Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
The Nutcracker, Op. 71 (1891-1892) [86:25]
Sveshnikov Boys Choir of the Moscow Choral School
State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov"/Vladimir Jurowski
rec. 2019, Main Hall at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow, Russia
Multi-channel or stereo. DSD
PENTATONE PTC5186761 SACD [86:25]
Christmas would not be Christmas for me without listening to – and possibly reviewing – Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. I had very high hopes for this new recording. Having seen Vladimir Jurowski several times in concert in London he is clearly an inspiring and often inspired conductor. A Russian orchestra bearing the name of the great Evgeny Svetlanov recorded in multi-channel DSD sound also seemed to bode well with the final cherry on the Christmas cake being the longest standard audio disc I have yet encountered – Pentatone having managed to fit the entire work on a single SACD lasting a remarkable 86:25. Unfortunately the result, if not a full "bah humbug", is more the indifference of an underwhelming pair of sensible socks on Christmas morning.
Given the artists involved I am surprised just how characterless this performance is. Yes it is extremely well played and recorded although, with the latter, Pentatone have produced a recording that is detailed and clear without being particularly vibrant. This kind of 'neutrality' – which I fully accept might well appeal to many collectors who dislike something more interventionist – extends to the performance too. None of the tempi are extreme in either direction. Personally I found the haste of Gergiev, on the other single-disc traversal, sacrificed too much of the essential emotional generosity of the score in its desire to be an orchestral showpiece. Conversely, a couple of years ago I was disappointed by Dmitri Kitajenko's epic approach in Cologne, which seemed to give too much weight to the music. Gergiev is a full five minutes quicker than Jurowski and Kitajenko ten slower. By that measure it might seem that Jurowski represents the sensible middle ground but this is a case where performances should not be measured by tempo or timings alone.
My issue is that Jurowski seems simply under engaged by the score. Phrasing is often prosaic, the many delightful details in Tchaikovsky's masterful scoring register are in a passing-by way. Most disappointingly the big emotionally cathartic set pieces in each act – In the Pine Forest in Act I and the Pas de Deux in Act II – feel as though they are just playing themselves. In the Pas de Deux Jurowski pushes through in a full unsentimental minute quicker than say Slatkin in St. Louis. Take another example with The Magic Spell begins. This is the section where the Christmas tree grows and the domestic scene starts to transform into something altogether more magical. On paper this can seem like Tchaikovsky at his most note-spinning; a simple rising musical sequence that repeats with varying instrumentation just to 'fill' during an on-stage technical scene change. In more empathetic hands this can be literally transformative. I remember seeing this at the Royal Opera House with Rozhdestvensky on the stick. He was able to build wave upon wave of mounting excitement and tension that was utterly compelling. Here it simply sounds as if Jurowski wants to get through this bit of 'weak' Tchaikovsky quickly.
For me another major disappointment is the realisation that the old sound of a Russian orchestra has now almost been completely lost. Except for just a couple of passing moments where the brass have some edge and bite or the strings the weight and attack of old, an innocent ear would struggle to hear any lingering performing heritage from earlier decades. I for one mourn the loss of that tradition a lot. Mentioning the Royal Opera House, one of the versions I chose to use as a comparison this time was Mark Ermler's recording with that orchestra. It is a very fine performance indeed, steeped in the traditions of both the theatre and Russia. Ermler gets the British orchestra – and especially the brass – to play with exactly the kind of attack and power of Russian tradition. The irony is that the orchestra on this new disc bears the name of one of the great old-school Soviet conductors and it is not lost on me. I loved Svetlanov in Tchaikovsky but it has to be said his Nutcracker is something of an acquired taste with laser-harsh trumpets obliterating any kind of orchestral texture at the big climaxes. However, at least it has an individual personality and character.
I have heard Jurowski guide his London Philharmonic through powerfully impressive and compelling performances of Russian music, so perhaps it really is just that he does not engage with this score. Having said that, I doubt anyone listening to this will be disappointed as such, as it is very well played and recorded, but not once while listening (several times) did I note anything more than highly skilled but curiously characterless music making. I like the fact that a boys choir is used for Waltz of the Snowflakes but again this is matter of fact rather than distant and ethereal. The glorious Waltz of the Flowers or the Final Waltz and Apotheosis both lack the uninhibited unbuttoning of the "happily ever after" simplicity of the narrative.
From my listening notes I can see that there is not one single instance in this performance where I was swept up in the music rather than simply being impressed by the execution and/or the presentation. Pentatone's engineering is, as mentioned, unglamorously good. I have heard more aurally exciting SA-CD presentations. From the liner it is unclear how many live performances were used to produce this disc. The audience is well behaved and silent although I did wonder if I heard a couple of very minor noises and certainly no applause is retained. The disc is presented in a simple – slightly underwhelming in art-work terms – digipak with the disc held in a plastic tray on the left hand side and the liner pasted to the right. The English-only liner includes a good essay about the work entitled – slightly ironically in my view, given the unmagical nature of this version – "Evoking A Sense Of Wonder". There is also a brief but clear synopsis and a couple of photographs.
Looking beyond the enduring popularity of this score, which can mask the genius of this work, this remains one of Tchaikovsky's most brilliant achievements. Here he found an ideal balance between melodic invention, orchestral virtuosity, emotional directness and dramatic concision. Whilst this new version is a skilled, technically impressive account it remains disappointingly literal and lacks the elusive and subtle nuances that can lift this work into a magical realm.
Nick Barnard
