It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.
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A big, craggy, mountain spring water, pan-flute YES to Nelsons' Sibelius 2nd
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Posted on January 8, 2017 at 11:50:53 | ||
Best I've heard yet: Pacing, poetry, sensitivity to, (and belief in) Sibelius' eccentric orchestration and dynamics, and especially balance: those bass "garrumphs" that underpin the opening of the finale don't sound small, weak, or unintentionally bizarre. Nelson's also reigns in brass just a bit in the closing pages, allowing the other musical lines and rhythms to come through, which IMHO adds power rather than takes it away. (Same issue with the Handel bit at the end of Mahler's 1st.) No worries though: the choral theme is allowed to blaze by the end. Concerns? The pause before the lovely "shepherd" bit in the Scherzo seems extraordinarily long to me. Maybe the oboist was buried in his smartphone. Recording is wonderful: no matter how loud the orchestra gets, the acoustic expands with it. Strings retain their sheen throughout. |
Definitely whets my appetite for their DGG Shostakovich, at least the 10th, posted on January 8, 2017 at 12:09:24 | |
Hope they left the DGG engineers at home. |