Bizet, Lalo, Sarasate & Saint-Sa‘ns
Published:
COMPOSERS: Bizet,Lalo,Sarasate & Saint-Sa‘ns
LABELS: Decca Classic Sound
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: Ruggiero Ricci
WORKS: Works by Bizet, Lalo, Sarasate & Saint-Saëns
PERFORMER: Ruggiero Ricci (violin); LSO/ Piero Gamba, Suisse Romande Orchestra/Ernest Ansermet
CATALOGUE NO: 452 309-2 ADD 1959
With the exception of the Saint-Saëns Havanaise, all the works recorded here were written for the legendary Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. His own arrangements (of tunes from Carmen and of gypsy themes) give some idea of his extraordinary technical capabilities, but they hardly suggest a musician of great taste.
Here and in Lalo’s (now rather neglected) Symphonie espagnole Ruggiero Ricci has all the notes well within his grasp, but these 1959 recordings place him in too harsh an aural spotlight for the music’s good humour and sense of style to come through strongly. Stephen Maddock