- Composer: Martinu
- Audio CD (Mar 1 2001)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Ncl
- ASIN: B000053W4H
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #174,783 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Symphony No.2 - National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine |
| 2. Symphony No.4 - National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine |
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lighten up, guys! This is not that bad a recording.,
By
This review is from: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Audio CD)
Good lord, to read these reviews you'd think this was a performance by war criminals or orcs. But for a budget-priced recording, it really isn't that terrible an introduction to Martinu for the hesitant & budget-conscious.Go ahead and disagree with Fagen's reading; that's fair game. But as with the 99-cent cassette tape that introduced me to Tchaikovsky's Fourth when I was a teenager, the composer's voice in these works is too powerful to be suppressed by Fagen or anyone else with the courage to attempt to bring them to life. As far as I'm concerned, Martinu's symphonies are brilliant enough to be performed on a calliope without losing much of their inherent passion, and the NSO of Ukraine sounds considerably better than a calliope. Balance, intonation, clarity, tone, and production values here are all fine. These are difficult works in which stormy dissonance is often immediately followed by gentle harmony, both of which come across well. And even Fagen's interpretation, which I can believe might be off since I don't own the scores to these symphonies, still *sounds* OK -- it isn't like, say, the 3rd-French-horn player is being allowed to drown out the violins at odd moments. This is an O.K. recording, no worse. Just because there are better ones doesn't make Naxos or Fagen miscreants. Maybe if/when I hear those superior recordings I'll never play these again, but I won't regret having used them to familiarize myself with these complex works; maybe I'll appreciate the better recordings even more as a result. In the mean time, I'll continue to enjoy these.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Naxos Martinu Symphonies #2and4,
By
This review is from: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Audio CD)
This recording may be liked by some( See British critics) but compared to recordings by Neumann(#2 and4),Flor(#2),Turnovsky(#4) this is a non starter. Fagan's tempos allow you to hear the rhythmic complexities of Martinu's wriitng but you have to put up with poor sound,slack playing and an overall performance that goes no where. Worst still,this is exciting music but Fagan simply falls asleep at the helm and has no concept of what to do with Martinu.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lighten up, guys! This is not that bad a recording.,
By Michael D. Bauer "darthelm0" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Audio CD)
Good lord, to read these reviews you'd think this was a performance by war criminals or orcs. But for a budget-priced recording, it's a fine introduction to Martinu for the hesitant & budget-conscious.Go ahead and disagree with Fagen's reading; that's fair game. But as with the 99-cent cassette tape that introduced me to Tchaikovsky's Fourth when I was a teenager, the composer's voice in these works is too powerful to be suppressed by Fagen or anyone else with the courage to attempt to bring them to life. As far as I'm concerned, Martinu's symphonies are brilliant enough to be performed on a calliope without losing much of their inherent passion, and the NSO of Ukraine sounds considerably better than a calliope. Balance, intonation, clarity, tone, and production values here are all fine. These are difficult works in which stormy dissonance is often immediately followed by gentle harmony, both of which come across well. And even Fagen's interpretation, which for all I know *might* be off (I don't own the scores to these symphonies), still *sounds* quite convincing. It isn't like, say, the 3rd-French-horn player is being allowed to drown out the violins at odd moments. This is a good recording. Just because there are better ones doesn't make Naxos or Fagen miscreants. Maybe if/when I hear those superior recordings I'll never play these again, but I won't regret having used them to familiarize myself with these complex works; maybe I'll appreciate the better recordings even more as a result. In the mean time, I'll continue to enjoy these. Postscript: if this tells you anything, in the six years since I originally posted this review, I've felt no need whatsoever to seek out different recordings of these works. Fagen and the NSO Ukraine's effort has held up very well indeed to repeated, much-enjoyed listening! Accordingly, I've bumped this up to four stars (from my cowardly original three). 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Splendid,
By David Saemann - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Audio CD)
I have to disagree with the previous four reviewers. I think this is a splendid CD, as are all three entries in the Naxos Martinu Symphony cycle. I have heard other performances of the symphonies by Munch, Neumann, Bryden Thomson, and Ancerl, and I feel these recordings by Arthur Fagen are in the same league. Although these discs are budget priced, that is the only concession to budget thinking they demonstrate. The Ukrainian orchestra plays very well, even better than they did in Theodore Kuchar's excellent Prokofiev series. The sound engineering is obviously done in a radio studio, but it is full bodied and clear, lacking only the last degree of resonance. As an interpreter, Fagen is incisive and energetic, demonstrating that these works are not merely studies in wistfulness, as they so often seem. I must admit that I have not seen the scores of these works, but judging just by what I've heard on this disc, there is much to enjoy in Fagen's take on Martinu.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Naxos versus Chandos,
By David Ashworth "David" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Audio CD)
I am a big fan of Naxos recordings having over 100 in my collection but I Think they miss the boat here. The Chandos set with The RSNO and Thomson offer a better alternative and not much difference in price.
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