RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Chout (The Buffoon) Ballet Suite, Op. 21a (1922-1923)
London Symphony Orchestra/Walter Susskind
rec. August 1958, Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, UK
Reviewed as a 24/96 flac download from HDtracks
Pdf booklet included
EVEREST RECORDS SDBR 3001 [34:13]
As Diaghilev ballets go Chout must be the most brazen and brutal;
based on a Russian folk tale by Alexander Afanasyev it tells the story
of a buffoon who murders his wife in the belief she can be returned to
life with a magic whip. He persuades seven other idiots to do the same,
and when the resurrections fail he’s forced to flee disguised as
a woman. He then catches the eye of a merchant, who wants him for a wife.
It’s all very bizarre, but Prokofiev’s raunchy, off-the-wall
score does it full justice. The complete ballet was premiered in Paris
in 1921 and the suite was written shortly thereafter.
Anyone interested in the complete score should investigate Gennady Rozhdestvensky
on Melodiya or Michail Jurowski on CPO; as for the suite Neeme Järvi
and the RSNO’s version, recorded as part of their Prokofiev cycle
for Chandos, has tremendous strength and sting. That’s the Järvi
I like, not today’s maestro, many of whose recordings are either
too bland, too fast or a combination of the two. Listening to his Chout
suite in preparation for this review I was struck once more by his and
the Scottish band’s taut and visceral account of this score; surely
it would be hard to equal, let alone surpass?
As if in response to my question along comes the classic Everest version
from Walter Susskind and the London Symphony Orchestra. Older listeners
will remember the US-based label’s small but much-respected catalogue.
Uniquely, some of their later recordings were made on 35mm magnetic film,
although most - including this one - were made on half-inch tape. The
company folded in 1960 and their discs have been in and out of the catalogue
ever since. Countdown Media, based in Germany, have re-mastered the original
tapes and offer the revitalised results as on-demand CD-Rs, high-res downloads
and as 256kbps aacs (Mastered for iTunes).
The Czech-born British conductor Walter Susskind made his name in the
1940s and 1950s. He was one of those approached by Everest, who came to
London in 1958 to make a clutch of classic discs; among these was Sir
Malcolm Arnold conducting his Third Symphony and Four Scottish
Dances (review) and the premiere recording of Vaughan Williams’
Ninth Symphony under Sir Adrian Boult. The focus was firmly on
superior sonics, something that hasn't always come through in the catalogue's
various incarnations over the years.
What of Susskind’s Chout suite? From the giddy glitter
of the first track – The Buffoon and his Wife - it’s
clear we’re in the presence of something quite extraordinary. The
sense of theatre – of a narrative that crackles and combusts like
unstable ordnance - is especially welcome; Järvi is apt to sound
a tad episodic at times. The biggest surprise, although it shouldn’t
be, is the bang-up-to-date sound of this 56-year-old recording; dynamics
are wide, balances are entirely natural and the you-are-there feel of
the whole enterprise is most impressive.
As if that weren’t enough the LSO really bring out the lurch and
leer of Prokofiev’s writing, from the brittle charm of The Dance
of the Wives to the lopsided Expressionist nightmare of the fugue
in which said spouses meet their grisly end. Susskind calibrates these
changing moods to perfection, so that The Buffoon Disguised as a Young
Woman is imbued with a curious but affecting elegance that Järvi
can’t quite manage. Ditto the manic gyrations of The Dance of
the Buffoons’ Daughters, which has a leading edge and inner
clarity that never spills over into aggression or fatigue; percussive
transients – spit rather than grit - are superbly caught as well.
The Entry of the Merchant - Dance of Greeting - Choosing of the Bride
sums up everything that’s so memorable about this recording;
it’s big, bold, colourful, propulsive and very well balanced. So
many telling touches that barely register in the Chandos recording are
easily heard here; this adds immensely to the variety and richness of
what can otherwise be a somewhat relentless score. The astringent LSO
brass and pounding bass –- the latter powerful but proportionate
- are a joy to hear. The exemplary breadth and depth of the soundstage
is best demonstrated in the eventful, ear-pricking interjections heard
In the Merchant’s Bedroom and the rumbustious rat-a-tat
of The Buffoon and the Merchant Quarrel.
The original Everest team clearly got it right, but that would count for
nothing if the subsequent digitization and re-mastering weren’t
so sympathetically – so musically - done. One only has
to sample a handful of re-masters– many of which show signs of crude
intervention - to know that good results are seldom guaranteed. In the
dervish-like Final Dance the music’s punishing dynamic
swings are managed with aplomb; indeed, one can only wonder at what this
team would have done with the equally demanding and spectacular Alexander
Nevsky. Chandos certainly achieved demonstration-quality results
with Järvi’s recording of the latter, but their Chout
suite is no match for Everest's.
In a nice retro touch these Everest releases are presented with their
original artwork and booklet essays; indeed, the whole package speaks
of high production values. At $17.98 the 24/96 flacs may seem a tad expensive
for a mere 34 minutes of music, but then the CD-Rs - only available from
Amazon US at the time of writing - are priced at just $9. To put it bluntly,
this is an indispensable release at any price.
The Countdown/Everest team beats all rivals to the summit with this remarkable
reissue; a knock-out performance, too.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
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