Svetlanov is heard
in prime form in this brace of Borodin
symphonies. The Third, opus posthumous,
is also released in the same series
and will be reviewed by me soon. Svetlanov’s
prime spans the decades with performances
recorded in 1966 and 1983. I can guarantee
that sonic considerations, and the invariable
discrepancies between the newer and
older studio recordings, will be of
little or no account. You will I think,
on the contrary, be excited by the tangy
depth of utterance generated by the
Soviet maestro and will enjoy the bold,
brassy and often coruscating traversals
on offer.
The First was recorded
in 1983 and has some very prominent
winds. Partly this is a result of a
rather one-dimensional recording but
I must say it didn’t overly concern
me, so alive and vibrant is the playing.
Svetlanov is on fiery rhythmic form;
as ever with him brass is really brassy
and slightly braying, though never as
much as when he directed the Bolshoi
band. The vivacious and decidedly Mendelssohnian
Scherzo responds well to this kind of
incisive but never over-pressed playing
but the highlight of the performance
is surely the burnished slow movement.
The autumnal and verdant phrasing –
with middle string voicings rising and
cresting with arching eloquence – is
most distinguished. So too is the oboe
principal’s playing and the felicitous
generosity of the music making in general.
Don’t overlook the nippy brass and characterful
winds in the briskly accented finale.
Seventeen years earlier
the same forces had recorded the Second
Symphony. Svetlanov clearly relished
the rugged masculinity of the writing
and he gives full rein to the brusque
trumpet interjections and the insistent
march rhythms. Certainly there have
been neater, tidier performances but
not too many more exciting. Once again
the slow movement has singing lyricism
but also an admixtures of gaunt power
and self-assertive striving. Trust Svetlanov
to inject the finale with a visceral
brand of ebullient high spirits; the
tambourine is perfectly audible and
the brass, naturally, is very much to
the fore.
This is one for admirers
of high octane Borodin conducting and
playing; that’s pretty much a definition
of Svetlanov. Those coming to the symphonies
afresh may want to consider the handy
but less intense National Philharmonic/Loris
Tjeknavorian cycle of the three symphonies.
Jonathan Woolf
for details
U.S.S.R Symphony Orchestra/Evgeni Svetlanov
