Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Dimitri Mitropoulos

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Dimitri Mitropoulos

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Dimitri Mitropoulos

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CD Details

Composer: Gustav Mahler
Composer: Hector Berlioz
Composer: Claude Debussy
Composer: Richard [1] Strauss
Conductor: Dimitri Mitropoulos
Orchestra: New York Philharmonic
Orchestra: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Orchestra: WDR Sinfonie Orchester Köln
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2003-08-05
Music Label: EMI Classics
Soundtracks:

Music CD 1

I. Allegro Energico, Ma Non Troppo. Heftig, Aber Markig
II. Scherzo. Wuchtig - (Trio) Altvaterisch. Grazioso
III. Andante Moderato
IV. Finale. Sostenuto - Allegro Moderato - Allegro Energico

Music CD 2

I. Introduction. Combats - Tumulte - Intervention Du Prince: Allegro Fugato
II. Romeo Seul - Tristesse - Concert Et Bal - Grande Fete Chez Capulet: Andante Malinconico E Sostenuto - Larghetto Espressivo - Allegro
III. Scene D'Amour: Allegretto - Adagio
IV. La Reine Mab, Ou La Fee Des Songes: Scherzo. Prestissimo
VI. Romeo Au Tombeau Des Capulets - Invocation - Reveil De Juliette: Allegro Agitato E Disperato - Largo - Allegro Vivace Ed Appassionato Assai
I. De L'aube A Midi Sur La Mer: Tres Lent
II. Jeux De Vagues: Allegro
III. Dialogue Du Vent Et De La Mer: Anime Et Tumultueux
Dance Of The Seven Veils Danse Des Sept Voiles

Music reviews of Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Dimitri Mitropoulos

Music Review: Dramatic Music-Making by Dimitri
Rating: 5 Stars

The great thing that Mitropoulos brought to the table as a conductor was his innate sense of the drama of music. As noted by other reviewers, Mitropoulos' approached every score afresh without reference to how anybody else did it, achieving remarkable results which were never stale. Nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable recording of the Mahler Sixth included here. This performance is also available on a more expensive imported collection, but to have it available in this price range makes this a recording no Mahler fan should be without! I reviewed this performance in that collection, but to recap: The clarity of line and detail in this performance, even though it is in mono, is unsurpassed by any recording of this music I have heard. That's not always a virtue, as the first horn of the Cologne Radio Symphony is noticeably off-key in the opening, but Mitropoulos gets right by that and roars through a first movement that's truly astounding. His tempi are flexible, heightening the musical drama. Instead of the prophecy of Nazi jackboots we hear all too frequently in the opening march, Mitropoulos gives of the groans of 19th Century Europe being dragged kicking and screaming into the full horrors of the industrial age. It's a brilliant conceptualization, and probably a lot closer to what Mahler intended. There is more humor to the scherzo here, as well, that what we're used to hearing, but it is all dark, cynical gallows humor. Mitropoulos uses the offstage horns in the adagio not to evoke the calls of pastoral herdsmen, but rather the haunting of the spirits of a way of life already lost forever. Mitropoulos correctly conveys this music's sense of Europe at the crossroads, but it is the crossroads of an older man returning to his home after a long absence, only to find no one he recognizes and nothing to take solace in. In the Sixth, Mahler mourns a world which accomplishes so much materially and technologically at the expense of spiritualty, and that is exactly what Mitropoulos finds in the score and converys better than any other conducter I have heard.
Likewise, the Berlioz and Debussy performances contained here are full of dramatic tension, which Mitropoulos holds onto as long as he can, waiting until the very end to release it. Unfortunately, this dramatic approach to music-making is not so successful with the Strauss selection, taking it to extremes of melodrama which verge on camp.
Nevertheless, get this for the Mahler Sixth! It may not be definitive, but it is nothing short of AMAZING!

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