The legendary original soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop is finally available on vinyl! The Bebop crew is just trying to make a buck. This motley lot of intergalactic loners teams up to track down fugitives and turn them in for cold hard cash. Spike is a hero whose cool façade hides a dark and deadly past. The pilot Jet is a bruiser of a brute who can't wait to collect the next bounty. Faye Valentine is a femme fatale prone to breaking hearts and separating fools from their money. Along for the ride are the brilliant, but weird, hacker Ed and a super-genius Welsh Corgi named Ein. On their own, any one of them is likely to get lost in the sprawl of space, but together, they're they most entertaining gang of bounty hunters in the year 2071. Composed and performed by Yoko Kanno and the band Seatbelts, the music of Cowboy Bebop is one of the signature elements of the series. The energetic jazz-infused pieces rip and roar across the stars and are as indispensable as the crew of the Bebop themselves.Sony Classical is proud to announce one of its most significant historic releases of recent years: a 69-CD box set containing the recorded legacy of Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896â1960), who ranks by general consensus among the 20th centuryâs most brilliant conductors. Many of these legendary performances have never before been transferred from their analogue masters and released on digital medium.A lifelong ascetic and mystic, Mitropoulos was attracted in his youth to the monastic life but decided against following his older brothers into the Greek Orthodox Church when he learned that music was censured as a forbidden indulgence. After studying piano, composition, theory and conducting, first in his native Athens, then in Rome, Brussels and with Busoni in Berlin â where he served as Erich Kleiberâs assistant at the Staatsoper from 1921â24 â his career took flight in Athens. It was there that he developed his trademark style of conducting without baton or score and brought to his music-making all his religious fervour and passion along with his prodigious memory. As the critic Peter Quantrill astutely noted in an overview of his recordings in Gramophone: âMitropoulosâs facility of memory could draw out [recurring melodic and motivic strands] at faster-than-usual tempi while maintaining an intuitive proportion between their sections. You seem to hear more of the music in a shorter space of time.âHis international fame began with a 1930 Berlin Philharmonic performance of the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto, in which Mitropoulos appeared as both soloist and conductor. (He would repeat that tour de force a decade and a half later in Philadelphia, a performance included in this new set.) His American career was launched by sensational concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1936, which promptly resulted in his appointment to succeed Eugene Ormandy as principal conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony (now Minnesota) Orchestra. He proceeded to bring that ensemble international fame through recordings which captured the force of his magnetic personality and electrifying musicianship. In Minneapolis, he enjoyed enormous success with critics and audiences, performing half of Mahlerâs then still largely unfamiliar output (earning him American Mahler Society Medal of Honor in 1940) and commissioning numerous works by leading American and European composers to make the orchestra a bastion of modern music in the US.Mitropoulosâs association with the New York Philharmonic, which he first conducted in 1940, was hardly less successful artistically, though it was ultimately tarnished by critical hostility having more to do with his sexual orientation than his musical interpretations. From 1949, he served as the orchestraâs co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski, then from 1951 as music director until, after a period of joint leadership with Leonard Bernstein in 1958, he âabdicated with joyâ in favour of his protĂ©gĂ©, supposedly to devote more time to opera. During his New York years, he was also a commanding presence at the Metropolitan.As Sony Classicalâs massive new box set definitively demonstrates, Mitropoulos faithfully documented his eclectically wide-ranging repertoire on disc in Minneapolis and New York, even recording some favourite works in both cities. To cite a few highlights from the MINNEAPOLIS SYMPHONY years: there is the first-ever recording of Mahlerâs First Symphony (1940), which âcan still be counted among the finest the work has receivedâ (Gramophone); Tchaikovskyâs Symphonies Nos. 4 (1940) and 2 (1946) as well as his First Piano Concerto with Arthur Rubinstein (1946) â âThe soloist is in rare form, and this is an example of the grand manner in operationâ (High Fidelity). Other symphonies for which Mitropoulos showed his special affinity in Minneapolis include the Borodin Second (1941; MusicWeb International: âThe best performance of the Borodin symphony Iâve ever heardâ), Schumannâs Second (1940) and âRhenishâ (1947), the Prokofiev âClassicalâ (1940) and Franck D minor (1940) â âMitropoulos infuses his reading with unbearable intensityâ (Classical Notes).Also reissued here are Mitropoulosâs celebrated, incandescent Minneapolis readings of Rachmaninoffâs Second Symphony (1947) â âAn excellent interpretation ⊠beautifully recorded, with a resonant, spacious quality ⊠played with smooth, virtuosic effectâ (Gramophone) â and The Isle of the Dead (1945); as well as Brahmsâs âSt. Antoniâ Variations (1942), Vaughan Williamsâs Tallis Fantasia (1945), Ravelâs Tombeau de Couperin (1941) and Milhaudâs Le Boeuf sur le toit (1945). We have Mitropoulosâs fellow Busoni pupil Egon Petri as piano soloist in their teacherâs arrangement of Lisztâs Spanish Rhapsody (1940) and pianist Oscar Levant in concertos by Khachaturian (1950) and Anton Rubinstein (1952).With the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, Mitropoulos conducts the epoch-making first recording of Bergâs Wozzeck (1951) with Mack Harrell and Eileen Farrell â âIt is difficult to conceive any other conductor having an equivalent grasp of the score; and Mitropoulos infused his knowledge and vitality into his soloistsâ (Gramophone); Schoenbergâs VerklĂ€rte Nacht, Erwartung with soprano Dorothy Dow (1951) and the first recording of his Violin Concerto, with Louis Krasner, Mitropoulosâs erstwhile Minneapolis concertmaster (1952); Krenekâs Symphonic Elegy (1951); and memorable Berlioz including an âalmost hallucinatoryâ (Classical Net) Symphonie fantastique (1957) and excerpts from RomĂ©o et Juliette (1952).Included from New York are also Mendelssohnâs âScottishâ and âReformationâ Symphonies (1953); Tchaikovskyâs Fifth Symphony (1954), PathĂ©tique (1957) â âMitropoulos achieves some remarkable flexibility of phrase for his expressive purposes ⊠The first chord in the Adagio lamentoso movement of this recording sounds as if the conductor had reached the hearts of every individual string playerâ (New York Times) â and First Suite (1954); Scriabinâs PoĂšme de lâextase and PromethĂ©e (1953); Shostakovichâs Symphonies Nos. 5 (1952) and 10 (1954) â âMitropoulos had a particular affinity for this symphony. He gave its Western Hemisphere premiere in 1954 ⊠This recording conveys an exciting spontaneityâ (High Fidelity), âMitropoulosâs pioneering account probes more deeply into the heart of this score than any of the recent newcomersâ (Gramophone); Debussyâs La Mer (1950) and Stravinskyâs Petrushka (1951); excerpts from Prokofievâs Romeo and Juliet (1957) as well as that composerâs Lieutenant KijĂ© and KodĂĄlyâs HĂĄry JĂĄnos suites (1956); Vaughan Williamsâs Fourth Symphony (1956) â âsplendidly alert and unfailingly eloquent (nowhere more so than in the slow movement) ⊠Mitropoulosâs deeply felt interpretation won the enthusiastic approbation of the composerâ (Gramophone) â and his Tallis Fantasia in the conductorâs 1958 glorious stereo remake (BBC Music Magazine: âA marvel of fine string playingâ).
S**R
This is a fabulous collection of a great conductor!
The mono recordings sound especially good (compare to serviceable Toscanini's mono recordings, or worse, Koussevitsky's mediocre ones). Even some friends who never heard Mahler Sym.1 wanted a copy of this masterpiece despite it's sound. The Coriolan and Leonore Overtures from 1940 never sounded better. One note though, and I haven't heard the stereo CDs yet, the Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet is rather bright/shrill. The only version I like is the 2006 Great Performances CD which supersedes previous LP and Cd releases (I have them all).
J**N
Attention! Missing Disc 68
Of course this is a Five Star release, but be aware that my copy is missing Disc 68 which is Disc One of a 2 CD set of Verdi's Un Ballo Maschera, hence the two star reduction for now as I need to explore avenues to obtain the disc rather than a return of the entire product....EDIT: I contacted Sony Classical and received a quick response. The missing disc is being sent to me..Bravo Sony!
D**S
A must!!!
A long-time dream come true! Outstanding transfers and remasterings from original masters. A must for any classical music enthusiast! Thank you, Sony, and what took you so long?!?... :-)
A**C
A Collection of Reasonable Worth
I was incorrectly charged shipping for this albeit I am prime customer - a refund for shipping has been refused although I was promised such a refund - I am very disappointed about the promise not being honoured - on the collection - interesting recordings - big box maybe could have been smaller - the item is overpriced for what you get - one of my most disappointing purchases through Amazon.
S**E
Who knows?
I love the Mitropoulos recordings I've heard. However, Amazon's track listings (when they bother to list at all) are annoyingly useless. No composer, no work, just movement titles or titles of single-movement works. How they expect people to plop down coin for these big box set pigs-in-pokes is beyond me. People need to complain. This is just dumb marketing.
-**-
Dimitri Mitropoulos - complete Columbia and RCA (69CD, SONY): wieder eine hervorragende VĂ von Sony!
Auch in dieser Rezension gibt es (wie öfters in meinen Anmerkungen zu VĂs) nichts NĂ€heres ĂŒber die AuffĂŒhrungen, Art der Interpretation oder QualitĂ€t der Interpreten zu lesen. Wer sich fĂŒr Mitropoulos interessiert, weiĂ meistens doch wohl etwas Bescheid ... Es dreht sich (fast) ausschlieĂlich um die QualitĂ€t der Transfers und die PrĂ€sentation der neuen Sony-Box "Dimitri Mitropoulos â The Complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection (69CD, SONY)".GESTALTUNG, AUFMACHUNG, CD-HĂLLEN UND BOXSony hat sich auch mit dieser groĂen VĂ wieder mal quasi ein Denkmal gesetzt: Liebevolle edle und souverĂ€ne Gestaltung, ein nicht allzu langer aber doch engagiert geschriebener Text von Gabryel Smith in der hervorragenden und natĂŒrlich flieĂenden Ăbersetzung von Stefan Lerche, der schon seit Jahrzehnten fĂŒr Sony Classical Texte in dankenswerter Weise ĂŒbersetzt. Der Karton ist extrem stabil wie schon bei den Boxen von Ormandy Szell, Bernstein und anderen.Die CD-HĂŒllen sind dick und steif, die Farbgebung der originalen Covergestaltung perfekt, die ebenfalls originalen RĂŒckseiten sind wieder fĂŒr Menschen mit Lupe (logisch bei der kleinen CD-GröĂe gegenĂŒber einem LP-Cover) und die in von Sony gewohnter Weise wiederum perfekt gepassten RĂŒcken (mit CD-Nummer und Komponisten und Werken sind wirklich sehr gut lesbar. Da ist Sony sowieso allen anderen Labels voraus in der Benutzerfreundlichkeit.Ebenso verhĂ€lt es sich mit den ĂŒberaus lobenswerten Registern im massiven stabilen und wunderschön gestalteten Buch in groĂem Format: Komponisten-Index, Aufnahmedaten-Index / Erstveröffentlichungs-Sets mit ALLEN Daten. Das kann man nicht besser machen.Zwei MarginalitĂ€ten â letztlich völlig unwichtig, aber damit Sie darauf vorbereitet sind:Die HĂŒllen der Einzel-CDs sind sehr groĂ bemessen, sodass CDs auch mal rausrutschen können â besonders da ja die Ăffnung nach unten zeigt, weil die RĂŒcken nach oben stehen, damit man die Beschriftung lesen kann. Die wenigen Doppel-CDs sollte man vor der CD-Entnahme ganz flach aufklappen, weil sogar noch in diesem Zustand es einen erheblichen Kraftaufwand benötigt, die CDs aus der sehr eng gefertigten CD-HĂŒlle zu entfernen.Der Deckel des Booklet meines Exemplars wölbte sich nach ein zwei Stunden offen liegen deutlich nach oben â vielleicht war nach der Fertigung etwas nicht ganz ausgetrocknet. Ich möchte aber anmerken, dass ich in einem Holzhaus mit niedriger Luftfeuchtigkeit wohne. Allerdings ist dieser Effekt bei Bernstein, Szell Ormandy und anderen nicht eingetreten.QUALITĂT DER CD-TRANSFERSEIN VERGLEICH MIT FRĂHEREN VĂs: Ich besaĂ vor dem Erwerb dieser Box etwa zwei Drittel der hier enthaltenen Aufnahmen, welche zum gröĂten Teil kaum oder gar nicht mehr erhĂ€ltlich sind: ein paar Japan-Pressungen, zwei französische und griechische VĂs, natĂŒrlich die Ă€lteren VĂs, die in Deutschland erhĂ€ltlich waren und einige VĂs von semiprofessionellen Labels (Haydn House, LITV, bag-of-rags, Pristine Audio und Forgotten Records). Um es kurz zu machen:Von den mir bekannten vorhandenen VĂs sind es nur wenige wert oder gar empfehlenswert, nicht weggegeben zu werden - womit ich natĂŒrlich nicht die CDs mit Live-Mitschnitten meine, die nicht in der neuen Box enthalten sind. Alle semiprofessionellen VĂs, so gut diese zum Teil auch sind, können gegen die neuen VĂs nicht bestehen. Ebenso erĂŒbrigen sich die BMG Ausgabe von Barbers Vanessa und die liebevoll aufgemachte griechische Sony 2CD Ausgabe âThe Art of Dimitri Mitropoulosâ und der Livemitschnitt des Verdi Maskenball (dieser ist â nochmals besser klingend - ebenfalls in der Box).Behalten sollten Sie â falls in Ihrem Besitz â die Sony âGreat Performancesâ Ausgabe (1CD) von Prokofievs Romeo und Julia (zusammen mit Lieutenant KijĂ© und Mussorgsky), da bei "Romeo" das sehr Helle im Klang in der Ă€lteren Ausgabe abgemildert ist. Auch wenn dieser etwas grelle Klang der neuen VĂ vielleicht eher der alten Columbia-Platte entspricht, so ist die Ă€lterer VĂ doch angenehmer zu hören, ohne das deshalb Informationen fehlen wĂŒrden oder es an IntensitĂ€t des Klangs mangelte.Anders herum verhĂ€lt es sich mit ein paar Japanpressungen: Die Schostakowitsch 10te klingt in der Box etwas verhangen gegenĂŒber der âlebendigerenâ japanischen Doppel CD (mit der 5ten - und der hervorragenden 9ten mit Efrem Kurtz). Auch die Japan-VĂ der Berlioz âFantastiqueâ (aber nicht âLa Merâ, was in der Japan-VĂ grell kingt!) klingt noch anspringender, auch wenn die VĂ in der Box sehr gut sind. Die französische Doppel-CD âDimitri Mitropoulosâ sollten sie wegen der AuszĂŒge aus âRomeo und Juliaâ von Berlioz behalten. Dieser Transfer ist besser gelungen als der etwas schmalbrĂŒstige in der Box. Auch der Berlioz "Romeo" Transfer der Doppel-CD âGreat Conductors of the 20th Centuryâ (mit einem superben Transfer der groĂartigen Mahler 6ten vom WDR) ist besser.Geschmackssache ist die Japan-Ausgabe der Tschaikowsky 6ten: Diese ist sehr hell im Klang mit sehr groĂer rĂ€umlicher Tiefe und âDampfâ, was gegenĂŒber der neuen Ausgabe etwas zulasten der Klarheit geht.Die Transfers von der Mahler 1ten und Bergs Wozzeck klingen in den jeweiligen Ă€lteren âMasterwork Heritageâ Ausgaben etwas anders und sind einfach so liebevoll gestaltet, dass zumindest ich sie nicht hergeben werde âŠ.PERSĂNLICHE BESONDERE EMPFEHLUNGEN ZUM âEINSTIEGâ (wobei ich nur einen Teil der frĂŒhen Aufnahmen kenne und noch viel mehr empfehlen könnte):CD5 Milhaud âBoeufâ,CD6 Chausson Sinfonie,CD8 Rachmaninoff Toteninsel,CD9 Mahler 1te,CD25 Bloch Saint-Saens,CD27-28 Berg âWozzeckâ,CD30 Schönberg âVerklĂ€rte Nachtâ,CD31 Saint-Saens 3tes Violinkonzert,CD33 Berlioz âRomeo u Juliaâ,CD35 Scriabin 4te+5te,CD36 Schostakowitsch 5te,CD39 Mendelssohn 3te+5te,CD40 Schostakowitsch 10te,CD43 Tschaikowsky Violinkonzert,CD44 Borodin 2te, Schostakowitsch 1tes Violinkonzert,CD48 Prokofiev âLieutenant KijĂ©â + Kodaly âHary Janosâ, CD49 Saint-Saens,CD50 Vaughan Willams 4te,CD56 Prokofiev 1tes Violinkonzert,CD59 Prokofiev âRomeo und Juliaâ âŠUnd vieles mehr âŠSCHLUSSWORTEine unbedingt empfehlenswerte und fĂŒr mich doch ĂŒberraschende Edition - auch wenn man die eine oder andere Doublette behĂ€lt. Bei Sony scheint es wirklich Kenner und Liebhaber zu geben â was hoffentlich alle anderen Kenner und Liebhaber zu schĂ€tzen wissen.Der nĂ€chste âCoupâ ist bereits angekĂŒndigt. Die gesamten Ormandy Minneapolis Aufnahmen von 1934 und 1935. DAS ist wirklich mutig.Von mir eine unbedingte Kaufempfehlung fĂŒr die Mitropoulos-Box!Liebe Sony-Planer, behaltet euren Enthusiasmus und schreitet weiter voran mit solchen VĂs. Noch schlummern SchĂ€tze. Ein paar VorschlĂ€ge, mal nur bezĂŒglich Dirigentenportraits:âLeopold Stokowsky â complete RCA recordingsââSergej Koussevitzky â complete RCA recordingsââFrederick Stock and the CSOâ oder âThe early Chicago recordingsâ (also Stock, zusammen mit den wenigen Defauw und Rodzinsky Aufnahmen aus Chicago)âFritz Reiner â The complete RCA mono recordingsâ (es gibt da ja noch manches auĂer CSO! Und leider sind die Transfers der Pittsburgh Aufnahmen in der letzten Reiner Box z.T. nicht sehr gelungen)âEugene Ormandy â the complete Columbia and RCA stereo recordingsâ (oder aufgeteilt in zwei Boxen)Aber auch âMorton Gould â complete RCA recordingsâ wĂŒrde wunderbare SchĂ€tze zu Tage fördern â z.B. Sibelius Tondichtungen und Schostakowitsch 2te+3te âŠ
L**F
Un capolavoro!
Il cofanetto non si discute Ú un capolavoro ed un must have per tutti gli appassionati di musica classica. Solita cura maniacale di Sony nei dettagli e suono splendido nonostante che la maggior parte delle incisioni siano monofoniche. Vorrei mettere sull'avviso eventuali acquirenti.A me il prodotto Ú stato spedito in una busta di carta senza il packaging originale di Sony. Chiaramente due angoli ammaccati (Ú già un miracolo visto il peso del cofanetto) e rimborso del 20% del costo. Inutile cercare di spiegare il problema al servizio clienti, proprio non capiscono. Se avessi chiesto la sostituzione avrei ricevuto il prodotto nello stesso packaging col rischio di danni peggiori! Con me hanno perso un cliente, ho già cancellato altri cofanetti di dimensioni generose che avevo in ordine. à essenzialmente un problema di cultura, vai a fargli capire che il cofanetto non Ú un imballo ma il prodotto stesso! E sopratutto perché privarlo del suo imballo originale fatto apposta per preservarlo da danni?
R**Y
Remastering is amazing !
One of the best box sets... the passion of the maestro and the presentation...
D**V
Bien mais cher....
En ce qui concerne la qualité artistique de ce coffret, rien à redire si ce n'est le volume de l'objet quand on sait que les mélomanes ont parfois des problÚmes de place. Quand au prix.....
M**D
Mitropoulos
PLein de découvertes avec une présentation hors pair.Un chef absolument possédé par la musique.
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