A Great Disc
Adam Lippold | Florida | 09/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I had never really heard of Eric Ruske until I bought this CD (which was shipped and recieved in no less than 3 days!). The main reasons I got it was because of the Gliere Concerto and the F. Strauss Concerto. This is an overall great disc, but there are some issues that I would like to go into.
First of all, the two R. Strauss concertos are great. In the first one, there is a couple of passages which I do not agree with interpretation wise, but besides that, they are great. Ruske's tone is straight and does not tend to falter or change, except for the beginning of Concerto No.1, which has an "out of tune" feel to it, though he fixes the issue quickly, though it is noticable. Some of his notes have a short 'dit' sound, when, I think, they should have a long 'doo' sound. His tone tends to be very dark and dense.
The horn parts are always at the forefront in this recording, which is good in some cases, but bad in others. They are some parts that I feel should be brought out by the orchestra. A part to be noted is the third movement of the second conerto: the part which is doubled by two horns. When played by Brain and the New Philharmonia, it sounds almost like Schumann's Concertpiece for four horns. But on this recording, you can vaguely hear the second horn.
The F. Strauss Concerto is very good as well. I think that this recording is much better than the Tuckwell one. The Tuckwell one, I think, does not have enough dynamic contrast. I think that some of the dynamics that Ruske does are still not right (as compared to what is on the page), but they are still better than Tuckwell's.
Ruske's interpretation of the Gliere Concerto is superb, but I am not basing this off of anything considering that I have never heard this performed by anyone else.
Overall, Ruske, I think, has a good strong tone and style. I think that Brain has a good interpretation of the R. Strauss Concerto's, but his sound is almost too relaxed. Ruske gives force where it is needed and backs off where it is needed. He is very sensitive to how the pieces should be played. Compared to Tuckwell, Ruske, in my opinion, is a lot better. Tuckwell tends to have a tone that is sometimes blatty or a little loud. Ruske, I think, never gets too loud and never gets a brassy or disgusting sound.
So in conclusion: Brain=better interpretation, Ruske=better style(though some interpretation issues) Tuckwell=some tone issues, as well as feeling/emotion(less)
If you want a good recording of the R. Strauss Concertos and the too little recorded F. Strauss and Gliere Concertos, buy this disc. You won't be sorry
-ATL"
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1