The Naxos Rossini Overtures set comes on 4 CDs. CHECK!
Each CD can hold up to 79 minutes of music, according to the old standard. CHECK!
Four CDs could possibly hold over 5 hours of music. CHECK!
Naxos provides 30 tracks of music for a total of 3 hours, 49 minutes on 4CDs. UGH!!!
Perhaps these were performed over time; after all they were released in four volumes over four years. In fact, each CD lists Sept. 5 & 6, 2011, and May 30 & 31, 2012 as the recording dates. NOT THERE YET!
Surely we can give some slack, as there are no other complete sets of Rossini overtures available. Au contraire, mon Ami... Philips has a 3CD set of complete Rossini overtures from Neville Marriner and his Academy. Furthermore, the total timing for his 26 tracks of music are 3 hours and 30 seconds, and for those keeping up with their head math, 3CDs can hold around 4 hours of music, coming much closer to the mark. JUST A LITTLE FURTHER!
Then perhaps, there are more offerings of literature on Naxos or the playing and sonics are better than Marriner's 70s recordings. Well now, we come to our senses. I will not go so far as to say Christian Benda and the Prague Sinfonia are better, but I will say they are different, or at least complementary to one another. The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is lighter and more homogeneous sounding, while Benda and Prague are recorded much, much closer and clearer amongst individual orchestral sections, save the brass (especially trombones).
With Marriner's orchestral lightness, he is also slightly swifter than Benda and Prague, although Naxos sonically brings home the percussion and woodwind solos impactfully. With a closer, drier acoustic, they crisply cut into this music as opposed to Marriner's further-flung hall ambiance.
As to the offered overtures, Marriner might offer four less tracks than Naxos, but Benda also provides two or three overtures which recycle the same musical ideas, bearing slightly different orchestrations or structures, but in essence, extremely similar. In the 4th volume, Benda annoyingly cuts off a few of the rarer overtures short as well.
So what is the solution? GET BOTH! Truthfully, it is probably best to preview these on YouTube to get what you want (see below), or avoid the whole physical media format I prefer, and pay for a subscription service. Both Naxos and Philips offer one or two pieces the other doesn't have, so neither are completely complete compared to one another.
I continue to be annoyed at Naxos, however. The last four box sets I have reviewed from them could have easily shaved off a CD or two, and when living space is at a premium in various parts of the world, it would be nice for a company to look out for the consumer, instead of trying to bilk them out of money. I don't mind the slow drip releases across many years, but if a 70s Rossini set can offer 70+ minutes per CD, let's do it!
If you only want the most famous overtures, however, I wouldn't go for either of these recordings. In this case, I would look at Abbado, Chailly, Muti, Giulini, or if you are not afraid of older sound, Arturo Toscanini or Pierino Gamba.
Listen on YouTube
Works
Volume 1 (60.04)
Volume 2 (58.21)
Volume 3 (55.42)
Volume 4 (55.31)
Performers
Prague Philharmonic Choir (Ermione)
Prague Sinfonia Orchestra
Christian Benda, conductor
Label: Naxos
Year: 2017
Total Timing: 3.49.38
My first world problem, at least as it relates to this Rossini overtures set, is completely material.
Otherwise, I like the sonic placement of the orchestra best of all (not the brass however), and the clean-cut approach to Rossini is exciting.
For the most famous overtures, however, go elsewhere.
Find more Rossini recordings HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment