Search - Ravel, Debussy, Milhaud :: French Favourites

This is a poorly performed and misedited recording.

quondam@netropolis.net | Houston, TX | 01/30/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"January 29, 1999 Review: French Favorites: Chandos7031 A truly unfortunate collaboration between conductor and engineers, this is an extremely heavy-handed treatment of light orchestra work. The intentions of Mr. Järvi are at best unclear, and at worst, as in the Milhaud Suite Provençal, utterly inappropriate. The Milhaud is a light and playful work here performed without delicacy or any sense of the folk origins of the tunes first set down by André Campra. The editing, by one Jonathan Cooper, further exacerbates the leaden effect. The saccharin notes by Edward Blakeman and Michael Fleming neither help nor enlighten. There are so many recordings of the other works on this disc that one can find better performances without effort, but the Suite Provençal is not widely available, and it is a shame that it is so poorly presented here."