Bargain basement
prices for this three CD set from Brilliant but the performances
are anything but bargain basement. Crisp, clean, vital and engaged
they are consistently bracing though the repertoire, it’s true,
demands nothing less. In a sense there’s little analysing to
be done with the series of upbeat vaudevillian pranks, waltzes
and terpsichorean turns so expertly delineated by Kuchar and
his forces. But it takes precision, authority and a good ear
for balance to deliver such consistently enjoyable performances.
The crystal clear trumpets in the Dance No.1 from the second
Jazz Suite (Suite for Variety Orchestra No.1) show the level
of precision as does the delightful Viennese waltz (full of
percussive effect and brass blare) of the Waltz No.2 from the
same set. Similarly there’s the quirky xylophone to add texture
and colour to the Polka from the Jazz Suite No.1 and the God
Bless America type chest swelling of Novorossijsk Chimes (it doesn’t sound too off
it either). That’s another pleasure of this set – a little performed
piece such as this is included as well as the longer Overture
on Russian and Kirghiz Themes. The Festive Overture by the way
gets a vigorous and very effective run down.
The
Ballet Suites fare equally well. The Bolt especially allows
the flair-packed brass section a free rein – punchy in the Overture
– and with crude insinuation in the Polka, joined by the whistling
high wind. The Finale is suitably riotous – but always well
played. Kuchar encourages the lower brass in the Limpid Stream
and gets real warmth from the Adagio as indeed the orchestra’s
leader cultivates in the slow movement from the Golden Age ballet
suite. The Hamlet Suite has been around before as a single release
on ordinary CD [Naxos 8.557446] and CD/SACD hybrid [Naxos 6.110062]. This was apparently a first complete recording of the published
score. Here we have just the suite – about twenty-eight minutes’
worth. Kuchar and his band respond to Shostakovich’s etched
characterisation with considerable power, from the Prelude’s
unease and poised baroque insinuation In the Garden through
the quotation of the song How should I your true love know
and elsewhere grandiloquence and the grimly exacting Duel. The
light-hearted music for the Gadfly – ceremonial, Sarabande
like nobility, galloping Waltz, with its admixture of Tchaikovskian
ballet hints – is just as convincing – effervescent indeed in
this performance though here there are a number of other contenders
in the market place.
There
is also some competition in the case of the Suites. Chailly
has recorded a number though not as many as are here and certainly
not at this price. In bold livery this Brilliant three CD set
scores very highly indeed.
Jonathan
Woolf
