Shortly after the James Sedares/Phoenix Symphony recording of The Magnificent Seven came out (1994), there was talk of another recording of the score coming out, this time conducted by Bernstein himself (with a German (?) orchestra (or was it just that it was on a German label?). I don’t ever remember reading a review of this recording, and was wondering if it was ever released, and if so how it compares with Sedares’ recording or the Rykodisc release of the Original Soundtrack. Having first purchased the Sedares recording, I found it hard to get into the OSR, with it’s inferior sound quality. However I have heard people talk in less than glowing terms about the Sedares recording, so was wondering what Mr & Ms/Miss/Mrs Soundtrack Collector (out there in Cyberspace) think of the various available recordings.
There was for a short time a new recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Bernstein available on the market (RCA Records 09026-63240-2), released in 1999.
I like the James Sedares recording but wouldn't be without the original soundtrack on Rykodisc even though it is mono. Bernstein's recording with the Royal Scottish orchestra is disappointing.
I have all three of these and the Ryko disc is by far the one to have. It has incredible energy and drive. The opening of the Main Title will almost knock you over.
Agreed that the Ryko OST is a must-have. I think Sedares did a fine job with the Koch rerecorded version nevertheless, and in the liner notes Bernstein himself was quite generous in his praise of it as well. If I recall correctly he referred to it as the definitive recording (the Ryko had not been released yet). There is no greater fan of Elmer Bernstein than I, however I must say that the recordings he's done of his own scores in recent years have been pretty uniformly lacking in energy. Don't know what it is, if he's trying to put out a product he thinks will be more interesting to the general public or what, but ever since he did TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD with the RNSO, I've stayed far away from his rerecordings.
It's one of those odd ironies that a composer may not necessarily be the best interpreter of his/ her own music.
Aaron Copland of all people is generally acknowledged as not being that great a conductor, especially as regards his own music.
And here's another twist -- John Williams is masterful at conducting his own music, but sometimes leaves a lot to be desired when doing other people's music.
You know, I complain about sound quality a lot, but the Rykodisc album sounds pretty clean for the most part. It's mono and recorded a little hot, but there's nothing you can do about that. I suppose you could travel back in time and adjust the recording equipment.
Despite the superior sound of all those rerecordings, no one has been able to touch the playing or conducting on the original soundtrack. It is the definitive rendition and blows away the rest of the field.
Despite the superior sound of all those rerecordings, no one has been able to touch the playing or conducting on the original soundtrack. It is the definitive rendition and blows away the rest of the field.
I like the James Sedares recording but wouldn't be without the original soundtrack on Rykodisc even though it is mono. Bernstein's recording with the Royal Scottish orchestra is disappointing.
Really?? I have all of the recordings noted and my reaction to the Sedares and Bernstein re-recordings is exactly the opposite of yours. I find Sedares rather cautious and tepid while Bernstein lets it rip and the RSNO plays beautifully, a fine re-recording. The OST on Ryko is certainly worth having, but Berstein's re-recording has a fine performance and wonderful sound, making it a terrible shame that it is not more widely available.
Despite the superior sound of all those rerecordings, no one has been able to touch the playing or conducting on the original soundtrack. It is the definitive rendition and blows away the rest of the field.
Yep, the old Swashbuckler rule wherein performance trumps sound.
