RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 (1902) [46:14]
Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 (1915, rev. 1919) [30:50]
Minnesota Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
rec. June 2011, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis
BIS BIS-SACD-1986 [78:04]
Few things are certain in this world, but here’s one that is. I
won’t
be placing these performances in rank order compared to the finest
available.
With so many to choose from, only a fool would attempt that. I might,
though,
compare them, just a little, to a couple of my own favourite performances,
which
is not at all the same thing. Amongst the rival versions I won’t be
considering
are Osmo Vänskä’s previous performances on BIS
with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. These have been widely reviewed and
praised,
which is no surprise to me, but I haven’t heard them.
One of the first things to strike one about this performance of the
Second Symphony is what an uncompromising piece it is. Where Barbirolli, in
his magnificent EMI performance - the only reading of his that I have heard - sees
the work as a big romantic symphony, rich and vibrant, Vänskä
makes of it something altogether leaner and more modern sounding. The first
movement is played as a real Allegretto, and while
Vänskä’s control of tempo is infinitely subtle, the various
changes of mood are never exaggerated or overblown, and are always seen
within the context of a single, basic pulse. Vänskä brings out a
huge amount of detail simply by the following the composer’s
instructions, and this is a feature of both performances. The orchestra
plays fortissimo, for example, when, and only when, the composer
requests it. If the little trumpet fanfare that follows the first phrase at
the opening of the finale surprises you, just look at the score:
Vänskä’s players do exactly what is marked. Some might find
the result a little restrained; there is a certain coolness and detachment
about this reading, and those who want their Sibelius to fire on all
cylinders might be disappointed. I found the effect all the more powerful
for this hint of restraint. Orchestral balance is impeccable, and
Vänskä is very attentive the composer’s frequently
surprising orchestral choices. Has the role of the tuba in the slow movement
ever been so carefully managed as this, for example? The scherzo goes at a
cracking pace, with some remarkably quiet playing. The unison and octave
string melodies of the finale tend to sound like Tchaikovsky, even in a
reading such as this, but whereas Bernstein, with the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra on DG, makes the closing pages sound almost like Mahler,
Vänskä, whilst conceding nothing in terms of power, never lets us
forget that Vienna is quite another world.
A few months ago, reviewing Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s performance
of the Fifth Symphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, I commented on the lack
of mystery and anticipation in the opening bars. There’s not much of
either in Vänskä’s performance, but instead there is a kind
of fresh-faced openness such as I don’t ever remember hearing in this
symphony and which is quite captivating, testament to the established fact
that notes are only notes, and can be made to tell quite different stories
depending on how they are realised. This Fifth shares with the Second a
tendency to clean textures and a refusal to linger. Vänskä prefers
to keep a tight rein on those passages that other conductors have seen as
expansive romantic gestures. Again, the insistence on purity of tone and
absolute ensemble reveals the uncompromising nature of Sibelius’
scoring. Never have the “foreign” notes in accompanying brass
chords sounded so foreign as they do here; nor, in my experience, has any
other conductor so brilliantly brought out the near-constant use of woodwind
instruments in pairs. Vänskä, like Simon Rattle in Birmingham (EMI), coaxes astonishingly quiet playing from his
orchestra in the central passages of the first and last movements. His
reluctance to linger produces a slow movement which some will feel lacks
something in terms of calm and repose. For the rest, the crucial points -
the transition between the first and second movements, the long majestic
final passage of the finale, and, especially, the gradual accelerando
in the second movement - are paced in masterly fashion by this master
conductor. I’m always disappointed when a conductor chooses not to
count out the beats of silence between the massive final chords.
Vänskä comes closer than most, and the close of the work is
mightily impressive, but Rattle is almost alone in insisting that Sibelius
knew what he wanted here.
My favourite Sibelius Second Symphony is conducted by Barbirolli
with the Hallé on EMI, but Bernstein’s reading, grotesquely
inflated though it be, is hugely compelling too. Vänskä is very
different from both, intellectually more convincing, perhaps more authentic.
Amongst Fifths, Rattle is very fine, and Barbirolli again, despite the
naughty addition of one note from the first trumpet in the final pages, but
the reading that has come closest to my vision of this astonishing
masterpiece is that by Herbert Blomstedt with the San Francisco Symphony
Orchestra on Decca. These fearless performances from Vänskä,
magnificently played by the Minnesota Orchestra, recorded in astonishing
detail by the BIS engineers, and accompanied by an authoritative note by
Robert Layton, now join that exclusive and elevated class.
William Hedley
Superb performances - these go straight to the top of my list.