David Stewart <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>They are selling VW's Symphonies in my local 2nd hand music shop for $25.
>It is the Teldec w/ Andrew Davis & the BBC.  Is it worth getting?

In Wolfian terms, RVW seems to be the ultimate unscrewable pooch: there
are no really bad recordings of his symphonies.  Not really sure why;
though i suspect it's a mixture of the quality of the scores & luck....

That said: some recordings are better than others; & the Teldec set
isn't really in the top half of the field.  Technically, the performances
are very good; but in that peculiar netherworld that's sometimes called
interpretation the readings flag: frankly, it's sometimes extremely
difficult to work out what is being made of the scores beyond simple notes
(so much so, that you could sometimes believe the impossible statement that
AD & the BBC SO had never heard a bar of RVW's music in their lives; & were
sightreading brilliantly).  It's an odd effect.

Previn, Boult, Handley & Baribolli would all be preferable; although
this cutprice set is certainly good enough to pass must as an
introduction.

All the best,

Robert Clements <[log in to unmask]>
<http://www.ausnet.net.au/~clemensr/welcome.htm>