Due to its status as a historic recording, this Archipel CD of Hector Berlioz's Harold en Italie may cause some listeners to hesitate to give it a try for fear of faulty sound, and they may even balk at the filler recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's overtures for misgivings over the orchestra's low name recognition. Yet as far as archival reissues go, this disc has many positive points in its favor. First, while the sound of Harold in Italy is a little distant, slightly muted, and not fully resonant, which one might expect of a remastered 1956 recording, it is thoroughly cleaned of tape hiss, relatively noise-free, and quite listenable. Second, the
Berlin Philharmonic under
Igor Markevitch is responsive to his direction and committed to the score, and Heinz Kirchner's viola is placed well to the fore, so the performance has much of the drama and excitement of a concerto, which was Berlioz's intention. Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, the Fidelio Overture, The Consecration of the House Overture, and the Coriolan Overture are played with remarkable precision and superb musicality by the
Lamoureux Concert Orchestra, and even though this French ensemble is not as famous as the
Berlin Philharmonic, its playing is quite close to world-class. Furthermore, the reproduction is even better in these 1957 recordings and comparable in clarity, dynamics, and depth to modern audio. One might still prefer to hear all-digital recordings of these works, but this CD provides considerable value despite its slight drawbacks and will surprise any who negatively prejudge it.