Performance and audio quality vary in this DG Concerts download, recorded at separate concerts in September, 2006 and April, 2007. The two Ravel items and Firebird are not recommended. The sound clots up at the end of large climaxes, a particularly disfiguring affliction in the outer sections of the Daphnis et Chloé suite, which also suffers from a low-voltage performance. Sound is better, but still tending to opacity in Rapsodie espagnole. Maazel’s Habañera movement is delicate, hushed, and seductive, but the other movements are routine. The sonics in the Stravinsky items are improved, though balances still are less than ideal. (Woodwinds tend to sound with more authority than brass in Firebird, for instance.) Again, Maazel and the orchestra succeed in the delicate movements, but they underwhelm in the Infernal Dance and Finale.
Given the many excellent performances available of those three pieces, this leaves only The Song of the Nightingale as reasonably competitive. The performance features splendid solo wind playing, particularly the gorgeous crooning of the trumpet in the Fisherman’s Song. If four dollars and change is not too much for a 20-minute iTunes download, you might consider it, though not in preference to the must-have Reiner/Chicago RCA Living Stereo version. Maazel’s performance has a different take than Reiner’s crystalline reading. Maazel, one of today’s best storytelling conductors, reminds us that the piece originated as an opera; this more “singing” performance therefore makes a nice alternative. In addition to iTunes’ MP4, DG offers the program as an MP3 download at its own website, and has scheduled the program for release as a CD in January, 2008. (Since the items are available separately, here are separate ratings: Daphnis–5/6; Rapsodie–6/7; Firebird–7/7; Nightingale–9/8.)
