[.ca] Danzes Fantasticas/Iberia F/Im

From Amazon.com:
López-Cobos, departing from his successful tenure at the helm of the Cincinnati orchestra, opens the program with "Iberia," the most popular of Debussy's Images for Orchestra. It's played beautifully, though without the drive that permeates versions by Munch and Paray, among others. But the main attraction here is the works of Turina, and they get bang-up performances. The three Danzas Fantàsticas, which Turina later transcribed for piano, are ravishing in their Impressionistic orchestral garb, and the final one bristles with the energy of flamenco. Sinfonia Sevillana, really a three-movement tone poem, paints a colorful picture of a colorful city, and La Procesión del Rocio, a tone portrait of a religious procession in Seville, is infused with gypsy melodies. López-Cobos and his orchestra are in their element here, and it's hard to imagine more fetching performances of Turina's music, especially as enhanced by Telarc's fine sonics. --Dan Davis

Viva Turina!:
Yes, the Debussy sounds great on this recording, but the three works by Turina are the real highlights here. The Danzas Fantasticas in particular are great fun and compare well with any number of better-known "Spanish" pieces for orchestra. The Cincinnati musicians are in fine form, and the Telarc sound would be hard to improve upon. And I agree with the other reviewer about the quality of the playing in Cincinnati in general--to paraphrase Elgar: the center of the orchestral world in the US is now probably somewhere rather west of New York and Philadelphia.

Sounds like De Falla's lost music:
I am excited to find new music especially when it's good. Turina offers a clearly spanish style of composing that would be at home with Manual De Falla who I am familiar with. Turina is his own man and I hear nothing derivative here, just some deliciously melodic and interesting material. Of course the playing is excellent with wonderful clarity in the wide-range recording.

Magnificent recording, both musically and technically:
What a fitting departure for the great Jesus Lopez-Cobos, who is leaving the great Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in superb shape after a 15 year tenure. This recording will unfortunately be overlooked by many because it is not Mahler, Bruckner, Beetoven, etc. This is unfortunate, however, as it is a magnificent work of art on all levels. On the basis of this and other CSO recordings over the past decade it it clearly time to reassess the American "Top Five" orchestras---and proclaim the Cincinnati among the greats.

Good all round:
You might not want to hear the music very often, - though in fact its great fun, with the slow movement of the Sinfonia Sevillana being quite lovely, but you will want to hear the sound, which is gorgeous, if a little drily analytical in DSD fashion.

• Debussy: Iberia from "Images" For Orchestra: Par les rues et par les chemins
• Debussy: Iberia from "Images" For Orchestra: Les parfums de la nuit
• Debussy: Iberia from "Images" For Orchestra: La matin d'un jour de fete
• Turina: Danzas Fantasticas, Op. 22: Exaltacion
• Turina: Danzas Fantasticas, Op. 22: Ensueno
• Turina: Danzas Fantasticas, Op. 22: Orgia
• Turina: Sinfonia Sevillana, Op. 23: Panorama
• Turina: Sinfonia Sevillana, Op. 23: Por el rio Guadalquivir
• Turina: Sinfonia Sevillana, Op. 23: Fiesta en San Juan de Arznalfarache
• Turina: La Procesion Del Rocio, Op. 9: Triana en fiestas
• Turina: La Procesion Del Rocio, Op. 9: La procesion