Everyone needs at least one disc of Ibert’s most popular pieces. He was a fine composer, but one whose output remains less known than it should be. Is it neoclassical, impressionist, modern-popular, or perhaps a bit of all of them? Here’s a chance to listen and judge for yourself, in vivid SACD sound.
Järvi directs typically forthright, colorful performances. He doesn’t prevent the conclusion of Escales from turning a bit too noisy, and the Bacchanale might strike some as excessively frantic (it is a Bacchanale, after all), but he and his players have a blast with the witty Divertissement, while the gentler pieces (Sarabande pour Dulcinée, for example) make their points without straining.
Through it all the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande plays with panache, fearlessly and with appropriate gusto. This is, on the whole, mostly extravert music–not lacking in subtlety but more often asking for the kind of brash directness of which Järvi usually has an unlimited supply. So by all means, do get this disc. You may well find yourself listening to it more often than you originally expected.
