Paul Paray Conducts Dances Of Death / Dso

Paul Paray - Conductor, Detroit Symphony

Liszt: Mephisto Waltz, Weber: Invitation to the Dance op.65, Saint-Saens: Danse Macabre, R. Strauss: Dance of the Seven Veils, Schmitt: La Tragedie de Salome

A strange hodgepodge of music, but the program works. The major piece here is Florent Schmitt's "La Tragedie de Salome," recorded here the year of Schmitt's death (1958), undoubtedly by a man who knew the composer personally (Paray was the composer's junior by 16 years, and both men had a relationship with the Concerts Colonne). The recording was the only one with which Paray and the Detroit Symphony would win the Grand Prix du Disque. The music is a cross between Debussy and Roussel, with a decided tilt toward the former. The poem (by Robert d'Humieres) on which this suite is based is much more "of the open air" than the claustrophobic Salome of Wilde/Strauss, and while the characters are the same, the action is completely different from the Biblical story, a loose, stream-of-consciousness rewriting. Schmitt dedicated the score to Stravinsky, who was delighted with the work, and in fact the work anticipates "The Rite of Spring." Paray's vision of the music is nothing short of overwhelming. The remainder of the program includes the "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Strauss' "Salome;" the transparency of sound achieved by Paray allows one to hear inner voices and odd instrumental couplings not often heard even in digital recordings. The Liszt, Weber and Saint-Saens were recorded a year later with that lovely, lean Mercury Living Presence sound we get from the dry acoustics of Ford Auditorium. The cellos have a certain bite; there's no false engineering here - "Just the facts, Ma'am." The Liszt "Mephisto Waltz" (did you know that the orchestral version preceded the piano version?) features impeccable, precise playing by the DSO. Weber's "Invitation to the Dance" gives us Paray's trademark of keeping it moving, certainly no time for a lilt - and listen to it - who needs one anyway when there's such a drive? Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" gives us a violin solo by the great Misha Mishakoff (Toscanini's then Paray's concertmaster). He and Paray bring out all the ghoulish humor of the piece. Paray and the Detroit Symphony at their finest. Who could ask for anything more??