Search - Louis Spohr, Howard Shelley, Swiss-Italian Radio Orchestra :: Spohr: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Concert Overture in F major

Engaging

David Saemann | 06/16/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am ordinarily a big fan of Howard Shelley, both as pianist and conductor. One of his big accomplishments as a conductor is Michael Roll's set of the Beethoven Piano Concertos with the Royal Philharmonic. With the same orchestra, Shelley also has recorded excellent discs of Schubert and Mozart symphonies. This present offering of Ludwig Spohr is good, but not quite in the same league as his previous efforts. The music is tuneful and well constructed, but you will not mistake any of these works for masterpieces. Spohr was a popular composer in the 19th Century, and perhaps the strongest claim of this CD on your attention is as evidence of the taste of this period. The performances seem to be quite good, with much care over the softer dynamics that seem to typify much of this music. Occasionally the orchestra's phrasing is a bit slovenly, while the sound engineering, though generally good, can turn muddy in some passages. If, like me, you collect all of Howard Shelley's investigations of forgotten piano or orchestral repertoire, none of these reservations should deter you from acquiring this disc. For other collectors, caveat emptor."