David Harbin wrote:

>I'd like to buy myself a Sheherazade but am unsure which one to go for.
>I want an exciting characterful performance in realistic sound (deep
>rich bass, timpani has impact etc.) I'm considering two versions and
>was wondering if there are any comments:

Yap.  Half an hour ago, I arrived home from Amsterdam, where David Zinman
and the Concertgebouw Orchestra gave the most exiting Sheherazade I've
ever heard.  How underrated David Zinman is!  He is to me just one of
those maestros that don't show off themselves but know how to make an
orchestra play "special".  He is one of the very few that get better and
better.  What strikes me most is his sense of structure.  Never have I
heard a Sheherazade that sounds like a true symphony.  Taking the third
movement just a bit slower turns it truly into a Tsjaikovskian waltz,
with just enough scherzando character.  Taking the abundant woordwind
solos just a bit less improvisando makes them something more than just
the show-off interspersions they are in many other interpretations.  And
how striking are the Sheherazade and Sultan's themes reconciliated at
the end.  Not only as a result of the story's logic, but also and foremost
as a result of their mutual influence and transformation in the second
and third movement.  Next to that, the Concertgebouw Orchestra's obvious
virtuosity gave the necessary spice.

To add a comment to David's question: there are many versions out there
that do not lack fireworks: Muti with the Philadelphia, the mentioned
Svetlanov, Maazel with the Berlin Philharmonic and the recent Gergiev.
Any of these won't disappoint.  I would give the edge just to Gergiev
because you seem to put high importance on sound.  But considering that
you might want to develop a permanent and ever growing relationship to
this exiting piece, and continue to discover some of its less obvious
qualities, you might want to go for a bit more in the way of musical
substance.  Try e.g.  the Kondrashin/Concertgebouw on Philips or the
Beecham/RPO (not made in the barn) on EMI.  I also have a soft spot for
Janssons/LPO, but I don't know if that's still out there.

O, and by the way: This afternoon we also had the concert for seven
winds, timpani and strings by that sadly underrated composer Frank
Martin.  Is there anybody on the list who has an opinion on him?

regards, Jos