Jansons's EMI Mussorgsky concert was recorded in the Oslo Konserthus, the same hall where Chandos recorded his highly successful set of Tchaikovsky symphonies, but the EMI sound has noticeably more digital brilliance. Indeed, it is very brightly lit, and although detail is crystal clear I found the effect rather fierce at fortissimo level, moreover the bass end of the spectrum is slightly dry and there is comparatively little feeling of sumptuousness. This lends a dramatic bite to the performance, so that after the strongly projected brass introduction, the opening ''Gnomus'' is given a malignant grotesquerie to anticipate the rhythmic force of the later ''Baba-Yaga''. The ''Ballet of the unhatched chicks'' has vivid presence and the pictures of the ''Tuileries'' and the ''Market Place at Limoges'' (helped by clean orchestral articulation) are stereoscopically sharp in detail, while the potent atmosphere of the ''Catacombes'' is emphasized by the dark sonorities of the brass. Not surprisingly, Jansons builds an impressive climax for ''The Great Gate of Kiev'' and the recording expands excitingly to take the full weight of the closing pages.
A night on the Bare Mountain is given a strong, pungent performance, its elemental diabolism well conveyed, but the part of this concert that I enjoyed most was the beautifully played Khovanshchina Prelude with its haunting evocation of dawn over the Moscow River, the sinuous basic melody reminding us that the sun rises in the East. After a passionate climax Jansons manages Rimsky's delicately scored closing section quite magically.
I have written before in these pages of the sumptuous magnificence of Maazel's Cleveland recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures on Telarc; by its side Dutoit on Decca (who offers exactly the same programme as Jansons) is less overwhelming. Those looking for a recent digital version of this much recorded orchestral showpiece will find that the Collins CD, recorded by the LSO under Jacek Kaspszyk in London's Henry Wood Hall, has much of the sumptuousness of the Telarc record but registers sharper detail. When one samples, for instance, the portrait of the two arguing Jews, Goldenberg and Schmuyle, the London recording has an extra dimension in the bass compared with the Oslo version, with the lower strings resonating much more tellingly. Altogether the LSO recording has more ambient warmth and body, yet is not less vivid. The LSO also play the Khovanshchina Prelude very beautifully and the Collins record has the added fascination of including the original score of A night on the Bare Mountain, without the Rimskyan accretions, not necessarily a stronger piece, but with a certain stark originality so typical of Mussorgsky.'