| Review by robstl February 18, 2006 (7 of 8 found this review helpful)
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I greatly enjoyed the versions of the 5th and 6th symphonies produced by these forces, great sound, with a gritty orchestra occasionally pushed to (and once in a while, over) its limits.
This 8th is unusual, though not without its merits. The orchestra again gives a great effort. The sound is a bit constricted, not as open as the 11th recorded a year and a half earlier.
Although timings don't always tell the story, in this case they help:
Caetani 1. 20'36" 2. 5'45" 3. 6'02" 4. 7'40" 5. 12'20"
Wigglesworth 1. 28'49" 2. 6'52" 3. 6'46" 4. 10'35" 5. 15'49"
Kitajenko 1. 29'38" 2. 7'02" 3. 6'21" 4. 11'10" 5. 15'08"
While Wigglesworth and Kitajenko are more conventional if a bit broader than usual in the first movement, Caetani blazes through, especially in movements 1, 4 and 5. Although there are some phrases which seem to benefit from this faster pace, I find his readings of these movements too rushed, almost hurried at times. Particularly in 1 and 5, they don't build in cumulative power as they do in other readings.
I'll return to this periodically for a different take on this great symphony, but I would recommend one of the other excellent SA-CDs of this as a first-line choice (Wigglesworth, Kitajenko, or Rostropovich).
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