Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2/Prokofieff: Classical Symphony/Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel

1. Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
Performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Conducted by William Steinberg

2. Symphony No. 1 in D major ("Classical"), Op. 25
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Conducted by William Steinberg

3. Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks), tone poem for orchestra, Op. 28
Composed by Richard Strauss
Performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Tracks:

Sym No.2 in e, Op.27: I. Largo
Sym No.2 in e, Op.27: II. Allegro molto
Sym No.2 in e, Op.27: III. Adagio
Sym No.2 in e, Op.27: IV. Allegro vivace
Sym No.1 in D, Op.25 'Classical': I. Allegro
Sym No.1 in D, Op.25 'Classical': II. Larghetto
Sym No.1 in D, Op.25 'Classical': III. Gavotte (Non troppo allegro)
Sym No.1 in D, Op.25 'Classical': IV. Finale: Molto vivace
Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

Customer Reviews:

Right up there.......2000-06-29

The legacy of William Steinberg has gone into a kind of eclipse, but maybe, just maybe he's beginning to emerge.

This issue goes some way toward that end. The '57 stereo sound is lovely, the Pittsburgh Symphony at its considerable best, Steinberg at his most inspired. The maestro's view is ultra-Romantic, of an older school, at a time when the dramatic thrust and elegant sheen of Paul Paray had just come on the scene with a Mercury issue that blasted preconceptions of what this work is all about.

I prefer the Paray approach since it brings out far more of the dramatic and kinetic as well as the spit and shine in the work, but Steinberg's way harks back to a deeply-felt tradition. If you have Paray, Steinberg, and the excellent Wallenstein, all your Rachmaninoff Second moods will be covered.

And in thinking about that, isn't it nice to know that the orchestras of Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles did all this vintage work?

Music Review: