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Very Good Budget Release

Ralphus | Goyang, Gynggi-Do Korea (South) | 04/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Unfortunately, I can't be quite as effusive in my praise as the other reviewers here. Not that I think this is a bad disc--nor do I disrespect their impressions, I just hear it a little differently, I suppose--just that Kerkezos' playing is not without a few weaknesses and there are better performances out there of most of these works. Having said that, it is very pleasant to hear a major orchestra such as the Philharmonia providing wonderful, if occasionally dispassionate, accompaniment.



With the exception of the final work, all of the pieces featured are warhorses of the saxophone repertory. If you bought a random selection of a dozen or so classical saxophone discs, you'd probably end up with any or all of them duplicated several times. This is not a criticism per se, but it will open the performer up for comparison to others.



The Debussy "Rapsodie" was half-heartedly written by Debussy in 1908 for a Bostonian socialite and amateur saxophonist, Elisa Hall (Debussy was apparently horrified by her fashion sense). Half-heartedly, and yet it really is a fine work. It may not feature the saxophone very prominently, at least in the original version performed here, but it is effective. Kerkezos, ostensibly, has the ideal sound for this piece: warm and rich and French-sounding. His use of vibrato is particularly effective and tasteful throughout. His tone can become a little raspy when forced. To me the orchestra seems a little disinterested at times--though they do still play well, and they pick up their game in the faster sections. All criticisms aside, the "Rapsodie" is one of the high points of the CD.



"Scaramouche" by Milhaud gets an OK performance. His articulation in the last movement is a little tacky and loose for my liking. Again, it is good to hear a quality orchestra playing Milhaud's somewhat muddy orchestration.



Villa-Lobos' "Fantasia" is a great piece and it doesn't get recorded enough. My feelings about Kerkezos' performance are mixed. In the second movement he enters with a genuinely lovely soprano sound. Yet, in the outer movements, he can succumb to the soprano's tendency to become a little duck-like in the middle register, especially when tonguing. This is something that Arno Bornkamp, for one, has managed to overcome. I still like this performance though, and there really aren't many available. (Rousseau's old recording is really quite similar; and anyway, it disappears regularly from availability. As for Sohre Rahbari's or John Harle's recordings, I'll calm myself, breathe deeply, remember the words of my yogi, and diplomatically state, "No sir, I don't like it.")



Regarding the Ibert, I'll simply say there are many better available: Delangle, Bornkamp, Mule, Louie for starters.



The same can be said for the Glazunov. I find Kerkezos' performance in this quite dull. His chosen tempi may be as marked, but he just doesn't provide a thrilling case for NOT speeding things up a bit sometimes as many other players do. I much prefer Bornkamp, Richtmeyer and even Savijoki.



The final work, "Song of Dionysus" by Ekaterini Karamessini was written for Kerkezos. Of all the Greek works he's recorded over three CDs, this is my favorite. The orchestration is really quite interesting and vivid. Kerkezos plays the multi-phonic passages splendidly. His tone takes on a little 'cheese' here and there, which is appropriate I suppose as some of the saxophone's lines are pretty cheesy. At one point I'm sure I hear a quote from 'Que sera sera'. It's an uneven piece musically, I guess, and structurally quite formless too. For the second movement, Kerkezos switches to soprano--something not mentioned in the liner notes. As I said, I do enjoy the very interesting orchestration though.



This really isn't a bad disc and there are some aspects of it that I really like. As a budget release from Naxos, considering their previous re-release of the Sohre Rahbari album (mentioned by another reviewer also), it's actually pretty darn good. But for students of the instrument, there are (some!) better out there (Delangle, Bornkamp, Richtmeyer) and I just don't believe that this should be their definitive touchstone.



Recording: All Saints Church, London, May 2002

TT = 71'08""

Not my favorite recording.. but worth listening to

Michael Christensen | Norfolk, VA | 10/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There are some classical saxophone recordings out there which make for good study material and this could be classified as one. However, I am not terribly impressed with this recording as a staple of saxophone recordings. I respectfully disagree with the other reviewers in that I believe their praises for this recording were slightly too generous. Granted, this this recording is a huge improvement over other Naxos recordings such as the Sohre Rahbari recording I previously reviewed, but I don't think even that is saying much.



My criticisms generally deal with quality of performance dealing with technique and tonality, and musicianship with regards to interpretation. This is another one of those recordings where the technique is good but I didn't get much out of what the performer was trying to say about the piece. It was almost as if they missed the point, and instead of trying to paint a picture, they instead took a polaroid.



Sparing any other readers futher analogies, I will say that I am always hunting down bargain recordings to add to my collection, but there is nothing inspiring about this recording. I would use it as a tool to prepare a section of the Villa-Lobos on a technical standpoint, but not as a way to gain perspective on how the piece should be performed. I believe that, as much as technique and intonation, should be considered when making any comment on the recording.



Would I put this recording on the same shelf at Delangle, Rousseau, McAllister or Don Sinta's "American Music for Saxophone"? Probably not... However, it is a good addition to your library for a quick and easy reference aid."