Cheap Silvestri: The Collection (Box Set) (Music) (Antonin Dvorak, George Enescu, Franz Liszt, Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, Engelbert Humperdinck, Johannes Brahms, Dmitry Shostakovich, Sergey Prokofiev, Aram Khachaturian, Felix Mendelssohn) Price

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Customer Reviews of Silvestri: The Collection (Box Set)

Silvestri's career was cut short at age 55 by liver cancer. In the 7+ years that he headed the Bournemouth Symphony, he transformed a seemingly hopeless provincial ensemble into a near-great orchestra. Evidence of that is clearly apparent in this wonderful 10-disc EMI set, in which he also conducts The Vienna Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Paris Conservatory, and the London Philharmonic. Several of the readings here can lay claim to the title of "greatest ever."

Here is a brief summary of contents. If you have never heard Silvestri, perhaps the performers with whom I compare him will give you some idea of what you are missing if you don't run out and get this set. I paid full bore for mine (the first copy that came into the San Francisco branch of Tower Records) and, at about $50, I regarded it as a steal. It's now out of print - but new copies can be found on the internet for under $30. And for that modest sum, you get nearly 12 hours of superb music making for less than a decent ticket's price to hear some faceless run-through.

CD1 is all with Vienna. I feel this warm and passionate Dvorak 7th ranks along with Talich & Sejna as one of the 3 greatest. The Enescu is the finest stereo account, although I prefer the earlier Czech Phil. account, which is superior even to the fine Georgescu. The 4th Rhapsody is a stunning demonstration of how to conduct Liszt - a towering achievement that leaves all competitors behind. The R-R Capriccio Espagnol is a trifle rhetorical for my taste: it is outclassed by the unbeatable Kondrashin.

CD2 has the finest Hansel & Gretel on disc. Others are more idiomatic in the Brahms and Dvorak items; my favorite Carnival remains the Krombholc. Dvorak's 8th is beautifully played (III is gorgeous), but it's also a bit exaggerated - I still prefer Talich & Ancerl.

CD3's Shostakovich 5th is one of the great accounts, just a step or two behind Mravinsky. The Prokofiev & Khachaturian are very brilliant - I've never heard any better.

CD4 is all stunning save for the rather mannered Ravel Rhapsodie Espagnol - his Supraphon version was better, especially in the Feria, but neither approaches my favorites: Rosenthal, Bour, and Martinon (Reiner's is brilliant but cold).

CD5 has an exceptional Bald Mountain that doesn't quite match Stokowski and Markevitch. The Borodin & Glinka are gorgeous: perhaps only Mengelberg is better in the Steppes. Scheherazade is outstanding - for me, it ranks with Stokowski's 1927 & 1934 Philadelphia accounts and the 1957 Beecham (I find the much-praised Reiner too fast and a trifle studied). BSO concert master Gerald Jarvis is incredibly impassioned, although he has a couple patches of blue intonation.

CD6 features a Sorcerer's Apprentice that outclasses even the Stokowski. The Danse Macabre is fine but not really special. The Ravel Pavane lacks the poignancy of Rosenthal & Cluytens. Franck's D minor is right up there with Mengelberg, Stokowski, and Cluytens (I learned it with Boult, whom I still prefer to the celebrated Monteux).

CD7 has some lukewarm Tchaikovsky (a rather spiritless 1812). The Cap. Espagnole is no match for Scherchen, let alone Kondrashin. But the Finlandia is superb - easily the equal of Rosbaud, Collins and Otterloo. The V-W overtures (Wasps and Tallis) here get their definitive readings.

CD8 has the finest stereo Les Preludes, but I still find the old Mengelberg non pareil. I prefer the BSO Dukas to this one from Paris. Stravinsky's Sym. in 3 Mvts. is the second-best I have heard, after the composer's 1946 NY Phil. account. The Song of the Nightingale even rivals the classic Reiner.

CD9 offers perhaps the most mesmerizing Bolero ever - I also love Rosenthal, Leibowitz and Desormiere here. The Debussy items are a mixed bag - the La Mer is mannered but brilliant (hear the end of I: it's dazzling). To my ears, Inghelbrecht is simply in a league of his own in these works.

CD10 has the definitive Tasso - one of the greatest of ALL Liszt readings. Likewise, the Bartok Divertimento is superb. Hindemith's Mathis der Maler is surely the equal of Bernstein's (live), Fricsay's and the composer's own. Too bad EMI didn't include Silvestri's great Symphonie Fantastique and dramatic New World - or his definitive Elgar "In the South" (even the boys at The Gramophone are agreed on that one).

In a nutshell: this great set has a LOT of desert island stuff!