For all the legitimate complaints about overexcited tempos and rushed- over subtleties that were brought against Georg Solti, the fact remains he had few peers who could generate the same sizzling energy he took for granted. These two 1992 performances, recorded with the Bavarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, ably demonstrate that Solti's driving manner was, despite the claims of his detractors, wedded to a superb attention to the music. Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 ("Italian") receives a delightful reading; Solti and the Bavarians sprint through the score in rousing fashion, yet remain always alert to the gentle flow that underpins such speed. The warm call of the horns in the third movement, in particular, are neither rushed nor overlooked. The same qualities that make for a spirited Mendelssohn contribute to a nearly overwhelming version of Shostakovich's tragic, often manic 10th. Solti came to conduct the music of Shostakovich only late in life; and while he never became a definitive interpreter of the composer, his take on the 20th-century's greatest symphonist is definitely worth hearing. The first movement, rising grimly from mordancy to terror, is rendered with chilling persistence, though perhaps a touch too much impatience. But that's precisely the quality that makes for a hair-raising rendition of the second-movement Allegro, a frantic burst of furious scurrying that practically cries out for the Solti treatment. The remainder plays out with the passion and intensity that one would expect from watching Solti at the podium, his eight decades belied by abrupt, kinetic gestures and a singularly penetrating gaze as he drives his musicians ever harder, ever faster, ever onward. --Bruce Reid
