Schumann: Symphony Nos. 1-4 Et

Easily my favourite Schumann symphony cycle. Sawallisch and the Staatskapelle Dresden play brilliantly with verve and clarity. Easily recommended as a first choice for fans of this composer.Product arrived in perfect condition.

Arrived in excellent condition and offered as a gift to a Schumann symphonies admirer.

I have many cd versions of these symphonies, but if I could have only one, it would be this one!

Many people only listen to his piano compositions. They're missing out on great music if they don't listen to Schumann's symphonies.

This is an extraordinary set. A gloriously clear, three-dimensional recording, it provides an amazingly coherent, exciting rendition of what seems not an interpretation at all, but the thing itself, simply Schumann's music. By turns passionate, whimsical, lyrical, yearning, triumphant, always energetic - the musical lines are played with a virtuosity so good it disappears: one simply thinks, Oh, so that's how orchestras sound.

My favorite Schumann Symphony setSawallisch and the staatskapelle DresdenSoar in these 4 masterpiecesPlayed exactly like Here Robert wrote themWonderful

Schumann's symphonies are among this listener's favourite works in that form. When someone like Bernstein (in his New York studio recordings) or Dohnányi or Szell in their respective Cleveland studio sets (in Szell's case the earlier of his two), Levine (in his early recording of the works in Philadelphia) conducts them, these masterpieces by Schumann are undeniably sublime. I recall that Sir Adrian Boult directed Schumann's symphonies, at least some of them, marvellously well, too, but I have not heard the Westminster vinyl documentation (as released in North America) of Boult's way with this composer in a very long time; Boult's set has remained available in the U.K., as transferred to CD, on the Nixa label. All of these conductors (unlike many others) presented Schumann's orchestration as the composer left it, at least for the most part, and with too few minor adjustments, where they do occur, to cavil about, refraining from introducing numerous alterations simply to suit, arbitrarily, predilections about how they would prefer to have things. Of those who have recorded the works with various degrees of emended orchestration, the recording with Leipzig's great orchestra as Chailly, a very fine maestro, leads it, has used Mahler's ingeniously conceived and usually quite deft revisions, which is well worth investigating for that reason.There is a woeful lack of dynamic contrast in Wolfgang Sawallisch's E.M.I. recordings, something which for me, at least, spoils the effect that these recorded interpretations make. There is little playing, as recorded, other than at mezzo-forte to forte levels or beyond, only at times (and at that, too occasionally) at mezzo-piano. Mostly these performances make a generalised roar, which, for lack of sufficient variety in volume, tires the ear. I hardly can believe that this would have been Sawallisch's intention. Rather, this, suspiciously, would suggest having been the result of some recording engineer's "riding the dials and levers" to keep things at an even dynamic keel, as if he were recording a swing band or rock group rather than a symphonic orchestra playing Romantic Period classical music, a repertory in which dynamic variation and range from quite soft to thunderously loud is the norm, even as that kind of range is NOT so usual most of the time in popular music, which only rather seldom has that particular kind of variety within it. The strange balances between orchestral sections, either too highlighted inappropriately, or too subjugated to a general din at other times, with the strings not leading as one would expect them to do so most of the time, suggests excessive resort to too much close microphoning and, thus perhaps, to yet more tampering from the engineer's dials and other controls.Where Sawallisch really excels musically is in the buoyancy and exuberance with which his tautly sprung rhythms propel the symphonies along with irresistible vigour and drive. The conductor's tempi also tend to be decidedly fast, perhaps even slightly too rushed, but that is preferable to the kind of somber, sluggish goo to which all too many conductors reduce Schumann's inherently exciting music. (That, of course, is a factor which any respectable or even minimally responsible, competent engineer neither would tamper with artificially nor be likely to alter.)What would be needed to rectify these problems (as I, at least, perceive them) is to go back to the masters and to re-engineer them, but who will undertake such a project? (Perhaps such reëngineering already has occurred but I simply happened to obtain a less ideal issue of these recorded symphonies.) Anyway, there are several other fine sets of recordings, as already noted. These works, alas, simply elude most conductors, for whatever reason. I really do want to get the Bernstein N.Y.P.O. set and the earlier of Szell's two complete Cleveland sets, of both of which I have LP editions, on CD. As for E.M.I.'s recording, Sawallisch's bracing energy is the factor, as well as the extraordinarily virtuosic and sumptuous playing of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, that in the end, and despite all else, endears this recording for at least occasional future playback on my sound equipment.There is a whole new rash of complete sets of Schmann's symphonies, works which at last are surging in popularity in concert programming and on CD recordings of them, coming out pell-mell at present from the record companies. Among them, Nézet-Séguin, the Québecois conductor, has been greatly lauded for his recording of the symphonies, Sir Simon Rattle, on the other hand, has been taken to task for his. There are so many recordings of this music but few that really satisfy. Alas, I don't have the time and the expendable cash to buy them all, even those among these recordings which at least promise more than most of the others do so, to have the opportunities to give each of them a listen! Sawallisch's set, however, is "in the running" among recordings on the market, but only as a secondary choice (for a collector who likes to have alternative recordings in his personal collection) to one or more of the other recordings which this review mentions.

Beautiful sound - creamy and resonant. Vital performances that have stood the test of time and will continue to do so. My favorite Schumann symphony recordings.

Esta versión de las 4 sinfonías de Robert Schumann es sin lugar a dudas, una de las mejores que se han hecho a lo largo de la historia de las grabaciones, incluye además la Overture, Scherzo y Finale, obra que puede considerarse una pequeña sinfonía, muy buena también y que a veces es muy poco conocida pues pocos directores la incluyen dentro de su repertorio. Esta reedición es muy buena, definitivamente es no solo recomendable sino indispensable para los amantes de la obra de Schumann en particular y de la música clásica en general.

Delivery within an acceptable time period. CD in exactly as described condition. recommendations!

Eccellente versione delle sinfonie di Schumann.Come al solito bravissimi i professori della Staatskapelle di Dresda.

IL est généralement admis sans discussion que les symphonies de Schumann sont des œuvres admirables mais bien mal orchestrées.Cela m'a toujours laissé rêveur. ON ne critique pas l'écriture pianistiqu de Schumann, pourtant compacte. ON me dia qu'il jouait lui-même du piano, et qu'il avait Clara auprès de lui. Mais ni lui ni Calrar n’étaient chanteurs, et on s'accorde généralement la place ses lieder, avec ceux de schubert, au panthéon du genre. On ne dira qu'ils connaissaient des chanteurs. Mais enfin, Robert Schumann a dirigé un orchestre, et il était ami avec Mendelssohn, qui entendait à merveille à l'art orchestral.Je pense, à la réflexion, qu'il en est de son écriture orchestrale un peu comme de son écriture pianistique: elle est fort dense, et appelle la réalisation que Schumann en a faite. Que diable, voilà un génie du piano, du lied, dde la mausique de chambre, et il serait incapable d'écrire pour orchestre?De cette hypothèse que l'écriture orchestrale de Schumann est bien adaptée au contenu qu'elle est censée exprimée, Wolfgang Sawallisch en fait l'évidente preuve. Tout est en place, rien n'est lourd, les bois sont légers mais bien présents, les cuivres sont francs, la texture d'ensemble est aisément perceptible.Voilà qui rend à mes yeux l'intégrale réalisée par Wolfgang Sawallisch comme l'une des meilleures. Auparavant, Kubelik par exemple avait su trouver le ton juste à ces symphonies. IL reste vrai qu’entre les mains d'un chef "moyen", ces symphonies tournent à la grisaille.Remercions donc Wolfgang Sawallisch de sa performance aux qualités indiscutables.

It was difficult to find anything by Robert Schumann, so I was pleased to purchase this double CD set. This CD set has been enjoyed by many in my household, as background sound and as a study guide. Wolfgang Sawallisch, thank you.