Well, I got it. Just listen to the opening chamber portions of the William Tell overture, and you can tell right away, this will be a beautiful performance. The sweep of the opening cello is magnificent!
Surprisingly, the finale of this piece is not the barn-burner it should be however, and the crisp snap and swiftly perky, almost wayward tempos from Volume 1 really don't make their return until Il Signor Bruschino.
Again, there is a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar here. In this case, I wouldn't care if I never heard the overture to Demetrio and Polibio ever again. Granted it is an early piece, and this shows through its dullness, although the solo bassoon spotlight is wonderful.
The rest are affable orchestral overtures, and the many instrumental spotlights are aptly handled. Thankfully, the trombones are allowed to play out in the opening William Tell, another element missing from the previous entry.
On a different note, I have gone through a number of Naxos series recently - Leroy Anderson, Pablo de la Sarasate, Enrique Granados to name a few. In each, I thought these sets could be reduced in number of discs, and with the sub-60-minute run-times so far, I am beginning to see this same pattern yet again. We'll see...
A review from 2024
Volume Two of Naxos’ Rossini Overtures series features a ‘biggie’, William Tell, a couple of other familiar overtures, and some rather rare ones.
Where I found Christian Benda and the Prague Sinfonia Orchestra impetuous in their first entry, they simmer at a slightly lower level here. This creates beautiful sounds for the opening of William Tell, but the end galop is less-than pulse-pounding.
There are a number of amiable, sweet-sounding overtures, although the early Demetrio and Polibio has little to offer other than a lovely bassoon solo. Benda and the Prague ensemble liven things up for the last three overtures, finding their spirited footing from the previous recording.
Another fine outing, although I find the lesser pieces justifiably so.
Listen on YouTube
Works
William Tell: Overture (11.37)
Eduardo and Cristina: Overture (9.17)
L'inganno Felice: Overture (6.07)
Silken Ladder: Overture (6.01)
Demetrio and Polibio: Overture (6.31)
Il Signor Bruschino: Overture (4.52)
Sinfonia di Bologna (5.26)
Sigismondo: Overture (8.30)
Performers
Prague Sinfonia Orchestra
Christian Benda, conductor
Label: Naxos
Year: 2013
Total Timing: 58.21
Some of my wishes from the first volume were aptly addressed in its follow up recording.
With these fixes, a pervading sweetness was replaced over the previous manic energy.
Plus some of the unknown overtures are best to remain so. For the collector who wants to hear everything, though, this is a formidable set alongside Sir Neville.
Find more Rossini recordings HERE!
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