Rimsky-Korsakov / Borodin: Symphonic Music
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Alexander BorodinComposer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Conductor: Kiril Kondrashin
Orchestra: Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
Performer: Herman Krebbers
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2001-07-10
Music Label: Umvd Labels
Soundtracks:
- Scheherazade, Op.35: I. The Sea And Sinbad's Ship - Herman Krebbers
- Scheherazade, Op.35: II. The Story Of The Kalender Prince - Herman Krebbers
- Scheherazade, Op.35: III. The Young Prince And Princess - Herman Krebbers
- Scheherazade, Op.35: IV. Festival At Baghdad - The Sea - Shipwreck - Conclusion - Herman Krebbers
- Sym No.2 in b: I. Allegro - Concertgebouw Orch/Kirill Kondrashin
- Sym No.2 in b: II. Scherzo: Prestissimo - Trio: Allegretto - Concertgebouw Orch/Kirill Kondrashin
- Sym No.2 in b: III. Andante - Concertgebouw Orch/Kirill Kondrashin
- Sym No.2 in b: IV. Finale: Allegro - Concertgebouw Orch/Kirill Kondrashin
Free Music Notes for Rimsky-Korsakov / Borodin: Symphonic Music
Free Music Review: How to tell if McDonald's makes "the best" hamburger
Hit: 4 Stars
It never fails that a recording generally praised by critics shows up at Amazon as "the best ever." In the case of Kondrashin's widely admired Scheherazade, reviewers echo the same received opinion, and they'd be irked to hear that such opinions are generally worthless. Let's look at hamburgers by analogy. It wouldn't matter if a dozen reviewers agreed that McDondal's made "the best ever" hamburger unless those claims were backed up. Taste is individual, of course, but consensus isn't. To back up a claim about the best hamburger, a taster would have to show some experience with other hamburgers, and hopefully he'd remember some good and bad ones and could describe the difference.
Every review below fails on these counts. Nobody ofrfers useful comparisons between Kondrashin and, say, Stokowski, Beecham, Karajan, Ansermet, Reiner, Temirkanov, and other acclaimed conductors in this work. Nobody shows much experience or has a long memory for recordings going back to the Fifties and before. Claims are made about "best" playing, sound, and interpretation without basis. I'm happy if a lot of music lovers feel attached to this recording, but I also know certain things:
--"Best" is rarely a valid critical term unless there are only a handful of choices.
--Great Scheherazades exist from Beecham, Stokowski and Reiner. Kondrashin's reading doesn't have Beecham's swagger and elegance, Stokowski's dramatic flair, or Reiner's unparalleled virtuosity of execution.
--Philips' sonics are very good, but to say they are outstanding, one would have to do a side-by-side sampling with RCA's Living Stereo for Reiner, long an audio classic.
I don't feel called on to be this didactic very often, but I try to write reviews on the basis of facts like these. Taking them into account, I'd rank Kondrashin as a fine version, if a bit sober and lacking in individuality. On the other hand, I can see why it's considered one of the top contenders by listeners who desire a straightforward, extremely well played Scheherazade where the conductor doesn't do much interpretative work.
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