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Title: Turgid Allegretto, too-slow Allegro non troppo make a bad symphony, offset Largo
Review: To me, the Allegretto, though not an Allegro, needs to be taken much faster than Bernstein does.In essence, I hear and feel this as Shostakovich doing a scherzo-like parody of a Mahlerian Austrian Laendler slow movement. If you listen to a good interpretation of this symphony, in this movement, or listen **through and below** a not-so-good performance, you'll soon grasp this.Bernstein occasionally gets the drive of a parodic dance rhythm, but it's often just too slow.And, in the finale, yes, the Allegro is tagged with the "non troppo" modifier, but "not rushed" does NOT mean "dragged out." Nor does "majestic" mean "put the brakes on."Unfortunately, does any of this surprise you? This is Lenny.The older he got, the more inconsistent and even bombastic he became.The Cello Concerto is very good under Ormandy's direction and Yo-Yo Ma's performance.I wavered between two and three stars, but finally fell on two.
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