Bolero!: Orchestral Fireworks

It's gutsy for a young conductor and a second-tier orchestra to take on a program of showpieces, but Oue and the Minnesotans acquit themselves well, exhibiting flair and color in pieces that need them to make an effect. The big works are Liszt's Les Préludes and Ravel's Bolero. The Liszt gets a terrific reading--just listen to the warmth of the strings as they sing the melody about 3'40" in the delicacy of the wind phrases and the power of the grand climax. There's charm aplenty too, as in the lightly tripping Brahms Hungarian Dance. The lesser known works will please; Dinicu's "Hora" swirls vigorously and Klemperer's smiling "Merry Waltz" will happily surprise those who think him incorrigibly stolid. As usual for this label the sound is superior, with wide dynamics, sweet treble, burly bass, and oodles of detail and other audiophile virtues. An unalloyed delight! --Dan Davis