Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Mariss Jansons, Ronald Corp :: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker; 1812; Francesca da Rimini; Romeo and Juliet

Jansons At His Worst With Tone Poems But Best With Nutcracke

Kromme | 09/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was not going to review Jansons' Nutcracker but when i saw that incredibly harsh criticism i feel i had to state some points.



First of all i must admit 5 stars are little generous given that i agree everything with the earlier reviewers said about fill-ups.Mariss Jansons is an exciting conductor who when at his artistic peak gives fierce and noble, exciting as if spontaneous but superbly judged performances.Even at an off day he nearly always gets it technically right but suffers from lack of inspiration.These tone poems of Tchaikovsky however is a near personality change because these performances are technically sloppy too.Oslo Philharmonic -an orchestra which played perfectly under Jansons in Tchaikovsky symphony cycle,Stravinsky,Shostakovich, Bartok,Dvorak and Mahler- are not at all playing well.They are not together.Jansons off-day goes on in interpretations.They are nearly dead.Almost as dead as Kurt Masur's New York account of Beethoven's fifth symphony.



Then why 5 stars?Because this Nutcracker is simply the best Nutcracker i have ever heard.Way better than the famed versions of Gergiev and Previn. Perfect tempo.No heavy-handed conducting like Previn,no rushing like Gergiev.This performance has both,sweet taste and energy.Excellent playing by London Philharmonic.Definitely one of their greatest recordings.Very very charming indeed.A "Bravo" to all included.



In sum ignore the fill-ups get it for ballet.It is delighting.Norman Lebrecht once tagged Mariss Jansons as "probably the most exciting conductor alive" and this recording shows why.Highly recommended."

For Nutcracker Alone

Aida M. Ahern | 08/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This volume is a tremendous bargain. This is the best Nutcracker on the market, and I grew up on the piece. To have it at this bargain price makes it recommendable for that reason alone. It is full of powerful and beautiful moments. The "suite" pieces are second to none, and the other sections and are quite engaging.As far as the other pieces in the set:Francesca da Rimini- I may yet learn to prefer this Francesca. It is truly an exhausting, exciting performance that makes me shout at the end. I don't get a great sound, however, and I don't hear the commitment to the lyrical moments as I do with Barenboim. I fiddle with my equalizer and get some improvements.Romeo and Juliet- There seem to be two "cymbal" versions of this piece, and Jansons takes the extra crashes in the allegro before the last slow section. I think this is not the authentic way and I don't prefer it. For good measure there is a gong crash signaling the death of the two lovers. Two much tinkering for me.1812-Musically and excitingly played. The canon blasts are below par, however."

Better fare elsewhere.

Prescott Cunningham Moore | 05/24/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Jansons' Tchaikovsky cycle is legendary. And rightfully so. He nearly matches Mravinksy in excitement in the finale three symphonies and proves himself just as competent as Markevitch in the first three. The Oslo Philharmonic gives him their all, allowing Jansons to focus completely on his interpretation - interpretations known for their strength and cogency of musical argument, architectural scope, emotional control, and attention to detail. I always found it curious, however, that Brian Couzens never had Jansons record the major orchestral tome poems and overtures. In the set's initial carnation, only the second symphony had a coupling, the Capriccio Italian, a reading in actuality of no real distinction. Still, I was eager to hear what Jansons would make of Romeo and Juliet, the 1812, and Francesca de Rimini. Thus, I eagerly bought this set, hoping the performances would live up to the same standard of excellence found in the Chandos set. What I found were three of the most lifeless performances of these orchestral war horses ever to be released, recorded in claustrophobic sound by EMI. Indeed, it suddenly became clear why Couzens shied away from recording Jansons in Tchaikovsky's lighter, frothier fare.



The fault lies just as much with me for purchasing this disc as it does with EMI for releasing these performances in the first place. I should have known that the very strengths of Jansons' interpretations of the symphonies - architecture, argument, and emotional control - would be the weaknesses of these lighter works. Is anyone interested in a dry-eyed Romeo and Juliet that sacrifices overt emotionalism for musical architecture? Certainly not me. But EMI should know better than to keep these releases on the market.



As for the performances themselves, each is more disappointing than the next. Francesca da Rimini opens about as ominously as a Disney villain on Prozac. Where is the fire and brimstone, the subterranean terrors, the immediate fear created by Tchaikovsky's brilliant orchestration? Certainly not here. The cries of the damned sound like merely polite complaints compared to the blood-curdling screams Tchaikovsky asks for; the whole hell-music lacks the necessary macabre, all wrapped in some pretty sloppy orchestral playing. When Jansons finally musters up some dead-sounding music, it is for the lover's theme, which receives a particularly lifeless and wooden performance. Gone is the mysterious rapture of their forbidden love. Things finally pick up about three-quarters through the performance, but by that time, who cares? It's the equivalent of listening to a comatose performance of the Bruckner 8th simply for an exciting coda to the finale. Too little too late.



Romeo and Juliet is the absolute nadir of this disc, a lifeless reading with a recorded sound that matches Jansons measure for measure. Highlighting the dichotomy between the three theme groups seems unimportant to Jansons, who delivers a lackluster Friar Laurence, a tensionless quarrel, and an equally uninspired love theme. Worse still, Jansons' uses an alternative edition of the Fantasy Overture equipped with all these bizarre percussive effects including added cymbal crashes, a gratuitous tam tam at the lover's death, and a snare drum during the funeral dirge. The recorded sound is cramped, only worsening the listening experience.



The 1812 Overture goes well enough, if only by comparison to the previous monstrosities, but with so much fantastic competition in this field, this recording simply cannot hold up. The opening hymn is missing the very spirit of Tchaikovsky's writing. And although the development picks up with some tremendous string playing, the underpowered and reticent brass robs the music of nearly all its emotional impact. Finally, the various artillery effects could register with a lot more clarity, bringing this usually raucous overture to a pretty dismal close.



Given Jansons reputation as a somewhat cooler conductor, I did not really expect much from his Nutcracker, presented in full rather than its usual suite, this time with the London Symphony. Still, I expected more than what was presented. The entirety of the performance can be summed up by his handling of the miniature overture, which receives one of its most chillingly cold performances to date. That this is supposed to be charming ballet music told from a child's perspective is certainly not apparent from this recording. Still, it's nice to see the Nutcracker presented in full rather than its derivative suite from; some of Tchaikovsky's most charming and beautiful music is found in the first act of the ballet.



All in all, with such reference performances of the orchestral works by Bernstein on Sony and Muti on Brilliant, or the ballet by Ormandy, Dorati, and Previn, there is no reason why or how these recordings stay in the catalog. It is a shame really, especially in light of Jansons' success with the composer's symphonies. Still, charm and passion have never been Jansons strong suits, as showcased by his recent Concertgebouw recordings of Sibelius' 2nd Symphony, Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, and a somewhat uninteresting Petrushka. This is just another nail in the coffin. Pass."