David Hurwitz continues cranking out YouTube videos. Good for him. His assessments and recommendations overlap with mine quite a lot but we nonetheless disagree often. Among his series or continuing projects are reviews of box sets that appear (and disappear) with some regularity. Boxes collect in one package either composers, conductors, or orchestras from the back-catalogs of various recording labels. Symphony cycles figure prominently, but once, say, a conductor is dead, his (very few her's to consider just yet, but that's changing) entire discography is often assembled for sale in one giant box (or several). Like companies operating in other industries, classical music labels (ever a niche market) have consolidated through merger and acquisition while adding little or nothing of value in the past decades (compared to their extant recordings from the previous century) besides cannibalizing themselves. I don't collect nearly so comprehensively as some, known as "completists" for desiring to own absolutely everything available from favorite composers or performers. Limited funds force me to be more selective. (Streaming services make giant discographies widely available, but their limited search interfaces make locating particular recordings arduous. Plus, I don't want to listen on my computer or -- ugh -- phone.) However, some box sets are surprisingly good values, and I have indulged in several recommended by Hurwitz and avoided those warned against.
The biggest revelation to me so far has been the Zubin Mehta box of Symphonies and Symphonic Poems (23 CDs). Prior to this box, I only had a few Mehta recordings. His interpretations have always been straight down the middle and succeed (or fail) primarily on the playing of the orchestra. This box of older recordings (new to me), mostly with the LA Phil and Israel Phil, have turned out to be quite wonderful. Of particular note is his ability to elicit sharp articulation from the strings, which in many recordings is only sorta articulate. Wind players initiate a note with an audible tongue or bead, which makes metrical alignment possible and reveals misalignment obvious and sloppy. Strings, on the other hand, usually initiate sound broadly with no bead or clear articulation, which covers up a lot of imprecision when a string section may include up to 60 players. That's not a criticism; rather, they are different ways of producing musical sound. Winds and strings can each articulate in the opposite style. However, broad articulation in the winds tends to sound like waffling, whereas sharp articulation in the strings adds bite. That's my primary takeaway from listening to the Mehta box: added bite.
Another straight-down-the-middle conductor I have not collected much is Riccardo Muti, the current music director of the pro orchestra where I live. I recently acquired the box of Muti recordings on EMI (91 CDs), most of them with either the Philharmonic Orchestra or the Philadelphia Orchestra. They date from earlier in Muti's career and the entire box was attractively priced. Neither Mehta nor Muti diverges much in terms of tempo or interpretation from the middle ground. Again, they succeed on the prowess of the orchestras. But whereas Mehta at least perked up my ears and rewarded my time spent listening, Muti sounds standardized at best, forgettable at worst. Both of Muti's orchestras acquit themselves beautifully but little stands out as demanding repeated listening.
Truly great recordings I go back to again and again always have something to recommend and set themselves apart, not mere novelty but instead technical brilliance, sheer beauty of sound, emotional intensity, or definitive interpretations. One example is the Bruckner symphony cycle by Karajan (reviewed here). I could point to many other laudable recordings (singletons or boxes) and name the relevant names, but that would be far, far too much to consider and outside blogging scope. Besides, Hurwitz had made that his project and I have no desire to replicate his work other than to remark here and there on a few things I find especially noteworthy.
No comments:
Post a Comment