The high concept behind this disc is to join together three romantic period works all composed around Shakespearean characters: Hector Berlioz's Overture to Béatrice et Bénédict drawn from Much Ado About Nothing, Edward Elgar's Symphonic Study in C minor on Falstaff based on the character from The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV Parts I and II, and Dvorák's Concert Overture Othello based, of course, on Othello. Such a concept can only succeed to the degree the performances succeed, and given the range of music from the ...
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The high concept behind this disc is to join together three romantic period works all composed around Shakespearean characters: Hector Berlioz's Overture to Béatrice et Bénédict drawn from Much Ado About Nothing, Edward Elgar's Symphonic Study in C minor on Falstaff based on the character from The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV Parts I and II, and Dvorák's Concert Overture Othello based, of course, on Othello. Such a concept can only succeed to the degree the performances succeed, and given the range of music from the high-spirited French sensuality of Berlioz's Overture through the robust English characterizations of Elgar's Study to the jealous Slavonic intensity of Dvorák's Overture, the chances for across-the-board success seem limited, especially since the orchestra here is the echt Deutsche Münchner Rundfunkorchester led by the New York born and bred John Fiore. But succeed it does -- and brilliantly. Fiore and the Munich players turn in a sprightly but sexy Béatrice et Bénédict, a tight and...
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