The main interest in Eugene Ormandy’s Symphonie fantastique is the excellent playing of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which gives a good old-fashioned virtuoso performance highlighted by marvelous solo work from the principals (Muti’s later 1984 recording features the Philadelphians in an even more excited state). Ormandy’s interpretation is a straightforward affair that emphasizes musical values over narrative ones. Accordingly, there’s little of the delirium evoked by Leonard Bernstein’s “acid trip”, nor does Ormandy go for the orchestral razzle-dazzle of Charles Munch’s amazing Boston performance. He does, however, lead a clear-headed path through this ever-fascinating music, and the finale is quite satisfying.
Ormandy displays his typical mastery of orchestral “fireworks” in these bracing renditions of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Night on Bald Mountain, done with all the swagger and sparkle the music requires (you can almost see the marching broom in Sorcerer). The well-engineered 1960s recordings, boasting a satisfying fullness and depth, turn up sounding quite fine in this new Sony transfer.
