|
Site review by Polly Nomial September 16, 2006
|
Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Unlike Edvin, I love the Mussorgsky piece in the original incarnation and actually prefer it to the Rimsky-Korsakov revision. However, I find the interpretation to be very odd indeed - the dynamics have been flattened out in places and has nothing of the flair that Abbado bought to the piece with either the LSO or the BPO (both RBCD and there is also a very good DVD account with the BPO). Despite the nippy tempo adopted there are moments where the orchestra is not quite comfortable and this is relaxed a bit (to everybody's benefit).
The Bartok fares better for me but the same problems of a lack of dynamic contrast occur as in the Mussorgsky, which (irrespective of the merits of excising parts of Bartok's creation) robs the work of a lot of drama and vitality. It is the opposite effect that recording live seems to have on the LSO these days - boring in spite of the music! It is a shame that DGG did not see fit to include separate tracks for each of the sections identified in the booklet.
The Stravinsky has many felicitous moments (if that is not too inappropriate for such a potentially savage work) and the LAP acquit themselves very well even if Salonen cannot prevent them from sounding too polite. There are far too few moments where the pulse is set racing by such incredible music; again the playing & conducting are restrained as if they fear excitement - I have heard far more thrilling studio accounts than this. Very disappointing really - there are odd moments where the piece threatens to come to life, like the Glorification de L'Elue being truly up to the tempo marked, before Salonen reins the orchestra back to mediocrity.
The real problem for me is the recording & the acoustic. The acoustic handicaps the recording as it manages to make the Philharmonie sound like the model of concert hall's, such is the cavernous sound that masks and exaggerates a lot of the lower material. The recording is an even bigger villain however - if you venture out to most western city centres, there will be at least one car that has a sub-woofer (or more) that each cost more than the car is worth & it is used to pump out deep bass as loudly as possible; that is what the DGG team have provided here - a boom box disc when the bass drum is playing! I do wonder if the mastering level for the .1 channel was incorrectly set when the disc went to press. It is so overly done that this disc is an experience that I will only repeat to show the difference between the poor recording on show here and what a piece like the Rite can sound like on Rhythm Is It! - Soundtrack both from a performance perspective but also a recording one too.
As a side note, as this recording is designed to showcase the new Disney Hall in LA it is very strange that we have a huge number of Salonen (perhaps outside the hall - we are not told) but none of the actual interior of the hall!
Not recommended.
|
Copyright © 2006 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
|
|
|
|
Review by Ivymike February 14, 2007 (8 of 12 found this review helpful)
|
Performance: Sonics (MC): |
I'm quite disappointed with this release. I'm a big fan of all three featured works, particularly the Bartok and Stravinsky; I own a half-dozen recordings of the full-length "Mandarin" and about forty versions of "Rite." This disc falls very near or at the bottom of both preferred lists.
Other posted reviews have described both as sounding too smoothed-over, too rehearsed. I fully concur. "Emasculated" might be too harsh a term to use but it frankly comes close. There is little sense of sheer menace, of danger, which both works so desperately require.
I've heard more involving sound from analogue sources pushing five decades old. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what it is I don't like about the sound, but for all its smoothness it sounds...fake, to glossy, to engineered. There is plenty of ambience, but little air. How did the engineers manage this? I don't know, unless a heavy hand was used with recording gee-whiz stuff. It's rather confounding. The bass drum is way over the top in a most unnatural way; I appreciate deep, powerful bass but this is just too much.
The most interesting thing on this disc is "Night." Different, unusual. I don't prefer it to the Ravel orchestration, but I'm glad to have experienced it.
I regret having made this purchase. I would recommend sticking with better performances of the Bartok and Stravinsky. For the former, try Abaddo on DG or Boulez on Sony; for the latter, Markevitch on Testament or Simon Rattle on EMI or Bernstein's 1958 version on Sony.
|
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
Review by JohnFerrier October 20, 2006 (5 of 11 found this review helpful)
|
Performance: Sonics (S): |
| I have heard few recordings that bring the joy of home audio as much as this premiere recording from the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The low frequency extension is superb, the hall has wonderful spaciousness, and the instruments are well voiced. IMHO, this may be a landmark recording. Thanks to the WDCH, LA Phil, maestro Salonen, and DG team.
|
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
| |
