| Site review by Castor May 24, 2007
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Having written a very enthusiastic review of Ashkenazy’s other Exton Respighi disc /showreviews/3607 I was surprised find this one rather disappointing in terms of both performance and sound in spite of the fact that it was taped by the same engineers at the same sessions in March 2004 and April 2005.
The problem here seems to be that the microphones have been placed too close to the orchestra so that too often the listener appears to be on the conductor’s podium!
Any half good conductor could turn in respectable performances of these works and Ashkenazy is more than that, but here he fails to challenge the many versions of Respighi’s Roman Trilogy already available on CD, to say nothing of the 1959 Living Stereo SACD of Pines and Fountains by Reiner and the Chicago Symphony.
The opening of the Pines is vigorous, but just taken a fraction too fast for perfect articulation and is not helped by the conductor’s grunting. The ‘distant’ trumpet solo in The Pines of the Janiculum sounds anything but distant while the nightingale at the end of this movement appears as if it is sitting on the top of the front speakers!
Conversely the build up to the huge climax of the Pines of the Appian Way is too matter-of-fact, and the recording becomes congested, failing to allow the peroration to expand with maximum impact.
Ashkenazy seems impatient with the opening of the Fountains, so that the undulating string figurations and harmonics fail to conjure up the atmosphere of “ the fresh damp mists of a Roman dawn” and once again, the over-analytical recording spoils Respighi’s sound picture of a warm Italian evening with distant tolling bells for the Villa Medici fountain at Sunset.
Comparing Ashkenazy’s Feste Romane with the Decca recording by Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland orchestra (RBCD only) further emphasises the limitations of this SACD. Ashkenazy and his gallant Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra are just no match for the virtuoso orchestral playing of the Clevelanders and Maazel’s vice like grip on the piece.
Maazel’s thrilling antiphonal trumpet groups in Circinses are both incisive and suitably distant whereas Askenazy’s emphasise the lack of depth of the recording venue. In Jubilee the solo mandolin is firmly placed in the left hand speaker sounding much louder than the accompanying strings while the opening of the final Epiphany begins at such a fast tempo that it eventually becomes a scramble for the players reducing the impact of the final accelerando.
In spite of some good moments, I cannot fully recommend this disc. The field is still wide open for an outstanding up-to-date recording of these pieces.
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Copyright © 2007 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
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| Site review by Polly Nomial June 18, 2008
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
An unsatisfactory disc of some virtuoso music.
The disc starts with the Pines of Rome and one cannot help but hear Ashkenazy's commitment to creating an exciting opening. Sadly, the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland cannot match the commitment with the technical aplomb nor musical finesse that transforms the work from an essay in orchestration to a voyage of sound. Throughout the quieter moments there is a serious lack of any "magic" in the phrasing and it makes one mystified for all the wrong reasons! The appearance of the nightingale is also anything but special and the build-up of the Appian Way has none of the superb pacing that makes great accounts so compelling.
Similar problems plague the Fountains of Rome, with a lack of atmosphere in the opening movement - it appears that the fountains were closed for cleaning when Ashkenazy mounted the podium here. Nor does the Roman Festival fare any better - the weakest of the three symphonic poems, it really needs a swagger that is fundamentally missing in the playing. More than that, there is some terrible ensemble in The Epiphany that closes the disc, so much so that it almost sounds like sight-reading.
At no point does this disc challenge any of the right acclaimed accounts that have found their way onto RCA's Living Stereo series or, my personal favourite, Karajan's magical accounts from Berlin.
A compensating factor could have been if the recording was extraordinary but sadly it is far from Exton's better efforts and must rank almost as disappointing as the music making. Recorded far too closely for such atmospheric music, the mirage of sound becomes all too congested and rather unlistenable upon repetition - it also denies the climaxes any sense of impact.
Such a shame, for this music cries out for reproduction via SACD.
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Copyright © 2008 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
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| Review by Geohominid May 19, 2007 (12 of 12 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
This is the only SA-CD so far to carry the whole of Respighi's Roman Trilogy and I was looking forward to hearing the whole as it is not often performed complete in concert. However, within seconds of the glittering (nay, glaring) opening of the Pines of Rome, I was disappointed, a feeling which deepened as I got further into the disc. This was not because of Ashkenazy's attempts at singing during the opening bars (grunt-watchers beware, but this was the only time I noticed his contribution). The main problem was with the recording, and this sent me off into a long process of making comparisons to try and find out what was going on. First impressions told me that the MC track was very bright and closely recorded, with little or no sound from the hall and only intermittently a hint of natural perspective. Far from my room walls vanishing, the whole orchestra seemed to be packed uncomfortably into a row between the front speakers. Even during the more atmospheric moments of the Catacombs portrayal, spot mikes would zoom the solo string desks and the woodwind forward; even the nightingales were close-miked, warbling up front between the speakers. Whereas, Respighi introduced a gramophone into the orchestra to make a special effect, and it is usually played from the rear of the band, so that distance can lend enchantment. No enchantment with Exton; the birds sounded quite nervous with the mikes up close.
The 5.0 recording also seemed bass-light; the double-basses could rarely be heard, nor the low 'cellos. The violin sound was thin and glaring at high pitches and crescendos, for which I began to blame the orchestra, which sounded distinctly third-rate at producing lush tone. The recordings were made in March 2004 and April 2005, and according to the label, used DSD. I wondered if there were any audible differences between the sessions. The Fountains of Rome had the same characteristics as the Pines, but the Roman Festivals were a different matter. Here the recording was still fairly close but there was very much more hall sound, and a better impression of front-back perspective; the orchestra was much better integrated and there was palpably more bass. At last I got a very exciting sound with thrilling brass choruses, deep organ pedals and a string section that sounded like a large group rather than a few violins playing right into a microphone. I concluded that either a different recording team was present for this session, or fewer microphones were used.
Coming back to the Pines and the Fountains which are the meat of this disc, I was so confounded by the recording that I found it difficult to relax and enjoy the music, which was a great pity. Comparing the Ashkenazy Pines with a version on DVD-A featuring Macal conducting the New Jersey Symphony orchestra, there was little difference in the overall approach of the two conductors, but the DVD-A (96K/24bit PCM) was much better balanced and tonally much more impressive. Respighi used a lot of "distant" and off-stage instruments in these pieces, and it is important to be able to localise these clearly, as usually can be done in the concert hall. I was able to do this with Macal - even when not watching the 5.1 DVD film of the performance.
Returning to the Exton disc, and keeping all the speaker and volume settings the same, I sampled the stereo SA-CD track, which although still bright and bass-light, clearly gave a better perspective of the orchestra as a whole and was easier to listen to, spot-zooming not being so obtrusive. To my astonishment, however, the redbook CD track sounded very good indeed - I would have been happy with it in my CD-only days and I thought it better than the SA-CD tracks. Mixing-mastering tweaks or problems might also be responsible for, in my view, the rather poor SA-CD sound.
Finally, not wishing to cast a slur on the Radio Filharmonich Orkest Holland and their hall, I turned to the Exton box of Rachmaninov orchestra works recorded by them in the same venue as the Respighi, and listened in MC to the earliest of those recordings, dating back to Dec 2001 (Symphony 2). Immediately, here was the real deal - an excellent orchestra with opulent tone and full bass, my speakers had vanished and the back-to-front perspective was clearly set out, with no knob-twiddling, zooming or panning. A real orchestra, and a very fine one at that.
My conclusion is that if you like very close, bright sound with a rather light bass and need the Roman Trilogy in MC, then buy this Exton if you must. Ashkenazy is fine, but you will get nothing like the thrill of hearing music by one of the 20th century's greatest orchestrators as you would get live in the concert hall. Otherwise, wait for Polyhymnia, MDG, Bis, Chandos or one of the other recording teams with engineers who know how to make the best of an orchestra and venue to produce their own Roman Trilogy.
Postcript: After posting this review, diw posted in the forum, alerting us that the centre channel on his disc was missing. I checked mine and although my Marantz player detected a centre channel, it was indeed silent. I have contacted JPC from whom I bought the disc and will update members on any progress, especially if Exton give any explanation.
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| Review by dc September 5, 2007 (7 of 8 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
| IMO the sound for the Roman Trilogy is pretty much the same as that for the Chruch Windows CD. The style of music is, of course, very different which could explain why some feel it works less well. In the Roman Trilogy Ashkenazy doesn't present an impressionistic view of the music but aligns it with Stravinksy's Rite of Spring, Prokfiev's Sythian Suite, Bartok's Mandarin and Honnegger's Pacific. It works well, too, especially with the up-front recording with the strings shaving your ears off, brass bashing your skull and timpani punching your stomach. I personally find this sound wildly exciting but some may well feel differently. It's very much like the sound you find with Dorati on Mercury, Levine on DG, Solti on Decca and Svetlanov on Melodiya. Ashkenazy lets rip in the finale to the Epiphany but the coda is as good as any, with the whirling string figures at the end given as much weight and prominence as on Ormandy's old recording. This is the record to accompany BBC's "Rome" - gaudy, loud and totally uninhibited. The only problem are the birds. An old chestnut this. I can't tell an ostrich from a dodo but they sound to me like chicks hatching rather than the singing of the nightingale Oscar Wilde had in mind. Even Karajan's blackbird sounds better :-D
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| Review by DSD April 2, 2011 (2 of 20 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
I reviewed the companion SACD to this back in June 16, 2009 Respighi: Church Windows etc. - Ashkenazy so it is time to critically look at this one. Both were recorded by the same engineers at the same sessions in March 2004 and April 2005. The Respighi: Roman Trilogy - Ashkenazy was released in 2005 and Respighi: Church Windows etc. - Ashkenazy in 2006. It is my feeling that perhaps some equalization and other post-production work was performed on the later recording which may explain its better low frequency performance and more realistic sound. I am usually against the use of equalization and post-production but these two SACDs may prove that its use can improve a less than perfect recording.
This review is of the 2 channel stereo high resolution DSD program and if you listen in multichannel be aware that some have claimed this a sonic disaster especially the center channel with just ambiance at a very low level and bass-light as well. I take bass-light revelations seriously so perhaps this recording is ONLY for 2 channel stereo music lovers and that may be an explanation on why Exton has given up multichannel and now records in 2 channel stereo only.
I just finished playing both of Exton's Respighi SACDs and this one is nearly as good in two channel stereo as Respighi: Church Windows etc. - Ashkenazy which is one of my very favorite SACDs. The orchestra does has deep bass in 2 channel stereo but the deep organ notes in The Pines Near a Catacomb are recessed and lacking in weight which leads me to believe the organ was not mic'ed separately or the mics were in the wrong spot to pick up the deep organ notes with force in this movement. Not only is the deep bass of the orchestra there in 2 channel stereo but it has a wonderful analog warmth to both the deep and mid bass. The Violin tone was not thin as reported in the multi-channel program, but nice and smooth.
Ashkenazy does grunt a couple of times during first movement of Pines of Rome, it doesn't distract from the performance.
The performances are a little slower than the Fritz Reiner on RCA Living Stereo Respighi: Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome, Debussy: La Mer - Reiner, but to my ears that makes them more exciting and grander! These are romantic versions of Respighi's visions painted on vast landscapes. Big very Roman sounding sonic portraits, I liked the performances so much better than Reiner's I sold it. I now have the Roman Trilogy with a grand, grand Roman Festivals that I was afraid to buy because of the poor reviews.
I am so thrilled with this SACD, especially since the sonics turned out to be nearly as wonderful as my other Respighi Exton SACD Respighi: Church Windows etc. - Ashkenazy .
On March 26, 2011 during my six hours of listening to BIS 24/44.1kHz recordings at eClassical.com I compared this to the new Respighi: Roman Trilogy - Neschling and this one has considerably deeper bass than the BIS and I like it better overall, both sonically and musically. I know it's not a totally fair comparison, however the streaming audio at eClassical.com is among the finest I've heard and does give a good impression on how much bass a recording has and how well it is engineered. What you hear is close to what you will download, the 24/44.1kHz will of course sound more realistic. And in case it does not eClassical.com is unique in offering a satisfaction guarantee.
I have a preference for recordings made in concert halls however this one was made in the Studio of the Holland Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and it is very realistic. They are the finest performances I have ever owned of these marvelous works and I carefully recommend this only if you listen in 2 channel stereo.
* Review is of the 2 channel stereo high resolution DSD layer.
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