“Purgatorio,” which featured amplification and acoustic design in the hall, is comparatively flattened, its preserved recording of an ancient Jewish prayer less stirringly grand when balanced with the orchestra. “Inferno” fares best on disc: timelessly entertaining, a high-octane tour through the circles of hell. This ensemble is at its finest as a shepherd of contemporary music here, it sounds as if Adès’s score were ingrained in the bones of its players. What comes through most clearly is the Philharmonic’s thorough commitment under Gustavo Dudamel. In person, “Dante,” a three-part journey through the world of “The Divine Comedy” by way of Liszt and other oblique influences, was a cosmic, at times movingly spiritual and often overwhelming experience. Now, as I listen to the recording, that seems like the only way I could have responded. My review, back then, was one of borderline raving enthusiasm. Take Thomas Adès’s evening-length “Dante,” whose concert premiere at the Los Angeles Philharmonic I attended last spring. It’s a great joy - a relief, even - to revisit a new work and feel just as ardently positive about it as at the premiere.
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