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CD Review

Leonard Bernstein

  • Chichester Psalms
  • On the Waterfront - Symphonic Suite
  • On the Town - 3 Dance Episodes
Thomas Kelly, treble
Elizabeth Franklin-Kitchen, soprano
Victoria Nayler, alto
Jeremy Budd, tenor
Paul Charrier, bass
Bournemouth Symphony Chorus
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop
Naxos 8.559177 48:34
Find it at AmazonFind it at Amazon UKFind it at Amazon GermanyFind it at Amazon CanadaFind it at Amazon FranceFind it at Amazon JapanOrder Now from ArkivMusic.comFind it at CD Universe

Summary for the Busy Executive: Bargain-basement Bernstein.

Naxos has packaged three of Bernstein's most popular works on one budget CD. Many reviewers, especially those in England, have gone ga-ga over it, including putting it on their Best of the Month lists. Whatever they hear, I'm not hearing. I think the performances okay, although they certainly fall short of Bernstein's own readings. Alsop has always struck me as a clear-headed, rather than a passionate conductor, and her accounts here bear that out. There are some lovely subtleties in the reading, particularly a nicely-judged accelerando and crescendo toward the end of the third movement of the Chichester Psalms, but Bernstein – who handled his own music more roughly – gets more drama and jolts. Alsop's rhythmic moments seem flaccid (although probably more accurate) next to the composer's. She turns Bernstein's drama into good taste, a Cajun crawfish boil into watercress sandwiches at the Ritz-Carlton. I kept wishing the girl would let herself (and the orchestra) go.

On the other hand, it's a budget disc, very well recorded. If you don't know these works and want to experiment, give it a whirl. That's about the only way I'd recommend them. If you do know these works, you probably have Bernstein's superior performances already.

Copyright © 2008, Steve Schwartz

Trumpet

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