The fame of L’Apprenti
Sorcier has tended to make Dukas
a one-work composer, but his lack
of productivity and the fact that
he burnt many of his unpublished
works has not helped either. On
this disc we have his comparatively
well-known symphony and two works
written when he was eighteen. The
overtures are really symphonic poems
and while they cannot be placed
among the few works of the composer’s
maturity, they each have a lot to
offer.
Although dating
from 1883 Goetz is
to some degree a new piece as it
was lost for a long time and only
rediscovered in the mid-1990s. While
Schumannesque in style it shows
a plastic and very competent sense
of form in its depiction of the
reluctant leader of the Peasants’
Revolt in 1525. Most notable beside
the formal mastery is the quality
of the orchestration. The work relies
on a constant forward motion and
Ballon and his players do well here.
Their playing is straightforward
if not totally subtle, but their
build-up to the restatement of the
Goetz theme at the end of
the work is admirable.
Even though it
was written directly after Goetz,
Le Roi Lear shows
a lot of progress in the creation
and handling of themes. The subject
matter gives the composer opportunity
to create many different types of
atmosphere and Ballon and his players
take full advantage of this. Indeed
this work contains the best playing
on the disc - the Württembergers
seem to have an affinity for tragedy.
They again save the best for last
with the dying of Lear as portrayed
by Dukas’s almost disintegrating
music.
With the Symphony
we are in more familiar territory.
There are half a dozen recordings
currently available and each will
have its supporters. I have always
been partial to the Armin Jordan
on Apex, but nothing really equals
the old George Sebastian recording.
In the first movement of this work
the formal mastery mentioned above
has reached total fruition. Ballon
supports the composer in this, keeping
the development and combination
of themes absolutely clear. The
symphony’s second movement is one
where the continuity of both playing
and mood can easily be lost. It
is to Ballon’s credit that he only
lets this happen a few times and
produces what is overall a beautiful
reading of this movement. In the
third movement, however, there are
problems. The conductor emphasizes
the connections between the movements
adroitly but the orchestra frequently
blares away or almost breaks down.
This spoils what has up to now been
quite a fine performance.
In appraising this
disc one must separate the overtures
from the symphony. Ballon gives
a very creditable account of the
symphony, but he is not always backed
up by his players and the recording
quality is lackluster. It is interesting
that no venue is mentioned. On the
other hand, there are no other recordings
currently available of the overtures
and the playing is better here.
While obviously an imperfect disc
it can be definitely recommended
if only to those who do not have
the overtures.
William Kreindler
Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen/Fabrice
Ballon 
