This two-disc set of Dvorák's last three symphonies plus two other single-movement orchestral works by Italian conductor
Carlo Maria Giulini is three-quarters mandatory and one quarter negligible.
Giulini's 1961 recording of the Eighth Symphony, and especially his 1962 recording of the Ninth Symphony, "From the New World," along with the Carnival Overture and Scherzo capriccioso, all performed by the
Philharmonia Orchestra, have long been considered among the finest recordings of the works, and as superbly remastered here, they sound as clear, as colorful, as driven, as dramatic, as joyful, and as lovingly lyrical as they did nearly 45 years earlier. The same cannot, however, be said of
Giulini's 1976 recording of the Seventh Symphony with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra. In place of clarity is murkiness, in place of color is muddiness, in place of drive is turgidity, in place of drama is stolidity, in place of joy is morbidity, and in place of loving lyricism is phlegmatic torpidity. Although anyone who reveres the conductor or the music owes it to themselves to hear
Giulini's superlative Eighth and Ninth symphonies, along with his brilliant Carnaval Overture and Scherzo capriccioso, they are advised to skip
Giulini's mediocre Seventh, which can only tarnish his otherwise outstanding performances.