Donald Satz wrote:

>I'd like to get Stravinsky's Symphony in C, Symphony in 3 Movements, and
>Symphony of Psalms.  Schwann Opus lists three cd's having these works:
>Tilson Thomas on Sony, Stravinsky on Sony, and Neumann on Praga.  What's
>your opinion among these three? Also, are there any outstanding recordings
>of any of the three works in different couplings?

I don't know if anyone answered this or not. For what it's worth.

Stravinsky: Dry, acerbic, generally.  Excellent Symphony in C: catches
the neo-classic form and French style of the work very well.  Symphony in
3 Movements: maybe be the best at catching the warlike images the piece
represent (the work was inspired by his viewing of images of war in the
movies during WWII).  A lot of insightful subtleties.  Psalms: I found
this a little too dry, sometimes a little boring, though with the usual
Stravinsky qualities.

Thomas: More driven, fast tempos.  Too fast for me in the SiC.  Not bad in
3 Movements, but a dull third movement.

Solti: This is new.  More romantic, broader, very well played by Chicago,
and not as fierce as you'd expect.  Psalms is wonderful.  Dark, serious.
So is 3 movements.  S in C is a little heavy at time in the fast music,
and the least succesful of the three, but not bad.

I don't know the Neumann.  I'd go with Stravinsky or Solti depending on
style preferences.  Both have two very strong performances and one not so
strong.  Solti gets the better and more colorful playing.

Others: Psalms--Robert Shaw.
3 Movements--Ansermet, Rattle, Bernstein (DG) all good with Ansermet lush,
Rattle fresh, Bernstein romantic.
C--My least favorite of the three, but though he is not particularly
colorful, I think I may like Stravinsky best.

Roger Hecht