There have been other recordings of
Leopold Stokowski's transcriptions of music of
Mussorgsky, later recordings by
Matthias Bamert, and, naturally, many recordings by
Stokowski himself. But while the
Stokowski true believer would not want to part with any of the Maestro's recordings, the neophyte might want to try something a little fresher. And while no one could say a word against
Bamert's immensely muscular performances with the
BBC Philharmonic, anyone would have to say that these performances by
José Serebrier with the
Bournemouth Symphony are undeniably better. Part of the reason is that
Serebrier was a
Stokowski protégé and his performances have the intensity of the true believer. But a larger part of the reason is that
Serebrier, while clearly a conductor in the swashbuckling
Stokowski mold, is a more concentrated conductor, a more colorful conductor, and, ultimately a more charismatic conductor than
Bamert in this repertoire.
Serebrier's interpretations are not slavish copies of his master's work, but stand on their own. His Pictures at an Exhibition is massively monumental, his A Night on Bald Mountain is devilishly infernal, his Symphonic Synthesis of Boris Godunov is unerringly dramatic, his "Entr'acte" to Act IV of Khovanshchina is unendingly tragic. And in all of them the
Bournemouth Symphony plays like the great and powerful orchestra it is, finding the balance between strength and subtlety and all-out attack. The remaining works on the program,
Stokowski's tender transcriptions of
Tchaikovsky's "Serenade" and "Humoresque" and his own affectionate "Traditional Slavic Christmas Music" are wonderfully apt fillers played with the same degree of energy and enthusiasm. One hopes that this series continues through all the rest of
Stokowski's transcriptions. Naxos' sound is physically stunning and easily as good as all but the very best of the full-price alternatives.