greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (04/17/85)
I keep posting these only because the CD's are still expensive enough that I have to think twice before buying one and appreciate info from others. Sibelius - Symphony #4; *Luonnatar; Finlandia (Philharmonia Orchestra/*Elisabeth Soederstrom,soprano/ Vladimir Ashkenazy, cond.) LONDON This is one of the loveliest sounding CD's I've yet heard. In addition to the clarity and impact, there is a beautiful bloom to the sound, the superb acoustics of Kingsway Hall in London (perhaps the best recording hall in the world for large-scale works) being fully captured. If you want to impress your friends with your system, try the brass "snarls" at the beginning of "Finlandia". There are critics whose opinions I trust (particularly B.H.Haggin) who completely dismiss Sibelius' 4th Symphony as empty rhetoric. I think this is actually a counterreaction to some of the ridiculous essays on the work that have tried to suggest it as a pinnacle of depth and profundity. It isn't particularly deep or profound, but, to me at least, lovely and touching music. It requires particularly beautiful string playing and rich brass sonorities. Ashkenazy's performance is well paced and very sensitive, but the real credit here goes to the exceptional playing of the Philharmonia Orchestra. "Luonnatar" is a tone poem for soprano and orchestra, rarely performed, presumably because it is so horrendously difficult. Elisabeth Soederstrom not only masters the technical difficulties, but does so with beauty and freedom of sound, and delicacy of shading. The CD also captures the "soaring" quality of the voice. The complete lack of breakup or distortion in the high, loud passages and the sense of the singer being physically present surpass what I've heard on analogue discs. Dvorak - Symphony No. 9, "New World" (Chicago Symphony/Georg Solti, cond.) LONDON Excellent performance and recording. Tight, clean, precise - rhythmically light and buoyant (more so than I expected from the Chicago Symphony who are generally great for massive, weighty playing but less good when lightness and delicacy are required these days). Those who want mellowness and more melting lyricism probably won't like it: it's pretty much the antithesis of the Bruno Walter recording. The recorded sound is significantly better than the RCA CD of this same work with the same orchestra, conducted by James Levine. I'm not sure where that one was done (probably Medinah Temple), but this one was recorded in the renovated Orchestra Hall. There is some steeliness in the string sound, but I think that in this case it is an accurate reproduction of the actual playing, as I've heard this section sound like this in live performances. Mozart - The Magic Flute (Margaret Price, Pamina/Peter Schreier, Tamino/Mikael Mikelbye (sp? - I don't have the jacket here), Papageno/ Lucianna Serra, Queen of the Night/Kurt Moll, Sarastro/ Leipzig Radio Chorus/Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra/ Colin Davis, cond.) PHILIPS I commented on this once before after hearing it at a friend's house. Having bought it and listened to it at home, I thought it worth further discussion, since it's a 3-CD set, meaning at least $50 most places. I find this a very satisfying performance and recording, but it won't please everybody. The warm, human elements of the score and characters are emphasized at the expense the the "Singspiel" elements - the slapstick, buffoonery, and sometimes the humor altogether. The cast appears chosen to emphasize depth and beauty rather than bite and vitality. Peter Schreier's voice is not, to my ears, beautiful as sound per se but he uses it with such skill and sensitivity that I enjoyed hearing him. He sounds much better here than he did on the live Salzburg telecast of several years ago. Margaret Price sings Pamina as beautifully as I've ever heard. The Papageno has an attractive voice, but not the solidity and legato of Wolfgang Brendel on the Haitink set. The relative "seriousness" of the approach here shows most clearly in his part, in the avoidance of scenery-chewing and exaggeration. Again, some people will feel cheated. I find Colin Davis to be currently the greatest conductor of Mozart opera in the world. Every bar and phrase is illuminated and animated, with extraodinary sensitivity to subtle shifts of color and texture. This demands equal beauty and sensitivity of orchestral playing and he gets it from the Dresden Orchestra. There has been a marked increase over the last few years in the number of major recording productions from the "other side" of the Berlin Wall. Whatever the reasons (primarily, I suspect, economic), it is good to hear more of these great orchestras and performers. The recording is very natural, with good depth and perspective, the singers being placed behind the orchestra as they would be in an opera house. The only exception is the Queen of the Night, who seems to be right in front for her big solos. Those wanting a more dramatic and "theatrical" approach should check out the recording led by James Levine on RCA. - Greg Paley