Search - Ives, Berg, Karabtchevsky :: Ives: Symphony No. 4; Berg: Der Wein

Electric with excitement!

Mark G McCue | Denver, CO United States | 04/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia has long been a standard-bearer for the world's modern and contemporary music, so it's a wonder we haven't had more recordings by it.Well, we have one here that is crackling with a sense of occasion and a joy in performance that's very rare. Ives's Fourth has had a lot of good representation in recordings, but the Venetian contingent restores the sense of fun often lacking in "serious" Ives performances. The extraordinarily idiomatic chorus is the real star, sounding as if it's just walked out of Christ Church in Boston--not a lapse anywhere into Verdi or rolled "r"s...even the Yankee nasals are correct. Aiding the chorus is the instrumental contingent that even gets the American town band sound down to a real art, much more so than any American performers I've heard (wouldn't it be nice if we would return the favor with some really idiomatic Verdi performances from the Met once in awhile?) Overall, the vigor met with polish and commitment in this performance is very hard to beat. I won't be throwing out anything I already have, but I'm adding this Fourth as a gemstone. Maestro Karabchevsky should feel honored that his reading is so honored.The Berg brings us an interesting coupling...something I'm sure would surprise Ives...and while performance standards remain extremely high, the interest is less. Kringleborn doesn't have a great voice, but it's a good one, used with intelligence and in full service of the text, but perhaps this seminal work is showing its age. When I first saw the disk, I was dreading the possibility of one of those awful "hausfrau" sort of performances in the school of Ilona Steingruber, what Italians would call "correct", what I call "dull." This is very, very far from that and Kringleborn in no way sings down to us or tries to impress us with how "important" the work is. We got a good, solid, communicative performance that the material benefits from a great deal.To top all of this off: this is a live recording, not sounding it a bit, which impresses all the more that the usual little debris of a concert are noticeably absent (except for a little riser squeal here and there). The sound is thoroughly impressive: full, rich, spacious, with the great personality of the venue. The audience behaves with great civility, so much so that you don't notice it until it applauds. Thankfully, the producer doesn't snip the huzzahs short: we get a fine and respectful fadeout.In short, add this one to your collection. It'll set you back a little, but the rewards are extremely generous and gratifying. Here's hoping Mondo Musica has other gems from the Fenice it can introduce us to soon."