This is a nicely recorded disc, and Virgin’s atmospheric sound suits the music well. Richard Hickox leads a somewhat plain and unimaginative account of the 1947 Sinfonietta, Poulenc’s only proper symphonic work, and the performance never really takes off. The opening sonata allegro is particularly tame–compare this with the impish humor that Dutoit finds here. Likewise, the string lines that under Hickox lack definition and drive are brought into sharp relief in Dutoit’s energetic reading, and the range and variety he gets from the more colorful Parisian woodwinds are especially noticeable in the slow movement. Virgin’s disc also features Jean-Bernard Pommier and Anne Queffelec in the double piano concerto. It’s a racy account, with an infectious gaiety and agreeable vitality to the outer sections that makes this much the best part of this issue. Pommier’s contribution in the Aubade for piano and 18 instruments is skilled, but the instrumental playing often needs much more thrust and individuality than this to make this forgettable version seem worth a second hearing. Disappointing.
