Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony No 1 in E minor, Op 39
Symphony No 2 in D major, Op 43
London Symphony Orchestra/Anthony Collins
rec. 21-22 February 1952 (1), 11-12 May 1953, Kingsway Hall, London, UK
Collins: The Sibelius Symphonies, Volume 1
Ambient Stereo
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC671 [75]
The words “Volume 1” here tells us that this is a new project from Pristine to remaster all of Anthony Collins’ famous Sibelius recordings from mono into Ambient Stereo – a very welcome plan, as although these were only recently re-released as part of the Decca Complete Recordings box set, according to my MusicWeb colleague Paul Corfield Godfrey, who
reviewed it just last month, the sound there remained problematic: “extremely monophonic…confined to a single one-dimensional source and almost totally lacking in the warm bass that I so vividly remembered”. (PCG goes on to explain why that Eloquence issue was so unsatisfactory). I should point out that while the new Pristine sound is, as is usual with Andrew Rose’s output, enormously improved, the background “puttering” noise in the First Symphony referred to in previous reviews is still faintly discernible but considerably attenuated. Otherwise, the sonic improvement is remarkable; we now have a new breadth and vividness of a kind never encountered before.
A year ago, Jonathan Woolf also
reviewed the same Decca box set on its first appearance, referencing previous “properly judicious” reviews by Patrick C. Waller (review) of the transfers on the Beulah label and of the Decca Eloquence issue by Rob Barnett (review). He included this summary of the relative merits of the two symphonies here in this first release from Pristine: “the First [is] both the best played and very best argued symphonically. No 2 is good, though not in Barbirolli’s class” - a verdict on which both he and RB agree. I refer readers to all those previous assessments for detailed analysis of the musical merits of these recordings and background to Collins’ career. (First impressions of him might be skewed by the fact that he obviously had no truck with smiling for photos; I have yet to find one in which he does not look distinctly unamused.)
The sonic advantages of this new remastering are evident but let me say just a few words about Collins delivery: at something over 34 minutes his is the fastest performance of the First I know; by comparison, Karajan, Kamu and Stokowski (to cite three equally celebrated interpreters) all take just under 38 minutes. Collins’ is hard, fast and driven and the new remastering brings out the impact of his percussion. The symphony as a whole may only intermittently betray Sibelius’ eventual hallmark gestures but the opening could be written by no-one else and Collins vividly underlines the thrill of its announcement. Pizzicato strokes are piquant, articulation is keen and propulsion is constant; it’s great playing and the first movement is one hell of a ride. The Andante is swift yet lyrical, bringing a sense of a burgeoning Spring to the opening before gradually, cumulatively building to a rousing – and typically menacing – conclusion. The Scherzo is similarly frenetic, with some virtuosic woodwind playing and, once more, impressive timpani. The finale contains music which seems to be strongly influenced by Tchaikovsky; there is almost something of a stylistic wrench but that especially Sibelian trick of welding apparently disparate components into a unified whole is well served by Collins’ intensity such that the listener has no time to sit back and question the coherence of the music; it simply sweeps towards a magnificent peroration beginning eight minutes in; the miracle is how Collins sustains that momentum over an arc of nearly four minutes.
There is no denying that the 1976 sound given to a 94-year-old Stokowski in one of his last recordings is demonstrably superior, for all that Pristine has improved the Collins and his grand, monumental approach might sit more comfortably with some listeners than Collins’ relentless drive; the same is true of Karajan’s similarly rich, expansive rendition, exploiting the luscious textures of the BPO, but there is room for both approaches.
The performance of the Second is also excellent but not as revelatory and I would not rank it above my own favourites. However, there is power and passion a-plenty here; once again Collins drives on, so his overall timing is anything between three and seven minutes faster than other established. This time, there is no flutter but climaxes are harsh and the bass is not as resonant as in the First Symphony; for all that Andrew Rose has done sterling work it is an aural shock to go from this to, for example, Santtu-Matias Rouvali’s recent recording (review) - my most recent recommendation for this symphony. The Andante, for example, is a noble conception and the vivacissimo third movement fully energised but both are rather compromised by the edgy sound. The finale is striking but I find both more warmth and surge in Ormandy’s or Karajan’s recordings; their extra spaciousness allows more leeway for grander, generous phrasing and emphasis through carefully gauged rubato, but if Collins’ tauter, more dynamic way with these two symphonies is to your taste, Pristine’s issue here is now the obvious choice.
Ralph Moore
Published: November 7, 2022
