COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: Universal: Eloquence
Eloquence have reissued Pascal Rogé’s stylishly robust Decca readings of the Second and Fourth Piano Concertos by SAINT-SAËNS (467 471-2).
They’ve never been bettered, and even if the couplings (solo piano pieces by Poulenc) have less immediate appeal, these performances should add lustre to any collection.
Bernard Haitink’s Sixties Philips MAHLER cycle presented the symphonies earnestly and objectively, never short-changing the listener with undue histrionics.
This 1968 Resurrection (468 194-2) honours the Concertgebouw’s illustrious Mahler tradition, and Haitink’s common-sense musicianship secures optimal orchestral playing throughout.
There’s no Totenfeier (Decca’s new Concertgebouw version under Chailly includes it), but Haitink’s searching exploration of the Tenth Symphony’s Adagio brings further inducement.
Colin Davis’s Boston Symphony recordings of the Fifth and Sixth SIBELIUS Symphonies, together with Tapiola (468 198-2), were exemplary.