Schumann: The Four Symphonies / Manfred Overture

Schumann: The Four Symphonies / Manfred Overture

Paray's Schumann is characterized by swift tempos, flowing slow movements, carefully judged instrumental balances, and rhythmic precision--attributes associated with the French school of which he was an outstanding exemplar. The result: lithe, energetic interpretations that avoid the muddiness that too often typifies performances of Schumann's orchestral works. The Spring Symphony benefits from this approach; the introduction, so often pompous or rushed, here manages to be both buoyant and un poco maestoso, and the rhapsodic nature of the piece comes to the fore. The Second is as attractive, its flowing Adagio a welcome relief from some recent readings that degenerate into stasis. Paray's Rhenish Symphony offers headlong forward thrust and an exuberant finale, while the Fourth builds with cumulative power. The filler, the Manfred Overture, is romanticism incarnate and Paray captures the moodiness and struggles at its core. Mercury's sound wears its age lightly (the recordings were made between 1954 and 1958) and all but the fine-sounding Fourth Symphony are in stereo. There are other fine integral sets of Schumann's symphonies available, such as the recently reissued ones by Szell and Bernstein, but Paray's is a very welcome addition to the catalogue. --Dan Davis
Country USA
Manufacturer Uni/Mercury Classics
Binding Audio CD
ReleaseDate 1999-04-13
UPCs 028946295526
EANs 0028946295526