February 7, 2011

  • Review: Chicago SO & Barenboim

     

    Gershwin/Bernstein/Ravel/Wagner
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim
    Warner Classics & Jazz 2564 69816-5
    Total Time:  66:36
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

     

    The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has one of the best discographies of any orchestra due in large part to its recorded history with the RCA label under Fritz Reiner.  The orchestra’s ability to capture the world’s best conductors has meant that it has plenty of duplication in its recorded catalogue to demonstrate how its sound can be shaped by different conductors.  Some may find it surprising that of the works represented here the Gershwin has only been recorded only once before with James Levine; the Bernstein appears to be the orchestra’s first recording.  They are coupled here with reissued performances of the Ravel and Wagner from earlier releases.

    Barenboim’s performance of Gershwin’s Cuban Overture may be one of the longest on record timing in at 11:11.  Intriguingly the music only feels a bit too slow near the beginning of the piece and moves more musically as a result into its slower central section.  The orchestra plays a bit more crisply which ends up giving the music the impression that is moving along at a quicker pace.  Barenboim also shapes the work a bit allowing it to grow in intensity over time the way Leonard Slatkin did in his classic St. Louis Symphony recording.  You cannot fault the performance by the CSO which is simply gorgeous where it needs to be and excitingly spot-on rhythmically when it counts.

    Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances has had plenty of great recordings and this is a fine one.  It too illustrates the orchestra’s richness and clarity of rhythm.  Barenboim’s tempos though here too feel a bit on the slow side though within the context of this performance are well-shaped overall and taken on their own make good sense.  It helps that the recording itself places the orchestra well in the sound picture.  Another thing in this disc’s benefit is that the individual movements of the dances are given their own track access.  Overall, Barenboim’s fast tempos tend to be fairly traditional and spot on while the slower sections are slightly slower than one normally hears but the music never seems to drag somehow and the performance is quite engaging with the sort of attention to orchestral detail that is often glossed over in this work.  Also of interest is that Barenboim does not appear to simply beat time, instead he helps shape and interpret the music creating a more intimate overall result that is not simply trying to match Bernstein’s own interpretation.  Some will find this quite valid and it is definitely pulled off here quite well.

    If you missed the earlier release of the Ravel Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2 and the music from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde that reappear here they will make interesting bedfellows to the American pieces that comprise the first half of the disc.  Still these are critically acclaimed performances that help make the disc a great testament to the musicality of its current conductor.  Overall this is a great demonstration disc with great sound quality that will be perfect for fans of the orchestra.  The repertoire is practically of the warhorse variety though at least these performances should stand up to repeated listening.