It was a stretch too far. When
Michel Plasson, the French conductor known for his superlative recordings of the French Romantic repertoire, and the
Dresdner Philharmonie, the East German orchestra known for its serviceable recordings of the German Romantic repertoire, met to record the First and Second symphonies of Alexander Borodin, the Russian composer known of his lyrical and heroic operas and orchestral works, they couldn't quite agree on an approach.
Plasson can do richly scored and robustly rhythmic, French romanticism's hallmarks, but he apparently can't do the kind of bold themes and courageous forms that were Borodin's stock in trade. Too often under
Plasson's direction, the Russian composer's melodies sound sentimental, his developments cerebral, and his climaxes contrived. Things might have gone better had he not been leading the
Dresdner Philharmonie, an orchestra that seems distinctly uncomfortable with Borodin's singing strings and brawny brass, and its tone seems oddly neutral, even disengaged, from the expressive character of the music. Those looking for great digital recordings of Borodin's symphonies should check out
Vladimir Ashkenazy and the
Royal Philharmonic's epic 1994 Decca recording or
Valery Gergiev and the
Rotterdam Philharmonic's monumental 1990 Philips recording. Sadly, this Berlin Classics' recording serves only to diminish the music on it.