Smetana The Bartered Bride London Symphony Bruno Walter

[jameswginn]

this is really good-right up there with Szell-Toscanini and Reiner

[bcom11]

anyone like the Fritz Reiner version ?

[valdengo1]

....Walter recorded this with the NBC Symphony, too.....eternally, the musicians played it in the Toscanini way...they never forgot how Toscanini told them to play this particular piece...this goes for other pieces, too...after the Toscanini way....they saw no other way to play it......that is, the NBC Symphony

[flylooper]

@valdengo1

Yup. Toscanini had "branded" the NBC Symphony with his stamp. Too bad.

The little Italian had a head way too big for his britches. He and Mahler, the greatest conductor of Wagner in his day had a battle royal over who would conduct Tristan at the Met when Toscanini first came to America. Toscanini would not conduct at all unless Tristan was in the contract. It caused Mahler to leave the Met entirely and take over the NY Philharmonic.

[paulostroff99]

Superb! TY.

[schwei56]

At the beginning of Side II, the orchestra goes back 5 bars, for the sake of continuity, to bar 227. A wise move, Jhouse, to preserve the overlap! And tausenddank bei Bruno Walter & Smetana!

[Edward245100]

In my youth it was always a contest between Toscanini and Walter. I would go from one to the other, never being able to make up my mind. I still can't to this very day!

[flylooper]

@Edward245100

Walter was by far the greatest of the two. In my humble opinion. Also, Walter had a direct connection to Gustav Mahler, whom I consider the greatest of them all. Walter is our only link, recordings-wise, the the Great One.

[happydigits101]

I like the faster version because that's the first one I was exposed to. The slower version is nice, too. I like that I can hear the runs more clearly in the slower version.

[Maroichi]

I think this version is a bit slow. Listen to Berliner's interpretation: it is more brilliant!

[tenosinovitis]

thanks when I started with the kamloops symphony this was the first peice they did thanks for the memeories it was over 30 years ago

[Barbapippo]

WOW!!!!!

[jackylen57]

Magnifique ! J'adore !

Merci

[brok328]

Fantastic 70 year old recording. Thanks for sharing - and the sound quality is brilliant.

[gaetanotano]

menchia....la voce del padrone.... GRANFE!!!!!