Search - Balakirev, Roussel, Karajan :: Karajan Conducts Balakirev & Roussel: Kajaran Edit

Karajan on exceptional form, but sound is semi-historic

08/17/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Karajan's pioneering 1949 version of the Balakirev has hardly been available at all over the last few decades, so it is great news to see it back again. I had almost forgotten what an outstanding performance it was. Forget the smoothness of the "Karajan-Berlin" sound, since this performance burns with an inner fire that carries total conviction, despite a very individual approach to tempi in the first movement. The scherzo has a demonic feel which is not present in any other version I have heard, including the highly-rated (and still immensely enjoyable) Beecham version. The Roussel 4 from the same year comes as a fill-up, but on its own makes the disc a worthwhile prospect, for this too is an outstanding performance. The real snag is the sound (from 78s) which is mono, of course, but also a bit scrawny (particularly in the Balakirev), notwithstanding the excellent efforts of EMI's transfer engineers. Wind is also backwardly balanced, although in the excellent Kingsway Hall acoustic I found that detail was still audible. Maybe the relatively forward strings are a foretaste of the Karajan-Berlin era after all. [A+] for the performances, but the overall star rating has to allow for the sonic shortcomings. Nevertheless, if I was forced to have just one version of the Balakirev, this would be it."