Puccini Orchestral Music: Reviews and Reaction

Last month we released our latest recording on the Chandos label, a collection of orchestral music by a composer better know for opera: Puccini. It includes some of his early orchestral music, preludes and intermezzos from his first three operas, together with later music such as the Act 2 Prelude from Manon Lescaut that was eventually dropped from the finished score.

The reviews are now in, and the critics are finding the release a compelling listen.

Gramophone Magazine, which added the recording as Editors Choice, calls the album “fascinating“, going on to say “It’s all wonderfully done, as one might expect. Wilson, who made his operatic debut with Madama Butterfly at Glyndebourne in 2016, is an excellent Puccinian, conducting with a mix of passion and finesse that proves well-nigh ideal.”

Their review concludes by saying “The playing is all richness, poise and detail…but can also be spellbindingly virtuosic: ‘La tregenda’ from Le Villi is edge-of-your-seat stuff, thrilling in its precision and drive, and better than any other recording I know. Do listen to it: it’s a fine achievement“

Meanwhile over on Presto Music, the disc was named Recording of the Week, with the review saying “John Wilson makes the strongest possible case for regarding these pieces as sparkling gems in their own right (Puccini’s early orchestral works), as well as presenting a fully-rounded Portrait of the Composer As A Young Man.”

The review goes on to talk about John Wilson’s affinity with this repertoire: “(his) love and understanding of Puccini’s distinctive soundworld (already instantly recognisable in the student works) is writ large in every phrase. Rubato in particular is immaculately judged throughout: every action indeed has an equal and opposite reaction, so that nothing becomes sloppy, distorted or self-indulgent and the underlying rhythmic drive of the music never dissipates“

The review ends with a raft of metaphors, and we’re very glad to have inspired the reviewer, Catherine Cooper to indulge in some further listening!

“The album ends by successfully presenting an ugly duckling as a swan: Puccini himself dismissed his second opera Edgar as ‘warmed-up soup’ after tinkering with the score for years, but its two preludes are done with such full-blooded passion and commitment here that I’m minded to give the entire opera a spin. Sometimes reheated leftovers hit the spot.”

Chimeo.com also approved of the recording, it’s review saying “John Wilson has become something of a Midas figure in the recording studio, and this release has all the hallmarks of that golden touch: Chandos’s engineering is superb, and the performances are committed and beautifully calibrated. A disc that illuminates a neglected corner of one of opera’s greatest careers.:

Plus, it turns out that it’s not only professional critics that have enjoyed the recording. Over on our social media we’ve had fans describe the album as “FABULOUS” (their caps!), while another said it was “The best recording of ‘Chrisantemi’ I have ever heard! Wonderful”.

Puccini Orchestral Music is available to buy, download and stream now.