ecording. What emerges is the kind of performance unrecorded for, well, more than 70 years. This is not to say that the basses, for example, play louder. There seem to be reserves of bottomless energy that give both works on this disc a foundation rarely heard on today's recordings. Regardless of which version or versions of Le Sacre you know, Gergiev's vitality will arrest and hold your attention right through to the most decisive closing pages ever. Ever? Ever! Similarly, listeners familiar or unfamiliar with Scriabin's decadent, sensuous tone poem will be hearing nothing less than the most orgiastic, heavily perfumed performance on record. If it were a video it would be X rated. The most noticeable aspect of this disc is the opulent sound. The credit for the richness of the actual recording must be given to Jaap de Jong who developed the all vacuum tube equipment employed. The perspectives are as heard from a dozen rows back in a fine European hall. An elegant touch that may be missed by some listeners: to maintain the acoustic presence between the two works, instead of pure silence, one is subtly aware of fussing in· the orchestra. Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra perform Stravinsky's Firebird, Debussy La Mer and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4 with Alex Slobodyanik at Roy Thomson Hall on December 2 at 7:00. Bruce Surtees SouNn C1TY ~ 1 38 Queen St: E. Tor onto and 14,800 Yonge St. in the Aurora·Shopping Centre (u nit 110) FEATURE TIT LES ARE on SALE for .99. A full line of Naxos Classical, Jazz Legends, Nostalgia and World music CDs also available at fantastic prices. Special orders are welcome. 54 Wholenote N OVEMBER 1, 2001 - D ECEMBER 7, 2001
