A typical product of the Sawallisch era in Philadelphia
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/21/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"EMI has stuck with the Philadelphia Orchestra going back to Ormandy in his old age and continuing through Muti and Sawallisch. As a result of this devotion they've gotten a barrelful of gorgeously played but musically compromised recordings. The best reading here is of the Dvorak Seventh, which shows quite a lot of energy and commitment on Sawallisch's part. As middle-of-the-road musicmaking goes, it certainly can compete with Masur, for example, but pales beside Kertesz.
In the Cello Concerto Sawallisch sounds seriously dull, and his slack tempos do little to invigorate Natalia Gutman's rather modest, recessed reading of the solo part. Rostropovich has nothing to fear. EMI was probably right to salvage Sawallisch's Dvorak symphonies on a super-budget line, where they are good value for the money."