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Site review by Castor April 10, 2011
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Valery Gergiev's first recording of French music on the LSO Live label Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Boléro, Pavane - Gergiev was characterised by an unexpected affinity for this music and a warmth of expression not usually associated with this conductor. This follow-up issue confirms Gergiev's credentials as a Francophile conductor (as do his recent meticulous performances of the music of Henri Dutilleux at the Barbican).
This collection of three of Debussy's most popular orchestral works (taken from three separate concerts that took place between September 2009 and May 2010) opens with an absolutely ravishing and sensuous account of 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'. The playing of the LSO is of the utmost refinement capped by the lovely performance of the long flute solo by principal flute Gareth Davies.
In contrast 'La Mer' is given an expansive performance of massive power and dynamic range. Some may question the way Gergiev broadens the tempo of 'De l'aube à midi sur la mer' (from 7' 50”) to a marked degree, but it here it sounds both natural and quite magical in providing a moment of stillness before the tumult of the final section's shattering climax.
The flecks of percussion and harp in 'Jeux de Vagues' emerge with remarkable clarity in a recording that allows every detail of Debussy's orchestration to be savoured, while the concluding movement 'Dialogue du vent et de la mer' has rarely been unleashed with such elemental force. A combination of tempo flexibility and firm control of dynamics makes Gergiev's exhilarating performance on this disc something rather special.
Debussy's most enigmatic, and many would argue finest orchestral work 'Jeux - poème dansé' was written in 1912 for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes and first staged in 1913. Though ostensibly about two girls and a boy searching for a lost tennis ball in a garden at dusk, the scenario has both sinister and erotic aspects that a good performance will illuminate. Nowadays Jeux is usually heard in the concert hall and on recordings, rather than in the theatre, where the subtlety and invention of Debussy's marvellous score can be fully appreciated. Gergiev allows the full virtuosity of his ever responsive orchestra to come into play with playing of absolute precision. Some impressionistic half-lights may be lacking, but this is more than made up for by the flexible yet precise orchestral playing and Gergiev's scrupulous attention to Debussy's extensive tempo indications.
When played at a realistic volume setting, the 5.0 DSD multi-channel recording emerges as one of the best that I have heard from LSO Live. Though close and brightly lit it does present a most convincing sound picture and a clarity rarely experienced in the concert hall.
Recommended.
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Copyright © 2011 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
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