Stravinsky Petrouchka - Brahms Haydn Variations - Monteux PCO & LSO

No better Brahms anywhere, HDTT has a better Petrouchka from Monteux and BSO

Monteux made no secret of the fact that Brahms (who he met and played for as a young violist) was his favorite composer. This reading is an olympian blend of Reiner/Toscanini clarity and drive and Walteresque warmth, with the LSO at peak form. As to sound, the HDTT version airs the textures and sets a wonderfully broad soundstage as never before. The Brahms alone is more than worth the price. That might have gone for the Stravinsky, which Monteux premiered -- except for the fact that neither he nor RCA was really satisfied, so they redid it in 1960 in Boston -- and you can get that performance from HDTT. The difference is mainly in the playing, though the RCA Living Stereo team in Symphony Hall came up with a more crystalline and less tubby sound than the Decca crew in Paris. The Paris orchestra is adequate but clearly straining to get things right. But, which was at that time far and away the best "French" orchestra on the planet, starts far beyond where the PCO leaves off. Plus, many of the players, some of whom had played under Monteux in the 20's, probably believed they were playing their last gig with the Maitre, who was in his late 80's at the time, and outdid even themselves. So buy this for the Brahms, and splurge for the Monteux/BSO Petrouchka.