Gone forever, it seems, are the days
when the major orchestras of the US and Europe churned out new
recordings by the dozens every month for the great labels of the
era…Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca… conducted by the giants
of the time. Filling that gap are smaller labels like Reference
Recordings who produce a few expertly prepared recordings each year.
Lucky for all us recorded music fans, Reference has forged a bond
with the Kansas City Symphony culminating in a series of well
received recordings. Their newly released 4th (a 5th is “in the
can”) collaboration was recorded in February 2012 at the then brand
new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
I also have to give the Kansas City
Symphony, Reference Recordings and all involved great credit for
daring to record major standard repertoire pieces that often have
some very heady competition. No unknown composers or works on this
latest disc containing three 20th century orchestral
showpieces, Prokofiev’s “Love for Three Oranges” Suite,
Bartók’s “Miraculous Mandarin” Suite
and Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria
von Weber.” The program, titled “Miraculous Metamorphoses”,
captures some of the best playing yet heard from the Symphony. The
ensemble is crisp and visceral, lyrical when called upon combined
with Stern's trademark brisk yet not excessive tempi.
Michael Stern’s very first concert as
Music Director included a performance of the Hindemith
“Metamorphosis” that wowed the audience. This one is even better
with the orchestra's now trademark sparkling winds, burnished brass
and ringing, clean percussion. One of Hindemith's more colorful and
splashy scores, “Metamorphosis” can easily become mere fluff in
the wrong hands. Stern relishes the driving, dancing rhythms of the
opening movement (reminding us of its origins as a ballet score)
followed soon thereafter by a tender and elegant Andantino 3rd
movement. The liner notes describe the “Turandot Scherzo” second
movement as “giving the percussion a stunning workout”. The
percussion of the Kansas City Symphony are more than up to the task
at hand and the sonics let the pitched percussion glow while
capturing the deep resonance of the drums.
The clarion horn calls over the
chattering winds in the march finale are just breathtaking simply one
of those recording moments you just have to put on repeat and relish
as long as you can. But do not linger too long, the mad rush to the
climax is thrilling and powerful.
The Prokofiev “Love for Three Oranges
Suite” verily crackled with wit and snap. The whole set is brisk
and fresh and the usual clear Reference Recordings sound highlighted
the often clever wind and string detail to advantage. The tender
elegance of “The Prince and the Princess” movement was nicely
contrasted with its more sardonic suite mates, for example the almost
too familiar “March” with its absurd wit. Stern fully realizes
“Love for Three Oranges” is a charming and farcical romp full of
jesters, witches, royalty and magic but never degenerates into mere
silliness. Far from dry and foursquare, this is a fine performance
that would stand with my favorite Dorati/London or Marriner/London
performances.
The violent and complex score of the
Bartók “Miraculous Mandarin Suite” was
breathtakingly realized by Stern and his forces aided by the stellar
recording. Note, for example, the clear ting of the tambourine and
the rumbling organ pedals making themselves heard through the din of
the street in the opening prelude. The seduction games sections are
wonderfully sleazy and decadent. The
details that Stern and the recording bring into
focus are instrumental in setting this mood, not just an end
into themselves. The concluding “chase” fugue is bracing and
quick, but not too wild, controlled brutality would be a good
description. The important, driving percussion is clearly heard along
with the gutsy, frantic strings bringing the suite and the program to
an exciting close.
Readable, enlightening CD booklets are
almost a surprise in this day of skimpy multi-lingual booklets or no
information at all when listening to a download or music service.
“Miraculous Metamorphoses'” notes by Richard Freed are
intelligent and informative and also include bios of Stern, the
recording crew, a brief history of the orchestra and a roster of the
musicians.
Produced and
engineered by two
of the recording world's
geniuses, David Frost and Keith O. Johnson, “Miraculous
Metamorphoses” has an envious pedigree. I noted that the
sound on this release, the first from Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman
Center, is a bit dryer, cooler and less reverberant than the previous
recordings in the cavernous Community of Christ Auditorium. Details
abound however, most welcome in the thickly scored Bartók,
and you still want to reach out and touch the instruments that seem
to be right with you.
Performances that can stand with the
best of them and sonics that sound fabulous even on my built-in
computer speakers combine for another Reference Recordings/Kansas
City Symphony “hit”.
“Miraculous Metamorphoses”
Hindemith, Prokofiev, Bartók
Kansas City Symphony,
Michael Stern Music Director and Conductor
Reference Recordings
RR-132
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