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Symphonies Nos 2 & 3

17.57

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Symphonies Nos 2 & 3

5

Highest ranking 101

3 comments

$17.57

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David SaemannReviewed in the United States on June 6, 2009

I was intrigued to acquire this after hearing Litton's excellent Three Places in New England on his disc, An American Tapestry. I was not disappointed. Throughout the disc, the Dallas Symphony plays with a combination of elegance and panache. In the 2nd Symphony, Litton stays very close to Bernstein's tempos in his 1958 recording. Bernstein, after all, was the only conductor to have Ives's comments on his interpretation of the work. Unlike Bernstein, though, Litton's phrasing and accents are softer hued, almost giving the work an organ like sonority. But, after all, Ives was a prodigy as an organist. The ending of the Symphony still is very exciting, with the different themes coming through clearly. The performance of the Third Symphony is even more impressive. Litton shapes the work convincingly, providing a sonority that would be appropriate for Copland in its American sound. The performance is both atmospheric and full bodied. Given the prominence of "Are You Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb" in the Symphony, it's highly appropriate that the disc concludes with "General William Booth Enters Heaven," where that phrase is repeated. The sound engineering on the disc, from live performances between 2004 and 2006, is pleasant and full, with excellent string sound and the brass just slightly recessed. This certainly is one of the better recommendations for these Symphonies.

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GMReviewed in France on October 17, 2013

Parfait. Un musicien trop méconnu parfaitement illustré par l'orchestre de Dallas. Pour les curieux à écouter également les quatuors et la musique de chambre.

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equals added valueReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2014

This CD along with the recording by the same forces of the First and Fourth Symphonies represents the best cycle of Ives' symphonies recorded, overall. If I prefer Michael Tilson Thomas in his version of the Fourth Andrew Litton and the Dallas SO are a close second. Andrew Litton and the Dallas SO can't be beaten in the other three. I would strongly recommend that you purchase the other CD to have the full set and listen to the extraordinary musical progression through the four works. What is all the more pleasing is that all four recordings are from live concerts: Hyperion's sound engineers have done an incredible job. Of this particular CD both the Second and Third Symphonies are terrific with committed performances with plenty of heft, humour and warmth. The Second still occupied the Dvorak / Brahms musical idiom but with all Ives' favourite hymns and folk tunes overlaid, albeit more harmoniously than in their more riotous renditions in the Fourth Symphony or the Holidays Symphony, for example. Litton gets through the symphony comparatively quickly though this is not at the expense of expression with the lyrical slow movement particularly effective. The finale is all that it should be and for those who can't wait for the final raspberry chord Litton draws this out almost as much as Leonard Bernstein. Let's put things in perspective here though, Ives' suggested that it was merely used like the final scraped note of a fiddler at a barn dance saying, "that's all folks". A joke is only funny once but who cares when the rest of the work sounds so irresistible. The amiable, good humoured Third fairs just as well. This is a symphony built on a more modest scale and based around previously written organ works by Ives. it's depiction of a Camp Meeting sounds as warm and affectionate as any available. While the piece is closer to the early works in style the harmonies were certainly advanced enough to catch Gustav Mahler's eye when he was the Director of the New York Philharmonic. Goodness knows what he would have thought if he'd lived long enough to read Ives' later scores. The Third's finale does push the boundaries of tonality and the fact that we see this as one of Ives' more well behaved, "conservative" works is more a reflection of how far he travelled beyond this later. I almost forgot to mention the stocking filler: "General Booth Enters into Heaven". Possibly Ives' greatest song here performed in it's orchestrated mini cantata version. This is the version I prefer and it gets a stirring rendition here bettered only by Thomas Hampson with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. It's a marvellous song full of humour, well depicting the tunnelled vision fanatical vision of Booth with great affection. It rounds off a great recording here and adds a bit of that trademark Ives dissonance if anyone was missing that in the two symphonies. There are no better recordings of these two symphonies available so buy if you want the full set and buy if the later works frighten you: this is a wonderful disc.