It has been interesting to observe the success of the
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
as it has recorded abstract instrumental music and has now gained the attention of the
Orchid Classics
label. Sometimes, as on this 2024 recording of two well-worn cello-and-orchestra classics, the group, under director
Martin West
, reveals its origins in ballet. This is often all to the good; here, for example, the group, with rising cellist
John-Henry Crawford
, produces fresh interpretations. In
Tchaikovsky
, for whom ballet music was a major preoccupation, this works especially well in the
Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
. The performance, with fine coordination between soloist and orchestra, is an especially graceful one, with everything kept at a quiet level but by no means lacking in excitement. Hear the cadenza-like fifth variation for a perfectly controlled treatment. The
Dvo¿ák
is distinctively low-key and, as such, is a performance to which individual reactions may vary. The slow movement is remarkably serene and well-controlled; the opening movement avoids the heroic quality this music usually has. Sample and decide. The acoustic environment from Skywalker Studios keeps
Crawford
's contributions clear but lacks the concert-hall depth usually associated with these products of late Romantic orchestral music. There is a positive X-factor here: to produce fresh recordings of these works isn't easy, and
and company have done so. ~ James Manheim