James Judd and the Florida Philharmonic offer angular, taut readings of these Bernstein favorites. These somewhat refined interpretations sacrifice some of the “swing” element, particularly in the jazzy Masque section of the symphony and in the bulk of the West Side Story dances, in favor of precision and transparency, as if they were viewed through the lens of Stravinsky and Copland. There is little of the famous Bernstein “swagger” that makes his own recordings so special–which, of course, begs the question of whether this release has any chance against the composer-led competition. The self-evident answer is obvious: if you don’t already own a recording of these works, you might as well start with Bernstein’s various versions on Sony or DG.
Nonetheless, there is still much to recommend on this disc, not the least of which is the dynamic and clear sound quality courtesy of Peter McGrath’s excellent engineering. After the zippy Candide Overture (which any American orchestra should know by heart at this point), the West Side Story dances fall a bit flat. The Prologue suffers from a lack of pluck and generally sluggish violins, the Mambo never really lets loose, and the rest sound just a bit too well-mannered, polished, and cautious, despite some beautiful playing in the winds.
Aside from the reservations already noted, Judd and the Floridians flesh out the symphony’s various moods effectively, clearly delineating between the subtlety of the Seven Ages variations and the more jagged edges of the Seven Stages section. Only in the shattering climax of the Epilogue do we really hear what this orchestra is capable of–a true triple-forte (with marvelous tam-tams crashing all around) that sounds like a pure wall of sound. Pianist Jean-Louis Steuerman hits all the notes clearly and plays with sensitivity and grace (although he doesn’t seem to have an idiomatic way with jazz, either). His interpretation will remind collectors more of Marc-André Hamelin’s technically perfect but sedate reading with Dmitri Sitkovetsky on Hyperion rather than the more playful style of Lukas Foss with Bernstein himself.
