This is a far more imposing Symphonie fantastique than the one Ormandy recorded earlier for Sony (type Q4961 in Search Reviews). Here the Philadelphia Orchestra’s playing is simply amazing, each soloist and section giving virtuoso performances as Ormandy vividly renders every instrumental color, timbre, and combination in the score, reveling in the composer’s orchestral ingenuity and innovation. He was never big on the music’s fantasy and romance (he’s a bit stingy with rubato in the first movement); for that you have to look to Bernstein, Munch, or Muti. But, like Beecham, Ormandy goes for the big sound and lets his band play full-out. Factor in Max Wilcox’s reverberant, wide-ranging recording and you’ve got one of the loudest Symphonie fantastique’s on disc (most of the finale sounds like the Tuba mirum from Berlioz’s Requiem).
Ibert’s Escales goes to the other extreme with the Philadelphia strings making seductively silken sounds in the opening Rome movement–but Ormandy fans the flames anew in the vibrantly dancing Valencia finale. Last comes Berlioz’s gargantuan arrangement (repeated seemingly ad infinitum) of the traditional “La marseillaise”, replete with militaristic brass and percussion and the fervent singing of the Philadephia Orchestra Chorus. The 1970s recordings, remastered by RCA Japan, feature enhanced clarity, presence, and impact. Available on-demand from Arkivmusic.com.
