La Mer/Poeme De L Amour/Barque

The more I listen to Mestro Muti I wonder how in the world that Philadelphia let this man get away. He is a master colorist, interpreter and seems to always have complete control over the orchestra. I don't mean this in a 'holding a club' way. It is the way that the shape and phrasing of each piece and how each nuance becomes part of the whole piece. Then the color of the strings or winds or brass. He really expects a lot from his players and they shine for him every time. I always wonder how hard it is for brass players to play as softly as he asks?

The Chausson and Ravel are wonderful, but the centerpiece is Debussy's 'La Mer'. I thought that there would never be a topper to the old Ormandy recording but I must correct myself. This is such masterful conducting and playing. The first movement, so fluid and the cello entrance in the second part is mesmerizing. The second movement with the string play and the build to its crescendo and the power of the third with the dialogue of the wind and the waves. I not only felt it but I could picture it in my mind.

I will say it again; how did this man get away and why is he not given enough critical acclaim? I used to read that whenever he and the Philadelphia Orchestra toured Europe that there was absolute pandemonium! An actual cult like following in Europe for him and the orchestra. As much as I have listened to Wolfgang Sawallisch, and I do like his recordings, especially Bruckner and Strauss, he doesn't hold a candle to Maestro Muti. His Tchaikovsky and Beethoven are sine qua non. his recordings of Schubert with the VPO are remarkable as well as his Mozart opera recordings. I have recordings of Prokifiev, Respighi and others and his recording of Mahler's Titan is also sine qua non!

This is a must for any serious collector of, not only Debussy, but for any serious collection of classical music.

Gobble the copies that are left up!

This is a thematic disc with performances of three very beautiful French music about the sea dating from the 1890s and 1900s by Ricardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. These musicians are joined by operatic soprano Waltraud Meier, who has frequently worked with Muti, in the Chaussonk. My summary comment is that this CD is an exceptionally sensitive and musical performance by the orchestra, Muti and Meier but it is held back by the recorded sound.

Ernest Chausson's "Poeme de l'amour et de la mer" (1893) is a big work consisting of two long songs linked musically and thematically, separated by a shorter musical interlude. This interlude is needed because it is among the most taxing piece in the repertory for the soprano. I have been listening to four versions of the Poeme recently and have decided that Meier and Muti provide the best interpretation. They both understand the melodic lines well and provide an expressive, well-structured rendition of this complex, fascinating work. I find Meier/Muti marginally better than the versions by Janet Baker/Andre Previn (again a very good recording, but Baker is a mezzo and has to sing outside of her range for much of the Poeme ) and Susan Graham/Tortellier (Graham is dull musically, good orchestral take, the best sonics of any of these four in engineering terms ) and generally superior to Jessye Norman/Armin Jordan (the least successful, I gave it three stars in a review on this site). Meier is known most for her Wagnerian performances, has an enormous, powerful voice, and is also acutely musical. The only criticism I'll level at her performance here is that, with an outsize voice, she can't deliver the faster passages with the precision of Janet Baker. I'll also add that I still haven't heard a truly great performance of the "Poeme".

The shorter work is a favorite of mine, Ravel's "A boat on the ocean" (from 1905), which is given a blazing performance here. Finally, there is Muti's interesting take on Debussy's "La mer" (1905). My reference recording for this tremendous work is Boulez' DG version with the Cleveland Orchestra' which provides an interesting comparison with Muti's worthy effort. While Boulez emphasizes the tonal shadings and subtle hues, Muti concentrates on the musical logic and flow, which makes for a different musical experience. Both are valuable and differentiated interpretations of a great orchestral work by two master conductors.

A disc like this should have blockbuster sonics by definition. The EMI engineers deliver a boxy sound with closed-in sonics that, while not terrible, isn't wholly successful. It is this aspect of this very fine disc that prevents me giving it 5 stars, which I think should be assigned only to entirely successful efforts. That said, the contributions by Meier, Muti and the Philadelphians are very good, making this a strong release, featuring some lovely music. 4  stars.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars