greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (05/14/85)
More brief impressions of another batch of CD's I've had chance to listen to: Mahler: Symphony No. 7 (Concertgebouw/Haitink) PHILIPS Very well shaped and paced, remarkably beautiful playing of the exposed horn solos. The sound is not bad, but lacks the bloom and ambience that London has managed in the same hall. I have not had a chance to hear the CD performances by Abbado with the Vienna Philharmonic or Levine and the Chicago Symphony. Ravel: Daphis et Chloe (Montreal Symphony Chorus & Orch/Charles Dutoit, cond.) LONDON A good choice for converting an "anti-digital" audiophile. I'm not crazy about the music itself, but the sound has a superb balance of clarity and depth. Dutoit is an expert at guiding his orchestra (whose playing need not apologize to any major "name" orchestra) through rhythmically intricate passages, while the beauty of the playing and choral singing create the necessary atmospheric effect. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (Cleveland Symphony/Maazel) Telarc Beautiful sound, beautiful playing, conducting of precision and clarity, yet it left me disappointed. This is one of the most civilized, unemotional performances I've heard of this work. It's amazing that the players seem to toss off one horrendously difficult passage after another with phenomenal ease, but I miss the intensity and raw power that even Boulez with his fanatical ear for precision brought to his recording with the same orchestra. Janacek: Sinfonietta/Taras Bulba (Vienna Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Charles Mackerras, cond.) LONDON You'll never hear sound like this in a concert hall, unless you get a cherry-picker to suspend you right above and slightly in front of an orchestra. The effect is spectacular as is the playing itself. The Vienna brass and percussion have all of the control and technical skill that could be desired, yet allow themselves a crudeness of sound and raw power that I found very effective. Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Philharmonia Orch./Simon Rattle,cond.) EMI Interesting to compare this with the recording conducted by Ashkenazy on a London CD with the same orchestra. The playing has more of a satiny smoothness with more delicately graded dynamic transitions under Rattle. The impression I got was of the emotional element held constantly in check. It doesn't sound cool or uninvolved, but only very controlled. Ashkenazy wears his heart more on his sleeve and allows the climaxes to erupt with greater abandon. The recording matches the performance - smooth and clear with sufficient detail, but rather subdued compared to the London recording which fully exploits the superb acoustics of Kingsway Hall. - Greg Paley