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Site review by Edvin October 31, 2006
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
English is not my native language. I struggle hard to find different nuances when I write here. In Cincinnati British music is not part of their native language, but they struggle also. If they had a better conductor the problems would be better solved, but alas.
I don´t get it. Why are Telarc recording this repertoire in Cincinnati? Why not make a journey across the Atlantic and thus recieve the real thing. No guarantees, but the odds are higher. Paavo Järvi doesn´t speak British music. He hasn´t got a clue. But he tries hard and is worth a Big Burger for his efforts.
I have no interest whatsoever to listen to British musicians perform American music that is essentially American by flavour. Copland, Gershwin, Harris are all part of the American heritage and way of expression. Minutae expression. Small points of rhythmic accents, syncopations at the right place. The Europeans never really got the hang of jazz, did they? Yes, some did, but that´s beside the point. The opposite is true also. I don´t want to hear British music played by American orchestras unless it is led by a real conductor, American or otherwise. Bernstein did a staggering Vaughan Williams fourth in NY. Paavo Järvi is not in that league.
The Purcell variations are plain uninspired. Dull, boring, low key. The Sea Interludes should never be performed without the Passacaglia. No Passacaglia here, no surprise. Some nice atmosphere, but the playing is so wrong. The grace notes in the first interlude are treated as longer notes. The Storm is really tame and the final desperate pages are so weak. I doubt that Järvi has ever attended a performance of the whole opera. No understanding at all.
The Elgar variations is a love affair. Of mine that is, Järvi I don´t know. A guess would be - no. Well, it is nicely played and the orchestra play as good as they can. But when the direction is so sloppy, what to expect. A plain theme and not much affection in the Caroline-variation. I would have thought that Elgar loved his wife, but apparently Järvi thinks not. The rising horns are too much in a hurry. Every variation is under-characterized, too literal and tame. In Nimrod he misses the whole excursion, a study in the noble art of the crescendo played as gods by the London Symphony with Eugen Jochum once (you don´t have to be British to succeed. Levine and the Berliners were very good). The whole sonority and balance is wrong.
In the finale Järvi is including the organ, but it all lacks the nobilmente feel that is essential to Elgar. You cannot kill this music and if you want it in surround don´t hesitate. All the notes are in the right places, but the soul is absent.
The sound is typical of Telarc. A wide dynamic range, quite a heavy bottom. In the Storm movement in the Britten Sea Interludes it starts as a timpani concerto. And what is even more quaint is that the three set timpani is spread out all over the stereo perspective. The high note, E-flat, is in your left speaker. The middle note, B-flat, is in the middle. The low note, F, is on your right. Not totally but if the reproduced sound is real the timpanist must have had several meters between the kettledrums. Or mikes in front!
I don´t like this sort of production. No one at Telarc cares about who is playing what and where he/she is placed. No one cares about how it is recorded as long as they keepwithin the given rules. To me Telarc is a not so serious company. My next listen will be the Wagner/Strauss sacd. My last hope.
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Copyright © 2006 Thomas Roth and SA-CD.net
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Site review by mwagner1962 September 27, 2006
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
Okay, I am now trying to decide if I want to buy any future Telarc SACDs with Paavo Jarvi and Cincinnati as I bought this SACD with HIGH hopes. I was hoping for a killer SACD recording of all three pieces and now all I have is a decent SACD recording of Elgar's Enigma Variations.
The Young Person's Guide OVERALL is just plain uninspiring. Sometimes dull, sometimes uninteresting, and there are times where the usually fine Cincinnati Symphony seems almost asleep....maybe the maestro was?? While some of the sectional highlights ARE good, the glorious fugue is anything BUT glorious. This performance is the first ever where I did not almost cry in joy during the ending. VERY SAD.
The Four Sea Interludes is another big disappointment. While there are a few nice moments, once again the performance is just plain uninspiring. I once had a friend who felt that only British orchestras can truly play Britten like it is supposed to be played. And after comparing this new Telarc to my old Chandos redbook CD of The Four Sea Interludes with Vernon Handley and The Ulster Orchestra (especially the "Storm" movement), I wonder if my friend was right??
Finally, the possible saving grace. While not truly outstanding, Paavo Jarvi sort of salvages the recording with a fairly competent reading of Elgar's Enigma Variations. At times the orchestra actually sounds like they are having fun. Strings are especially nice!!!
I am usually a huge fan of the sound on Telarc SACDs but most of the time the sound on this new recording is a big let down. Remember the old days when Telarc took a childish delight in showing us all how loud they can make the bass drums?? Well, get ready for a flashback....timpani are almost as bad in the Britten. To be fair, there are a few times the sound is very fine, especially in the sections that are not so bloody loud, but overall, I overall I feel that this is NOT one of Telarc's OR Cincinnati's best efforts.
Maybe recommended, but with SERIOUS reservations....
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Copyright © 2006 Mark Wagner and SA-CD.net
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