Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique; recommendations....


Can someone please recommend a particular recording/CD? There are sooo many CD's to choose from and I dont want to buy a lemon. Thanks in advance.
dolphin

Showing 2 responses by gregm

For a very recent and interesting performance try Minkowski. I heard it & was very impressed (don't remember the particulars, sorry).
Otherwise, Sir T Beecham/ French Radio Tel. Orch is legendary (EMI, 1957/8) and P. Monteux/Paris S O from the '30s (Music & Arts) is extraordinarily powerful. As you can expect, the sound on the '30s version, is nothing to write home about -- but bearable nonetheless.
There's a rogue version of Celibidache with his Munich Orch. I only heard it once on one of the ubiquitous "buyme-phone" labels. IMO, it's not recommended for Celi fanatics...
Stick to Beecham. OTOH, if we were talking about a different view of Mozart's Requiem, Celi could be THE ticket.