Search - Edouard Lalo, David Robertson, Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra :: Lalo: Namouna

All the music, but ...

Classic Music Lover | Maryland, USA | 06/11/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This CD gives you more of the Namouna ballet music than any other one out there, and for this reason alone it's worth it for devotees of Lalo's special brand of propulsive, rhythmic, French musical late romanticism to acquire. But to my mind, Maestro Robertson's interpretation is heavy-handed in quite a few numbers of the score -- as if he's thinking of this as a symphonic poem rather than a ballet. To really hear how effective this music can be when treated to true Gallic wit and style, turn instead to Paul Paray's superlative recording of the Ballet Suite #1 on Mercury. Even though it includes less than half the music recorded here, it's the better choice. Also, the Detroit Symphony in the Paray recording is far more fleet-footed and polished than the earnest yet ultimately unsatisfying efforts of the Monte-Carlo players."