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June 27, 2003
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This is an excellent disc. The performance of the Festive Overture has magnificent sweep and is marvellously recorded. The Symphony is more calculated but that is certainly to the advantage of its coherence. The orchestral playing is very committed. Ashkenazy is among the strongest advocates of this ... more |
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June 27, 2003
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Other recordings at the Rudolfinum – most particularly Sinopoli’s magnificent traversal through Brahms’ complete works for choir and orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon have already exposed the problems of this hall as a recording venue for these particular forces. Here again the choir seems to be ... more |
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June 27, 2003
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An interesting collection of unknown Prokofiev. Ashkenazy paces the music very well, however, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic seems surprisingly uninvolved. More commitment would certainly have made up for the rather dry, upfront recording. Multi-channel does add some excitement to the Cantata ... more |
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June 27, 2003
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A very taut performance of Mahler’s sprawling Seventh Symphony. The orchestral playing is fine, if not first class, and has an authentic warmth about it. Especially the brass section. Ashkenazy’s rigorous, decidedly unromantic approach is at odds with current performance practices, but it yields ... more |
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June 27, 2003
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An energetic account, for some reason more vital than ‘Tragic’. Ashkenazy seems a bit pressed and sometimes at the expense of orchestral precision. Certainly no ‘Abschied vom Leben’ but rather a wild embrace – and perhaps that is also a valid approach. The orchestra is not first-class but the ... more |
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