Charles Munch had a special flair for conducting Berlioz and this Herold – with Primrose as the musical character of Harold – has been a definitive version ever since it first came out on LP shortly after its recording in 1958. All the Berlioz works conducted by Munch are superb; the composer was clearly his specialty. Again, the three-channel reproduction brings out the solo viola clearly and with great presence as it presents its themes in front of the orchestra.
I recall becoming very familiar with the first movement, Harold in the Mountains, when as a youth I discovered it (by its title, I must admit) and used the music to accompany a slide show I had photographed of Italy’s Dolomite mountains. I had forgotten that the last of the four movements – Orgy of the Brigands – (always my favorite) was longer than any of the other three movements. It brings the work to a showy and exciting conclusion – never mind if you haven’t read Lord Byron; the composer only borrowed the melancholy lead character from his book.
The four Berlioz Overtures were recorded just a bit later in Symphony Hall and continue Munch’s reputation for bringing off Berlioz to best advantage. Some competing versions have bigger climaxes and perhaps a bit more excitement, but these are rich and flowing interpretations from one of the best orchestras in the world and in a famously supportive hall acoustically speaking. (One little error on this disc was to use the same character – an asterisk – to indicate that Harold in Italy is the work on the disc featuring Primrose as viola soloist. Could be confusing, because on all the other discs in the Living Stereo series the asterisk is used to indicate those tracks which are only two-channel instead of three.)
– John Sunier
