Party record alert! This stupifyingly dull record is appalling. Roger Norrington claims in his notes that there was no such thing as continuous vibrato in orchestras until the 1930s, as recordings of the era “prove”. God only knows which ones he was listening to, but not only is his point nonsense, it’s no excuse for turning in the most lifeless and desiccated performances of this music ever committed to disc. Vibrato or not, I don’t see how he can justify for one minute the lifeless tempos, flat rhythms, and constricted dynamics of the first and third movements of the Pathétique (never mind the finale, with string playing to make you shudder for all the wrong reasons).
Trust me, you really don’t want to hear, for example, Norrington’s anorexic treatment of the famous second subject of the opening movement, or the bantam-weight climax to the finale. The ensuing 5/4 waltz is so listless and mechanical that you could be forgiven for thinking it was played by a leaderless student orchestra, following a metronome. The Parsifal extracts, in Leinsdorf’s arrangement, are even more grotesque, with balances askew (note the flute at the opening of the prelude) and textures more suited to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band (no offense, guys) than to Wagner. Enough. This is the orchestral equivalent of one of those ghastly German “concept” productions: it consists entirely of difference for its own sake, devoid of taste, insight, and musicality. Life is too short for this, truly. Excellent sound allows you to bask in every sickening, maladroit, dreary detail.
