Search - Tchaikovsky, Alsop, Colorado Sym Orch :: Symphony 4

Disappointing

J. Buxton | Waltham, MA United States | 08/11/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have eagerly awaited this release as I am a fan of Alsop and the fine orchestra she has developed in Colorado, and because I love Tchaikovsky's Fourth. First, the good news. The Naxos engineers have done a good job of capturing these live performances in a space (Boettcher Concert Hall) historically maligned for its flawed acoustics. The recorded sound is very fine indeed. Also, the brass in both works are to be commended as their sound is full and brilliant, but not overdone in my opinion. My disappointment lies with the performances, really not up to par with Alsop's usual level of quality and certainly not matching other recordings of these works on the market today. Things are fine technically, the orchestra sounds fine and all the notes are in place. But there is no inspiration here. The entrance of the orchestra in the first tutti section of Romeo and Juliet sounds anemic. Later, the romance in this work seems to be missing, particularly in the "sighing" horns in the main theme. In short, it is boring and if you compare this to Karajan's Vienna version on Decca or Maazel's Cleveland version on Telarc you will notice an immediate difference. As for the Fourth, there are moments of real beauty like the way the third movement scherzo is handled. But there doesn't seem to be the passion or forward movement that sweeps you off your feet as this symphony should do. Compare to Szell's version with the London Symphony on Decca (now part of the Penguin Classics series), and you will see how this symphony can sound. This is definitely not the least satisfying version available and it is a good value for the money, but for a few dollars more try the Szell/London version."