Classical Jukebox, Vol. 2 Customer Review: HE HAS DONE BETTER, MUCH BETTER
This is the companion volume to CLASSICAL JUKEBOX Vol. 1 with Eugene Ormandy (see my review). Here we have Andr Kostelanetz leading his orchestra or the New York Philharmonic. The program is quite varied, going from Bach (AIR ON THE G STRING) to Weill (MACK THE KNIFE). Generally, the sound of this compilation is quite good and the recording technique superior. But this suffers in the fact that some items such as the BLUE DANUBE WALTZ by Strauss seem to be played at a pops tempo, not the real unhurried symphonic tempo. Other pieces such as the Alford COLONEL BOGEY MARCH are played with such over-bearing forces that one is left without any sense of musicality. Kostelanetz has done much better, I remember an LP of the 60’s presenting 24 of the world’s greatest waltzes. It had everything in the right places. This CD has little to say musically, though many could find it enjoyable.