Respighi's orchestral works are rarely performed, but the genius of his orchestration is apparent on this disc. EXTON's splendid recording techniques perfectly capture the sound evoked by Ashkenazy's lively baton.
5つ星のうち5.0Excellent Counterpart to Ashkenazy's Roman Trilogy
2012年5月1日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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The sonics of Vladimir Ashkenazy's Roman Trilogy (which I recently reviewed) are essentially identical to those of this recording of the Belfagor overture, Belkis, and Church Windows. The performances are top-drawer as well on this hybrid SACD/CD disc.
For those who don't already know it, most of Church Windows (Vetrate di Chiesa) was written well before any titles were assigned to the movements. The first three were piano preludes originally, while the fourth was directly conceived for orchestra to round out the suite. But the movement titles sure seem to fit beautifully, notwithstanding the inversion of cause and effect. The quieter movements are deeply felt, while the powerful second movement depicting the archangel Michael battling against the devil is as powerful as any other rendering (including the early vinyl editions by Dorati and Ormandy). The final movement, played a bit slower than most, takes an unusual approach compared to other interpretations: sustained notes are emphasized more than moving passages happening at the same time. We see this in some conductors' approaches to the opening of the fourth tableau of Petrushka as well: the moving parts are buried under the sustained chords. So too here -- I don't recall any other conductor doing this among the 8 or 9 CD versions I own. The organ solo is in-your-face when it arrives, deep and thundering but without a hint of distortion despite the high levels. The delicate interludes before the climax are played with suitable panache.
The other two works on this disc receive creditable performances, also clothed in a stunning recording. Maybe the overture will grow on me... but so far, not so much. On the other hand, Belkis, Queen of Sheba is something of a showpiece, alternating atmospheric orientalism with rhythmic fire (no surprise one of the movements made it to the EarQuake album, although I'd heard it earlier in Geoffrey Simon's recording). Italian ballet at its most extroverted -- anyone (but especially audiophiles) can buy this with confidence. Hats off to Ashkenazy once again.
Cette version d'oeuvres de Respighi n'est pas transcendentale. Je reconnais que j'ai pris un risque avec cette édition, mais je cherchais un SACD afin d'en faire ressortir toute la qualité. En fait, cet un cd de moyenne qualité de l'oeuvre!
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