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Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande; Variations, Op. 31 (Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Pierre Boulez, conductor; Erato).
Boulez’s second recording with the CSO in his series of 20th Century landmarks is an artistic triumph that is marred by variable sound quality and an error in packaging.
The interpretation of “Pelleas” is warm and flexible, with some exquisite detailing but also a shifting perspective that bounces the auditor around the orchestra rather than providing a optimum fixed listening point. This is less a problem in the landmark Variations, which Boulez etches brilliantly with plenty of drama and thrust. But the tri-lingual program notes are of little help, missing their four central pages including much of the English version.
