These performances from David Zinman’s final quintet of seasons with the Baltimore Symphony are clearly intended to show off their now-departed Music Director in mainstream (meaning non-American) repertoire that he never had the chance to record on commerical records. Zinman’s music-making always has reminded me of an outstanding pro fullback: while he doesn’t score every time he gets the ball, he moves the ball forward and never muffs a play. In an age of sometimes flaky musical quarterbacks, being a solid gainer is no bad thing. As his lithe, muscular Mozart Jupiter Symphony attests, for instance, Zinman is one of the few non-hip conductors who’s actually up on modern performance practice–and while I wouldn’t call this a great performance, it’s one that does neither the conductor nor the orchestra any shame. After the Mozart, Zinman’s Brahms and Tchaikovsky are a bit of a let-down–the Brahms lacks the enthusiasm and flexibility (and the even better musicology) of Mackerras on Telarc, his Tchaikovsky the controlled pathos Mravinsky and Cantelli brought to this score live and on records. The Prokofiev is an insufficient reason to buy this set, the Mahler only if you’re a fan of the work and/or the conductor. The concert sound from the Meyerhoff is a little hard and uncomfortably brassy. If you’re interested in checking this out, the set is available for $45.00 directly from the BSO.
