Bruckner 7th with the Moores School Orchestra - another HDTT Original
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| Posted on December 8, 2016 at 09:37:50 | ||
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Posts: 26434
Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012 |
Like HDTT's Respighi offering which I recently posted about, this album features a (presumably) student orchestra, in this case associated with the University of Houston, conducted by the same conductor, Karl Anton Krager. [EDIT: My bad! The actual name of the conductor is FRANZ Anton Krager - See correction in post below.] The only reason I say "presumably" is because, on some college campuses, I've heard that alumni are allowed to be in the orchestra, and the actual students themselves sometimes have a hard time getting to play in their own school orchestra! In any case, I'm amazed by the quality of the Moores School Symphony Orchestra - despite some passing and inconsequential flaws in the playing (understandable in a one-shot live performance - the concert was a couple of months ago), I would never guess that this is a university level ensemble. Some of the treacherous, high-lying parts for the cellos in the first movement of the Bruckner are played with incredible depth of tone which really impressed me. Another thing I was impressed by was the ability of the Moores School SO to realize the conception of the music imparted to them by their conductor - that's another reason why this group doesn't really sound like a student orchestra. They sound as if they're really listening to each other and are not satisfied just to play the right notes. The players seem to be very aware of how their individual parts fit into the overall texture (and balance their playing accordingly). (Yes - the conductor and the players seem to be balancing their parts - not the engineer!)
I'm a bit less sanguine about the Berlioz performances, mainly because it's hard for me to get the old Paray/Detroit performances out of my mind. Nevertheless, I love how that difficult opening string flourish in the Corsaire Overture is played so confidently and together. (The ensuing woodwind phrases - even more difficult that the preceding string phrases, at least to articulate clearly - are a bit less good, although they do get better and better on each recurrence throughout the piece.) The thing I like about the Paray performances (which, to a certain extent, I miss in these Houston performances) is the underlying sense of elan and febrile intensity - qualities which I haven't heard in performances of these works for decades, as the more "Apollonian Berlioz" tradition of the Colin Davis performances has held sway. I think this is partly a question of tempo, accentuation and forward motion - Paray was one to push the limits in this respect (Munch too), while these new performances seem just a bit more circumspect in this regard. Maybe it's a bit unfair, but I'd guess that some listeners would describe these Berlioz performances as "Teutonic". As with the HDTT Respighi album, I love the sound quality, even if the Moores Opera House acoustic is once again too dry. It sounds a bit better in the Berlioz, but I think Bruckner's music really needs more of a sense of space and reverberation. But what I really love is the holistic entirety of the sound that engineer John Proffitt has captured - never is there the sense that the balances are being manipulated in the control room. This is really gratifying for a listener like me, and is so much better than the sound on so many recordings where the engineers want to see themselves as artists in their own right. Well, maybe they are artists, but they should practice (as Mr. Proffitt does) the art that conceals the art! Overall, I found this new Bruckner/Berlioz album to be an engaging and enjoyable recording (I listened to the 24/192 multi-channel version, although, as usual with HDTT, many formats, platforms and resolutions are available.) I feel fortunate to have heard it, and I'll be returning to it again for sure!
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| I have it already - Thanks so much! [nt], posted on December 9, 2016 at 10:15:57 | |
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Posts: 26434
Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012 |
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