Hot on the heels of Dohnanyi's Vienna version on Decca—beautifully played and richly recorded but lacking something in temperament until the finale—come these two contenders to provide further contrasts. Rozhdestvensky on Erato with his youthful Moscow orchestra brings all the Russian temperament to the first movement that Dohnanyi lacks. With its strong contrasts it conveys a feeling of spontaneity. The main Moderato con anima theme is delicately pointed in its dotted rhythms, with the woodwind commentaries in the second subject treated wittily. Yet next to Dohnanyi and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra these Russian performers, for all the delicacy of detail, lack a degree of polish in the ensemble. Could this have been made in a single take?
Koizumi, on the RPO label, gives a more robust reading of that movement, lacking some of the refined pointing of Rozhdestvensky but is strong and involving, helped by full and forward recording transferred to CD at a high level. The Erato sound by contrast has woodwind and brass set rather forward in relation to the strings, suggesting a smaller scale.
In the Andantino both Rozhdestvensky and Koizumi adopt a speed slower than usual; Koizumi, with a subtler oboe solo, keeps the music flowing better, but neither tackles the movement's middle section very crisply. Rozhdestvensky's wit is delightful in the pizzicato Scherzo, but in the finale at a marginally faster speed it is Koizumi who finds more excitement, though the reverberant recording obscures a fair amount of detail.
As for the fill-ups, Koizumi starts Capriccio italien rather stodgily, but secures brilliant playing from all sections of the RPO in the sequence of dance sections, flouting all thoughts of vulgarity. Rozhdestvensky in the Romeo and Juliet fantasyoverture is surprisingly direct and restrained, until the big reprise of the love theme, where he is as expansive as anyone could want. Ensemble is crisper here than in the symphony, notably in the battle music. In practical terms Rozhdestvensky makes a fair recommendation if you want Romeo and Juliet for a coupling; sharper and more individual than Abbado on Sony, while Koizumi, enjoyably robust, provides a new digital version that has a worthwhile coupling. The Jansons on Chandos remains my regular yardstick, but at full price without coupling it is crying out for repackaging with a suitable fill-up.'