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| ASV digital (Full price) (LP) COE804 (Cassette) ZCCOE804 Recorded in association with Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust. |
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| ECO, Barenboim (1/78) ASD3426 |
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| BPO Wind Ens (11/82) (6/83R) 2532 089 |
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| LPO Wind Ens (4/85) EMX412059-1 |
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The brilliant young soloists of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe here follow up the success of their coupling of the two great serenades for wind octet (ASV COE802, 6/85) in this much more expansive, seven-movement piece. It is striking first of all what gains there are from having a conductor with a band of 13 instruments. The LPO soloists (EMI Eminence) and those of the Berlin Philharmonic on the rival DG version play beautifully, but in their interpretations sound rather bland, faceless even. This new issue, even more than the excellent, crisply conceived Barenboim/HMV version, establishes right at the start what a conductor so understanding as Alexander Schneider can do in the way that each flourish from the first clarinet is played, not literally, but with a thrust towards the following forte chord for the whole ensemble. The ear is led on naturally, and there are countless examples of comparable finesse in the rest of the work.
In virtuosity and refinement the young COE players are hardly less accomplished than their senior colleagues of the ECO, and Schneider's rhythmic pointing at speeds generally a little more relaxed than Barenboim's, allows for more genial espressivo phrasing, where Barenboim in Allegros prefers a very crisp, lightly-sprung manner. The big exception is in what has become the most famous movement, the lovely third movement Adagio with its intertwining clarinet and oboe melodies, which, thanks to its use in the film Amadeus, threatens to take over from the Elvira Madigan Concerto theme in the Mozart pop charts. Schneider and the COE take it at an easily flowing Adagio, rather faster than usual, with the wind melodies seamlessly interweaving. Conversely, the other Adagio movement, the fifth movement Romance, finds Schneider and his players on the slow side, phrasing with subtle expressiveness but sounding rather heavier than their ECO rivals. They are also heavier though just as fleet of tongue in the brisk Allegretto that serves as a central Trio. The Variations of the sixth movement again have Schneider taking a brisker speed, which with so many repeats is an advantage. That is until the coda, when Barenboim is brisker and lighter. Both are excitingly fast in the finale, but with Barenboim adopting a more staccato style. The overall balance of advantage between the two is very close, but with fine modern digital sound the new one is unlikely to disappoint anyone, on balance the more individual as well as the more relaxed of the two.
EG