reynolds, Lewis, & Ward). Solti on RCA is very good as well.I intend to check out Pappano and possibly Muti with the Philharmonia.
Love the Shaw! My cousin sang in the alto section of the ASO Chorus at the time of this recording. I attended one of the performances in Atlanta around that time. It was an overwhelming experience! And the recorded sound on this album...ye God's! Listen (with good headphones) to those trumpets in the Dies Irae!!!! That bass drum!!! Yikes! The actual day of wrath will have to work hard to approach this recording!
I especially enjoy Barbirolli (mentioned by some others) and the von Karajan with Freni and Ludwig. Both have great vocalists--beyond amazingly beautiful. And both to me convey religious intensity rather than high drama. Is there anything more beautiful than the Freni/Ludwig Recordare? And a special shout out to deStefano's entrance on the Toscanini! One thrilling breath!
Enrico Marconi: Thank you for the unbiased opinion. I’m certain that Maestro Pappano appreciates your comments (and I’m looking for to his TURANDOT with the complete Alfaro ending. But while she’s not a friend of mine (she was a few years younger than my mother and her son a month older) I love Joan Sutherland and she’s my ‘principessa’, actually una Dama di Ingleterra and sua voce e La legge. (Well Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is Legge but that’s a different story and don’t discount the EMI/Giulini Requiem because of her. AND YES, Dame Joan performed the Requiem w/Giulini at the Edinburg Festival and it was released on Testament. Both she, him and it are great!!
@@johnpickford4222 Thank you for your reply, I agree, the versions you mentioned are amazing with an incredible cast. Speaking of TURANDOT have you heard of the correspondence between Ricordi (the publisher in Milan as you know) and Puccini? It appears that Ricordi was begging Puccini to go back and finish the work but the latter dropped the composition of the Opera as he felt the libretto was simply NOT believable. Then he passed away some two years later but he could have finished it had he wanted to. I'm still researching this correspondence but the news came to my ear a few months ago...
Thank you! Verdi's Requiem is one of the masterpieces that I love most...Victor de Sabata with La Scala Forces in a recording of 50's also was superb...I love the John Eliot Gardiner recording as well as the Karajan's and the Pappano's...stunning!
Thank you for recommending the Gardiner - I listened to it on Primephonic and what an exciting performance it is. The amount of textural detail Gardiner unearths is remarkable whilst still keeping the drama and theatricality of the piece intact. It has a real sense of occasion. The Giulini EMI is amazing too IMHO
Sometimes these "either/or" people come from not having had chance to develop an appreciation of performance as performance early on. I was fortunate to have had parents who were real jazz lovers and by the time opera came into my life by seeing Joan Sutherland on the Ed Sullivan show at age 13, I had already heard Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, and Billie Holiday [at the last Carnegie Hall concert] live so I knew how to listen to different kinds of voices singing the same type of music. I agree with you that it does no honor to the composers or the performers to be "either/or".
I'd have included in these recommended recordings the De Sabata's one with La Scala forces. It combines rational thought and bursting passion. A real knock down!
Michelangelo Mulieri: Psat, psat, keep it quiet but it also has Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and not a wolf in sight! I grew up with Schwarzkopf, Sutherland and Farrell as I learned from my parents. 50% of the records were Schwarzkopf’s: 2 of the 4! But I loved them, and others to this day, Gilbert & Sullivan, classic musicals, symphonies, Ella Fitzgerald and just too damn many. My heart goes to Dave for his reviews and what he went through moving them all. I see Strauss’ Last Four Songs are next. That means Schwarzkopf! Norman and many others 😊
I was at the performance of the Requiem by Solti in Orchestra Hall with Price, Baker. Luccheti and I cant remember the bass. It was a miraculous performance and I assume was done either right before or after the recording.
There's an Edinburgh festival performance (video) with Abbado from 1982, plus a video with Alagna and Gheorgiu on EMI where Abbado looks like he's been dead for a few days
michael hartman: Well that’s a new low for Abbado when dying of cancer. What about Kathleen Ferrier, Kirsten Flagstad or Gertrude Lawrence, all struck down by cancer when still singing/performing. Lawrence left THE KING AND I and died three weeks later!
First of all I congratulate you for having an excellent channel on music criticism since you are looking for nothing but perfection, good taste for recordings in any work of any era, my question is the following: Have you ever listened to the first recording of the Requiem with Karajan ?, in my opinion I think this recording is one of the most beautiful I have heard and I will say it for the following reasons: 1. We are located in the golden age of the octogenarian director where he painstakingly sought a very pure sound as well as achieving interpretive perfection. 2. The cast of the singers is one of the best that has been seen, you have a young talent like Carlo Cossutta taking off with a powerful voice but that at the same time is very warm and on the other side we have Mirella Freni, Christa Ludwig and Nicolai Ghiaurov in his prime, both in voice and acting. At the end of the day, what I present is my point of view regarding this recording, I don't know what you think Mr. Hurwitz, kind regards from Mexico.
Thank you for your kind message. I agree the singers are lovely, but Karajan is terrible--the acme of that smooth, slick, gutless sound he often preferred.
Thank you, David, for selecting Toscanini's as the first choice of this review of Verdi's requiem. I'm old enough to remember the day I heard and then read (no TV available to me at the time) of the Maestro's passing when I was not even 10 years old. By the way, I also like Furtwangler's approach versus Toscanini's (not about Verdi's Requiem). As David mentioned about the challenges of reviewing/recommending operas, I do hope he would give us his professional musician's view of why Toscanini and Furtwangler are so drastically different and yet so admired by music lovers all over the world. This controversy is like the two schools of Brahms versus Wagner at the time. Anyway, I do hope David would get to operas sooner.
Wendy Chen: Just because David mentioned the Toscanini recording first doesn’t mean he prefers it above all others. I think he listed the recording by recording year; I’m on the Solti, Muti choices as I type this.
Hi David , great talk on a difficult subject . I agree with your comment on the Santa Cecilia Orchestra . They were insufferable . Then I heard them under Pappano in Vienna ,Musicverien, doing Bruckner , they were magnificent . Pappano's energy was palpable [ excuse the pun]. Also agree about Shwartzkoff , she whooped like the swans of the name . Cheers.
Ernest De Zan: I don’t know who you referenced but Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in the Verdi Requiem is not negligible. She is a swan but she doesn’t hoot. But she would holler if she read your comment. I remember her her responding to the allusion that skillful editing covered what she couldn’t do vocally and she was fit to be tied. I enjoy her and realize no singer, critic or poster is perfect.
Another great survey, although I was surprised to hear you say that Sutherland has a "light" voice. She began her career planning on becoming a dramatic soprano, and late in her career recorded a knockout Turandot, of all things. You must have heard her live often enough to know how effortlessly her voice could fill an auditorium. The first time I heard her live was in Tales of Hoffmann at the Met, and the effect was as if they had given her a microphone, but not the other singers. But at least you weren't unkind to her, so thank you for that.
Don't forget Maazel's video from the Philadelphia hockey rink with an audience of 16,000 for the Pavarotti competition. Susan Dunn (from Shaw) is there, and Pavarotti (the FAT Pavarotti)'s Hostias in the Offertory is hair raising. See it on TH-cam.
7:18 I once read an anecdote, which may pertain to this recording of Verdi's Requiem by Benrstein: that they had contracted Franco Corelli to sing the tenor part, but the star tenor cancelled (seems he was notorious for that) and they brought in the then young Domingo, not yet a household name, on a short notice. Now his career was already going pretty well, so it is not like this one performance made it - but he surely shone, close to stealing the show from his famous colleagues. And in a few short years, you could see more Domingo than Corelli on record... surely assisted by the fact that the young Spaniard rarely, if ever, turned down any role!
Yes, yes, yes! So right about opera people. Reiner and Solti (Decca) are in my collection. Bernstein and Muti will definitely be on my list of recordings to investigate. I wasn't a big fan of Giulini because of Schwarzkopf (I can only bear to listen to her in the two recordings of Cosi and the classic Rosenkavalier,). I was quite underwhelmed by Pappano's recording, mosty because of the soloists.
Shaw also has the best va pensiero anyone ever recorded as part of the filler on the second disc, Susan Dunn isn’t interesting enough for that to be my go to recording. I think Abbado 3 is up there and I have a soft spot for Barbirolli, Caballé has never been bettered. Also great, the Karajan DVD from la scala with a pre-beard PAV and price
Hi Dave. I just watched this video since you recently did 2 "reference recordings" videos on the Verdi Requiem. I have the Solti RCA LP version (along with the Shaw performance on CD) which I enjoy. However, the sonics on the record are bad (very bright and distorted) which might be attributed to groove wear (it was Goodwill find). So I'm looking to get his Vienna Philharmonic recording. What exactly did you mean with your comment about the sound being gimmicky? I read somewhere that the CD's sound was inconsistent and the LP's sonics were better. What are your thoughts?
I find many London recordings are like that - especially with Mehta and the LSO. And what are your thoughts about the LP releases sounding better than the CD's?
Agree with most of these recommendations and the points you make David. Leontyne Price sings the Libera Me better than anyone else on the Reiner recording, it's incredibly powerful. Fricsay's is special, as is Pappano's, and of course Giulini's - I remember reading once that Schwarzkopf struggled with the high notes in the Libera Me so Legge had her redo them. Also, what do you make of Harnoncourt's recording? Not typical repertoire for him but I think it's an excellent performance by both orchestra and chorus/soloists. Brings out detail like no other, like the audible piccolo in the final part of the Libera Me during the thrilling crescendo! And Carlos Païta's with the Royal Phil? Païta made some great recordings - his Dvorak 7-9 are also superb.
For me Barbirolli had the best cast of soloists with Caballé, Cosotto, Vickers and Raimondi. Never understood why conductors took singers for this work who weren't real Verdi singers, like Schwarzkopf or Stader. It needs an Aida cast...
tenorette2003: She recorded it twice and while the first was better than the second, she is not negligible and not the reason to avoid the recording. And if Nilsson had backed out of the EMI/Mehta/Corelli recording, and they needed a soprano, well, who knows??
In this case I agree with you, that Pappano version is great and maybe the best ever made sonically. I have two minor problems: the male singers and especially the male choir should be more powerful sometime. But I can live with it.
But why, WHY does the "dies irae" on the Shaw version only in 1 track?! I just want to jump to the Tuba mirum and cannot. What is the purpose of having a limited amount of tracks? Is that more environment friendly?
@@DavesClassicalGuide I care, in the car it is much more difficult to fast forward the tracks :) If I am not mistaken the whole piece is in 7 tracks in the Shaw recording. The whole offertory is just merged to 1 single track (and the dies irae i have already compalined about). Is it only me that is really bothered about it? For this reason alone I am listening to Giulini instead. I understand that there are music players that might add some gap between the tracks that would cut the flow of the piece so maybe that is the reason. But maybe you have more insights on that.
@@anonymusmester I wouldn't fast forward in the car. I'd be too busy driving! Come to think of it, I don't think I'd play the Verdi Requiem in the car.
@@anonymusmester If it's a great performance, I don't much care. If it isn't, I really don't care. I don't listen to opera unless I'm prepared to spend the time.
I have noticed while enjoying your reviews that, no matter the subject and no matter the review, there is always ONE thumbs down. Seems that someone needs to get a life or at least get out of their moms basement
Wow, you are brave!! Great review! Even among those of us who feel that Toscanini can do no wrong, there are endless debates as to which of his two 1938, his 1940, or his 1951 RCA are his best. There is even a version of the live 1951 performance where two separated microphone pickups have been synchronized to create an "Accidental Stereo" recording. But that cannot be a first choice, as Nelli falls apart in the last movement. So does Tucci in Szell's live performance which is on You Tube. However, there is a 1967 soundtrack to a Karajan/La Scala film with L. Price, Cossotto, Pavarotti (without the beard), and Ghiaurov which is outstanding. th-cam.com/video/McJ_n9ZfG2k/w-d-xo.html
@@DavesClassicalGuide The Karajan video really is dynamite--Price's best performance of this piece IMHO. Interesting to see the director's take on a video performance for this era, also
Nadav Gershon: “You are not forgiven my son because his voice at that time wasn’t yet terrible as compared to Botchedcelli. Your penance is to listen the Schwarzkopf’s EMI recording of DER ROSENKAVALIER and convince David Hurwitz that she is wunderbar, but with faults. Otherwise Hell can be very warm this time of the year. Father Knows Best (except for David Hurwitz who is great!)
peter owen: You are confusing the situation where Schwarzkopf dubbed high notes for Flagstad. Those are Schwarzkopf’s notes, agreed that they are different takes but all great ‘cause it’s Miz Liz!
A funny story I heard about the bass drum part was that Toscanini demanded from the bd player more and more volume and the poor guy, who was banging like hell finally said that it cant be played louder so the Maestro crossed the stage, took the bd stick and banged the drum so violently that it tore the skin apart and Toscanini said : "this is how loud I want it!!"
A highlight of the Toscanini recording is that you can hear him shouting near the start of the Tuba Mirum.
That highlight corresponds to a part of the Dies Irae dress rehearsal that was inserted in the final RCA recording.
Toscanini reviewed the rehearsal material and selected some parts that satisfied him and the final editing of the recording was produced.
The Requiem rehearsal is available on TH-cam.@@jamesrbutler1
Micha Davis: Not that funny, but okay, but it’s not Kaufman and Hart humor.
That's odd; the same story has been told often about Mahler rehearsing the premiere of his Sixth Symphony.
Ask any drummer, an old man or anybody couldn’t break the head of a bass drum on one shot. Apocryphal story.
At least no one can say the Requiem has been underserved on disc! Thanks. As always. 🎉
Great video. I'm not a "historical recordings" guy (more a "period performance" guy...), but in this case I'd like to sugest one of my favorites: the Tulio Serafin's 1939 recording, with Caniglia, Stignani, Gigli and Pinza. I have the Naxos edition, and I think it's wonderful.
Thank you for the review! I wanted to point out a rare recording that I love -- Sinopoli's last performance before he died, with the Staatskapelle Dresden. It's rather slow and slightly mannered, as was Sinopoli's wont, but the amount of detail that he gets and the sensitivity he shows in the slower sections of the work is quite refreshing. Great soloists too.
Thank you for sharing that.
A good review on such a magnificent and emotional work which I can never get enough of satisfaction from a number of these great versions (especially to Shaw's, which is unfortunately neglected). Some worthy modern recordings with the help of HIRES added to the essential collection of this life changing creation IMO are Noseda/LSO, Maazel/Munich and Muti/CSO.
There are a few "listen as many versions as possible before you die" works and Verdi Requiem is high on my list.
I haven’t heard the Pappano, but of the ones I know my favorite is Shaw’s terrific performance with sonics to match. Glad you like it so well, too. My first recording of the requiem was Muti’s earlier version which I have on LP.
Abbado did it three times 2001 with the Berlin harmonic Orchestra published by EMI Classics and wow what a dramatic Interpretation, did not belive that Abbado van be so powerfull.
Thank you very much for an insightful video! I agree with you - Verdi's Requiem is THE REQUIEM! Amazing work!
Thanks for the Bernstein tip. I guess I must have been sleeping under a rock, as I actually didn't know he'd made this recording, but it's quite a revelation. Stirring stuff.
I have enjoyed Bernstein's Verdi Requiem since it was brand-new. (If memory serves, it was issued almost simultaneously with one by Barbirolli, a conductor I've never entirely "got"). I see I'm not the only one who sees Lenny's proclivity toward out-and-out excitement to be a virtue in this work.
Also: "green-blooded" = "Vulcan" -- secret handshake noted.
@@davecook8378 No time; I'm still employed, and I'd have to listen to all sixty-plus of them all over again!
For a long time I only had the Shaw, but just before the pandemic hit with the equivalent force of the Dies Irae and shut everything, I picked up Solti's Chicago version from a local charity shop (for anyone on the other side of the pond, that's a thrift store). Got to be honest I haven't listened to it yet, but I've got high hopes now. Certainly the Telarc is spectacular
Cheryl Studer sang flat... often. And it is recorded for all to hear. I never could get over how a conductor, an engineer, and the woman herself could let that pass. Shaw nails it in that Requiem!! So fine. Best chorus period.
I love Abbado/Vienna. Though I don't (to my shame & sorrow) have Fricsay anymore, I remember it as absolutely molten, especially the climax of Libera Me. This was a(nother) fantastic talk, with all highlights hit (even Solti II!).
I have sung this with a large amateur choir and I respect anyone who can corral the required resources. It is a monumental piece.
I was wondering why you haven't ventured into opera. Makes sense. I've always liked the Bernstein and Giulini ones, but it doesn't surprise me that the Pappano is THAT good. I'll check it out. In spite of all the sweaty dramatic moments, my favorite bit in the Requiem is the bassoon quartet section. I love that!
I like Callas and Sutherland. To coin a phrase, what's not to love?
We have heard and enjoyed Bernstein's account but our current favorites are Shaw and the live Giulini on BBC (with Shuard, Reynolds, Lewis, & Ward). Solti on RCA is very good as well.I intend to check out Pappano and possibly Muti with the Philharmonia.
Love the Shaw! My cousin sang in the alto section of the ASO Chorus at the time of this recording. I attended one of the performances in Atlanta around that time. It was an overwhelming experience! And the recorded sound on this album...ye God's! Listen (with good headphones) to those trumpets in the Dies Irae!!!! That bass drum!!! Yikes! The actual day of wrath will have to work hard to approach this recording!
Shaw did not have Toscanini's authority (Shaw and Toscanini worked together a lot), but he knows how the work should go.
I especially enjoy Barbirolli (mentioned by some others) and the von Karajan with Freni and Ludwig. Both have great vocalists--beyond amazingly beautiful. And both to me convey religious intensity rather than high drama. Is there anything more beautiful than the Freni/Ludwig Recordare?
And a special shout out to deStefano's entrance on the Toscanini! One thrilling breath!
I'm glad you mention the Pappano's Version with the Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia. He's a friend of mine and the Choir is just amazing!!
Enrico Marconi: Thank you for the unbiased opinion. I’m certain that Maestro Pappano appreciates your comments (and I’m looking for to his TURANDOT with the complete Alfaro ending. But while she’s not a friend of mine (she was a few years younger than my mother and her son a month older) I love Joan Sutherland and she’s my ‘principessa’, actually una Dama di Ingleterra and sua voce e La legge. (Well Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is Legge but that’s a different story and don’t discount the EMI/Giulini Requiem because of her. AND YES, Dame Joan performed the Requiem w/Giulini at the Edinburg Festival and it was released on Testament. Both she, him and it are great!!
@@johnpickford4222 Thank you for your reply, I agree, the versions you mentioned are amazing with an incredible cast. Speaking of TURANDOT have you heard of the correspondence between Ricordi (the publisher in Milan as you know) and Puccini? It appears that Ricordi was begging Puccini to go back and finish the work but the latter dropped the composition of the Opera as he felt the libretto was simply NOT believable. Then he passed away some two years later but he could have finished it had he wanted to. I'm still researching this correspondence but the news came to my ear a few months ago...
Thank you! Verdi's Requiem is one of the masterpieces that I love most...Victor de Sabata with La Scala Forces in a recording of 50's also was superb...I love the John Eliot Gardiner recording as well as the Karajan's and the Pappano's...stunning!
Thank you for recommending the Gardiner - I listened to it on Primephonic and what an exciting performance it is. The amount of textural detail Gardiner unearths is remarkable whilst still keeping the drama and theatricality of the piece intact. It has a real sense of occasion.
The Giulini EMI is amazing too IMHO
Barbirolli also comes from a dynasty which knew Verdi. His recording with Caballè is my desrt island choice!
Sometimes these "either/or" people come from not having had chance to develop an appreciation of performance as performance early on. I was fortunate to have had parents who were real jazz lovers and by the time opera came into my life by seeing Joan Sutherland on the Ed Sullivan show at age 13, I had already heard Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, and Billie Holiday [at the last Carnegie Hall concert] live so I knew how to listen to different kinds of voices singing the same type of music. I agree with you that it does no honor to the composers or the performers to be "either/or".
I'd have included in these recommended recordings the De Sabata's one with La Scala forces. It combines rational thought and bursting passion. A real knock down!
And horrible sonics.
Michelangelo Mulieri: Psat, psat, keep it quiet but it also has Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and not a wolf in sight! I grew up with Schwarzkopf, Sutherland and Farrell as I learned from my parents. 50% of the records were Schwarzkopf’s: 2 of the 4! But I loved them, and others to this day, Gilbert & Sullivan, classic musicals, symphonies, Ella Fitzgerald and just too damn many. My heart goes to Dave for his reviews and what he went through moving them all. I see Strauss’ Last Four Songs are next. That means Schwarzkopf! Norman and many others 😊
I was at the performance of the Requiem by Solti in Orchestra Hall with Price, Baker. Luccheti and I cant remember the bass. It was a miraculous performance and I assume was done either right before or after the recording.
There's an Edinburgh festival performance (video) with Abbado from 1982, plus a video with Alagna and Gheorgiu on EMI where Abbado looks like he's been dead for a few days
michael hartman: Well that’s a new low for Abbado when dying of cancer. What about Kathleen Ferrier, Kirsten Flagstad or Gertrude Lawrence, all struck down by cancer when still singing/performing. Lawrence left THE KING AND I and died three weeks later!
First of all I congratulate you for having an excellent channel on music criticism since you are looking for nothing but perfection, good taste for recordings in any work of any era, my question is the following: Have you ever listened to the first recording of the Requiem with Karajan ?, in my opinion I think this recording is one of the most beautiful I have heard and I will say it for the following reasons:
1. We are located in the golden age of the octogenarian director where he painstakingly sought a very pure sound as well as achieving interpretive perfection.
2. The cast of the singers is one of the best that has been seen, you have a young talent like Carlo Cossutta taking off with a powerful voice but that at the same time is very warm and on the other side we have Mirella Freni, Christa Ludwig and Nicolai Ghiaurov in his prime, both in voice and acting.
At the end of the day, what I present is my point of view regarding this recording, I don't know what you think Mr. Hurwitz, kind regards from Mexico.
Thank you for your kind message. I agree the singers are lovely, but Karajan is terrible--the acme of that smooth, slick, gutless sound he often preferred.
Thank you, David, for selecting Toscanini's as the first choice of this review of Verdi's requiem. I'm old enough to remember the day I heard and then read (no TV available to me at the time) of the Maestro's passing when I was not even 10 years old. By the way, I also like Furtwangler's approach versus Toscanini's (not about Verdi's Requiem). As David mentioned about the challenges of reviewing/recommending operas, I do hope he would give us his professional musician's view of why Toscanini and Furtwangler are so drastically different and yet so admired by music lovers all over the world. This controversy is like the two schools of Brahms versus Wagner at the time. Anyway, I do hope David would get to operas sooner.
I've done a couple of Verdi opera videos.
Wendy Chen: Just because David mentioned the Toscanini recording first doesn’t mean he prefers it above all others. I think he listed the recording by recording year; I’m on the Solti, Muti choices as I type this.
Hi David , great talk on a difficult subject . I agree with your comment on the Santa Cecilia Orchestra . They were insufferable . Then I heard them under Pappano in Vienna ,Musicverien, doing Bruckner , they were magnificent . Pappano's energy was palpable [ excuse the pun]. Also agree about Shwartzkoff , she whooped like the swans of the name . Cheers.
Ernest De Zan: I don’t know who you referenced but Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in the Verdi Requiem is not negligible. She is a swan but she doesn’t hoot. But she would holler if she read your comment. I remember her her responding to the allusion that skillful editing covered what she couldn’t do vocally and she was fit to be tied. I enjoy her and realize no singer, critic or poster is perfect.
Another great survey, although I was surprised to hear you say that Sutherland has a "light" voice. She began her career planning on becoming a dramatic soprano, and late in her career recorded a knockout Turandot, of all things. You must have heard her live often enough to know how effortlessly her voice could fill an auditorium. The first time I heard her live was in Tales of Hoffmann at the Met, and the effect was as if they had given her a microphone, but not the other singers. But at least you weren't unkind to her, so thank you for that.
Don't forget Maazel's video from the Philadelphia hockey rink with an audience of 16,000 for the Pavarotti competition. Susan Dunn (from Shaw) is there, and Pavarotti (the FAT Pavarotti)'s Hostias in the Offertory is hair raising. See it on TH-cam.
7:18 I once read an anecdote, which may pertain to this recording of Verdi's Requiem by Benrstein: that they had contracted Franco Corelli to sing the tenor part, but the star tenor cancelled (seems he was notorious for that) and they brought in the then young Domingo, not yet a household name, on a short notice. Now his career was already going pretty well, so it is not like this one performance made it - but he surely shone, close to stealing the show from his famous colleagues. And in a few short years, you could see more Domingo than Corelli on record... surely assisted by the fact that the young Spaniard rarely, if ever, turned down any role!
Big G: Domingo can’t say no to any role, but he stopped before he got to basso roles.
Yes, yes, yes! So right about opera people. Reiner and Solti (Decca) are in my collection. Bernstein and Muti will definitely be on my list of recordings to investigate. I wasn't a big fan of Giulini because of Schwarzkopf (I can only bear to listen to her in the two recordings of Cosi and the classic Rosenkavalier,). I was quite underwhelmed by Pappano's recording, mosty because of the soloists.
2906nico: If you only listen to Schwarzkopf in those recordings, then you hear the best. Thank you!
Hello. Does anyone know where I could get the Sinopoli Requiem? Thank you.
I wouldn't like to be without Gardiner and the first Karajan on DVD :)
Shaw also has the best va pensiero anyone ever recorded as part of the filler on the second disc, Susan Dunn isn’t interesting enough for that to be my go to recording. I think Abbado 3 is up there and I have a soft spot for Barbirolli, Caballé has never been bettered. Also great, the Karajan DVD from la scala with a pre-beard PAV and price
How do you like the Barenboim and the newer Abbado with Berliner?
Too much of a good thing. Why do they keep doing it over and over?
"Fricsay" Hooray! :D
Hi Dave. I just watched this video since you recently did 2 "reference recordings" videos on the Verdi Requiem. I have the Solti RCA LP version (along with the Shaw performance on CD) which I enjoy. However, the sonics on the record are bad (very bright and distorted) which might be attributed to groove wear (it was Goodwill find). So I'm looking to get his Vienna Philharmonic recording. What exactly did you mean with your comment about the sound being gimmicky? I read somewhere that the CD's sound was inconsistent and the LP's sonics were better.
What are your thoughts?
It's just heavily multi-miked. The strings in particular come and go.
I find many London recordings are like that - especially with Mehta and the LSO.
And what are your thoughts about the LP releases sounding better than the CD's?
Agree with most of these recommendations and the points you make David.
Leontyne Price sings the Libera Me better than anyone else on the Reiner recording, it's incredibly powerful.
Fricsay's is special, as is Pappano's, and of course Giulini's - I remember reading once that Schwarzkopf struggled with the high notes in the Libera Me so Legge had her redo them.
Also, what do you make of Harnoncourt's recording? Not typical repertoire for him but I think it's an excellent performance by both orchestra and chorus/soloists. Brings out detail like no other, like the audible piccolo in the final part of the Libera Me during the thrilling crescendo!
And Carlos Païta's with the Royal Phil? Païta made some great recordings - his Dvorak 7-9 are also superb.
I think Harnoncourt is mostly just odd, but there are always interesting details. Unconvincing as a whole, though.
For me Barbirolli had the best cast of soloists with Caballé, Cosotto, Vickers and Raimondi. Never understood why conductors took singers for this work who weren't real Verdi singers, like Schwarzkopf or Stader. It needs an Aida cast...
tenorette2003: She recorded it twice and while the first was better than the second, she is not negligible and not the reason to avoid the recording. And if Nilsson had backed out of the EMI/Mehta/Corelli recording, and they needed a soprano, well, who knows??
In this case I agree with you, that Pappano version is great and maybe the best ever made sonically. I have two minor problems: the male singers and especially the male choir should be more powerful sometime. But I can live with it.
I'm sure Pappano will be happy to know that!
@@DavesClassicalGuide :-) For that matter he signed me this album (and his Aida too) when he was in Budapest with his orchestra. He was very kind. :-)
Will you do a review of the Met’s performance commemorating 9/11?
Never! Those are not musical events--they are social and political and I see no point in discussing them.
“Kunst Diva”
Never heard that term before. I will use it. Very inappropriately too.
But why, WHY does the "dies irae" on the Shaw version only in 1 track?! I just want to jump to the Tuba mirum and cannot.
What is the purpose of having a limited amount of tracks? Is that more environment friendly?
Who cares?
@@DavesClassicalGuide I care, in the car it is much more difficult to fast forward the tracks :)
If I am not mistaken the whole piece is in 7 tracks in the Shaw recording. The whole offertory is just merged to 1 single track (and the dies irae i have already compalined about).
Is it only me that is really bothered about it? For this reason alone I am listening to Giulini instead.
I understand that there are music players that might add some gap between the tracks that would cut the flow of the piece so maybe that is the reason.
But maybe you have more insights on that.
@@anonymusmester I wouldn't fast forward in the car. I'd be too busy driving! Come to think of it, I don't think I'd play the Verdi Requiem in the car.
@@DavesClassicalGuide what do you think about those opera recordings that have 1 track per scene (or worse per act)?
@@anonymusmester If it's a great performance, I don't much care. If it isn't, I really don't care. I don't listen to opera unless I'm prepared to spend the time.
The opposite of "red-blooded"is "bloodless."
or "anemic"
And what happened to Seraphim with Gigli and Pinza ??
I have noticed while enjoying your reviews that, no matter the subject and no matter the review, there is always ONE thumbs down. Seems that someone needs to get a life or at least get out of their moms basement
Or someone just doesn't like me--I've been at this for over 30 years and have some pretty obsessive stalkers.
@@DavesClassicalGuide that’s their problem. Thankfully not yours. Keep up the great
Please say Shaw, please say Shaw...
I get what you mean about reviewing operas! But Scotto was great in the 60s...
Yes, she was
Oh, pshaw!
Wow, you are brave!! Great review! Even among those of us who feel that Toscanini can do no wrong, there are endless debates as to which of his two 1938, his 1940, or his 1951 RCA are his best. There is even a version of the live 1951 performance where two separated microphone pickups have been synchronized to create an "Accidental Stereo" recording. But that cannot be a first choice, as Nelli falls apart in the last movement. So does Tucci in Szell's live performance which is on You Tube. However, there is a 1967 soundtrack to a Karajan/La Scala film with L. Price, Cossotto, Pavarotti (without the beard), and Ghiaurov which is outstanding.
th-cam.com/video/McJ_n9ZfG2k/w-d-xo.html
Thansk for helping out with the discography....and videography!
@@DavesClassicalGuide The Karajan video really is dynamite--Price's best performance of this piece IMHO. Interesting to see the director's take on a video performance for this era, also
jfddoc: There’s a live one with Toscanini and Renata Tebaldi; she is stunning!
And what is that exactly? www.classicstoday.com/review/review-11434/
That is Dan Davis's review, with whom I disagree about this performance (although he had a point about the sonics).
@@DavesClassicalGuide Thank you, Dave!!
Forgive me father for I am going to commit a sin and comment about the singers, but Villazon is soooo painful to listen to.
Nadav Gershon: “You are not forgiven my son because his voice at that time wasn’t yet terrible as compared to Botchedcelli. Your penance is to listen the Schwarzkopf’s EMI recording of DER ROSENKAVALIER and convince David Hurwitz that she is wunderbar, but with faults. Otherwise Hell can be very warm this time of the year. Father Knows Best (except for David Hurwitz who is great!)
Plasson's recording should be mentioned--it has a fair number of positive attributes.
Thielemann live recording?
As usual Schwarzkopf's high notes were unreliable and were dubbed in by another soprano. If you listen closely you can hear the joins quite clearly.
Yes but its her voice. Just different takes. Similar to Hervs Nelli where you can hear the high notes dubbed in from months later
peter owen: You are confusing the situation where Schwarzkopf dubbed high notes for Flagstad. Those are Schwarzkopf’s notes, agreed that they are different takes but all great ‘cause it’s Miz Liz!
@@johnpickford4222 Not so I'm afraid -anything higher than a B flat was dubbed. I'll try to find the references and get back to you.