Paging Nereffid for recommendation

mommiomommio
edited September 2009 in Classical
Okay, I know you retired from being the Classical guru over there. However, I am shamelessly going to use you if you allow it. :)

I'm trying to decide between this Ma Vlast and this Ma Vlast. Do you have an opinion on either or maybe yet a third that I didn't see?

Of course, anyone can weigh in on this. I'm just used to heading for the guru's lists.

Comments

  • NereffidNereffid
    Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in!

    I have a couple of recordings of Ma Vlast, but neither is from eMusic. Of the 2 you mention, I'd incline towards Wit on Naxos (comparing the reviews in the Penguin Guide, and also because it was a Gramophone Editor's Choice).
    But your best bet is probably Vaclav Talich with the Czech Philharmonic: Czech orchestra, Czech conductor, and widely regarded as a classic. It's from 1954 and is in mono - I don't know if that's an issue for you.
  • brittlebloodbrittleblood
    while the doctor is in, i have a goofy classic request...a friend needs a dl of jean joseph mouret's "rondo" - which i guess is the intro to masterpiece theatre.

    they have two kids they're forcing into little kid symphony school (associated with the cso, so it ain't all bad) and they need this for the kids to study...any good source to find this???

    thankee
  • brittlebloodbrittleblood
    edited September 2009
    lol - it's here of all places

    rondeau.

    schmondeau.
  • brittlebloodbrittleblood
    4 versions at amie...good grief - they're going to push the youngsters on the wedding circuit!

    my wife may already have this one - stay tuned.
  • NereffidNereffid
    I remember a few years ago browsing through Arkiv.music and being absolutely baffled as to who Jean Joseph Mouret was and why there were 50-odd recordings of some work I'd never heard of.
    I've still never heard it, either.
  • JFLLJFLL
    edited September 2009
    I wouldn't claim to be a Nereffid, but you might consider the Colin Davis version on LSO Live:

    http://www.emusic.com/album/London-Symphony-Orchestra-Smetana-M%C3%A1-vlast-MP3-Download/10925122.html

    This is my favourite of all the versions I 've heard, even the "authentic" Czech ones. It's also got the added advantage of being 6-tracks for 6 credits (in Europe, and I hope in your country too).

    Edit. I think the statement in the user's review that it is "unidiomatic" is bullshit, by the way. There seems to be a view that only Czechs can perform Smetana, just as it used to be said that only an Englishman could perform Elgar (which was always incredible, given the 16-year-old American Menuhin's famous recording of the Violin Concerto under Elgar himself!)
  • mommiomommio
    I'm going to end up having at least two versions of Ma Vlast. I am downloading the London Symphony Orchestra version, which costs only 6 credits. The Talich Special Edition is the second version as the idea of all Czech appeals to me. I do have The Bartered Bride and the Moldau from eMusic, as well as on vinyl, but I don't remember having heard the other movements of Ma Vlast. Looking forward to listening.

    Thank you, Nereffid and JFLL for the help.
  • JFLLJFLL
    I don't think you'll be disappointed, mommio. This review says it all for me:

    http://www.overgrownpath.com/2006/02/marvellous-m-vlast-czech-it-out.html

    This blog, by the way (On an Overgrown Path) is always very interesting on classical music, and I'd recommend it, if you don't know it already.

    I wish I'd heard that famous 1990 recording of Ma Vlast with Kubelik after the 1989 revolution, but I never have.
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