Wow! Move over Stokowski! Kees Bakels and his Malaysian players go nuts in the last two minutes of the Russian Easter Overture, cutting the tempo in half just before the big peroration, then taking off like a shot with thrilling percussion and excitingly amended timpani parts. It’s a blast, and how nice to hear a modern conductor willing to make free with the literal text in this music and simply have some fun going for broke. The remaining items in this collection, if not quite so deliciously eccentric, benefit from excellent playing and from Bakels’ willingness to maximize the color and excitement of music that consists of little else.
In the Capriccio espagnol, the first-desk players acquit themselves proudly in the Variations, while Bakels drives the music as hard as it will go in the concluding Fandango, closing with a tremendous rush of adrenalin. The Tsar Saltan Suite includes as its third part The Flight of the Bumblebee, where it makes an apt interlude between the standard three movements. Both this work and Sadko sound as lively and enchanting as they ever have. That leaves Noriko Ogawa’s bright and perky take on the rarely heard Piano Concerto, a delightful piece that never gets played these days as it lasts a mere 14 minutes and doesn’t fit into any sort of normal concert program.
Sonically these performances remain in a class of their own. The brilliance and realism are simply breathtaking, with a full dynamic range, ideal depth and breadth of soundstage, firm bass, open highs, and a panoramic splendor unrivaled on disc. I would dearly love to hear what these players could make of, say, Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony, but there’s also plenty more Rimsky-Korsakov (but not the symphonies, please) in the form of the remaining opera suites and overtures. In the meantime I will enjoy this often, and believe me, you will too. [10/5/2004]
