Silvestri/Bournemouth SO: Scheherazade - Capitol SP-8679 (sealed) - stunning

$

45

redgarnett Store ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This beautiful LP – a still-sealed copy and note the alluring “cheesecake” cover photo – from Capitol (SP-8679, US pressing, label iteration unknown – presumably rainbow label, stereo) features conductor Constantin Silvestri and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s brilliantly colored and richly evocative account of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade Op. 35, with BSO Concertmaster Gerald Jarvis the charistmatic soloist. This incandescent performance was set down in 1966.

In reviewing EMI’s CD re-issue of his symphonic and orchestral recordings in its Icon series, the wonderful critic and author David Hurwitz wrote for ClassicsToday:

“Buy two of these. That way, you can have one to listen to, and one to preserve against the day, billions of years hence, that the law of entropy darkens the universe and everything evaporates into nothingness. Alternately, you can sell one on eBay when this box goes out of print, as it undoubtedly will faster than you can listen to all fifteen discs. After all, EMI licensed a lot of this stuff to Disky and that 9 CD set was selling (used) for $250 plus. Even at 15 discs this isn’t quite the complete Silvestri. His concerto recordings are missing, but this set does contain all of his orchestral recordings for the label, and they are beyond dazzling.

 
“Perhaps the worst that can be said of Silvestri is that he could be a touch eccentric, as in the odd rhythm at the opening of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth (first sound clip). Still, it works for me, and it’s a small price to pay for the thrills on display elsewhere. Consider the finale of the Fifth, which gives Mravinsky a serious run for his money (second sound clip). Or how about the incomparably feverish first movement climax of the Symphonie fantastique (third sound clip), with the wonderfully idiomatic Paris Conservatory orchestra? You also get Silvestri’s legendary recordings of Elgar’s In the South, and a Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia that for nobility and passion leaves most performances in the dust (fourth sound clip).

“It really doesn’t matter what orchestra Silvestri has to work with, or what the repertoire. His personality was so powerful that he almost invariably achieves stunning, distinctive, compelling results. And so we have a spectacular Tchaikovsky Manfred and Dvorák “New World” Symphony (twice) from Paris, a luscious Scheherazade from Bournemouth, and a brilliant Shostakovich Fifth from Vienna. Silvestri’s glorious contemporary music disc (relatively speaking) of Bartók’s Divertimento, Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler, and Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements appears in stereo for the first time (the Disky reissue was mono).

“Silvestri was no less persuasive in shorter works. These versions of A Night on Bald Mountain, Danse macabre, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (again, twice), Liszt’s Tasso and Les Préludes, Finlandia, Romanian Rhapsody (naturally), Capriccio espagnol, Gayaneh, The Love for Three Oranges, Rapsodie espagnole, Pavane for a Dead Princess, and Boléro all stand with the most imaginative and evocative available. And of course there’s the conductor’s magical way with Debussy: La Mer, Nocturnes, and Prélude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Honestly, the list of highlights is simply the list of the contents of this set. You have to own it, and if you don’t, you’re life will be the merest shadow (musically at least) of what it has the potential to be. So spend some time with a genuine podium genius. It will do you good.”

There are excellent liner notes (uncredited) on the reverse side of the jacket, printed in English only. The cover photos are credited to Ken Veeder of Capitol Photo Studio. Incidentally, the lovely dancer is credited thus: “Dancer, courtesy of the Fez Restaurant, Los Angeles”. She deserved more!

CONDITION – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the jacket is near-MINT. There is slight bumping at corners, but that is all. There are no seamsplits, bends, or owners' markings, or other defects, and the album remains solid, bright, glossy, and highly attractive – an outstanding collector's copy.

The condition of the LP is MINT. This is a still-sealed, unplayed copy – the ideal collector's copy.

PLEASE NOTE:
This LP has been carefully cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

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