Lighter fare: Capriccio Espagnol

[Pat B]

I played this in a youth orchestra (which was years ago) and have enjoyed it ever since. Apparently somebody there was a Rimsky-Korsakov fan: the same orchestra played the Russian Easter Overture a year or two before.

Soon after, I headed down to Tower to look for a CD with those pieces. I chose a Philadelphia/Ormandy Essential Classics disc with those two and Scheherazade, which I knew about but hadn't heard yet. I didn't know anything about the recording, but it was the only one with those 3 pieces, it was by big names, and the price was right. What a letdown. Even Ormandy's critics generally give him credit for polish, but this one is just sloppy, and with some rough tone. Was this really the Philadelphia Orchestra? Aside from the disappointment in the two pieces that were familiar to me, I just couldn't figure out why Scheherazade is so popular.

Fast forward to 2012. I picked up the Chicago/Reiner Scheherazade, and suddenly its popularity made sense. I got the other two pieces by Dorati on Mercury. Here the LSO is in top form. The uncredited concertmaster plays with dazzling virtuosity. There is an exotic flair at the right spots. The 1959 recording happily avoids the clipping that plagues some Living Presence jobs. Thinking I didn't really need multiple (good) recordings of this music, I was set. (This disc is OOP and not in either Mercury box, but used copies are relatively affordable for now.)

Then yesterday, I heard a different version on the local classical station. This one was rhapsodic, maybe borderline impressionistic, with the downbeat becoming ambiguous at times. Then the climax is pushed right to the brink of disaster, without quite going over the edge. This turned out to be NYPO/Bernstein, which makes sense.

I guess I do need multiple recordings of it after all. I'll probably get the Bernstein. The price is right, though now I wish it was coupled with something other than Scheherazade. Does anybody have other favorites?

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[bigshot]

The Bakels and Svetlanov box sets of Rimsky are really remarkable. Stokowski's version with the LPO is good too.