Muti’s Philharmonia Tchaikovsky cycle on balance remains the best available, probably the best thus far recorded. It has everything: passion, intensity, razor-sharp discipline, and excitement aplenty. Some performances, notably of Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, surely have never been bettered, and there are no weaknesses at all. The performances of the last three symphonies, No. 4 especially, all rank among the finest, and Manfred is pretty spectacular too–the best interpretation yet issued of a work singularly ill-served on disc. In short, if you don’t already own these performances then you simply have to get this set, particularly if you don’t want to bother with multiple versions of multiple works. As far as complete symphony cycles go, it’s all you’ll ever need.
The fillers, featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra, are just as fine, though I’m glad that Brilliant Classics has kept the Philharmonia Romeo and Juliet, which is just a bit more incisive than the later Philadelphia remake. It’s also a classic performance. Don’t panic at the timings printed for the String Serenade on the back of the jewel box; they were invented at random and have nothing to do with reality. There’s also strong competition in the complete-cycle department from Markevitch on Philips, though Muti’s interpretations have still more power and tension and were far more spectacularly recorded for their day. Indeed, they still sound fabulous. We hear a lot about “vintage EMI sound” from the ’70s, and many releases don’t deserve the accolade, but these certainly do. At budget price, this set is the deal of the decade. [11/28/2005]
