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Title: I prefer Ozawa's Requiem to Shaw's
Review: I know that Robert Shaw's Telarc recording of this piece is supposed to be top-dollar, and indeed, it is very well-polished, but this version is still my favorite. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus is everywhere as well-trained and refined as Shaw's, and in many places, more crisp. The RCA engineers do a suberb job at recreating the stereophonic experience of the four brass choirs, which, I must say, are quite precise in their rhythms. Finally, with no disrespect to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Boston ensemble is simply more experienced; therefore, their color is more impressive. I just finished a weekend of performances of this work with Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra, so I know how demanding (and rewarding, for that matter) the choral parts are. I am more and more impressed by the Tanglewood Chorus with each listening.
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