RACHMANINOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 2. Andre Previn conducting...

RACHMANINOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 2. Andre Previn conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Telarc compact disc CD 80113. MOZART: QUINTET IN E-FLAT FOR PIANO AND WINDS; BEETHOVEN: QUINTET IN E-FLAT FOR PIANO AND WINDS. Andre Previn, piano. Vienna Wind Soloists. Telarc compact disc CD 80114. Conductor Previn seems at ease with Rachmaninoff: His performances are seamless, whole from beginning to end. He seems less secure when it comes to Beethoven and Mozart, a bit too careful and plodding. But the real star of these two recordings is the sumptuous Telarc sound in which the music flows out of silence with warmth and fullness. In the quintets, pianist Previn joins with a group of first-chair players from the Vienna Philharmonic. No one can quarrel with the results: The strings are radiant and the no-nonsense performance is letter-perfect. What is missing is a sense of spontaneity.