Op. 10, usually billed as Suite im alten Sti!

(written for violin and piano in 1886-87and orchestrated in 1906), shows just howcharming Sinding could be when he wasn'tintent on telling you Something Important -no wonder this is the only work of the sevenin this set to have caught on: there arerecordings by Heifetz, Perlman and Rosandand, more recently, Kraggerud, all inprogrammes mixing Sinding with othercomposers.Bielow is generally a reliable guide to the

solo parts, even if he plays in prose ratherthan poetry. There's the odd moment oftechnical insecurity in pitch and rhythm butnothing sufficiently serious to distract yourattention from the music. Likewise theorchestral playing, which is workmanlikeand professional, without bringing the touchof magic that might help make Sinding'sorchestral textures less of a slog. Therecording seems natural, which is an indirecttribute to the engineers: in concert the soloviolin would now and then be drowned bythe orchestra, but here they help keep hishead above water.To continue the marine metaphor, this is

music in which to dip your toes; end-to-endlistening would be a bit of a plunge. There'smuch that's lovely here but, as the bottles ofbooze in France warn you, sachez consommer

avec moderation. Martin Anderson

Stravinsky The Firebird. NewArensky/Glazunov/Grieg/SindingLes Orientales.Les Siecles/Fram;;ois-Xavier Roth.Musicales Actes Sud ASM06 (fullprice, 1 hour).Website www.actes-sud.fr. Producer/Engineer JiliHeger. Engineer FredericBriant.Dates Liveperformances at Cite de la Musique de ParisonOctober 2nd and Cathedrale de Laon,Aix-en-Provence on October 9th, 2010.

Stravinsky NewThe Firebirda. Scherzo fantastiqueb.WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln/Jukka-PekkaSaraste.Profil PH11041 (fullprice, 57 minutes). Websitewww.haensslerprofil.de U Producers aGunterWollersheim, bStephan Hahn. Engineers aMark Hohn,bUwe Sabirowsky.Dates aSeptember 17th and 18thand bDecember 6th and 10th, 2010

Comparisons:

The Firebird - complete:

Chicago SO/Boulez (DG) 471 741-2 (1992)

Columbia SO/Stravinsky

(Sony Classical) SK42432 (1961)

The Firebird - excerpts:

Straram arch/Stravinsky (Pearl) GEMMCD9334 (1928)

Franc;:ois-Xavier Roth's Les Siecles is a pluckyband of youngish French instrumentalistswith a broad repertoire (from the Baroqueto the avant-garde) and access to 'a vastperiod-instrument collection' from a varietyof eras. Although it's self-described as 'a

chamber orchestra for the 21st century',it is flexible in size (more than 75 playerson this recording); and on this celebrationof The Firebird's centenary, it imaginativelycouples a complete' performance of Stravinsky'sballet (on instruments more or less of thetime) with a reconstruction of Les Orientales,

the tawdry pot-pourri of cheap exoticism,drawn from pre-existing works by a handfulof different composers, that served as acurtain-raiser for its 1910 premiere.At first glance, it seems like an

exceptionally attractive offering; but whilethe results are frequently intriguing, in theend the disc is slightly disappointing. Mostsignificant is that, to my ears, the sounds ofthe instruments are not as 'groundbreaking' asthe publicity for this release has promised. Isthat because, having lived much of my lifewith Stravinsky's 1928 recording of Firebird -

which also uses French instruments frommore or less the same vintage - the periodsounds are already in my head? Or is itbecause the turn-of-the-century instruments -in marked contrast to the earlier instrumentswe hear in period performances of Berlioz oreven Liszt - don't sound that much differentfrom instruments (at least French instruments)of today?Or is it simply that I'm not listening for

the right things? The inadequate notes areespecially frustrating in this regard. We get afull listing of all the players, including (forthe winds, harps, keyboards and percussion)identification of the specific instrumentsthey're playing; but there's no discussion ofthe difference it makes, no hints about whatto pay attention to. (Oddly, the press kit,presumably aimed at people who need lessguidance, is slightly more forthcoming,if still vague, praising 'the particular tonalqualities of narrow bore French trumpetsand trombones, the valve horn and piquantwoodwind instruments'.) In any case, it'shard to know how much of the timbralcharacter we hear comes from themanufacture of the instruments themselves,how much comes from choices made byplayers and conductor. More detailedinformation would have helped us focuson the subtleties as we listen.Better engineering would have helped, too.

The recording has a fair degree of timbralaccuracy but balances are sometimes poor,partly because there's not a strong enoughsense of a coherent acoustic space. Often,it seems as if different players are inhabitingdifferent environments (listen, for example,to the conversation between clarinet and soloviola at rehearsal 60 in 'The Princesses withthe Golden Apples', band 16, 0'56"). As aconsequence, when material is tossed fromone section of the orchestra to another, theeffort can seem laboured. I found myselfstraining to put it all together.The performance is nimble and virtuosic

(listen, for instance, to the chirpy woodwindsin 'The Dance of the Firebird') but with a

INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW December 2011

slight lack of character. In part, the hint of

interpretative neutrality stems from a decision

by Roth to play down the music's romantic

roots; certainly, he resists the temptation to

linger, say, over the Firebird's supplications.

In part, too, it stems from his refusal to play

up the more timbrally garish gestures (for

instance, the snarl leading into rehearsal 107

in 'The Arrival of Kashchei', band 21, 0'20").

I wonder, though, whether some of the

problem doesn't lie with the orchestra itself.

As individuals, their technical accomplishment

is rarely in doubt, but for whatever reason,

the players lack a real esprit de corps. As a

result, while the performance is far from a

run-through, it doesn't quite sound like a

seasoned performance by players who know

each other well, either.

As for Les Orientales: sources I've consulted

disagree about what exactly was included

when this hotchpotch was premiered (some

say that there were bits of Borodin as

well). In any case, the ballet did include

orchestrations of piano works by Sinding and

Grieg (the latter, at least, by Stravinsky),

both of which have been lost. What we get

here are new versions, by Charlie Piper and

Bruno Mantovani, that provide a reasonable

facsimile of period style. None of these

matters is touched upon in the notes, which

are frustratingly brief. They're also sloppy,

describing the work as a 'composite ballet

[that] combines various different Russian

works' - even though half the composers are

Norwegian. In any case, the performance of

Les Orientales has plenty of energy, but, like

the Stravinsky, sometimes lacks sensuality -

an even more essential ingredient in this

ostentatiously hoochy-koochy score (listen to

the flat reading of the Sinding).

It doesn't help Roth to have his recording

appear at the same time as Jukka-Pekka

Saraste's excellent new CD. From the

opening bars, Saraste is more attentive to

the shapes of his phrases - what's fairly static

in Roth's hands shimmers with a clear sense

of expectation in Saraste' s. This romantic

sensitivity is closely tied to Saraste's greater

appreciation of the music's narrative progress.

The more dramatic moments have more

punch, while the narrative filler (the sections

that were snipped from the score when

Stravinsky pruned it down to make the more

popular suites) has a firmer sense of direction.

Perhaps more surprising, given the raison

d 'etre of the Roth, is that Saraste is vastly

more imaginative in his treatment of timbre,

both in the more striking and experimental

passages (note how evocatively Saraste brings

out the chilling shift in colour as Ivan

penetrates the palace) and in those moments

that look fondly back to the Russian romantic

tradition and sideways to Debussy.

The Cologne orchestra plays magnificently,

too, both in the ferociously intricate

clockwork textures of the more forward-

looking music (played with an enviable sense

of ensemble that Les Siecles simply can't

54

match) and in the simpler passages, which

glow with a seductive eloquence (listen to the

delicacy of the strings, say, at the appearance

of the princesses). Solo work is first-rate

throughout, too (special praise to the first

oboe - try the 'Round Dance of the

Princesses'). Add to this a spiffy reading of

Stravinsky's early Scherzo Jantastique, as well as

the skilful work of the engineers, and you

have a recording that can hold its own against

such classics as Boulez's Chicago reading and

the 1961 recording of the complete ballet by

Stravinsky himself. Peter J. Rabinowitz

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Svendsen NewOrchestral Works, Volume 1.Karneval i Paris, Op. 9. Zorahayda,Op. 11. Fest-Polonaise, Op. 12.Four Norwegian Rhapsodies - No.1,Op. 17; No.2, Op. 19. Romeo und Julia,Op. 18. Romanze, Op. 26a. I Fjol gjaett'eGjeitinn.Bull Saeterjentens Sondag (arr.Svendsen).Wagner Wesendonck-Lieder - No.5,Traume (arr. Svendsen).Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Neeme Jarviwith aMarianne Thorsen, bMelina Mandozzi(violins).Chandos CHAN10693 (full price, 1 hour20 minutes). Website www.chandos.netilProducer Brian Pidgeon. Engineers Ralph Couzens,Gunnar Herleif Nilsen. Dates August 28th andSeptember 1st, 2009, August 26th, 27th and.31 st,2010.

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Comparison:

Latvian National SO/Mikkelsen

(CPO) 777 372-2 (1997-98, three discs)

Norway's national composer? Most would

respond 'Edvard Grieg' without stopping to

think. Spare a thought, though, for Johan

Svendsen, Grieg's slightly older contemporary.

Chandos's booklet note lays down the

gauntlet immediately: 'The orchestra was

the true medium of Johan Svendsen.' That

definitely was not the case for the piano-

loving Grieg! Thus, in a way, Grieg's and

Svendsen's talents complemented one another.

Today, Grieg's music has eclipsed Svendsen's

in popularity. Svendsen's biggest 'hit' was

the Romanze included here, and even that

has faded. (It was all in a day's work -

quite literally! - for the busy composer.)

Even though Grieg has overshadowed

Svendsen, at least internationally, there is

much to enjoy on this very well-filled CD.

One might even call its mood festive; it

reminded me of Christmas Day! It is the first

volume in a projected series of four. This is

in contrast to a three-CD collection from

CPO, released in 2008, conducted by Terje

Mikkelsen. CPO's collection is competitively

priced (three discs for the price of two) but

it is not complete. It omits the two works for

violin and orchestra - not just the Romanze

but also Saeterjentens S@ndaa. Svendsen's

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