Pierre Boulez has become a “grand old man”, and for the past decade or so he has conducted like one. He used to be fabulous in Stravinsky, but his remakes for post-Sony labels have been largely disappointing. Not bad, mind you, just dull. The truth is, the Chicago Symphony or any major orchestra could play this music just about as well without him (or anyone) on the podium. The Symphony offers little improvement on Boulez’s sluggish DG recording with the Berlin Philharmonic. The first movement in particular hangs fire at a tempo that’s just marginally too slow.
Pulcinella goes better. The orchestra plays beautifully: the woodwinds in the variations, the solo trombone and double bass–it’s all delightful when the solo players get to shine. The vocalists, though, are less than top-notch, particularly tenor Nicholas Phan, while again some of Boulez’s tempos lack energy. Has the Tarantella ever sounded this stiff? There’s nothing at all wrong with the Four Etudes, though I doubt anyone will care. Really, it’s such a shame that formerly brilliant artists like Boulez (and Haitink, and a few others I can mention) look set to have their declining inspiration documented in excruciating detail by major orchestras on their proprietary labels. There’s nothing special about this release at all.
