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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Conductors of 20th Century = Best Reissues of the 21st, May 27 2003
It's sad that the "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" reissue series has not gotten more notice on Amazon and in other places, because it has my vote for the best reissue program thus far of the 21st Century. Drawing from the archives of all the major classical labels (EMI, Sony, BMG, DG, Decca, Philips, Supraphon, etc.), EMI and IMG Artists have assembled a wonderful series of affordable two-disc sets by the leading conductors of the last century. And unlike its counterpart, "The Great Pianists of the 20th Century," which are basically compilations of material already available on other CDs, the "Great Conductors" features rare and, for the most part, previously unreleased performances!This particular CD, Volume 8, features the great Nikolai Golovanov, long time conductor of both the Bolshoi Theatre and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. As Golovanov died in 1953 before the dawn of the stereo age, the performances presented here are all in mono but don't let that disappoint you. His grasp of Russian material is of course first rate, and the performances of Glazunov's undeservedly neglected Sixth Symphony and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture are stunning. But Golovanov was a master of the classic repertoire as well as his recording of Mendelssohn's Overture and Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream attest. The real treat here though is the Liszt, which comprises more than half of this collection. Golovanov was in fact the first to record all of Liszt's Symphonic Poems on LP, and five of them are included here. While I have not heard Masur's account of these works, I do have Haitink's, and Golovanov's are every bit their equal despite the mono sound. Whether you are a serious collector of classical music or a beginner, the "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" has something for everyone. If the prized, rare performances previously unreleased on CD (or ever!) doesn't excite you, then use this as an opportunity to check out one of the greatest conductors ever recorded. Since stores are offering increasingly homogenized classical music sections, this conductor may not be in your collection, and that would truly be a shame.
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