5つ星のうち5.0Unconventional but very moving Debussy from the aging Bernstein
2010年12月12日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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I hadn't run across this Debussy program from Bernstein, a rarity in that it was recorded with an orchestra, the Santa Cecilia of Rome, that he was never identified with. In his latter years Bernstein seemed to prefer being a fly-in, fly-out conductor, and without exception it was an event wherever he appeared. The only previous Debussy that I've encountered from him was during his tenure with the NY Phil. on Sony. LB's Debussy (all of it early, from 1960-61) is extroverted, colorful, and loose arounnd the edges. It's much more celebratory than Boulez's, and modern listeners might find those performances a bit thick-textured and brash. They are never praised very much, despite their verve and musicality.
So here is a remake of La Mer and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, with a new addition to LB's repertoire, Images, added for extra enticement. DG's recorded sound is splendid, despite an uncomfortable gap between very loud and very soft passages that no volume level quite accommodates; the orchestra plays with transparency and noticeable warmth. We are miles away from Boulez's x-ray vision but also a considerable distance from the younger Bernstein. The live concerts occurred in Rome in June, 1989, by which time the conductor was seriously ill; Karajan would die the following month. Perhaps those associations color my response, but I find this one of the most moving, one might say even wise, Debussy recordings I've ever heard. Unlike his brash young self, who was always concerned with immediacy, these readings come as if from a distance, infused with reflection and a deep caring, I think. at his best in those years, according to Andrew Porter of the New Yorker, attending a Bernstein concert gave the uncanny impression that the music was being composed before our very eyes. This was a new kind of immediacy, not superficial or exciting but heartfelt, as if a dying man is afraid that the thing he loves most might be taken away at any moment.
I won't detail the performances -- the criticisms of Bernstein's generous rubato, slow tempos, and highly individual phrasing are well known, and those elements are here in full. Don't expect anything conventionally French, in the sense of a bright, quick, impressionistic interpretation. But for those who can look beyond such issues, this is exceptional music-making that few conductors are capable of, and those only the greatest. For apt comparisons, see the Debussy recordings of Celibidache, Stokowski, and Giulini in their old age. Rare company, indeed.
Bernstein manages to find several layers of music that propel this thrilling performance forward. I've heard this music all my life, but this was the first time I really listened.
This is not a DG/Universal regular manufactured CD. It is a CD-R. Regular CDS play fine on my CD player. This CD-R product does not. It takes forever to read and if and when it actually starts to play, it skips, stops and sounds staticky. This isn't a fine audio CD, It has been a very unpleasant experience.