COMPOSERS: Ives
LABELS: Sony
WORKS: Symphony No. 2; Symphony No. 3; Central Park in the Dark
PERFORMER: NYPO/Bernstein/Ozawa
CATALOGUE NO: SMK 47568 ADD (1958-65)
Bernstein gave the premiere of Ives’s Second Symphony in 1951, and it remained a favourite with him. This recording, made seven years later, cannot compare in sound with his more recent live version for DG, but the performance itself is splendid, with a beautifully Mahlerian reading of the central Adagio and terrific excitement in the final Allegro. It is coupled with Bernstein’s equally pleasing account of the smaller-scale Third Symphony and an atmospheric Central Park in the Dark conducted by Seiji Ozawa. The recordings show their age but are quite acceptable. David Michaels
Ives: Symphony No. 2; Symphony No. 3; Central Park in the Dark
Bernstein gave the premiere of Ives’s Second Symphony in 1951, and it remained a favourite with him. This recording, made seven years later, cannot compare in sound with his more recent live version for DG, but the performance itself is splendid, with a beautifully Mahlerian reading of the central Adagio and terrific excitement in the final Allegro. It is coupled with Bernstein’s equally pleasing account of the smaller-scale Third Symphony and an atmospheric Central Park in the Dark conducted by Seiji Ozawa. The recordings show their age but are quite acceptable. David Michaels
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:30 pm