Deryk Barker wrote of Liszt's Faust Symphony:

>Who are your favourites in this piece? I have most isued recordings and my
>favourites are Horenstein (both), Beecham and Fischer.

I wish I had some real favorites.  I own only three: Masur, Chailly,
and Horenstein (later one).  None of them truly resounds for me.  Masur's
is fine if I'm in the right mood...  balletic, fairly light and nimble.
Odd sound, but not bad sound.  Horenstein's approach is awesome.  And the
crude broadcast sound is fine except for the dropouts at the end of Faust
which drive me up the wall.  But in Mephistopheles the playing is a bit
too ragged for me.  I mostly rely on the Chailly-- it's a straightforward
reading but spirited enough.  But clearly the search must go on.  Being
poor, I am likely to next try Bernstein/Sony since Berkshire offers it
(Bernstein/DG I don't plan to try as I'm fairly positive this piece cannot
work for me at a snail's pace.  Same reason I don't plan to go near the
Barenboim.) Fischer sounds like a very promising candidate-- still a pricey
import here though.  Beecham is impossible to find.  Conlon on Erato also
sounds quite likely but is almost as scarce as Beecham.  Andras Ligeti on
Naxos got a so-so review in Gramophone and a resounding one in ARG.  I
don't really trust either source, but it's cheap so I may give it a whirl.
In short, I haven't found a recording yet to do the thing justice, and
continue a Berkshire/eBay vigil to amend the situation.  Your
recommendation may edge me into shelling out for the Fischer though, if
it's perhaps not quite as blazingly over-the-top as his Harmonia Mundi disc
of Les Preludes/Tasso etc...  what do you hear in that regard? And how is
Rattle?

Jon Lewis
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