Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I. Allegro aperto
2. II. Andante ma non troppo
3. III. Allegro
4. I. Allegro
5. II. Andante
6. III. Finale. Allegro
7. I. Allegro
8. II. Romance. Larghetto
9. III. Allegro
10. I. Lebhaft
11. II. Romanze. Ziemlich langsam doch nicht schleppend
12. III. Sehr lebhaft

Disc 2:

1. I. Allegro
2. II. Andante ma adagio
3. III. Rondo. Tempo di menuetto
4. I. Allegro moderato
5. II. Romanza. Andante sostenuto
6. III. Finale - Rondo alla tedesca. Allegro
7. Prologue. Andante
8. Pastoral. Lento "The Day's grown Old"
9. Nocturne. Maestoso "The splendor falls on castle walls"
10. Elegy. Andante appassionato "O, rose, thou art sick"
11. Dirge. Alla marcia grave "This ae nighte, every nighte"
12. Hymn. Presto e leggiero "Queen and hantress, chaste and fair"
13. Sonnet. Adagio "O soft embalmer of the still midnight"
14. Epilogue. Andante

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31157 in Music
• Released on: 2003-04-08
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

Good CD
The types of people who will buy the CD are the people who know exactly what they're getting, and what they're looking for (i.e., music performance students and aficionados of the CSO). For them, any introduction to this music is hardly necessary. Jacobs' rendition of the Vaughan-Williams tuba concerto has become the defacto standard interpretation of this influential composition, and this is the only place you'll hear his complete performance (all three movements of it). Herseth, Still and Clevenger are all top-notch as well. Good sound quality, even if the Still Mozart performance (which opens the first CD) sounds a little like Muzak. This is a wise investment so long as you don't pay retail-store prices for it. Get it on amazon.

First chair players top notch in a top notch orchestra
To be completely honest, this album did not interest me at first, even though I am the biggest CSO fan ever. The only reason I stumbled upon it was because I was browsing in a bad CD collection. All they had was generic, tripe recordings of most everything. Well, when I saw this I picked it up because I noticed it was under the DG label and because it had CSO recordings. I soon realized what I had been missing. This CD has probably the best recording ever of the Vaughn-Williams tuba concerto. Jacobs's mastery is held blatantly obvious in this recording, it is simply amazing and inspiring (even though I think his successor Gene Porkorny has a better sound). Another piece which caught my eye was the energetic Konzertstuck by Schumann. By itself the piece already speaks for itself. But, performed correctly, as it is here, the piece becomes heroic statement. The CSO horns play out boldly, without trepidation but alos without assaulting the ears. The sound is amazingly balanced between the four of them and they seem to be veritably unified in their playing, almost if one horn could double or triple stop( understandable?) instead of throwing 4 different players together and forcing them to compete. This is the CSO brass section that I know and love.

The real winner on this CD, however is the Bolero, conducted by Solti. The soloists are obviously all top notch. But espectially effective is the barely audible start with a simple side drum figure mingled with a flute to the deafening, exhilarating climax that closes the piece. If you're a brass person and you're looking for stereotypical Chicago brass, it's right here at the end. Good job Solti, and the CSO. Happy listening

Must-have for CSO fans
Recently I had an opportunity to meet with the legendary Bud Herseth, and I wanted a CD to get an autograph. But which one? The fabled archetype of the first trumpet, Herseth is on every recording the CSO made since he started in 1948 until he retired just a couple of years ago. If you want to get into an argument about who the best trumpet player who ever lived was, Herseth's name will center the argument, and the other contenders won't have been as well recorded. This CD turned out to be perfect, the Haydn concerto showcases his remarkable ability to be consistently perfect. I recommend this CD to classical music fans; Herseth, Clevenger, Still, Elliot and Jacobs are the best of the best in symphonic music, and these solo selections are truly magnificent. I recommend this CD especially to CSO fans, there are maybe a dozen symphonies at most in the same league as the CSO, and these principal chairs are one of the main reasons for the continued superiority of the symphony. I also recommend this CD to music students who play french horn, trumpet, tuba, oboe or bassoon. All musicians should strive for this level of magnificence, and though most will never reach this acme, the effort will bring you beyond the average. Lastly, I also recommend the CD to Solti fans, in spite of the fact that there are so many Solti recordings to choose from. You'll appreciate Solti's Bolero, it's my favorite Ravel recording. Oh by the way, I did get Herseth to sign the CD, he has a charming sense of humor and said "well, if I can remember how to spell my name." To which I replied: "Sir, it's printed on the CD."