Franz SCHMIDT (1874-1939)
Complete Symphonies
Symphony No. 1 in E major (1896-1899) [44:20]
Symphony No. 2 in E flat major (1911-1912) [50:18]
Symphony No. 3 in A major (1927-1928) [40:26]
Symphony No. 4 in C major (1932-1933) [44:34]
Notre
Dame: Intermezzo (1903) [4:40]
Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Paavo Järvi
rec. live, 2013-2018, hr-Sendesaal, (1 & 2); Alte Oper (3, 4 &
Intermezzo)
Reviewed as a 16-bit download
Pdf booklet included
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4838336
[3 CDs: 180:43]
In his
review
of this Paavo Järvi set, Stephen Greenbank revealed he came to these
symphonies twenty years ago. It must have been at least thirty when I first
tried - and failed - to break into this music. Then along came Covid-19,
and I had more time to work on repertoire that has defeated my lock-picking
skills in the past. One morning I listened to Vassily Sinaisky’s account of
Schmidt’s Symphony No. 3; suddenly the tumblers fell into place and I was
in. His complete Naxos cycle, recorded with the Malmö SO in the noughties,
is still only available in separate instalments, complete with Schmidt
fillers. It’s a traversal I’ve come to admire a great deal. From there I
moved on to Neeme Järvi’s 4-CD box, now shorn of the original discs’
(non-Schmidt) extras. Those performances were recorded in Detroit and
Chicago between 1989 and 1996 (Chandos). I’ve yet to explore any of Fabio Luisi’s Schmidt, but that’s definitely
on my to-do list (Querstand).
As for Paavo Järvi, he’s certainly impressed me in recent years,
his thoughtful reappraisal of Shostakovich’s ‘Leningrad’ Symphony (Pentatone)
and his splendid coupling of The Execution of Stepan Razin and The Song of the Forests
especially welcome (Erato). Indeed, those albums, recorded with the Russian National Orchestra and
Estonian forces respectively, are valuable additions to the DSCH
discography. The Schmidt symphonies were recorded live with the Frankfurt
Radio SO between 2013 and 2018. The performances, split over three CDs, are
not available separately, although downloaders should be able to
cherry-pick if they so desire.
I was slightly disconcerted to discover that Järvi fils and his
band are so closely and brightly caught in Symphony No. 1.
Conventional wisdom suggests allowances have to be made when recording live
concerts - Sinaisky’s entire cycle and Järvi père’s First and
Fourth were recorded under studio conditions - yet one only has to
sample, say, Andris Nelsons’ superbly engineered Boston Shostakovich series
to realise such compromises aren’t inevitable. All the more disappointing,
then, that DG’s approach in Frankfurt robs the performance of so much depth
and detail, the latter qualities that make the Naxos and Chandos
productions so immersive and so interesting.
Whatever my reservations about the Frankfurt performance, I have no qualms
about the orchestras playing. The Detroit and Malmö ensembles are also in
good shape, but where they really outshine their German counterparts is in
the consistent warmth and affection they bring to this music. Of course, it
helps that both their recordings, sensibly presented, are so easy on the
ear. It’s about imagination, too, Sinaisky finding an air of pageantry in
the first movement - echoes of Tannhäuser, perhaps - that eludes
his rivals. Not only that, his account of the Straussian second movement is
most beautifully shaped and projected. Most important, he and the elder
Järvi deliver nicely scaled and highly engaging performances that maintain
a strong narrative thread from start to finish. (That said, Paavo’s reading
has its moments, the end of the finale especially exciting.) But what makes
Sinaisky’s album even more attractive is the inclusion of orchestral
excerpts from Schmidt’s opera Notre Dame, composed in 1904
(Introduction, Interlude and Carnival Music). A no-brainer, really.
Moving on to Symphony No. 2, and the FRSO are in
blistering form at the start, with a sound to match; the timps, bass drum
and tam-tam are particularly well caught. By contrast, quieter passages are
discreetly - and feelingly - done, as are the chamber-like sections of the
long, multi-faceted central movement. Paavo’s not as pliant - or as
‘aerated’ - as Sinaisky, but at least the playing has some wit and
character. Elsewhere, the younger Järvi drives the music harder than I’d
like, the perspective-flattening effects of which aren’t helpful in a score
that brims with so much colour and ear-pricking detail.
Neeme’s performance - he’s in Chicago for this one - is broadly conceived
and intuitively paced, the CSO wonderfully refined throughout. Ultimately,
though, Sinaisky and Järvi père are much more expressive in this
symphony - more nuanced, too. This doesn’t mean they eschew excitement,
it’s just that they don’t overplay it. In toto, Sinaisky
is my first choice here, his reading well recorded and
delightfully rounded; the elder Järvi isn’t far behind. And while DG throw
in a four-and-a-half-minute filler - the Intermezzo from Notre Dame - Naxos include the fourteen-minute Fuga Solemnis, for organ, sixteen wind instruments and percussion
(1937). And what fun it is too, soloist Anders Johansson playing with
commendable zest from start to finish.
Symphony No. 3
holds a special place in my affections, not least because it was my way
into Schmidt’s oeuvre. How fresh and utterly spontaneous Sinaisky makes it
sound, the recording crisp and clear. I had hoped Paavo and the FRSO’s
switch to the Alte Oper for the Third and Fourth would pay sonic dividends
at least, but while the first movement of No. 3 unearths more detail than
hitherto, the performance feels oddly synthetic. Besides, the upfront,
rather airless sound is just too overbearing, tolerable only at much lower
volume settings than I’m used to. (DG aren’t alone in this, some recent
Chandos/Bergen releases are similarly afflicted.)
Once again, Paavo gives a tantalising hint at what might have been, the
close of the second movement of No. 3 sensitively handled, the rhythms of
the next delectably pointed. However, Sinaisky and Neeme - the latter still
in Chicago - both display a real sense of purpose and a surer sense of
style. That, in turn, makes their readings of this and the other symphonies
seem very coherent and - perhaps more important - so full of incident. In
short, just perfect for those coming to this music for the first time.
Sinaisky rounds off his album with a fine account of Schmidt’s mighty Chaconne in D minor (1925, orch. 1931). As so often, the
Russian strikes a pleasing balance between formal rigour and the Romantic
impulse. Indeed, it’s revealing talents like these - and more besides -
that give him the palm here, too.
Finally, Symphony No. 4, the one that frustrated me for so
long. From the start, it’s clear Paavo, his players and the engineers are
going for broke. Discipline and power are the key elements here, but those
overblown, scruff-grabbing climaxes are now getting a tad tedious. After
that, it’s such a relief to immerse oneself in the kinder, gentler
performances from Sinaisky and Järvi père, the latter back in
Detroit. Their approach to Schmidt’s quieter moments is far more innig than Paavo’s. My only criticism of Neeme’s otherwise fine
Chandos Fourth - it’s hardly a deal-breaker - is the fierce treble in some
tuttis. Musically rewarding as that version undoubtedly is, it’s Sinaisky -
unerringly propelled, the symphony’s ‘heartbeat’ a constant, affirming
presence - who deserves the top spot here. Not even the mildly
disappointing account of the half-hour Variations on a Hussar’s Song (1930) can take the shine off this splendid
Naxos series.
Paavo’s set, admirable in parts, is just too variable to recommend; for
greater consistency, depth of feeling and better sound, look elsewhere.
Dan Morgan
Previous review:
Stephen Greenbank
