It could be said that
Stokowski’s transcription of Pictures
at an Exhibition was in some ways
a reaction against Ravel’s orchestration
which had been completed some seventeen
years earlier. Although there were a
number of orchestrations in existence
at the time, the former’s assertion
that no one had been successful in exploiting
the inherent Russian character of the
music gave Stokowski the justification
and motivation he needed to produce
a version that is at times startlingly
at odds with the more familiar Ravel.
Indeed the familiarity that surrounds
the Ravel is such that at first hearing
the Stokowski comes as something of
a shock to the system. It is an exhilarating
shock to take in the sheer imaginative
range of vivid, strikingly colouristic
yet at times deceptively subtle use
of huge orchestral forces.
Stokowski chose to
leave out "Tuileries"
and "The Market Place at Limoges"
on the grounds that they were too French
in style and creates a canvas that is
altogether more bold, audacious and
muscular than Ravel’s. Blocks of orchestral
sound are often juxtaposed to considerable
effect, as Colin Matthews puts it in
his booklet note, painting with "broad
brush strokes". Knussen and the
Cleveland are both in their element,
revelling in the kaleidoscopic opportunities
Stokowski affords. Gnomus is
as sinister as you will ever hear, the
creature snarling its way with a sense
of palpable evil. The Ballet of the
Unhatched Chicks is dazzling in
its use of instrumental effect. In Samuel
Goldberg and Schmuyle, Stokowski
chooses to use the trumpet in similar
fashion to Ravel but alternates the
nasal tones of the brass instrument
with the flute; listen to the effective
use of trombone glissandi upon the return
of the initial string theme. Glissandi
are employed to subtle but telling effect
in Catacombs where the strings
slide eerily from the second to third
chord whilst in Baba Yaga the
scoring is wonderfully garish with effective
use of flutter-tonguing in the brass.
On first hearing, The Great Gate
of Kiev can come across as slightly
lacking the homogeneity of the Ravel
but the sheer spectacle of the piece
remains gloriously intact. The concluding
bars are nothing short of magnificent.
Indeed, my only significant qualm in
the whole piece is Bydlo, where
Knussen’s disconcertingly brisk tempo
gives more the impression of a cart
hurtling alarmingly out of control down
a hillside rather than lumbering slowly
into view.
I recall an interview
with Oliver Knussen some years ago in
which he spoke about his childhood discovery
of Boris Godunov and the fascination
he had felt for the opera ever since.
Ultimately that fascination was to spill
over into his own music when he borrowed
the chords from the opening of the Coronation
Scene to commence his own fantasy
opera Where the Wild Things Are.
There is indeed an element of the fantastic
in Boris Godunov that inhabits
Knussen’s own music also. To record
Stokowski’s Symphonic Synthesis
on themes from the opera must have been
something of a labour of love for Knussen
and the attention to detail he lavishes
upon Stokowski’s brilliant orchestration
is gripping in its effect. Night
on Bare Mountain is no less absorbing,
with the demonic elements of the music
brought vividly and nightmarishly to
life. Even more compelling however is
the Entr’acte to Act IV of Khovanshchina,
where Knussen’s composer’s ear for colour
and texture is a fine match for Stokowski’s
darkly hued slow march to execution.
As Oliver Knussen so
aptly encapsulates it in the booklet
notes, the synthesis of Mussorgsky and
Stokowski "produces a third composer,
who doesn’t actually exist, a Slavic
bear of a composer born somewhere between
the Black Sea and Cape Fear, whose orchestration
is astonishingly original".
As riveting as Knussen
and his Cleveland forces are, they face
some tough competition from the BBC
Philharmonic under Mathias Bamert. This
Chandos disc provides an exact duplication
of the music above and gives DG disc
a serious run for its money. Overall
Knussen and the Cleveland win by a nose
but if you already have the Chandos
in your collection I would think pretty
seriously before splashing out on the
newcomer. Otherwise don’t hesitate.
This is a disc that I can heartily recommend.
Christopher Thomas
Cleveland Orchestra/Oliver Knussen 