This handsomely recorded disc contains a performance of the Manfred Symphony of unremitting, irredeemable dullness. Lasting more than an hour, the first movement falls apart, the second is labored and lacks the necessary lightness, the third snoozes, and the finale features a hellish orgy with a severe case of erectile dysfunction. Is there anything more that need be said? Oh, yes. The playing is beautiful, but soft-edged (especially from the winds), and Kitajenko adds those Toscaninian, spurious tam-tam whacks to the coda of the first movement, as if the additional noise will wake everyone up from the torpor that he himself has created. The utter futility of this gesture is comical. Even the tam-tam player sounds bored and lacks conviction, if you can imagine such a thing. A totally unnecessary CD.
