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Review by akiralx January 6, 2005 (7 of 8 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Very much a disc of two halves - the Rite of Spring is well played but sounds really too comfortable compared to other fine versions by Markevitch, Boulez, Karajan, Muti and Inbal - among others. The sound too lacks impact with a low transfer level. This work really needs more aggression to come into its own than we get here.
However the Nielsen Fifth (probably his best symphony) is much better, more abandoned and visceral, and the sound is more vivid with greater presence - and it seems to be 'cut' at a higher level than the Stravinsky. This is comparable with Blomstedt on Decca and is a solid recommendation.
Both recordings (made a month apart in early 2004) make discreet use of the rear channels although the Stravinsky seems more loaded towards the fronts, so the Nielsen is the finer recording sonically as well as interpretatively - it rates below the very best SACDs I have from a sound reproduction viewpoint, but is still good.
So forget the Rite, there are just too many better performances around, but the Nielsen is worth investigating, a pity it comes yoked to the Stravinsky.
The ratings I give reflect the imbalance here: the Nielsen is much the better of the two, and probably rates at least 4 stars for performance, and similar for sound.
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Review by madisonears September 26, 2007 (7 of 9 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
I have to agree that the Rite lacks some of the primal intensity that other conductors have brought forth in the past, but the orchestra plays flawlessly. If one can speak of this piece having a more lyrical aspect, then Jarvi finds it, as he usually seems to do. Within the frame of Jarvi's interpretation, this is a perfectly executed performance. It is still very exciting, not at all "lame" or "virginal". The recording helps to bring out the most beautiful sonorities of the orchestra's excellent playing. This disc features truly gorgeous sonics, not at all lacking impact. If you prefer the orchestra in your lap so you must bob and weave to avoid being struck by violinists' bows, then, no, you won't be happy. If you relish the sound of an orchestra in a hall with real acoustic space (even in stereo) and three dimensionality, you will love the sound of this recording. Every detail of the score is audible, each instrument is delineated with perfect tonality and lots of space around it, yet with very much of a wholeness to the orchestral image, and there is plenty of impact when played back at the appropriate level. I think that people really aren't ready for the full dynamic range that is now available on SACD. Many are accustomed to more compressed sound, even on digital recordings, and when they finally have a really dynamic recording in front of them, either they or their system doesn't quite know what to make of it. This recording, played back at realistic levels, will pulsate the walls of your house but never sound congested or noisy in any way.
The Nielsen is also very exciting, although it's a new piece to me and I haven't quite assimilated it completely. Sure sounds good.
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Review by jdaniel@jps.net September 29, 2004 (5 of 7 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
A very impressive Rite. Immediately impressive is Jarvi’s ear for sonority and rhythmic elan; not to mention his orchestra’s incredible virtuosity. The Cincinnati bassoonist opens the piece with a refreshingly contoured solo in the introduction. The woodwind-dominated dialog that follows is unusually expressive. Beware when the “Harbingers of Spring” starts: those famous chugging strings aren’t as loud as you might be used to, they’re heard as one would hear them in the concert-hall; if you’re addicted to unnaturally loud, close-miked strings, ala Muti/Philadelphia/EMI, you’re going to be disappointed. Don’t be. In the “Game of Abduction,” the orchestral execution—horns and woodwinds especially—is such that the section has an incredible sense of urgency. “Spring Rounds” opens with sufficient groan, and when the section is repeated with a splendidly present bass drum and gong, a revelation: one can hear the off-beat dialog, (trombones, bassoons), quite clearly; I’ve never known it was there. The bass drum crescendo that introduces the “Dance of the Earth”…wow. Startling. The finale of part one is thrilling. In surround it’s so nice to hear such grand noise with such spaciousness. A friend remarked that the proceedings were much less nerve-wracking in surround.
The introduction to Part II is where one will hear Stravinsky's orchestral sonorities afresh. The full orchestral outbursts that slither down the scale are particularly impressive. What I found most memorable about the final set of dances was that they actually felt ‘dance-like,’ rather than ‘leviathan-like.' The “Sacrificial Dance” is especially lithe, (if you can call it that); as Jarvi and his orchestra really have a grip of the overall line, rather than simply ‘nailing’ each new-metered measure. The final upward swish of woodwind, signaling the adolescent’s death, is vivid in its expiration.
With the Rite, (and Nielsen’s Symphony #5, of course), audiophiles are going to be found drooling in ecstasy on the floors of their listening rooms, especially those who are fetishistic about suspended cymbal decays and little bells from the percussion section. Wait until you hear the Tempo giusto mov’t of the Nielsen 5th! I thought the earlier Telarc/Jarvi/Stravinsky recording of “Petrouchka’ and the Firebird Suite was excellent. This one is even better.
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