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Title: There may be Rosenkavaliers as good, but none better
Review: I've been listening to this recording since the days of LPs, and it is unsurpassed. Bernstein went to Harvard and lived in New York, but probably should have been alive 80 years previously in Vienna (except of course for his ethnicity). There aren't a lot of works that can carry the full load of Lennie's emotional style, although it is always interesting to experience his approach. This is one work that is actually larger than Lennie can fill. Note especially the trios, which will raise the hair on your neck, as well as Placido's early tour de force as the setpiece tenor. I've also always imagined a not entirely comfortable relationship between the Vienna and Mr. Bernstein---at least in my imagination, this adds a tension to their collaboration which brings the music to a high pitch of realization. A lush and complex work interpreted by a lush and complex conductor.
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