Cellist
Mischa Maisky has a huge tone, an enormous technique, and an occasional tendency toward passionately narcissistic interpretations. When
Maisky resists temptation -- or when his accompanist restrains him -- his performances can be magnificent. But when
Maisky indulges himself -- or when his accompanist cannot contain him -- his performances can be sloppy and self-indulgent. In this pair of performances of
Dvorák's Cello Concerto and
Strauss' Don Quixote,
Maisky is accompanied by
Zubin Mehta, perhaps the most tasteless conductor alive, and the result is possibly the worst recording
Maisky has ever made.
To say that
Mehta brings out the worst in
Maisky is to understate the case:
Mehta abets, encourages, indulgences, and inflates all
Maisky's lowest instincts. Tempos change from too frenetic to too lethargic without reason. Dynamics change from far too loud to far too soft without reason. Textures are either too turgid or too etiolated. Climaxes are either too much or too, too much.
Maisky' huge tone has all the delicacy of a fat man in a bathtub, his enormous technique has all the subtlety of a slab of concrete, and his passionate interpretation has all the nuance of a head-on traffic crash.
Mehta's conducting is vague, vulgar, and just this side of incompetent. The
Berlin Philharmonic's playing would make
Nikisch,
Furtwängler, and even
Karajan spin in their graves. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is really, really, really loud, but that's all. Everyone involved with this recording should be ashamed of themselves.