| |
| ASV (Full price) (LP) DCA696; (Cassette) ZCDCA696; (CD) CDDCA696 (67 minutes: DDD). |
|
| |
| Symphony—selected comparison: |
|
| |
| FRNO, Beecham (11/87) CDC7 47794-2 |
|
| |
| Selected comparison—coupled as above: |
|
| |
| CBSO, Fremaux (12/88) CDM7 69643-2 |
|
This performance of Bizet's youthful Symphony is one that emphasizes its debt to the German-Austrian tradition established by Beethoven and to some extent carried on by Schubert and Mendelssohn. There is a considerable sense of onward momentum and a fullness of sound that possibly owes something to a recording that is strong on bass—I have rarely been so conscious of the role played by the timpani in the initial Allegro vivo as I am in this present performance. Inevitably, we pay a price, and what is rather lost is the relaxed Gallic wit and charm of Beecham's EMI performance with the French Radio National Orchestra, and I have found this first movement a little wearing, exhilarating and neatly played though it is, while with repeats observed it lasts 10'20" compared to 7'21" with Beecham and 7'46" with Fremaux (also EMI) and seems a bit long.
I like the rest of the Symphony more; the slow movement has the right grave charm and a good RPO oboe soloist, the scherzo is suitably rustic and the finale bounces along nicely although some violin passagework is not ideally clean. This is a pleasing performance overall, but in elegance and youthful panache it doesn't equal Beecham's account although it enjoys a modern digital recording; nor, for that matter, does it displace the Fremaux performance (a French conductor here) with the CBSO of which he was Chief Conductor, which also has warmth and its own kind of stylistic intelligence, and excellent woodwind too, although the finale reminds us that in 1974 the Birmingham violins were not as agile as they are today.
The coupling of the programmatic suite Roma allows us to hear this still unfamiliar work to advantage, but I think Fremaux's performance (a recording premiere) perhaps still better; compared to that, Batiz's brass are a little uneasy at the start and later in the first movement I look for still more shape and diversity. Possibly both Batiz and Fremaux are a little brisk with the scherzo, which is only marked Allegretto vivace, but I still enjoy their performances. In Batiz's processional slow movement I wondered if woodwind solos might have been more prominent, but generally the recorded sound is well blended, with warm string tone and detail that is clear despite some reverberation.
CH