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| Teldec (Full price) (CD) 9031-76350-2 (76 minutes: DDD). |
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| RCA Victor Red Seal (Full price) (CD) 09026 61702-2 (71 minutes: DDD). |
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| The Miraculous Mandarin—selected comparison: |
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| Montreal SO, Dutoit (3/94) (DECC) 436 212-2DH |
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Two very different views of Bartok, the one seen from a tone-painter's perspective (Leonard Slatkin), the other more a celebration of the physical (Hugh Wolff). Of the two Concerto for Orchestra recordings, Slatkin's (Powell Symphony Hall, St Louis) has the greater bloom and ambience, Wolff's (Watford Town Hall) the more presence and impact—contrasts that also extend to the actual performances. Even as early as bar 51 in the Introduction, Wolff's Philharmonia strings make more of Bartok's specified forte (Teldec's track 12, 3'01"), then build towards the ff at 56 with the greater momentum (3'22"). Compare Slatkin in the same passage (RCA's track 15, 2'57" - 3'20") and the effect, although beautifully drawn, is less immediately exciting.
Wolff's preference for energetic accents, incisive attack and keen characterization tells throughout the main Allegro vivace, while in the "Presentando la coppie" his winds are the more clearly out-spoken. Wolff also makes greater play with the "Intermezzo interrotto", especially at the onset of the clarinet tune at bar 76 (track 15, 2'01") and those giggling staccato flutes and clarinets that follow soon after. On the other hand, Slatkin (at 2'07") commands some superb playing, even though he does not appear to share Wolff's mischievous sense of humour. Both are unconditionally effective in the "Elegia", but when it comes to the finale, it is Slatkin who effects a more telling accelerando at bar 14 (track 19, 0'06"), while his superfine St Louis strings are wonderfully deft in the ensuing presto. Wolff (track 16) opts for more precise articulation and a marginally slower pace, and in so doing achieves a more earthy effect, with extra reserves of tonal fibre and a rhythmic 'lift' that I find quite irresistible. And yet although I prefer his interpretation, Slatkin's smoother, less 'gutsy' approach makes for an enjoyable performance—and there's the added bonus of having optional access (via RCA's tracking facilities) to Bartok's startlingly abrupt original ending.
Both discs programme The Miraculous Mandarin first, but Slatkin has the musical advantage in offering us the whole ballet rather than the Suite—which stops dead at the end of the celebrated fugal chase. Again, the St Louis performance is more warmly accommodating: whereas Wolff has his clarinettists (in the decoy games) snatch and cajole (appropriately so, given Bartok's agitato indications), Slatkin's are slow-burning, silky-toned and insinuating—very much the prescribed "rubato". The piu mosso string passage 0'43" into section six (track 6—"At last she overcomes her reluctance... ") is pure magic under Slatkin, yet—as on the Dutoit recording which I reviewed in March—both conductors see fit either to omit or obscure the significant ff trumpet triplets at fig. 21.
On the Slatkin disc, there's a conspicuous edit at 2'16" into track 1 (signalling, perhaps, the future option of a Miraculous Mandarin Suite from the same source), but in other respects Joanna Nickrenz's production has remarkable perspective and atmosphere. Wolff's recording is drier, more analytical, and although his version of the chase (track 9) is initially more incisive than Slatkin's (track 8), it rather loses shape as the tension mounts. Also, I was a mite uncomfortable about a slight rhetorical pause inserted between the "Third decoy game" (track 7) and "The Mandarin enters... " (track 8). Slatkin's view of the remainder of the ballet is fairly animated, and his chorus (track 13, where the Mandarin's body begins to glow) is ideally balanced. However, I was unsure as to the presence of an organ (as specified at various points in the score), which is either very discretely blended into the overall texture or omitted altogether.
As partial compensation for not programming the complete Miraculous Mandarin ballet, Wolff includes a stylish, precisely etched rendition of the impressionistic Two Pictures, music that anticipates Bluebeard's Castle (composed some eight years later) and confirms Bartok's early mastery of orchestral colour. Both performance and recording centre on clarity of texture (although never at the expense of atmosphere), and the emphatic, highly eventful "Village Dance" is played with plenty of gusto. Minor reservations notwithstanding, Slatkin's complete Miraculous Mandarin is as good as any I've heard recently, and his Concerto for Orchestra is well worth hearing. However, Hugh Wolff strikes me as the more convincing Bartokian: his are the more elemental readings, and if you're not too worried about opting for the Suite rather than for the whole score, then his CD strikes me as the more compelling of the two.
RC