Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Typically French, Classically beautiful, April 4, 2001
Late nineteeth-century French works might often lack authenticity, but never do they miss the mark for imagination or for the lyrical sense so evident in this "Scheherazade". Like Delibes' "Lakme", the setting is exotic, in the French idiom, and the music, while without any semblance of accuracy from a Middle-Eastern/Arabic standpoint, is the perfect vehicle for displaying some truly beautiful voices. And here, the voices of Sylvia McNair and Susan Graham do not disappoint. This is not involving music, but it is wondrous to lsten to for it's sheer beauty. This is not said to convey any sense of triviality...just that it has a single redeeming quality and that is that it is extremely pleasant to hear. Perfectly chosen voices and Ozawa's careful attention to the "feel" of French music make this a real "must-have" for anyone who likes the creamy-smooth delivery of these two fine sopranos. Graham, in particular, shows that when not stretching,she has the tools to make you glad you came.
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an excellent album., January 27, 2007
Sylvia McNair singing was outstanding. She relayed the mood of this fantazy extremely well. The lyrics chosen by ravel did not have much meaning.
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a very good program, but poorly served by Ozawa, December 6, 2006
I listened to this album alongside that which contains the recent recording of the Shéhérazade by Anne Sophie von Otter and the Cleveland Orchestra, with Pierre Boulez. In Boulez's hands, Shéhérazade is a heartrending masterpiece; in Ozawa's it's frankly boring.
I'll go so far as to say that where Boulez is intoxicating with this music, Ozawa seems intoxicated: it's really not too much of a stretch to think that he might be slightly inebriated, not fully aware of what's going on in the score and, in his stupor, failing to understand how he might reveal the subtle nuances and shades of color and expression that it contains.
To be sure, McNair's singing is gorgeous, and the playing of the Boston Symphony leaves nothing to be desired. But there's no significant contribution of leadership and direction from their conductor.
What saves the disc, and the reason for three stars and not only two, is that the Britten and the Debussy that round out the program are fascinating lesser-known pieces. Furthermore they are not as subtle than the Ravel, and therefore more immune to Ozawa's daft, vapid conducting: their meaning and expression still come through, as they doesn't require the masterful interpretation that Boulez brings to Shéhérazade in order to convey their meaning.
In all, then, this is an admirable recital disc for McNair, a very important program to add to your collection, and as I am a real fan of the Boston Symphony, I'm glad to have another record of their playing. But Ozawa really detracts from a disc that might otherwise have been the equal of Boulez's genuine masterpiece of an album.
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by Maurice Ravel 
