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| Tring International Royal Philharmonic Collection (Super budget price) (Cassette) MCTRP010; (CD) TRP010 (72 minutes: DDD). |
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| Carnival—selected comparison: |
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| Cleveland Orch, Ashkenazy (6/94) (DECC) 433 548-2DH |
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| Symphony—selected comparisons: |
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| BPO, Kubelik (9/74) (R) (DG) 439 436-2GCL |
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| LSO, Kertesz (12/87) (DECC) 417 724-2DM |
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Appearances suggest a more expensive product: the box encloses a glossy, silver-imprinted booklet with copious notes in English on the composer, the music, the orchestra, a biography of the conductor and a recording (from St Augustine's Church, Kilburn in London) that was made in October 1993.
Carnival is brisk and breezy, excepting the pastoral at its centre which is more of a slow Andante than an Andantino con moto (Dvorak's marking), but the outer sections are considerably more unbuttoned than the recent Ashkenazy; the percussion riotous without running amok and beautifully recorded (the timpanist uses hard sticks at well-chosen moments throughout the programme). There is also a substantial slowing for the (repeated) Trio of the Scherzo capriccioso (and contributions as well from St Augustine's feathered friends), though this piece is subjected to rather more variation of pace than is good for it; the waltz theme (especially from 3'47") in particular being deemed a suitable case for slow, faltering treatment.
Paavo Jarvi's New World is a performance no better and no worse than you might expect to encounter at a 'pops' concert, though the Largo is slower than average and a little sleepy (time does not stand still in those silences where string duos take over the cor anglais theme near the end of the movement). In general, Jarvi is a little more imaginative/interventionist than usual: some of the ideas work, for instance, the hesitation (at 3'04") in the strings' introduction of the Scherzo's Trio (implied in Dvorak's phrase markings); others, such as the shading down of the third phrase of the finale's second subject (cellos in the recap from 7'08") can seem needlessly fussy.
If the RPO strings had been a fuller toned and more refined body of players, this disc might have been a just claimant for your fiver (unfortunately the over-bright recording only makes matters worse). Compare their lack of weight with the 1966 LSO strings under Kertesz from 0'44" in the finale. If this coupling appeals, Kertesz's mid-price disc remains preferable. Kubelik's bargain-price 1973 Berlin New World (also coupled with the Scherzo capriccioso but no Carnival and no notes on the music) is in a different league. If, as a concept, an outright recommendation for the New World does not seem ludicrous, then Kubelik's, irrespective of price, is the one to have.
JS