The conductor’s Prometheus, the Poem of Fire (without wordless chorus; not uncommon during the period of recording) is Scriabin without the impressionistic gauze that often covers the piece on other recordings. In Mitropoulos’s reading, the work is mercurial, its buoyant rhythms never lost beneath the soaring thematic phrases. The conductor’s management of overlapping instrumental layers is striking: nothing is lost, all voices distinctly heard without sacrifice of impetuosity. It’s a too often made complaint by those of us who were raised in the 78-rpm and LP eras that there are digital releases of a given composition that supply less transparency and color than an old analog reissue; but in the case of this work, it certainly holds true. For all its age, this is a welcome addition to the catalog.

As with Prometheus, so with Pelleas und Melisande. All too readily it is cloaked in an opulent, impressionistic haze, with Karajan/Berlin Phil providing a good example of this bad approach (DG 2GOR 457721). Mitropoulos, by contrast, exhibits commitment, clear-edged detail, and a naturally expressive pulse that makes Karajan sound like a well-oiled machine. He doesn’t round off the corners of this music, but balances the various orchestral lines in a way that brings out its more fiery, dramatic nature.

-- Barry Brenesal, FANFARE