Kapellmeister’s Revenge: 20 Outstanding Symphony Cycles (and More) by Lesser-Known Conductors

Kapellmeister’s Revenge: 20 Outstanding Symphony Cycles (and More) by Lesser-Known Conductors
1. Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9. Vienna Philharmonic, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (cond.) Decca
2. Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; Overture, Scherzo and Finale. Staatskapelle Dresden, Wolfgang Sawallisch (cond.) EMI/Warner
3. Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1-7. Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi (cond.) Chandos
4. Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1-6. Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar (cond.) Brilliant Classics
5. Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 1-3; Orchestral Works. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (cond.) Vox (Naxos)
6. Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 1-9. Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert Blomstedt (cond.) Berlin Classics
7. Haydn: Complete Symphonies. Philharmonica Hungarica, Antal Dorati (cond.) Decca
8. Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 1-5. Bergin Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton (cond.) BIS
9. Martinu: Symphonies Nos. 1-6. National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Arthur Fagin (cond.) Naxos
10.Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7; Kullervo. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund (cond.) EMI/Warner
11. Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1-15. WDR Symphony Orchestra, Rudolph Barshai (cond.) Brilliant Classics
12. Bruckner: Symphonies. Various Orchestras, Günter Wand (cond.) RCA
13. Richard Strauss: Tone Poems and Orchestral Works. Staatskapelle Dresden, Rudolf Kempe (cond.) EMI/Warner
14. Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1-10; Das Lied von der Erde. Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gary Bertini (cond.) EMI/Warner
15. Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 1-9. Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner (cond.) Berlin Classics
16.Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6. London Symphony Orchestra, Igor Markevitch (cond.) Decca (Philips)
17. Mozart: Complete Symphonies. Prague Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras (cond.) Telarc
18. Vaughan-Williams: Symphonies Nos. 1-9. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley (cond.) EMI/Warner
19. Debussy and Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works. Various Orchestras, Jean Martinon (cond.) EMI/Warner
20. Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4. Staatskapelle Dresden, Kurt Sanderling (cond.) Eurodisc (BMG)

[@Cesar_SM]

Interesting selection, there's some terrific stuff in there. Another cycle I'd like to mention is Honegger with Serge Baudo and the Czech Philharmonic on Supraphon. This conductor has the edge that Honegger needs and the sonics enhance that feeling.

[@ftumschk]

Beat me to it. Seconded!

[@geraldmartin7703]

It's interesting that these "nobody" conductors got major recording projects (if for smaller labels). Someone recognized their strengths.

[@smileydts]

I have a request for a talk: works that go against a composer’s popular reputation - or if you like, “stereotype”. I don’t know the best examples, but things like Haydn’s Seven Last Words, Liszt’s Gray Clouds, or Stockhausen’s jazz suites (made ya look). I thought of it thanks to your recent video on Rossini’s late salon music, which are atypical simply for being not opera. It might help relative beginners like me get into composers like Bach to have a piece that isn’t so, you know, BACH.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks. I'll think about it.

[@bigg2988]

Nothing so "un-Bach" (and therefore resolutely Bach, presenting a versatile picture of him) as the "Badinerie" off the end of Orchestral Suite Nr. 2! Only about one-and-a-half minutes of Baroque fun, but hey, it is just made to be whistled while taking a bath/ shower - as the "programmatic" title suggests. :)

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Truth be told, I can’t consider Jarvi a ‘lesser known’ conductor. Once his Chandos discs became available, you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing the classical top 40 as recorded by Jarvi and Scottish Natl.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I guess it depends on where you are, but ask your average classical person who he is and you're likely to get a blank stare.

[@murraylow4523]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I think it may really depend on here you are. He’s not obscure here at all (and of course not Dorati, Blomstedt, Wand, Mackerras, Slatkin, Martinon, Markevitch…) So, not quite sure on your overall meaning here but I’ll think about it!

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@DavesClassicalGuide 😶😶. (Blank stare)

[@stevenklimecky4918]

I have to agree about Jarvi. And he helped revive the Detroit Symphony. AND Dorati with Detroit in years before.

[@bigg2988]

One man whom I would strongly advocate adding, as a bonus, for say the modern 20th century repertoire (but also any genre, any century basically) is Hans Rosbaud, mostly with the Baden Baden-Freiburg Orchestra. The epitome of an "under-the-radar" conductor. We know your high opinion of him, probably the thing was just to invent the right "nomination". :))

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

I have quite a few Kuchar discs, including the Janacek, Smetana, and Nielsen. Indeed, they are uniformly excellent, and he’s assembled a very fine orchestra (Janacek Sym).

[@maximisaev6974]

Perfect! Dave, this is "The List" that will introduce the younger folks out there to the glories of music. Each item on the list is outstanding, more or less reasonably priced, and overall a comprehensive one-stop-shop for a huge chunk of Western Classical Music. Had I been armed with a similar list all those decades ago, just think of how much money I would have saved. :) No Dave, I'm absolutely serious: This IS the best, most essential, and most valuable video you've made since the establishment of your channel. And for those of you younger collectors out there, you can't do better than consult this outstanding list and start building that musical library that will provide you a lifetime of enjoyment. Thanks again Dave! Take care!

[@qbabyrolfe]

Wonderful list. I would have crammed in a few others including: Jarvi's Tubin Symphony cycle on BIS, Alsop's Bernstein on Naxos and Charles Groves British Box.

[@martinbynion1589]

Big thumbs-up for the Jarvi Tubin cycle!

[@christopherjohnson2422]

I own the Mackerras Mozart cycle. It’s a wonderful set, with one drawback-Mackerras takes all the repeats, even in the minuet da capos. That works fine for the early works, but it’s too much for the great Mozart symphonies. I don’t know Bertini’s work very well at all, but I still have my vinyl copy of Bertini’s disc of the two Weill symphonies. (You could call that a cycle, I guess.) I greatly enjoy it.

[@qbabyrolfe]

I love Mackerras with all of the repeats intact.

[@jankucera8180]

Boy, I've got 14 of these 20 sets... Still some space for improvement!

[@poturbg8698]

I’d add the Kletzki and Zinman Beethoven cycles to the list, as well as the Janowski/Pittsburgh Brahms set.

[@charlespowell9117]

great talk, Dave: I recommend Konwitschny complete Beethoven symphonies too!

[@nicholasjagger6557]

I think Konwitschny and Schmidt-Isserstedt can be compared to a good peaty scotch and a super-fine brandy due to the sound of their orchestras, both really excellent, but different.

[@stefanhorlitz]

The Bertini cycle is my big musical love.

[@Otorres1]

I was introduced to the symphonies of Carl Nielsen with the Naxos cycle by Adrian Leaper with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and they convinced me of the strength and energy of those symphonies. They did their job at creating a Nielsen convert very well.

[@matthewweflen]

I have never listened to a Kuchar recording I disliked. I would venture to say he's the most consistent conductor in the biz at present.

[@francescofurlan3098]

I fully agree. Also his Smetana's complete orchestral output is terrific!

[@vessie528]

Mr. Hurwitz, I hope you will dedicate one video for the category of 'kapellmeister'. Indeed, it should not be pejorative and, with your vast knowledge of music, it would be most illuminating to learn more from you about this type of conductors. (As a side note, I would also add Krips for Mozart cycle.)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, but Krips didn't do a cycle, just the late ones.

[@vessie528]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Oh, that's right! I was taken by the thought of him as a kapellmeister and forgot that he didn't record the entire cycle. Mr. Hurwitz, you are a living encyclopedia of musical knowledge!

[@leestamm3187]

So many great, big name, conductors also have been kapellmeisters that it is absurd to view the term as pejorative. It's only come to be used that way in relatively recent times, largely by people who evidently don't know what the job of being a good one actually encompasses.

[@ericnagamine7742]

If you include Blomstedt for Schubert, he could easily be listed for Beethoven, Bruckner, and Nielsen.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Sure. Many of these guys did excellent work more than once, as I pointed out.

[@davidaiken1061]

This talk was music to my ears. As one who furnished his collection with bargain LP's back in the day, I encountered many worthy kapellmeisters (and chamber ensembles, soloists, etc.) who made first-rate recordings (Abravanel and David Blum come to mind). If we wanted to extend the Kapellmeister niche to include Baroque repertoire, we'd have to cite Karl Richter, the quintessential example. But, Dave, you missed my personal favorite Kapellmeister: the late Prof. Heiliger Dankgesang who spent his career with the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople. Now there's an unsing hero of the podium!

[@CluelessClutz]

When you were talking of Bertini’s one-off great Mahler cycle, it made me think of whether you would consider doing a video/series about one-off great recordings (or maybe about artists that supposedly only made one great recording, e.g. Bertini) but which may have an interesting and varied discography beyond that. In a similar vein, one could also maybe have a series on composers which are (supposed) one-hit wonders/where one major work overshadows everything else but also have other delightful output worthy of exploration (I am thinking of someone like Weber/Freischütz, Bizet/Carmen, Dukas/The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, etc.). What do you think? As always, you are a delight, keep up the great work 😊

[@geertdecoster5301]

Marvelous selection for a really splendid collection of many of the major works. Anyone else noticed that the Staatskapelle figures a lot in these kind of lists?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

As I pointed out in the video, which you no doubt watched. Right?

[@geertdecoster5301]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Yes, I'm just looking through. Have busy days taking care of my dad who's 87 and has a lung infection right now. Perhaps even have to cancel my holidays. That's life, Dave, isn't that right?

[@Delius1958]

Thank you, Dave, very interesting! - I would add for Sibelius: Carl von Garaguly w/ Dresdener Philharmonie on Berlin Classics!

[@barrysaines254]

Found 1 copy on Discogs, thanks for recommending it Dave. Sanderling /Brahms Symphonies.

[@sleepjar7013]

Excellent Dave, thank you so much! I already own eleven of these and love them all. Looking forward to exploring the rest. I LOVE YOUR LISTS!

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Also, Dorati’s Tchaikovsky cycle is nothing to sneeze at, and it only just preceded that of Markevitch.

[@tedwilson2805]

Brilliant! Am impressed that I have more than half of these sets. Always amazing that the Sanderling Brahms cycle has not been remastered and re-released. I found these in a super-budget RCA series. That Staatskapelle Dresden sound is pure magic! Very nice video. Thanks.

[@ericnagamine7742]

Remastered and re-issued by Tower Japan on SACD.

[@cosimagrundkotter906]

Dear Dave, great effort, fantastic list! Here's another suggestion down that same line: The very same repertoire but with recordings made in the past 20 years only. I imagine that's a much harder nut to crack, even though there are some more recent recording in today's list. I'm very curious though, what versions of Haydn, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky etc you might recommend. Either way: It's really fun enjoying music with you!

[@richardzuelch375]

I remember Augustus Gloop. Nice guy.

[@issadad]

You at your most charming and inspired . . .

[@federicorodriguez7222]

I just saw this, great list. I wouldn't have put Mozart's cycle here because to me Mackerras is not a lesser known conductor. Probably because after I bought Scheherazade for Telarc quite some years ago, I basically tried everything I could get conducted by him. (No Amazon back then). He was truly a superb conductor and this Mozart's cycle is THE Mozart's cycle in my opinion.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

He was defintely not as well known as he deserved to be.

[@martinhaub6828]

I would think that most people who visit this channel or who collect classical CDs are probably quite familiar with all of these names and many of the recordings. Bertini in Mahler, Sawallisch in Schumann, Kempe in Strauss have been quite famous for a long time. What about cycles from really obscure names, conductors who would even have many classical fans scratching their heads? Perhaps they didn't make truly outstanding sets. Like Weller in Prokofieff, Krivine in Beethoven, Swarowski's Brahms.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I think that would be meaningless. The list of "good" sets by obscure artists is endless, and I'm not going to get into a discussion of what "really obscure" means.

[@mangstadt1]

I own five of the twenty. I saw Gary Bertini conducting Mahler's 7th in the early 90s and his 5th around 2005. The strings of the Spanish National Orchestra sounded like velvet. It was beautiful right from the start. Even the Adagietto, which I really don't care much for.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

The Adagietto is in the 5th, not the 7th.

[@leestamm3187]

​@@DavesClassicalGuide I think he was referring to the "around 2005" 5th for the Adagietto.

[@mangstadt1]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Re-read my comment. I mention both the 7th (don't remember the orchestra) and the 5th. If it weren't for the Finale (unjustified bombast, in my opinion), the 7th would be one of my preferred Mahler symphonies. I want to get my hands on the Bertini set, plus Gielen, Rosbaud and Chailly, all of which you recommended on another video.

[@richardzuelch375]

A box I'd like to see: "The Complete Herbert Blomstedt/Staatskapelle Dresden Recordings." That would be wonderful.

[@stephenkeen2404]

I bought the SACDs of Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra when they came out, and then totally forgot about the Prague Chamber Telarc version that I'd owned and loved for decades. Going back to listen to them again, and I'm not sure I don't like them better than the Scottish. Even in CD quality, Telarc provides wonderful sound.

[@gyulahunyor8267]

That is a great list, thanks for it. I have some alternatives in my mind here and there, such as William Steinberg for Beethoven on DG, Osmo Vänskä for Nielsen on BIS, Ádám Fischer for Haydn on Brilliant Classics (one of the best bargains ever), Claus Peter Flor for Mendelssohn on RCA (a real sleeper if there is any), Bryden Thomson for Martinu on Chandos and the ever so elegantly played Mozart cycle conducted by Jeffrey Tate on EMI/Warner. Just my two cents.

[@barrondeschlozer]

Thank you, Dave, as always for another great video! Just a note to those seeking the Brahms Sanderling/Dresden cycle - it's available on Denon from Japan.

[@pianomaly9]

Thanks for this! First disc ever of a classical choral work was Wand/Gurzenich Sym Orch Missa Solemnis on Nonesuch. First oratorio, Markevitch Creation. 👍👍for Dorati Stravinsky, Slatkin Rachmaninov #1 and The Rock. Lewenthal and Mackerras Henselt and Liszt disc, a go-to for over half a century. Can Arthur Rother, Helmut Froschauer, Siegfried Landau and Jonel Perlea be far behind?

[@furdiebant]

Great video! Hope you are well

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks! You too!

[@bigg2988]

A fun-filled talk for sure! Some of the picks (knowing your preferences) were pretty safe bets, but still bear repeating how great some of these conductors, or those particular cycles by them, are/were. The question, of course, is the separation between well-known or less-well-known, as for many among your audience, these names are no secret. But donning the cap of a newbie, I can fully imagine they are not the prolific recording artists considered the talk of the day, the flavor of the month, or even luminaries of an epoch. Actually the popularity was equally a blessing and a curse for the most prolific conductors like von Karajan, Abbado, Bernstein to name but the obvious cases, where the quantity somewhat submerged the quality... as in, when you are recorded every other day, the result CAN come out as workaday. Guys like Schmidt-Isserstedt had a much easier time, I guess, in perceiving the occasion of being put in command of the WP to record the Beethoven - and gave their all.

[@musicianinseattle]

Excellent list, lovingly chosen and supportive of some major talents... and the reference to Augustus Gloop was much appreciated by someone who read that name to my children many a time!

[@martinbynion1589]

Dave, you should be awarded the title of International Emperor of Enthusiasm! 🙂 I have a number of the recordings in your above list and you are so on the money!

[@dmntuba]

Great topic!!! You need to keep this topic alive for awhile longer. You may have covered all the complete sets, but tons of fantastic recordings by known, but "lesser" known. Come on Dave 👍

[@Ignatius91]

When I started my little collection, it was pure luck that I got some Kuchar and Barshai (doing Shostakovich), Skrowaczewski and his Bruckner cycle, Rowicky conducting Dvorak's symphonies. But it was just works of the big names, 20 composers. Then I found your channel and trusted your reviews about almost everything. Now it's 103 composers works I've gotten. Can tell ya that chamber works had finally conquered me, following your advice (it was Mendelssohn's string quartets and the Octet that finally blew me away). Thanks for everything as always, Elton and Enya by me side, enjoying Nielsen's string quartets.

[@ReiterConley]

I was pleased to discover that I had 15 of the 20 conductors' cycles.

[@alanmcginn4796]

Fair to say slatkin really didn’t make a bad record?? What a genius

[@kevindanielson1908]

Awesome list!! I’m surprised at how many of these I already have!

[@WesSmith-m6i]

Illuminating as always. Thanks so much, Dave. Wesley

[@petercable7768]

Just a couple more to throw into the mix. Ole Schmidt/LSO in Nielsen and Jarvi/Bamberg Symphony for the Martinu. Such a good video btw.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks! Jarvi’s Martinu isn’t special. It’s rather sloppy.

[@rsmickeymooproductions4877]

Great list. May I add No.21 GRIEG, E.: Orchestral Works (Complete) (Engeset) Naxos

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes you can!

[@ЮрійМаршалик-ц2н]

I discovered a lot of great performances and learned so much Thanks a lot ,David Greetings from Ukraine 🇺🇦

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

You're very welcome!

[@cartologist]

Count Augustus Gloop!

[@DavidJohnson-of3vh]

This is all TRUE!

[@JEduardoDElboux]

Hello, Dave!! Please, if you could help me - I was looking in KZbin for Schmidt-Isserstedt's Beethoven, I was listening the 3rd Concerto with Backhaus - but I can not identify which Cadenza he was using, do you know? Thanks!!

[@fred6904]

He uses a cadenza written by Carl Reinecke.

[@JEduardoDElboux]

@@fred6904 thank you!!

[@glengoogling7597]

@@fred6904 Reinecke’s cadenza for Beethoven’s 4th w/ Alicia de Larrocha and Chailly on Decca is ear candy too.