There are several reasons why the popularity of Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra has declined so steeply since their glory days in the '50s and '60s. For one thing, Ormandy hung on to his post in Philadelphia a tad too long, and recordings from the later '70s and '80s are for the most part marked by audible fatigue. For another, Columbia and RCA, now Song/BMG, have been reluctant to reissue Ormandy's classic recordings on CD and nearly as reluctant to keep them in print after the first few press runs. But what ...
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There are several reasons why the popularity of Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra has declined so steeply since their glory days in the '50s and '60s. For one thing, Ormandy hung on to his post in Philadelphia a tad too long, and recordings from the later '70s and '80s are for the most part marked by audible fatigue. For another, Columbia and RCA, now Song/BMG, have been reluctant to reissue Ormandy's classic recordings on CD and nearly as reluctant to keep them in print after the first few press runs. But what hurt Ormandy most of all was a change in fashion. What was once hailed as "The Fabulous Philadelphia" sound was later disparaged as the flabby Philadelphia sound in the face of sharper, edgier performances, and Ormandy and his orchestra had almost disappeared from sight when this 10-disc Sony/BMG The Original Jacket set was released in 2008. For anyone with ears to hear, the performances here are magnificent. In these recordings, the Philadelphia under Ormandy truly sounds fabulous....
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