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Date: | Mon, 1 Mar 1999 13:12:56 -0600 |
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Richard Pennycuick:
>I've only heard the Shapero twice with Previn and, IIRC, LAPO on New World.
>Have ordered Bernstein on the assumption it's probably a better version.
>Is it?
I find the Bernstein appreciably more exciting, in spite of its 1954 sound.
The rhythms seem snappier and the works holds together better, to my ears
(and I know I am not alone in this response.) You will have to test your
own reactions, but I think you will not be disappointed. Shapero likes the
Previn version, which has modern sound; he told me once that the violin
section in the Bernstein was a bit skimpy. (The orchestra was a New York
pickup ensemble.) Tommasini says that Previn emphasizes the more lyrical
passages while Bernstein lets them take care of themselves. (They do.)
I am reminded of a review--long ago--of the differences between Boult and
Previn conducting the RVW 5th Symphony. The reviewer--it was in Fanfare,
but I forget who--said that Boult's tempi were rock-firm and Previn let
the music breathe more, especially in the slow movement. The reviewer in
that case preferred the Previn, but I have always liked the Boult. The RVW
and the Shapero are not at all comparable but the conducting styles may be
comparable in this case. I could name other works and other conductors
(but I won't) where a piece fell apart for me because of tempi that were
allowed to relax too much. I often prefer very broad tempi, as in some
late Bernstein performances, for instance, and I have frequently failed to
enjoy performances of various works I considered too driven. The Bernstein
Shapero is not one of the latter, for me.
Jim Tobin
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