When this disc was
first issued I didn’t acquire it, though
I seem to recall it was well received
by the critics. This was because I already
possessed the very different, but equally
excellent, recordings of the complete
ballet by Lorin Maazel and André
Previn. Sufficient unto the day, I thought.
However, in reality I can never have
too much of this marvellous score, which
I consider to be one of the very greatest
of all ballets, so I jumped at the opportunity
to review the disc on its reissue. Now
I see what I’ve been missing.
From the very outset
it’s clear this recording is rather
special. At the beginning of ‘Montagues
and Capulets’ there’s a louring menace
in the tiered brass chords. But immediately
afterwards, the velvety, hushed strings
have a superfine quality. All this presages
superb orchestral playing throughout
the disc. The movement continues with
what in the full score is the ‘Knight’s
Dance.’ This lumbering music is well
done and the recording of the bass drum
is especially telling. Later on the
flute and string variant is supremely
delicate.
There’s more magnificent
playing in ‘Juliet the Young Girl’,
where the music skips along, combining
youthful enthusiasm and grace. Later,
the longings and awakenings of an adolescent
girl are gently and sensitively done.
All in all this is a marvellous portrait.
‘Madrigal’ is another
treat. The playing is gorgeously atmospheric
and the DG engineers have used the bloom
of the hall’s acoustic to perfection.
I greatly admired the delicacy of the
playing here; this is a world-class
orchestra on top form and very responsive
to the conductor.
At the start of the
balcony scene (track 8), the hushed
orchestral sounds at the start evoke
almost tangibly the warm scented evening
air of a Mediterranean garden. When
the big, romantic melody comes in it’s
sung gloriously by the RCO strings and
the subsequent brass contributions are
golden in tone. Every detail in this
movement is perfect from first bar to
last.
However, reality then
sets in with a vengeance in ‘The Death
of Tybalt’. Here, I think Chung is perhaps
marginally less
successful. The fight is thrilling,
if it doesn’t quite match the visceral
cut and thrust of Ančerl (can anyone?)
but I didn’t feel he quite equals the
colossal power that the great Czech
conductor brings to the funeral cortčge.
review.
However, it’s still a tremendously good
account of this exciting movement and
the superb recording reports many strands
of the texture. Not only is the sound
better than on the very good Ančerl
disc, as one might expect given the
age gap between the recordings, but
also I think the quality of the RCO
playing surpasses even the superlative
Czech Philharmonic.
There’s an outstandingly
warm bassoon solo in ‘Friar Laurence.’
In fact this whole movement is excellent,
presenting an affectionate portrait
of the cleric but giving him the appropriate
air of gentle gravitas too. Chung brings
infinite tenderness and gentleness to
‘Romeo and Juliet before Parting’ but
then as the music grows more ardent
he responds to that too. As the emotional
temperature rises he doesn’t overplay
his hand, rather he allows the music
to unfold so that when the true climax
arrives at 5:09 the moment is all the
more moving for the previous restraint
shown. From 6:34 onwards the gentle
moonlit parting is played with great
delicacy and refinement, producing an
effect that’s quite magical.
And then comes the
tragic dénouement and
Chung and his players rise to the occasion.
The portrayal of ‘Romeo at Juliet’s
Tomb’ begins, as it should, with tremendous
intensity and just grows from there,
though excess is avoided, thank goodness.
The moment of Romeo’s passing is superbly
conveyed, thanks in no small measure
to the mellow acoustic of the Concertgebouw
and the skill of the engineers. The
‘Death of Juliet’ movement is just so
sad! Here, as elsewhere, the perfectly
judged balance of the orchestra works
to wonderful effect. For instance, around
1:22 the little clarinet phrases that
counterbalance the violins are beautifully
integrated.
This CD contains some
of the finest orchestral playing it’s
ever been my pleasure to hear. Chung
has the measure of the score and communicates
it expertly. I don’t think he quite
equals Ančerl
at moments of sheer excitement and emotional
intensity but elsewhere he’s exceptionally
sensitive and subtle.
The disc contains all
of the first two suites, with Suite
No. 1 heard in order on tracks three
to nine. Only one number from the third
suite is given, but that’s in its correct
place in the drama. I wish Chung had
given us more – if not all – of the
Third suite but perhaps the selection
was determined by the slightly less
generous CD playing times that were
the norm in the early 1990s. Above all
I regret that DG didn’t get him to record
the whole ballet. On this showing, such
a recording would have been quite something.
On balance I retain
- just - my longstanding loyalty to
Ančerl’s
outstanding recording but this DG disc
offers a more generous selection of
music from the ballet and even if you
already have other recordings of Prokofiev’s
masterpiece in your collection I’d urge
you to buy this disc. If you haven’t
got a recording of Romeo and
Juliet and don’t want the full ballet
then I can’t think of a better way of
encountering this great score. Superlative
playing, sympathetic conducting, fine
engineering, marvellous music and
a bargain price; what more can one ask?
John Quinn
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Myung-Whun Chung
