Gianandrea Noseda does a good job with the Dante Symphony’s first movement (the only part anyone cares about). He whips up the opening storm excitingly, plays the “Francesca” episode tenderly, evokes the hellish laughter in the strings and clarinets with obvious relish (kudos to the players here), and blasts through the closing pages with fiendish abandon. He’s let down a bit by an orchestra with insufficient weight in the trombones and basses, and whose loud playing tends to turn into noise rather than impressive fullness of tone, but then that’s always the case with this group, and this venue. The concluding Purgatorio has plenty of delicacy and nuance, and the Birmingham women sing well, but it’s still an anti-climax (as usual). The Two Legends are just plain boring, but then that’s Liszt’s fault. Good sound has characterized this series (this is volume five), and it still does. Recommended if you like the repertoire.
