Sheffield Lab is one of those smaller labels whose reason for existence belonged essentially to the analogue LP era, when they sought to offer audiophiles the best possible technical quality, by following through from the original ''direct-cut'' recording with special mastering techniques and custom pressing of the highest quality to ensure an LP that was as near 'perfection' as possible. Now with digital equipment universal and the services of freelance engineers readily available, it is more difficult to find a specialist niche in the CD field. In the present instance the ingenious answer to this problem has been to take a special recording team from the USA to the USSR, plus an American conductor from Louisville and effect a cultural symbiosis with a Russian orchestra and conductor, and the engineering staff of the USSR State TV and Radio. No one can accuse such a venture of being devoid of imagination and enterprise and the idea of the Russian conducting American music and vice versa has been fruitful in most instances.
Let me deal first with the relative failure the performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. This is given a generally direct if lightweight reading through the first three movements, although the solo Russian horn in the slow movement will not be to all tastes. But in the finale Lawrence Leighton Smith makes an alarmingly sudden change down of gear at the re-entry of the motto theme on the brass at bar 172, with a slowing of tempo that is quite unconvincing for all its attempt at grandiloquence. Then in the final peroration the brazen Russian trumpets make a horrid noise and take all the grandeur out of Tchaikovsky's big tune. The other items on the programme go well. The Ruslan Overture, however taken fast, is no match for Solti's famous Decca LP version, although the articulation is clear, the LSO strings are more fetchingly nimble and the electricity is at a higher voltage in London. The closing Khovanshchina Prelude undoubtedly has splendid atmosphere and colour, even if the playing is not absolutely refined it is extremely vivid and telling.
The second disc is altogether more successful. Leighton Smith directs an exciting, well paced account of the Shostakovich First Symphony and the energy and fire of the Russian playing is consistently gripping, with many points of detail and colour that are specifically Russian. Kitayenko shows considerable feeling for Piston's Incredible Flutist, and Barber's splendid first Essay, both inspired and approachable works which the orchestra clearly appreciates. The snag here is that the ballet is neither indexed nor banded, and very little information is given about either work in the inadequate notes. But the music itself is well worth having.
The third disc is best of all. The Russian orchestral strings are obviously moved by the Copland Appalachian Spring and Leighton Smith makes an elegant job of Glazunov's best Concert Waltz. Another novelty, The White Peacock, has a powerful atmosphere; one did not expect such a successful CD debut for it from Moscow. Both wind and strings find a lustrous radiance in this evocative score. The Unanswered Question is comparably potent with the conductors sharing the rostrom (Leighton Smith has the flutes). The sound is first class (as the bright-as-a-button Shostakovich overture readily shows at the opening), and the large TV studio in Moscow proves an admirable venue, offering plenty of ambience, while the microphone placing seeks a natural concert hall balance throughout the three programmes. There is brilliance without edge and the recording truthfully reflects the fact that the strings have not quite the body and weight of the finest West European orchestras, but that they do not lack commitment or vitality.'