Glorious Saint-Saens from Chandos

I am not deeply familiar with Saint-Saens' cello concertos, but I am certainly familiar with, especially, the first. I can say without hesitation that I have never enjoyed it more than here. Truls Mork plays with the most gorgeous, passionate and sweetly singing tone of any cellist I can remember. He, in turn, inspires Neeme Jarvi to produce equally passionate tone from the Bergen strings, making this as glorious a cello concerto as Dvorak's celebrated one. The Second is equally fine, but it is the first that is the highlight of this disc.

Well, make that ONE of the highlights of this disc. The other is Louis Lortie's marvelous piano playing in the Caprice Valse (Wedding-Cake) and Africa. I have enjoyed these concertante pieces on disc before, but never to this degree. Again, passionate playing from soloist and orchestra alike combine with splendid virtuosity and bravura to produce true excitement. The very robust contribution from Jarvi and his orchestra spring these pieces to life like never before.

The ubiquitous Carnival of the Animals is given the full orchestra treatment here (rather than its original chamber version) and is not quite as notable as the remainder of the program. However, it has its moments - namely, the use of a real glass harmonica in Aquarium, and absolutely the most hilarious version of Pianists I have ever heard! I laughed so hard I had to play it again! And finally, we are treated, once again, to Truls Mork's rapturously gorgeous and tenderly singing tone in The Swan.

This is a splendid disc from start to finish. Over 75 minutes of Saint-Saens is more generous than we could ever expect. Top it all off with Chandos's most glorious SACD sound and you have one of the most enjoyable discs I've heard in a very long time. Very, VERY highly recommended.
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Neeme Jarvi's earlier Saint-Saens disc (2012) lavishes upon us some of Saint-Saens' smaller-scale orchestral gems. And here, the one-word description - "glorious" - applies in every sense. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra sounds absolutely sumptuous in Chandos's most luxurious surround sound. Truth be told, it's almost too much of a good thing, as I found myself sinking further into the sofa's cushions as the disc progressed, feeling lazier every moment. A guilty pleasure, perhaps, similar to eating an entire cheesecake with not a vegetable in sight. But, I can't fault this disc, other than perhaps a slight feeling that the orchestral sound, as recorded, lacks just a bit of sparkle and overt power. 

In the more familiar selections (Danse bacchanale, Le Routet d'Omphale, Phaeton and Marche militaire francaise), Jarvi goes for speed rather than power/impact. In his hurry, the music loses some overt excitement and joie de vivre, but is certainly spirited and the orchestra sounds as if they are enjoying themselves. It is in the less familiar, and more "serious" selections, that the real "substance" and value of this collection becomes apparent. Jarvi often excels at bringing unknown music to life, and he does not disappoint here, coaxing the orchestra to produce the most gorgeous and colorful palette. Indeed, in the La Jeunesse d'Hercule, one hears the strings soaring and singing most rapturously, quite unlike I've heard from this orchestra before. It is simply glorious.

If we needed yet another example of Chandos's supremacy in intelligent and generous programming, this disc is it. They have the insight to offer the listener with familiar music interspersed with the unfamiliar, providing enjoyment and enrichment. Adding to this is their unfailing excellent sound quality and a virtual guarantee one gets one's money worth - this one has over 77 minutes of music! These qualities combine to make their discs overwhelmingly enticing, indispensable and enormously enjoyable. In this case, there simply is no better way to spend an evening relaxing over a bottle of wine than doing so while listening to this disc.