Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) The Wasps – Aristophanic
Suite [25:18]; Fantasia on Greensleeves [4:34]
Sir Edward ELGAR (1857-1934) Variations on an Original Theme,
Enigma, Op. 36 [31:16]
Kansas City Symphony Orchestra/Michael Stern
rec. 4-6 May, 2011, Community of Christ Auditorium, Independence, Missouri.
HDCD
REFERENCE RECORDINGS RR-129 [61:06]
This is my first encounter with the Kansas City Symphony. It was founded in
1982 in succession to the Kansas City Philharmonic which had just folded after
nearly fifty years’ existence. Since 2005 the orchestra has been led by their
present music director, Michael Stern. He is the son of the famed violinist,
Isaac Stern, and on the evidence of his CV and of this disc Michael Stern
is a pretty good conductor. I was very impressed by looking at the orchestra’s
website from which it is clear that
under Stern’s leadership they have been presenting very enticing seasons for
several years now. The programmes contain an exciting blend of standard repertoire
alongside many twentieth-century works and a commendable amount of contemporary
music. These seem to be exciting days for the music lovers of Kansas City.
The orchestra’s home is now the impressive-looking Helzberg
Hall in the Kaufmann Center for the Performing Arts. However, that hall
was opened as recently as September 2011 and so I presume it wasn’t ready
in time for these recordings which were made in the Community of Christ Auditorium
in Independence, Missouri, the city where President Harry S. Truman grew up
and to which he retired. I don’t know if this auditorium is used for concerts
but it boasts a substantial
Aeolian-Skinner organ, which must have made it an ideal location for recording
the Enigma Variations.
Before going any further I ought to address something on which I normally
comment towards the end of reviews: the recorded sound. This is billed as
a ‘Prof. Johnson 24-bit HDCD recording’. I’m not quite sure exactly what that
entails but engineer Keith O. Johnson has presented these performances in
exceptionally fine sound. In a word, the sound is superb. It has depth, body,
clarity and real presence and you will hear an abundance of detail without
the slightest suggestion of artificial ‘spotlighting’. At the very end of
Enigma the orchestral sound is positively enriched by the organ and
in the last few bars the organ sound is more telling than I can ever remember
in this work; I thought it was thrilling. So, if you buy this disc you’re
in for a very fine sonic experience; but what about the music-making?
In all honesty, the performances and recorded sound complement each other
very well. I have no idea in what shape the Kansas City Symphony was when
Michael Stern inherited it but this disc suggests that he has honed it into
a fine and responsive orchestra and he conducts it expertly. In The Wasps
the overture has real zest in the fast music, the playing clean and crisp.
When the big, generous tune arrives (3:00) it’s warmly sung by the orchestra
but Stern’s flowing tempo keeps the music nicely on the move. There’s pleasing
delicacy in the first of the two Entr’actes, well described in Richard E.
Rodda’s notes as a “gossamer march”. In the ‘March Past of the Kitchen Utensils’
the march itself is perky while the folksy middle section sparkles. In the
concluding ‘Ballet and Final Tableau’ there’s some excellent solo woodwind
work to admire and later on the allegro gets a vivacious run-through.
All in all this is a winning performance, which I enjoyed very much. I also
liked the performance of Greensleeves, which shows the Kansas City
strings off to good advantage.
The performance of Enigma is a good one too though I do have one
reservation. I’m afraid I find Nimrod far too slow and solemn. I
suspect Michael Stern has fallen into the trap of viewing this piece as a
memorial tribute because that’s how it’s so often used. However, Augustus
Jaeger, immortalised in this musical tribute, was very much alive when Elgar
wrote this work; indeed, he still had another ten years to live. Stern takes
4:22 over this section of the work and though it’s nobly and sonorously played
it’s far too slow for my taste. Just for comparison, two admired though very
different Elgar conductors register almost identical timings: Vernon Handley
takes 3:34 (review)
and Sir John Barbirolli takes 3:35 (review).
Incidentally, Elgar himself was even swifter in his early (1926) electrical
recording, bringing the movement home in just 2:52 (review).
That misjudgement aside, however, there’s much to admire in Stern’s sure-footed
reading. Variation II (H.D.S-P.) is nimbly done while Variation V
(R.P.A.) contains some good sonority from both the strings and the
brass as well as some dexterous work by the woodwinds. Variation VII (Troyte)
is boisterous and ebullient and in view of my comments above about the sound
quality you may not be surprised to learn that the timpani register superbly.
Variation IX (G.R.S.) is suitably explosive and I enjoyed very much
the rich timbre of the lower strings in Variation XII (B.G.N.). The
finale (E.D.U.) comes off extremely well. Stern judges the music
very well and it’s a colourful and exciting performance of this movement.
Indeed, overall I enjoyed this extremely well played and sympathetic account
of Enigma very much and I’m sure I shall return to it with pleasure
in the future.
The well-produced booklet includes useful notes by Richard E. Rodda and the
essay on the Elgar is accompanied by a set of original miniature line drawings,
one for each variation, by Joel Fontaine, which is a nice touch. I was surprised,
however, that there’s no track-listing for the variations; that would have
been helpful.
This is a most enjoyable disc. I don’t think anyone buying it will be disappointed
by the performances and they certainly won’t be disappointed by the engineering.
These recordings evidence a fine partnership between Michael Stern and his
orchestra. I said at the start that this is my first encounter with the Kansas
City Symphony – as, indeed, it was with Michael Stern; I hope it won’t be
the last. I see that later this year they plan to release a disc of Hindemith’s
Symphonic Metamorphoses, Prokofiev’s Love of Three Oranges
Suite and Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite. If they’re on similar
form for those performances and the engineering is as good as it is here then
that will be a disc well worth looking out for.
John Quinn
A most enjoyable disc. Fine performances and superb sound.
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from: |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |