Schumann: Overture to Manfred; Overture to Julius Caesar; Overture to Genoveva; Overture, Scherzo & Finale
Published:
COMPOSERS: Schumann
LABELS: Chandos
WORKS: Overture to Manfred; Overture to Julius Caesar; Overture to Genoveva; Overture, Scherzo & Finale
PERFORMER: LSO/Neeme Järvi
CATALOGUE NO: CHAN 6548 DDD (1987/88)
This is a disappointment. Only rarely do the performances really take off, as in the finale of Op. 52 which has plenty of impetuous energy. The triumphal moments in Julius Caesar also work well. Elsewhere, in the reflective, beige-toned passages – of which there are many – the music fails to tell. The performances make many of the right gestures, but they seem distant and uninvolving. The fault lies largely with the recording, which is literally distant. Given a more generous, close sound, this disc might have been a winner. Ivan Hewett