Customer Reviews

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade/Stravinsky: L'Oiseau De Feu

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This version of Sheherazade is one of the most well-balanced versions of modern times. Myung-Whun Chung elicits peerless playing from his Bastille forces, and the DG recording is natural, sumptuous and clear. From the stern theme of the Sultan to the serene end of the work, Chung adopts brisk and steady speeds that he sustains in order to build up climaxes.

Chung opens his first movement with a stern Sultan's theme that carries a sense of foreboding. This is answered by Frederic Laroque's sensitive and sinuous violin portrayal of the eponymous heroine herself. Eventually, he impregnates the first movement with a driving force that propels the music ever forward. But he also builds up climaxes by increasing the tempo a little, when the full orchestra enters. There is also a driving force in the story of the Kalendar prince, but this movement is filled with a sense of spontaniety in the confidently-played solos. Chung is one of the few conductors I know of who adopts a fine balance between a sumptuous and romantic languour and a smiling radiance in the slow third movement, and this is achieved with the adoption of a swift, but not rushed, speed. Then in the Finale, Chung gives it a sense of rhythmic spring and races the music to its devastating climax with the shipwreck, before ending the performance quietly and on a serene note.

I know that the Stravinsky fill-up is not entirely appropriate as compared to some of the other Oriental Russian pieces, but I should say that this disc is worth it because I think it's probably DG's best version of Sheherazade in its catalogue. And I should also say that this performance shares similar characteristics with Antal Dorati's Mercury Living Presence version with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra - another underrated, well-balanced and highly-recommended account of this sparkling Rimsky-Korsakov score.

The pairing of Scheherazade and the 1919 Firebird Suite make for a wonderful disk that's exciting to listen to all the way through.

I don't really know Scheherazade all that well, but the Firebird is very well played. My only complaint was due to a hiss that became evident when the music dropped to quiet levels. I think I have noticed this on other DG recordings, but normally only when I am using headphones (I don't hear the hiss on everything I listen to, so I'm not sure whether it's DG's recordings or my headphones).

All in all, this is a great disk, and one which I will listen to in its entirety many times!