Jiri Belohlávek and his orchestra do a fine job with these two popular symphonies. Textures are arrestingly transparent, with plenty of inner clarity given the excellent wind players. Even at moderate basic tempos, such as that for the scherzo of the Scottish symphony, the abundance of detail and careful attention to rhythm and phrasing keep the music sounding lively. But these are by no means sluggish performances. The inner movements of the Italian symphony, so often dead spots, have an unusual degree of forward drive, and Belohlávek takes the finale at a good clip too, quick enough to be exciting but never at the expense of clean articulation.
A single caveat concerns a peculiarity of the sonics. Despite close microphone placement and the level of detail this provides, the orchestra tends to “swim” in the ample acoustic of Prague’s Rudolfinium. This in turn takes some of the edge off the music’s high end and renders the aural palette less brilliant than it otherwise would be. I found that the ear quickly adjusts, and this very specific deficiency doesn’t detract from the pleasure of the performances (for me at least) in any significant way, but it is noticeable and some listeners may find the effect distinctly odd. With that one proviso in mind, this is a very attractive and recommendable release in all other respects.
