Having such a small ensemble play this music turns out to be a major artistic blunder. With only three violins, two violas, two cellos, and one bass to a part, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta almost sounds ridiculous, particularly in the two quick movements. Usually conductors compensate for the lack of sheer heft by adopting swift tempos and encouraging greater rhythmic clarity and precision. Not here. The opening fugue and third movement stand with the slowest versions on disc (around 8 minutes each), and the lack of color and atmosphere is pretty painful. This never should have been attempted, plain and simple.
The problem is less pronounced in the Divertimento, where the parts are less subdivided; the music’s earthiness still gets shortchanged when the rhythmic accentuation is so subdued. The engineering also leaves much to be desired, with MSPC recorded at a particularly low level. I like this label; I like these players. Everyone has a bad day now and then. This surely was one of them.
