Classical Editor: Rob Barnett


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Reviews from other months
Nicolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade, Mikhail GLINKA Overture Russlan and Ludmilla, Modest MUSSORGSKY/RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Night on Bald Mountain, Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Galop, "Moscow Cheremushki" The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Petr Altrichter-conductor, Malcolm Stewart-solo violin. RLPO Records RLCD101

 


Crotchet




Perhaps prompted by the success of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's own recordings on the Tring label, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has inaugurated a new series of compact disc releases featuring live performances made in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall with conductors closely associated with this orchestra. The orchestra's music director, Petr Altrichter, conducts this first disc of popular Russian music and if it is any indication of what is to come, then this series should prove to be very rewarding.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has an impressive recording history. Sir Malcolm Sargent made his great recording of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius with the orchestra in the 1940s. Sir Charles Groves made a fine series of Delius recordings in the 1970s for EMI and more recently Vernon Handley used this orchestra for his superb Vaughan Williams cycle on EMI Eminence. Libor Pesek made many beautifully idiomatic recordings of Czech music for the Virgin Label. Recently the orchestra has been rather quiet on disc. Pesek is no longer with the orchestra and Handley isn't recording as much these days. The emergence of RLPO Live is therefore a very welcome development so admirers of this great orchestra can continue to enjoy their music making.

The highlight of this first disc is the leisurely paced and wonderfully detailed Scheherazade. My benchmark references for this work are Fritz Reiner on RCA, Sir Thomas Beecham on EMI and Bernard Haitink on Philips. Each of these recordings is a good deal more dramatic than the Altrichter who seems more involved with clarifying textures and exposing rarely heard orchestral details. I welcome a new recording of this show piece that emphasizes the lyrical beauty of the writing rather than the orchestral fireworks. This impresses me as an almost obsessively articulated reading that forwardly balances the woodwinds and keeps the brass under very tight rein. Whereas the Reiner overwhelms with its massive wall of strings, the RLPO recording is much more lifelike and distant making the strings sound a bit underpowered in comparison. The strings are very refined however, and their leader, Malcolm Sterwart, plays his solos with sensuous intensity. Considering this is a live recording, there are very few blemishes present. I wonder if some patching hasn't been done.

As an encore we get the raucous galop, Moscow Cheremushki by Dimitri Shostakovich. Here Altrichter really allows his orchestra to rip and the result is extremely exciting. I wish some of that same energy had found its way into the two performances that open the disc. Glinka's Overture Russlan and Ludmilla and the Mussorgsky/Rimsky-Korsakov Night on Bald Mountain are also characterized by an almost fastidious attention to detail but I feel these performances are just too Earth bound. Glinka's overture needs to sparkle. Here I admired the very precise playing of the orchestra but I kept wishing for some of Fritz Reiner's virtuosic brilliance. I also prefer the more flexible account of Leonard Bernstein's Night on Bald Mountain with the New York Philharmonic on a very vivid if a little dry Sony recording.

I am looking forward to more releases from RLPO Live. Altrichter is a very individual and thoughtful conductor and I hope to hear more from him. I would like for some of Vernon Handley's performances to be made available as well.

Reviewer

Richard Adams

Reviewer

Richard Adams

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