COMPOSERS: Janacek/Hindemith/Prokofiev
LABELS: Decca Classic Sound
WORKS: Sinfonietta Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber; Symphony No. 3
PERFORMER: LSO/Claudio Abbado
CATALOGUE NO: 448 579-2 ADD (1969/70)
Three virtuoso orchestral works that demonstrate two things: the immediacy of Decca’s recorded sound and, more importantly, the effortless facility of Abbado and the LSO during the late Sixties. At 35 Abbado seemed to have every nuance within his grasp, from the creeping Andante of the Prokofiev to the irrefutable optimism of the Hindemith. Strings by turns sear and seduce, while the brass is drilled to a peak of clarity and precision. If the Prokofiev is at times less engaging than the others, it is due more to the meandering of the piece than lack of inspiration from the performers. A difficult recording to fault.
Christopher Wood