Carlo Maria Giulini - The London Years

This extensive box set, offered at a fantastically low price, is self-recommending to anyone who regards Giulini highly. His career on disc had three distinct periods - early, middle, and late - like his revered Beethoven. EMI covered the early part, DG the middle, and Sony the late. The first two got the cream of the crop, since the elder Giulini became reverential in his tempos to the point of stasis. Probably the high point of the conductor's public esteem, which amounted to adulation, came in the US, and DG has obliged us with two box sets that span his tenure in Los Angeles and Chicago. He was welcomed in Chicago during the Solti era as soothing balm after an electroshock treatment.But for me his greatest period was spent in England, where if he had only recorded three works - Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, and the Verdi Requiem - he would have been immortalized (his countryman De Sabata was sanctified on the basis of only a handful of recordings). To some extent the critics at the time didn't know who they were dealing with, and compared with Klemperer and Karajan, who reigned supreme as leaders of the Philharmonia Orch., Giulini was overshadowed. In retrospect, however, dozens of his recordings with the orchestra are gems, and its wonderful to have them collected together in good sound, some of it remastered recently (see Mr. Fowler's lead review for details).The recording dates run from 1956 to 1976, but with a heavy weighting to the first three years and very few items from the Seventies. Musically, what we get is traditional repertoire from Haydn to Ravel. EMI has kept most of these recordings in print, either as budget or premium releases, but I had missed the two Haydn symphonies and the Stravinsky items, along with some of the Brahms symphony cycle. Giulini left behind duplications of some of this repertoire, and in the case of a signature work like the Brahms First, it takes a treasure hunt to find the best version (the live one on Profil with the Bavarian Radio SO). Some of his greatest work in concert also appears on Testament, so there's a rich field to explore.Yet for anyone who wants to take the measure of a conductor who managed to gain enormous stature without drawing the spotlight to his personality, this magnificent collection is proof positive that such a career can be carved out.P.S. - I didn't set out to review the contents of this big box, but having now heard a plodding Beethoven sixth from 1968 and a lifeless Beethoven Eighth from 1972, I suspect that EMI has kept in print the best of Giulini's recordings - the hidden gems are quite scattered. Early going, however, reveals a very fine Haydn "Surprise" Sym. and even better Schumann "Rhenish." There's a vigorous, sharply contoured Franck Symphony in d Minor and all four Brahms symphonies, a central part of the conductor's repertoire - I don't know why EMI sat on these propulsive earlier performances.Beethoven:Egmont Overture, Op. 84Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral'Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral'Bizet:Jeux d'enfants (Petite Suite), Op. 22Boccherini:Symphony in C minorOverture in DBrahms:Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (Complete)Tragic Overture, Op. 81Variations on a theme by Haydn for orchestra, Op. 56a 'St Anthony Variations'Britten:Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33aThe Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34Debussy:La MerTrois NocturnesDvorak:Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World'Carnival Overture, Op. 92Scherzo capriccioso, Op. 66Falla:El Amor BrujoEl sombrero de tres picosFranck, C:Symphony in D minorPsyché: Psyché et ÉrosHaydn:Symphony No. 94 in G Major 'Surprise'Mussorgsky:A Night on the Bare MountainRavel:Alborada del gracioso (orchestral version)Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2Ma Mère l'OyePavane pour une infante défunteRapsodie EspagnoleSchubert:Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D759 'Unfinished'Schumann:Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 97 'Rhenish'Manfred Overture, Op. 115Stravinsky:The Firebird SuiteTchaikovsky:Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 'Little Russian'Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 'Pathétique'Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture

Carlo Maria Giulini was talented, handsome, charming and considerate.He was not ego-driven.Orchestras loved him.Audiences loved him.Critics loved him.The man was a Saint.This box includes a 76 minute oral biography of the man, produced by Chicago radio station WFMT.A lot of musicians talking about how wonderful he was.No one has an unkind word.I love Giulini, but he may have been The Least Interesting Man Alive.[hint: for ease of navigation, read the review though to the end, then come back and click on the links.]"The London Years" contains 13 CDs worth of recordings Giulini made with the Philharmonia Orchestra between 1956 and 1964.This was Giulini's first international exposure.He was already known in Italy for his work in opera, but those "live" La Scala broadcasts were not officially released until thirty years later: Verdi: La Traviata- Plus an additional 3 CDs of recordings with other London Orchestras, 1966 to 1976.Despite being in existence for barely twenty years (1945-1964) the original Philharmonia Orchestra quickly became one of the world's great orchestras, largely thanks to the efforts of its first principal conductor, Herbert von Karajan.Karajan had to leave in 1956. *[ Don't worry - He found another job. ]During the orchestra's second decade, Carlo Maria Giulini was second only to Otto Klemperer in the number of recordings made with the Philharmonia, a testament to the regard of his colleagues and to his popularity with the record-buying public.I would rate many of these recordings in my top five.- Giulini's Firebird Suite may be the best ever - Dennis Brain's horn playing is spectacular (recorded in 1956).Giulini's greatest recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra is missing from the box: the 1963 Verdi Requiem: Verdi : Messa da Requiem; Quattro Pezzi Sacri - or - Verdi Requiem - or - Requiem & Four SacredLet's hope Warner Classics is planning another box with Giulini conducting Sacred Choral Works of Mozart, Beethoven and Verdi.REMASTERINGS: Giulini's Philharmonia recordings were the mainstay of EMI's mid and low-price reissue series in the early days of CD.These twenty year old re-masterings account for half the contents of this box.Exceptions:- Re-Mastered in 2013:Beethoven: Egmont OvertureBoccherini: Symphony Op.43, OvertureBrahms: Symphonies, etc.Haydn: Symphony 94Mussorgsky: Night on Bald MountainRavel: Ma Mere, Pavane, Rapsodie EspagnoleSchubert: Symphony 8Verdi: Overtures- Re-Mastered 1998-2004:Beethoven: Symphony 6Bizet: Jeu d'enfantsDebussy La Mer, NocturnesRossini: OverturesStravinsky: Firebird SuiteTchaikovsky: Symphony 2, Francesca da RiminiEverything else was re-mastered between 1987 and 1995.Not state-of-the-art, but pleasant enough.There is a contents list on the back of the box, photo at the top of the Amazon web page.--- The next chapter in Giulini's career was centered in the United States, and is documented in three inexpensive boxes:- Chicago Symphony, as Principal Guest Conductor during the early Solti years,EMI recordings, 1969-1976:Carlo Maria Giulini Centenary Edition - The Chicago YearsDG recordings, 1976-1978:Giulini in America- Los Angeles Philharmonic, Music Director,DG recordings, 1978-1981:Giulini in America - Complete Los Angeles Philharmonic Recordings--- Late Giulini: 1984-1995 recordings with the the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, and the "La Scala Philharmonic", documented in inexpensive boxes on DG and Sony:Giulini In Vienna: The 100th Anniversary Tribute - and - The Complete Sony RecordingsIn his late sixties, midway through the Los Angeles period, Giulini's interpretations became more serious and thoughtful.Detractors would say stodgy.His internal clock certainly slowed down.Late Giulini was unpredictable: He could still produce intensely spiritual performances, like Bruckner Symphonies 7-9 with the Vienna Philharmonic on DG,or it could all fall apart: the arthritic unfinished Beethoven Symphony set (all but Symphony 9) with the La Scala Philharmonic on Sony.--- EMI has also published a nice box of Giulini's Concerto Recordings, 1957-1978:Carlo Maria Giulini Centenary Edition - ConcertosThis covers the London and Chicago periods + a nice detour to the Vienna Symphony, where he was briefly Music Director, 1973-1976 - also documented in his EMI recording of Bruckner's 2nd Symphony, not included in these boxes. Released on Testament:ASIN:B00005K3PZ* Yes, I know. Karajan made a few stereo recordings with the Philharmonia after 1956, but he was fulfilling the terms of his EMI contract.After 1960, he only conducted in London when the Berlin Philharmonic was visiting.

A great bargain! This was my first exposure to Carlo Maria Giulini's EMI cycle of the four Brahms Symphonies, or even the knowledge of the existence of these early 1960s recordings. The Beethoven Symphonies 6 and 8 with the Philharmonia Orchestra, 9 with the London Symphony and choir; Tchaikovsky Symphonies 2 and 6, Romeo and Juliet and Francesca da Rimini, Dvorak Symphonies 7, 8, and 9 (mostly with the Philharmonia) makes this a wide ranging and appealing set.There may be better recordings of some works in this set, but I enjoyed everything I heard from Giulini in the early 1960s. The orchestras in this set are the Philharmonia (largest number of recordings are by them), the London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra.Generally most of Giulini's early recordings are more straight and less affected by nuances or slower tempos as they became after age 70, from 1984 and after, in CMG's case.I also enjoyed the Falla ballets, and Ravel and Debussy works featured here. Recommended.

This Giulini box is worth it for the great Brahms and Tchaikovsky alone, but factor in the Beethoven, Schumann, Debussy, and Ravel, and the set is as close to a must-have as anything out there. All the other works included are gravy.

For those who have listened to this recording, please tell us about the Hi-Fi quality of this budge reissued box set. Thank You.