Search - Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Waart :: Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol

Bland Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov in Blah Sound - Why B

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 10/23/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the PentaTone recordings that stems from those Philips quadraphonic recordings of the 1970s, now kitted out in SACD sound. Unfortunately, the sound does neither the orchestra nor the interpretation any favors. The string section sounds scrawny, the brass recessed, the winds acidulous, and I know that that was not the case with the Rotterdam Philharmonic back in the 1970s. I had the Rachmaninoff, then in a set of all of Rachy's symphonies, on plain stereo LP and it sounded better back then. Unfortunately, though, even in good sound this performance of the Second Symphony was pretty dull, and it's even more so in the present incarnation. Where is Rachmaninoff's emotionality? It's there in the score, but not in this performance.



Rimsky's Capriccio Espagnol is equally unexciting. It simply doesn't have the pizzazz one expects from this orchestral showpiece. And the sound for it is unexciting, too.



This is one of the few PentaTone releases that I've given a thumbs-down to, but it deserves it.



Avoid.



Scott Morrison"