This is announced as Volume 1 of the Complete Symphonies. It
enters an exceptionally crowded market in which I suspect that
it will need to have at least one unique selling point to make
itself noticed beyond those with a special interest in the conductor
or orchestra. I am not sure that it has that, but it does have
important virtues making it worth considering as an addition
to your collection.
Essentially these are clean, well recorded performances, combining
many aspects of the modern trend towards historically informed
performance with some features of a more traditional approach
- especially the use of luftpausen and some moderate
variation of speed within movements. Both of the latter features
are used with discretion to point up the structure and changing
character of the music. There is a delightful surge to the music
of the long slow movement of the Pastoral Symphony which
carefully avoids the lumpiness which some conductors bring to
it, and almost makes it seem like a gentle dance at times. I
enjoyed this, as well as the very characterful bird-calls at
the end of the movement. The woodwind and brass are indeed played
with great individuality throughout and are responsible for
much of the pleasure of these performances. Balance between
sections is well handled. There are a few curiosities, including
occasionally very truncated ends to phrases and occasional almost
inaudible starts to notes, but these are rare, and in general
these are more than acceptable performances.
That may sound like faint praise, but in fact both works are
full of pitfalls for the unwary. The booklet notes refer more
than once to the conductor’s stress on the importance
of knowing as much as possible about the musical and historical
context of the works. I am not sure that I follow all of the
argument, but certainly these are idiomatic and sane performances.
In a crowded market I suspect that many purchasers who own a
range of earlier recordings may be expecting more before they
add this cycle, but these would be admirable performances from
which a newcomer to the music could get to know its overall
character before listening to more idiosyncratic or even wilful
performances.
John Sheppard
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra/Jan Willem de Vriend 
[74:29] 
