Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
The Wasps: Aristophanic Suite (1908/12)
Fantasia on Greensleeves (1934)
Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Variations on an Original Theme, Op.36 (Enigma (1898-1899)
Kansas City Symphony / Michael Stern
rec. 2011, Community of Christ Auditorium, Independence, MO, USA
Reference Recordings RR-129SACD [61]
The utterly clean outline of the sonority at the disc’s start, the depth of the solo horn and bassoon and the warmth of the cellos, the clearly placed instruments; all this is no less than we’ve come to expect from Reference Recordings, and it’s all here. For audiophiles, this will be a treat.
Music lovers, however, may have to make some mild allowances. Under Michael Stern, the Kansas City Symphony offers beautiful, blended strings; unified winds; and firm, evenly balanced brasses – there’s certainly nothing to apologize for. Still, here and there, the needed power for the peak moments, especially among the strings, isn’t quite there.
We still don’t hear the music for The Wasps as frequently as we might, at least Stateside. In the Overture’s introduction, those trills have buzzed more insistently elsewhere, but the arrival of the main Allegro infuses the crisp playing with just the right amount of swagger. The first Entr’acte is restrained and lilting, the Kitchen Utensils’ March casual and cheerful. The second Entr’acte plays counterpoint against a second march-of-sorts; the final Ballet begins, unexpectedly, as a tarantella! I wouldn’t want to evaluate this against any of the echt-British versions, starting with Boult (EMI/Warners), but Stern’s performance is strong.
This cool, almost chaste take on Greensleeves may not please those who want a dreamy, Romantic swoon. The introductory phrases feel languid – though the crisp definition of the flute is fetching – but the gently rocking main theme is lovely, and the faster bit, based on Mistress Quickly’s aria in Sir John in Love, sets up the return appropriately. Nicely done.
The opening statement in the Enigma Variations is clear and refined, although the subito piano all but disappears. (You have to be careful with these audiophile productions.) The ensuing variations are nicely characterized – in turn, warmly caressed reed triplets; clean, skittish runs; a chipper hesitation waltz; and, in Troyte, all Hell breaking loose. But only two of the variations really stand out: an unusually prayerful, reverent Nimrod – though the climax falls short – and the Romanza, where the disturbed episode has never felt quite so ominous. Otherwise, it’s lovely but unexceptional.
Despite the excellent engineering, Reference Recordings loses points for not including an actual track listing for Enigma – 7-20 Variations on an Original Theme, without identifying the individual variations, isn’t particularly helpful – I had to run back and forth to Wikipedia for the details.
Stephen Francis Vasta
stevedisque.wordpress.com/blog
Previous reviews John Quinn, Jonathan Woolf and Dave Billinge
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