It’s really amazing how different the Kirov Orchestra appears on recordings as opposed to its live performances. In concert, the orchestra impresses as a no-better-than-average ensemble, somewhat underpowered and merely adequate in all departments. On disc, with a little help from the microphones, the group often blossoms into an “echt” Russian band, with braying brass and crackling percussion, all underpinned by a dark, bass-heavy string sound. And so it goes here. I saw Gergiev perform an extremely unimpressive Scythian Suite live with this orchestra, and while even careful microphone placement can’t improve on the negative impression made by his heavy and glitterless (comparatively speaking) opening movement, the rest comes off as powerful and evocative indeed. So three cheers for technology!
On the other hand, Gergiev’s brooding Alexander Nevsky is wholly successful and extremely enjoyable. The brass really snarl in “The Crusaders in Pskov” and the great “Battle on the Ice”, while the chorus shouts and screams and generally has an aptly unsubtle blast in its variously loud roles as invading Germans and suffering (then victorious) Russians. No doubt Olga Borodina could sing her battlefield lament in her sleep, but happily she never sounds like she’s actually doing that. Philips’ engineers bring the orchestra up close but leave plenty of air around the voices, so that the general impression has an aptly cinematic vastness and depth.
There are other very fine Nevskys around, some generating an even higher voltage (Abbado’s and Schippers’ to name only two, the latter recently reissued by Sony in SACD multichannel format with amazingly improved sound), but there’s no question that Gergiev manages the “authentic” Russian touch very well. Oddly enough, there never has been a great “Nevsky” recording from Russia; the work seems more popular (on disc at least) in the West. So if you’re looking for this piece performed with flair by the home town team, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. [4/8/03]
