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Discussion: Berlioz: Harold en Italie, La mort de Cléopâtre - Tamestit, Cargill, Gergiev

Posts: 12
Page: 1 2 next

Post by Luukas February 3, 2015 (1 of 12)
Here it comes: second disc of Gergiev's critically acclaimed Berlioz cycle with London Symphony Orchestra!

Post by hiredfox March 4, 2015 (2 of 12)
This piece is really about the viola solo and Antoine Tamestit plays the role to absolute perfection. You would never have thought that this much maligned instrument was capable of such expressive meaning and emotion. The recording is a treasure for all classical music collectors. A long time getting to Italy but very well worth the wait.

Post by rammiepie March 4, 2015 (3 of 12)
hiredfox said:

This piece is really about the viola solo and Antoine Tamestit plays the role to absolute perfection. You would never have thought that this much maligned instrument was capable of such expressive meaning and emotion. The recording is a treasure for all classical music collectors. A long time getting to Italy but very well worth the wait.

Thanks for the recommendation, hiredfox.....just secured a copy.

Hope all is well.

Post by Chris from Lafayette May 7, 2015 (4 of 12)
hiredfox said:

This piece is really about the viola solo. . .

Uh. . . I'm not sure I'd agree with that. The earlier Slatkin/Lyon performance on BD-A was graced with a beautiful and imaginative viola solo contribution from babe violist Lisa Berthaud, but the performance as a whole just conveyed "that soggy feeling" because of Slatkin's laissez-faire leadership (as well as some engineering which couldn't keep the lower strings ideally clear - at least on my system). Indeed, Slatkin's "Orgy of the Brigands" sounds like "Tea Party of the Seniors", where the most passionate outburst seems to be "You kids get off my lawn!". But, I digress.

I eventually did get the Gergiev SACD last week, and what a difference! And the difference doesn't consist in the timings:

Slatkin/Lyon: 15:14 - 8:13 - 6:02 - 12:46
Gergiev/LSO: 15:07 - 7:59 - 6:26 - 12:56

No, it's the little things - such as the attack and expertise of the playing (Lyon is not quite at the LSO level yet), the timing and scale of the accents (just that much more resolved and committed with Gergiev), and the shape and clarity of the phrases - which convince us (or, convinced me anyway!). Not to mention, the engineering in the much maligned Barbican is much clearer and better balanced than what Naxos achieved in Lyon. The viola playing of Antoine Tamestit is on a par with Lisa's, which means it's very good indeed.

So the Gergiev is an excellent account of the work, but it's still not my favorite recorded performance - that would be Plasson/Toulouse (EMI) on a plain old CD, which contains a degree of energy (and even craziness!) that this work needs. Sure, there were bigger-name conductors, e.g., Munch, who favored a similar kind of approach to Berlioz, but Munch's performance of Harold, even though available on SACD and even though it's a reflexive recommendation of some reviewers (especially in the US), is let down by the contribution of William Primrose, whose playing by the time he made this recording had deteriorated noticeably and just cannot compete (even in terms of basics, such as intonation) with that of modern violists.

Post by sunnydaler May 7, 2015 (5 of 12)
I recommend Colin Davis(LSOLive). Tabea Zimmermann plays viola just as nimble and pliable as violin. You won't find better viola playing in this work. Conducting is just as good.

Post by toddao May 9, 2015 (6 of 12)
Well I came to love this work with the Munch/Primrose recording so I suspect I would think that Primrose's apparent shortcomings are how it should be! Will give this new one a try but the recording will have to be pretty good to come any where near this RCA Living Stereo.

It's one if not the best I've heard with a terrific dynamic range and three dimensional image.

Incidentally, Munch takes the orgy at 12.30. His brigands were on viagra!!.

Post by Chris from Lafayette May 10, 2015 (7 of 12)
toddao said:

. . .

Incidentally, Munch takes the orgy at 12.30. His brigands were on viagra!!.

Hi, John - Plasson takes 11:52. There might be faster performances, but, as I tried to suggest with my comments about the Slatkin and Gergiev recordings, performances can have very similar timings and yet produce noticeably dissimilar results. With his Orgy being so speedy, I can also imagine that some folks might think that Plasson. . . uh. . . climaxes too soon? ;-)

Re the SQ on the Munch recording, yes, I did find it excellent. And I like Munch's general approach, but I just feel he's let down by Primrose. (One of the commenters on Amazon says, "Primrose was in decline at the time, and the solo part runs into rough patches of bad intonation, besides feeling low in energy generally". Of course, Primrose was by all accounts a great violist and apparently made some much better recordings of the work earlier in his career - not in stereo unfortunately.)

Even if you're disappointed by Gergiev's less hysterical approach (and I think hysteria sometimes does have its place in Berlioz' music!), it's nice to have the additional channels on the newer recordings. Incidentally, I notice that the new Chandos recording with Ehnes and (Andrew) Davis takes 12:33 - I haven't heard it though.

Post by toddao May 10, 2015 (8 of 12)
Thanks Chris for your comments.
Will wait for some reviews on the new Chandos before jumping to purchase.

Post by krisjan May 10, 2015 (9 of 12)

Post by hiredfox May 10, 2015 (10 of 12)
Probably not the place to discuss the new Chandos recording but as the question ha been raised.

Andrew Davis is in ebullient mood throughout his new disc and secures a rather rumbustious performance from the Melbourne Orchestra far too much of the style of "Last Night at the Proms" for my tastes. (Cue: Wait for applause and flag waving).

Harold's reflective and contemplative journey is transformed into an outing on the Alta Velocità with the prize of being back at his hotel in time for tea. Harold's reticence to make his voice heard above the general swoosh of excitement suggests that he too did not rate this a journey to be remembered.

An excellent recording nevertheless and a fitting tribute to Ralph Couzens. Chandos will be the poorer without him.

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