Berlioz:Symphonie.. -Ltd-

Rudolf Kempe's Symphonie Fantastique with the Berlin Philharmonic now sounds better than ever in this Warner Japan issue. This is a hybrid SACD and the sound quality is excellent. Recorded by EMI in the Grunewaldkirche in 1959, this is an analogue recording which in its previous incarnations has sounded rather lacklustre. However, the boffins at Warner Japan HQ have done an excellent job akin to those art historians who take flaking, old, wrinkly oil paintings and "straighten 'em out"! Kempe puts on a fine display of baton technique, delivering a measured account of the symphony, but the performance as a whole is well-judged - tempi, dynamics, phrasing - and not wanting in the more "extrovert" moments! I suppose this disc will appeal to very few collectors nowadays? But for this listener, Rudolf Kempe and a '59 vintage Berlin Philharmonic in superior sound quality performing Berlioz's magnificent masterpiece is irresistible! Fantastic hybrid SACD which delivers a sonic pageant of kaleidoscopic festiveness - and I rarely say that! Recommended.