Berio: “Formazioni,” “Folk Songs,” Sinfonia. Riccardo Chailly...

Berio: “Formazioni,” “Folk Songs,” Sinfonia. Riccardo Chailly conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, with mezzo Jard van Nes and Electric Phoenix. London 425 832-2 (compact disc). Berio’s large orchestral works are as much--or more--about performance itself as about notes, and lose something truly essential when canned. Despite the importance of spatial relationships the more abstract “Formazioni” fares better here than the fevered Sinfonia, though both receive strongly characterized, fiercely sounding performances from Chailly and his forces. Van Nes gives the deceptively simple “Folk Songs” suite a reading of luminous sound, sparkling wit and expressive depth, particularly in Berio’s own “La donna ideale” and “Ballo.”