MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

Invitation to the Dance
Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936)
The Seasons, Op. 67 (1899) [37:43]
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C sharp minor, S359 (orch. Karl Müller-Berghaus) (1847) [10:17]
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Boléro (orch. 1928) [15:13]
Alborada del gracioso (orch 1918) [8:01]
Adolphe Charles ADAM (1803-1856)
Giselle - excerpts (ed. Henri Büsser) (1841) [49:39]
Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826)
Aufforderung zum Tanz (Invitation to the Dance), Op. 65 (orch. Hector Berlioz) (1819) [9:48]
Manuel de FALLA (1876-1946)
Three dances from El sombrero del tres picos (The Three-cornered Hat) (1919) [12:15]
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra/Albert Wolff
rec. La Maison de la Mutualité, Paris, France, September 1954 (Liszt), May 1956 (Glazunov), October-November 1957 (Adam); La Maison de la Chimie, Paris, November 1958 (Ravel, Weber, Falla)
DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 2388 [71:36 + 71:57]

Experience Classicsonline



These Eloquence reissues continue to impress; I’ve heard several, the most recent of which featured this Dutch-born conductor and his French band in a delicious selection of lollipops (review). Not quite in the same league as the Ansermet recordings from the same period but enjoyable, idiomatic performances nonetheless. What also makes these vintage sets so rewarding is that they are mostly in early stereo, the Glazunov produced by John Culshaw, who went on to mastermind Solti’s historic Ring. And the Eloquence re-mastering has been sympathetically done, with no obvious attempt to mask tape-hiss or otherwise enhance the original tapes; the resulting sonics are a timely reminder of just how good these Decca engineers really were.

Glazunov’s The Seasons is one of those solid, old-fashioned ballets that also allows an orchestra to shine. There are some fine modern versions – Ashkenazy and Svetlanov among them – but what this one brings to the table is a unique Gallic sound, thanks in part to those somewhat nasal woodwinds. Warmth is the key word here, even in the extremes of Winter, which only shows its age in a high noise floor; otherwise, all is present and correct, and Wolff keeps the music moving along nicely. He is rather leisurely though, which makes the cold snap last longer than I’d like, but then this is an unhurried, affectionately shaped reading that majors in elegance and charm rather than bright spectacle.

Listening to this recording one realises just how much detail and ambient information those analogue tapes contained, all of it beautifully preserved here. Rhythmically, the dances of Summer are as fresh and spontaneous as one could hope for, and it’s only in the climaxes that the bass drum seems to catch the engineers off guard. The orchestra produces rich, glowing colours in Autumn, those thumping rhythms thrilling but not overdriven. That same unhurried approach informs Wolff’s reading of the Liszt Rhapsody, its Magyar fire undimmed by the boxy mono recording. Some listeners may prefer a higher flame, but Wolff certainly turns up the heat in the exhilarating friska.

The ubiquity of Boléro has diluted its magic; more’s the pity, as some might be tempted to skip this slow-burning but very sensuous performance of Ravel’s signature piece. Orchestral timbres are very well conveyed, the side drum ideally placed in the aural soundscape. I’m as weary as anyone of these hypnotic rhythms but Wolff makes this music feel so suave and sophisticated. Some instruments do sound a tad fruity, the timps a bit odd, but it all builds to a most impressive climax, the Decca sound as wide-ranging as ever. That’s also true of Alborada del gracioso, which emerges from the speakers with tremendous weight and presence. Indeed, this is another of those performances that makes an old favourite sound newly minted. Musically and sonically I’d say this version is every bit as desirable as any in the catalogue.

Much of the second disc is devoted to what the booklet calls ‘judiciously chosen’ excerpts from Giselle, another of those staples that – for me at least – has lost its flavour over the years. I’m not sure Wolff’s reading – poised, precise – does anything to change that perception, but there’s no denying the gentle charm he finds in this score. And what’s more, his sensible speeds and phrasing would make this very danceable indeed. The Act I Pas de deux is especially buoyant, with just a hint of overload in the climaxes; the fanfares of Le chasse royale are splendid but the music is a little short of momentum. No such qualms about the March and Galop, both delectably done. One small caveat; the somewhat restricted dynamics bring audible signs of distress in the tuttis.

The harp-led Entrée et danse de Myrthe in Act II certainly caresses the ear, but not even Wolff can disguise the rumty-tum nature of the writing. That said, this is a perfectly decent performance, and one that should appeal to those with a sweet tooth. As for Weber’s Invitation to the Dance it’s also middle-of-the-road, marred only by occasional thumps – felt rather than heard – in the left channel. Surprisingly, this is a rather subdued reading; ditto the trio of dances from Falla’s Three-cornered Hat. This really needs more energy and bite than Wolff and his band can muster.

The hidden pleasure of the Eloquence reissues is their ability to renew and revitalise, rare commodities in an age of musical saturation and uniformity. This collection isn’t nearly as entertaining as Wolff’s Overtures in Hi-Fi; that said, the first disc in this dance set gets my vote.

Dan Morgan

 

 

 

 

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.