Customer Reviews

Respighi: Pines Of Rome / Roman Festivals (Bernstein Century)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is not often I am as stunned by a recording as much as I am in this case. These recordings, made 1968-1970, sound as good as any classical recording I've purchased ever. I have to point out the brass and percussion in particular as outstanding. The speeds tend to be on the quick side (especially Festivals), but I have never heard these works so alive. Granted, with some recordings Bernstein sometimes goes over the top and lets his enthusiasm get in the way of the music. Not here, however. Listen, for example, to the way the melody in "The Pines of the Via Appia" starts softly around three minutes into the piece and slowly builds to a stirring climax. "The Pines of the Janiculum" are also played sensitively. "Circenses" and "La Befana" are both played a shade faster than normal, but it lends a great deal of excitement to the music. The conclusion to Festivals is so fast it makes you admire the orchestra for simply being able to keep the rhythym. Certainly there are other excellent versions of these two works out there: Ormandy on RCA, Gatti on Conifer, and Jansons on EMI. However, I would have no problem putting this disc alongside them too. The performances themselves are worthy of five stars, but I have deducted one star for the short playing time of the disc: 46 minutes. You would think Sony could find something in the Bernstein archives to make the disc a better value. Incidentally, I am not sure what another reviewer means by it sounding like "an amateur orchestra". I would disagree.

Respighi's vibrant, colourful orchestrations are core Bernstein territory. These performances are appropriately exuberant, but the ensemble is scrappy and recording is coarse, and overall it lacks the perceptiveness that so characterised Reiner's legendary recording. Moreover, it is short measure: missing is the "Roman Fountains" to complete the trilogy. Ironically the most musical of the three, Bernstein never got around to recording it. Without any sort of fill-up, this is very uncompetitive in a crowded field. Even Karajan's account, which includes Fountains but omits the Roman Festivals, includes a suite from Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances" as a makeweight. Reiner is in a class of his own, but Muti (in Philadelphia), Ozawa (in Boston), Toscanini's pioneering NBC account and Gatti (with the Orchestra of St. Cecilia) are to be preferred to Bernstein's account.

Excellent performance! The finale from Pines of Rome sounded very triumphant! And the finale from Roman Festivals sounded harsh and exciting.

The only problem is that it pretty much sounds like an amatuer orchestra.

If you don't like the sound of an amatuer orchestra, buy Toscanini's, Ormandy's, or Karajans instead.

This is one of my favorite CDs. To me, this CD is a masterpiece!