Ah, memories! I vividly recall when this boring Turangalila-symphonie was released on LP, how Gramophone’s critic compared it to Esa-Pekka Salonen’s then-recent Philharmonia recording for Sony, noting correctly in example after example how Rattle was palpably inferior, and concluding in vintage fashion that this was nevertheless a recording “of great distinction,” or some such folderol. Of course it is nothing of the kind, unless “great distinction” is British for “boring” (there’s evidence for that); but in those days Rattle was regarded as the musical Second Coming and the CBSO as an ensemble (was it Robert Layton’s memorable phrase?) akin to Chicago, Vienna, or Berlin. What were those guys listening to? Were they listening at all?
Actually, the more interesting comparison is not to Salonen, but to Previn’s excellent LSO reading also for EMI, an interpretation of such patent superiority that it raises the always entertaining question of why EMI decided to shoot itself in the foot by issuing this inferior (both in performance and sound) subsequent version. I mean, speaking of not listening… Comparing the two, note how Previn understands how to phrase Messiaen’s angular melodies, so often fragmented among the various instrumental choirs. In “The Joy of the Blood of the Stars”, for example, at virtually identical tempos, Previn surges forward while Rattle plods in metronomic fashion. Note how the LSO trombones capture the imposing weight of the “statue theme” at the work’s opening, while the CBSO brass sound timid and recessed. There’s no need to go on: a minute’s comparison between the two speaks for itself.
We long ago reached the point where because there are so many recordings of identical repertoire, major labels in particular must choose what to keep in print with some discrimination. Then again who knows? Maybe this will sell well in England, and repay its cost sometime in the next few decades. One can only hope. Anyway, you can’t have everything. I am more than content to let the U.K. be right about its EU rebate and wrong about Simon Rattle. That’s something that matters, and this is only music, and funky French music at that. As to the Quartet, well, the same Gramophone review correctly notes that this performance is also not without its dull spots, but for some curious reason does not nevertheless see fit also to call it “an interpretation of great distinction.” I wonder why?
