On 2006-04-23 The Aeolian, wrote: This set offers an enticing prospect: three podium greats conducting an illustrious orchestra in rarely heard live recordings of works by composers that the conductors were renowned for interpreting. The packaging is deluxe -- an 84-page booklet with plenty of background and commentary in three languages on the special historical interest of these recordings. I played the fourth CD first, the Strauss/Bohm, which proved to be a quite good performance in acceptable sound (for a live performance of that era). Then came the experience of the Bruckner/Karajan and the Mahler/Mitropoulos. The sound on these performances is gratingly harsh and murky, as if heard on a cheap radio that is not quite tuned in. My disappointment with the Mahler, which was the performance that I anticipated most, was extreme. Releasing these often painfully distorted performances does a disservice to the Vienna Philharmonic. We know that even great ensembles miss the mark from time to time, but that doesn´t mean that such egregious work should be offered to an often unsuspecting public under the rubric of ´historical value.´ No degree of historical interest will make these performances worth the time it took to produce them or to listen to them.
If only I had read the other reviews about this set before I made my purchase. You have now been informed. . And summed up by saying The Vienna Not-So Philharmonic. Currently Vienna Philharmonic: 1957-1963 has an overall rating of 6 over 10.
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Gustav Mahler claimed Rich in historical and musical significance, the performances in this collection feature the Vienna Philharmonic at its finest. Here you´ll find the great Herbert von Karajan conducting Bruckner´s Eighth Symphony, a work which has enjoyed a close association with the orchestra since its 1908 Vienna premiere. Dmitri Mitropoulos leads Mahler´s Ninth Symphony - eerily, just one month before the conductor would suffer a fatal heart attack while conducting the same composer´s Third Symphony. And Karl Böhm brings a personal touch to two tone poems by his close friend Richard Strauss. All of these performances are set against the lively backdrop of late 1950s and early 60s Vienna, a time of hope and newfound optimism following the war and occupation.
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