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4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Great sound, but slow, massive tempos under Giulini's baton Sep 27, 2005
As you may know, Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005) tended to take slower tempos in many works he re-recorded the last 20 years of his career. An AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE reviewer referred to Giulini's recordings of the Brahms Symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic (DG) as so slow it was like watching a film in slow motion. Not to many listeners' tastes, nor to mine.
Giulini's PICTURES here benefits in some movements from slower tempos and thoughtful phrasing. During my first listen to this, I became impatient and thought "will this ever go any where?" but on a 2nd listen, I caught on to many of Giulini's mannerisms, which serve to point out something in the music other conductors may overlook. The last 2 movements, "the Hut on fowls' legs" and "the Great gate of Kiev" are very slow, the latter becoming really grandiose in the closing measures. Giulini uncovers details throughout PICTURES many conductors don't emphasize, and Sony's DDD sound, capturing the Berlin Philahrmonic in 1990 in the Jesus Christus Kirche, Berlin, is first rate.
Giulini's FIREBIRD suite is also on the slow side in spots, but he is light and nimble where needed. Katchei's dance, my favorite part of this music, is slightly slower than some, but very powerful, and effective. The Concertgebouw Orchestra plays beautifully, and is also in first rate digital sound.
Some critics consider this the weakest of Giulini's 3 recordings of the FIREBIRD: the 1st, with the Philharmonia, from the late 1950s (stereo, EMI); the 2nd, also EMI, with the Chicago Symphony (ca. 1970), but I find it most enjoyable in it's own terms, if not THE recording to have.
The reason I didn't give this 5 stars was for the slow tempos. But it is most enjoyable just the same. My favorite PICTURES are by Ormandy (Sony France, or RCA); Slatkin/St. Louis (Vox); and Reiner (RCA). For FIREBIRD, I'd recommend Giulini's Philharmonia recording (in his "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" entry from EMI), Leinsdorf/Boston (RCA, coupled with Seiji Ozawa/Chicago Symphony RITE OF SPRING), or Bernstein/New York (the 1980s CBS issue, if you can find it, coupled with PETROUCHKA).
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Giulini Conducting Mussorgsky and Stravinsky Sep 10, 2000
Giulini with the Berlin Phil (for "Pictures at an Exhibition"), and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (for "The Firebird Suite") is terrific! For "Pictures . . .", I also heard the one conducted by Bernstein leading the New York Phil. Both performances are good, and I rate it a tie. Bernstein's keeps his tempo rather active for the active music, and slow for the rather slow music. Giulini's performances is slower that Lenny's, but surely satisfying. For "The Firebird Suite", Giulini is one of the best. Slow, yet good. And the finale sounded very great, compared to other performances I know.If you want to buy Mussorgsky's "Pictures. . ." and Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite". This CD is perfect. You should buy it if you never heard the music.
1 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 MAL GIULINI Mar 15, 2000
Esta versión de los Cuadros de Mussorgsky es realmente aburrida, Giulini maneja un tempo muy lento y una concepción carente de expresión, que diferencia con su versión anterior, con la Chicago SO en DGG. En Chicago, Giulini nos deja completamente satisfechos, pero ésta versión en Sony, es terriblemente decepcionante. Este es un disco para obviar. Pssst... Sinopoli New York Philarmonic en DGG Francisco J. Muñoz
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Phenomenal performance Feb 06, 2000
I bought this CD some years ago, and I practically wore the disk out. It has the best rendition of Mussorgsky's Pictures that I have ever heard, and frankly it has spoiled me. After I moved, misplacing the CD, I went to buy another version, and I had to stop listening to it. That's why I searched and bought this one again. You will not go wrong purchasing this disk.
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