| Review by csuzor June 2, 2005 (3 of 6 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Excellent recording, the music is imaginative and quite unlike any other. There are tracks which take you into a trance, and others which bring you back with power, and all with finesse. I can't compare to other recordings of these Debussy compositions, but this seems to be a fantastic performance. The surround mix is excellent, very precise and airy, the instruments seem well represented (I'm no expert), well done Telarc!
PS. To counterbalance the negative reviews here, another review by Mark Jordan from highfidelityreview.com :
Paavo Järvi doesn’t stand too far off the traditional path, but, like Michel Plasson, he has a concept which recognizes the importance of the traditional French approach to orchestral sound. Thus, the rhythms are lightly sprung, the textures are kept airy and open, woodwinds are never swamped by the strings, and there is a consistent effort to find the center of gravity in each musical phrase, instead of emphasizing all notes more-or-less equally, which to a certain degree is a hallmark of the Germanic approach (and which is why, despite his taste for clarity, Boulez is as much Germanic as French)
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In sum, Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony have given us a fine, perceptive Debussy disc. Telarc’s recorded sound works hand-in-hand with the conductor’s stylistic approach as well as with the natural sound of the hall to make Debussy’s music come to life with its French flavors intact. Järvi’s ‘Nocturnes’ is the best to come along in many years, and claims a distinguished place among the many competing recordings. The rest of the program is not quite as sharply characterized, but still fares well in Järvi’s deft hands.
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| Review by mwagner1962 June 18, 2005 (4 of 7 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
I am going to chime in on this one as well.....
Paavo Jarvi is starting to leave me cold....I cannot understand what is going on here, but this performance is cold, dull, and uninspiring...period.
I have heard many different recordings of these pieces, and the offerings here are simply not on par with any other. After a serious cull of my CD library a few years ago, all I kept for La Mer is a killer redbook with Dutoit and Montreal (Decca) and for the rest, a Solti CD....
I loved Jarvi's Dukas SACD, and his Prokofiev, is pretty nice as well. The Stravinsky Petrouchka is extremely nice, yet his "Rite of Spring" and Nielsen 5th is a bi-polar SACD, with a terrible "Rite of Spring" and a stunning Nielsen 5th. Even his stuff on PentaTone is better than his Debussy SACD.
Telarc's sound is top notch, but that is where the praise stops!!!! If this chilly trend with Paavo Jarvi continues, then I will say bye bye to future Telarc/Jarvi/Cincinnati SACDs, which is a shame as the orchestra is quite good!!!
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Sonics (MC):
