Customer Reviews

Mussorgsky: Bilder einer Ausstellung (Pictures at an Exhibition) / Borodin: Sinfonie Nr. 2 (Symphony No. 2); Polowetzer Tänze (Polovtsian Dances)

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This is a performance that does more justice to Ravel's orchestral arrangement than the Russian underneath. Mussorgsky's work, originally composed for piano and dedicated to his friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann, has become such a showcase of orchestral brilliance in Ravel's celebrated version that one tends to forget the musical ideas and the intended atmosphere. At the same time, Pictures at an Exhibition is a work boasting so many good recordings that one has difficulty deciding which to recommend. Rattle's reading, alert and sophisticated, results in some of the suite's movements being played with both skill and sensitivity, as in the wonderful vecchio castello.

Borodin's emblematic Second symphony gets a reading which is more in touch with the score's spirit. But in this case it is the orchestra's sound and playing that appear a bit too pop and light for the occasion. In recent years, the Berlin Philharmonic has become just one among today's great orchestras: leaner textures, technical brilliance and no relation to the Berlin sound forged by Karajan and so skilfully transformed by Abbado. Apart from being fashionable today, this sound serves them well in some instances (their recent Mahler as well as their Debussy recordings are stellar), but it makes it less easy to recognise an ensemble once distinguished by characteristic sound and playing (too characteristic for some).

To sum up: Predictably, given the maestro-orchestra combination, this is an excellent disc. And the coupling is fine, not to mention a sleek account of the Polovtsian Dances coming as a bonus! But I would still rather recommend Giulini's Chicago Symphony recording for the orchestral version of the Pictures (DG) and - despite its technical imperfections - Kubelik's heartfelt Vienna Philharmonic recording for Borodin's Second (EMI).

The Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" is one which has been the subject of many recordings, of which a superb one is Giulini's classic recording with the Chicago Symphony (He later recorded it again with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra which I also highly recommend.). Rattle's interpretation is a fine, superbly well-played account, but, however, one that stresses too much the Romantic qualities of Ravel's orchestration, while forsaking the "Russian" atmosphere of Mussorgsky's ideas. The same can be said too of both of the Borodin works which are part of this CD; both are played at slightly slower tempi than I've expected (Especially the Polovetsian Dances, which I had heard performed live earlier this year in a breathtaking performance courtesy of conductor Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra.). Rattle doesn't quite grasp the nuances of Borodin's score of the 2nd Symphony as much as the late Kirill Kondrashin did in his superb interpretation with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra dating from the late 1970s (A recording that's been reissued in a couple of different packages by Philips recently.).

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra sounds great, but there's nothing in this recording that distinguishes it from, for example, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Lorin Maazel's baton or either the London Symphony or the Chicago Symphony under the baton of Bernard Haitink's. As such it is an ensemble that has lost some of the special musical luster it acquired during the music directorships of Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado; its own distinctive Central European sound of winds, brass and strings isn't quite as distinctive as it once was.

Let me say up front that I am a diehard Rattle fan. I consider him to be thriving at the Berlin Philharmonic, and I don't think the Berliners could have chosen a better conductor. I've almost never heard an album from him and the Berliners that I had serious reservations about. Almost, that is. This disc, containing Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Borodin's Symphony No. 2 and the Polovtsian Dances, strikes me as his biggest miss with his orchestra, due to his fussiness and what often turn out to be a lack of imagination. But I'll have to admit that there are wonderful moments on this disc, despite the lack of clear vision throughout.

I'll begin by looking at the Pictures at an Exhibition. Always on the lookout for a chance to bring out hidden details, Rattle has more opportunity in this work (after all, these little pieces that make up the work are pictures) than he could possibly hope for. But he doesn't succeed in this way as we might hope. Sure, the Berliners play marvelously for him, but there's a painful lack of spontaneity. Rattle often seems to deliver mere superficial brilliance instead of real artistic excellence. Rattle can struggle with fussiness, and here he's fussier than ever. But even when he's fussy, there are often unique things that he has to say that makes his approach memorable. Surprisingly enough, I can't say the same thing here. The Berliners show off their technical ability (they've got to be the world's greatest orchestra), but lacking is any sign of real interest from Rattle.

The Borodin 2nd Symphony fares much better, although it's still far from perfect. Rattle seems to have awaked, to an extent, but he still seems fussy, preferring to wallow in the beauty of individual notes and phrases instead of giving Russian soul. That's not to say that can't both pay attention to miniscule details and have a satisfying, comprehensive vision; if there's any doubt of that, there's plenty of Rattle albums beckoning, particularly his Brahms and Schoenberg. I never would have thought Rattle could be accused of being too light, but he is here. Why couldn't he have given more fire, especially considering that no other orchestra would be more prepared for such an undertaking?

The two works, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances and Mussorgsky's Introduction to Khovanschina are on about the same level as the preceding symphony. Rattle shows some interest, but the soul I would wish him to display never take over. Considering that this conductor has proven elsewhere that he's on a very high level as an interpreter, couldn't he have given us more here?

In closing, I find this disc disappointing, even though it features wonderful playing from the Berliners. Let's be thankful that Rattle is seen in better moods elsewhere, because it wouldn't be flattering if this was representative of his output.

Rattle's interpretation of "Pictures" is terrific. He also manages to make the Borodin pieces quite exciting. The tempos are quick and playful when they need to be, but the slower, somber passages do not suffer. Ravel's brilliant orchestrations are showcased well. I don't normally go for the nationalist composers, but more CDs like this one could very well convert me. There are plenty of other recordings of these pieces, but for reliable performances, I'd recommend this one to just about anybody. Very enjoyable.

These performances are good, although the Polovtsian Dances are a little on the slow side. They come from a set of live performances December 29-31, 2007, in Berlin. Unusually, the liner notes are in German only except for the copyright remarks, which are in English. However, neither the booklet nor the disc case liner includes the timings for a single track on the CD. Good recording, badly-produced package. Last page of booklet is a truly horrid painting of Sir Simon Rattle.

It's easy to give Simon Rattle credit for having a soul, because everything about him is so agreeable -- his smile, his enthusiasm, his niceness. But music runs deeper than niceness, and when he invites us to join him in a warm bath of orchestral sumptuousness, as he does here, the invitation has a counter-effect. I was a bit repelled by the perfection of every note on this CD of Mussorgsky and Borodin. Karajan was constantly accused of slickness, but the blandness of these performances is almost incandescent. Hollow beauties abound. There's not a note that escapes polish, and in the meantime the whole thing becomes denatured, sterile, and pointless. I feel much the same way about Rattle's Beethoven, Debussy, Haydn, and Dvorak in recent outings.

I don't mean to give way to a rant, but the musically promiscuous Rattle needs to learn a great lesson from Giulini: Only conduct what you deeply love. Pictures at an Exhibition and the Borodin Second Sym. have been recorded so well so often that the last thing we need is Rattle's dutiful run-through, so lacking in Russian soul that it made my teeth hurt.

Unless you like that sort of thing, of course.