John ADAMS (b.1947)
The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for orchestra) [13:21]
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Symphony No.6 in B minor Pathetique [52:35]
The World Orchestra by East-West Music/Josep Vicent
rec. 2010-11
COLUMNA MUSICA 1CM 0285 [65:56]
The World Orchestra is a youth orchestra comprising 77 musicians. Around half
of the orchestra’s players are drawn from Spain and Portugal. The balance
comes from Eastern Europe plus a sprinkling from other European countries,
South America, South Africa and the USA. Originally inspired by the vision
of the late Sir Robert Mayer, the orchestra renewed itself in 2008 under the
management of East-West Music in conjunction with Youth and Music, Spain.
I can’t really add much more to this because the lavish sleeve booklet
is, I’m afraid, an example of classic Pidjin Inglish in places. According
to the documentation the orchestra “presents its music on a different
level, using it as a means to communicate ideas and as a platform to promote
the solidarity of its young musicians”. Well, I have no idea what any
of this means so I will just share my views on the musicianship, interpretation
and sound quality and leave it at that.
Although it’s not made very clear in the booklet, I think that the two
works included on the disc are taken from live concerts which could explain
to some extend the very strange coupling. The Chairman Danceshas
a genuine, hypnotic holdon the listener. It has the repetitive traits
shared by the minimalist school as a whole but the music also contains enough
contrast to engage the ear for its span of just over 13 minutes. If you like
the same composer’s Short Ride on a Fast Machine (as I do) then
you will also warm to this. The orchestration is masterly and the performance
is extremely good with lots of energy and enthusiasm. The recording is bright
and dynamic, which suits the music to perfection.
There are numerous high quality accounts of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique
on the market to choose from and it saddens me to be so dismissive about this
recording by such a talented young orchestra but I have to admit that I found
it very difficult to listen to. The playing standard is admirable rather than
outstanding. There are lapses in intonation here and there, for example at
the end of the descending woodwind passage just before the cataclysmic central
section of the first movement. There is also the occasional habit, mainly
from the strings, of rushing ahead slightly as the players get excited. However,
none of this is too destructive and it isn’t the fundamental problem.
For me the problems are twofold. The first of these is the recorded sound
which becomes uncomfortable and congested in loud passages. There is also
the presence of a strange, artificial sounding ambience which makes the string
quality come over as thin and scrawny. The brass section can also become overbearing
and raucous in loud passages. I have no idea whether this is what the orchestra
actually sounds like but I doubt it very much. It’s either the microphone
placement or the hall acoustics that are the problem but the bottom line is
that it’s not particularly pleasant to listen to and it soon becomes
tiring on the ear. The second issue relates to the first movement. Here are
the timings from other versions I took from my shelves at random: Horenstein
19:03; Munch 18:11; Barbirolli 18:10; Markevitch 18:37; Litton 18:52. My favourite
recorded version is by Markevitch and quite clearly the going rate for the
first movement would appear to be a little over the 18 minute mark. The World
Orchestra under Vicent clocks in at a staggering 21:32 and it simply doesn’t
work. The great string tune is pulled around and delivered at such a slow
tempo that it loses its shape and becomes a bore. This level of self-indulgence
would be just about acceptable in the concert hall but it doesn’t bear
repeated listening in the home. I’ve played it through a few times to
make sure I’m not missing something here but my first impressions were
correct. It drags. For the sake of completeness the second and third movements
don’t suffer from misguided tempi and both come off very well. The finale
is delivered with passion and understanding especially from the strings but
it’s all too little too late.
This is a CD for members of the orchestra and maybe for those with an interest
in the development of youth music. For everyone else it’s best to look
elsewhere.
John Whitmore
For members of the orchestra and maybe for those with an interest in the development
of youth music.