Search - Andre Previn :: Great Recordings Of The Century - Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, American in Paris / Previn, London SO

The LSO ain't a great jazz ensemble

Robert Bezimienny | Sydney, NSW Australia | 10/10/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If this is the only rendition of these Gerswhin pieces you've heard, then you'll probably be satisfied; however if you have a copy of Jeffrey Siegel with Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony, then you might be less charmed by Previn's approach and you could well be downright disappointed by some of the orchestral playing, particularly the brass and woodwinds. The sound quality is not ideal either, the piano relentlessly dominant, and the orchestral details indistinct, and despite the very recent remastering there is an edginess to the sound that is unnatural and distracting. For mine, definitely not one of the great recordings of the century."

Grrr....boring.

charles morgan, music fanatic | 11/21/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Tragically, I was misled by my impression of Andre Previn, plus the Amazon review here, into buying this disc. Too bad - it manages to be boring and without color; wholly unremarkable.



The most important problem is that this is NOT the original "jazz band" version of Rhapsody in Blue - the version originally performed. This is the "monkeyed around with 30 years later" version, and the distinction is important because the jazz band version is smaller (in terms of orchestra size), funner, far jazzier - and it includes the saxophone! This CD, however, has the full orchestra bit, which dulls the fun and removes the edge, and doesn't have the saxophone (which is my second favorite instrument in the Rhapsody after the piano).



The pieces are played without flair and, as one other reviewer put it, unjazzily. Previn's pretty good on the piano, actually, but the LSO doesn't swing like it should. I used to like the Piano Concerto, but now I avoid listening to it and consider it scummy, mildewy, tired, and irritating.



Actually, this disc sent me into an anti-Gershwin mania for some months. I figured the guy was overrated; whereas everyone says he's so much fun, I thought it wasn't any fun at all. 'Tis a good thing I got the James Levine/CSO version - that REALLY swings. It's a barrel of fun. It's the original version of Rhapsody in Blue. And, in DDD, it all sounds a lot better.



Buy Levine - it's just divine;

But avoid this disc - it's boring and uninspired. I don't know what some people seem to see in it.



P.S. Also disappointed with the music selection here. They had 14 minutes left on the CD, but didn't throw in a good Cuban Overture, which is one of the funnest things George ever wrote. Too bad.



This disc just isn't fun."