Boom, Bang, Clang

This is an extremely curious disk. It has been reissued to celebrate the 1950s hi fi technology of Mercury Living Presence. The thrust of the disk is to highlight the sound effects provided by cannons, bells and musket fire to give atmosphere and background to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Beethoven's Wellington's Victory. The disk also contains a mercifully munitions free version of Thcaikovsky's Capriccio Italien. The Tchaikovsky pieces are played by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under Antal Dorati and Wellington gets a performance from the London Symphony Orchestra, again with Dorati. There are also two documentary tracks where the narrator explains the firing of the various weaponry with loud examples. As to the music...well, Wellington's Victory is universally considered to be the worst thing that Beethoven wrote by a country mile and that is confirmed here. The Capriccio is full of Tchaikovsky's flair for melody and is none the worse for being a classical "pop". The composer reportedly hated the 1812 but I feel the gimmicks disguise what is in fact a very well crafted overture, full of drama and development and melody and I enjoy the occasional indulgence in what is the only recording I have of it. I wouldn't play the rest of the disk very often though.