Karol SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937)
Concert Overture, Op. 12 (1905) [12:07]
Symphony No 4, Op. 60 Symphonie Concertante (1932) [25:15]*
Symphony No. 2, Op. 19 (1909-10) [33:12]
Louis Lortie (piano)*
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner
rec. 3 April (Symphony No. 2) and 2 July 2012, Watford Colosseum.
CHANDOS CHSA 5115 SACD [70:57]
Following on from their marvellous exploration of Lutoslawski’s orchestral
works, Edward Gardner now enters the very different world of Karol Szymanowski
in a fifth volume in their recordings of music from Poland. The review of
volume four is here.
Chandos released both of these symphonies in 1996 on a highly regarded disc
conducted by Vassily Sinaisky and with Howard Shelley as soloist, CHAN 9478,
but an online search leads me to suspect this may be out of print and I don’t
have a copy for comparison. The superlative standards of Gardner’s previous
volumes are very much maintained here, and you know you are in for a treat
once the first bars of the early Concert Overture kick in. This was
one of the works which put the young Szymanowski on the musical map, and even
with the influence of Richard Strauss a clear stylistic element the convincing
marks of an impassioned individual voice are unmistakable.
Fans of Szymanowski will more than likely know his Symphony No. 4 in
a fine recording on EMI with Sir Simon Rattle conducting City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra (see review)
which is still something of a reference for its refined transparency and eloquently
expressive playing. Rattle’s Stabat Mater is also not to be missed.
Antoni Wit’s Warsaw forces on Naxos (see review)
are also superb, the piano solo further forward in the recording balance emphasising
the ‘concerto’ nature of the work. This disc also has a terrific
performance of the Concert Overture. Gardner’s Chandos SACD recording
is perfectly balanced, the piano a clearly audible presence and with plenty
of heft in more turbulent passages, but still a part of the orchestra rather
than an overblown soloist. The little touches of orchestration and instrumental
solos are all perfect, including a mad clarinet in the third movement. The
harmonic worlds of sweeping energy and ever-eventful repose are all keenly
observed. Louis Lortie is the ideal soloist, using subtlety of touch to mix
with the orchestral textures as well as stamping an authoritative touch on
the first movement cadenza and other solo passages.
Szymanowski is one of those composers who can ‘turn’ those resistant
to high romanticism in music and, spellbound by that opening violin solo,
if you allow it to envelop you further the Symphony No. 2 will carry
you away in a bubble of orchestral sensuousness and transport you to lost
worlds. Antoni Wit’s recording on the Naxos label (see review)
was rightly praised and remains an excellent reference, but Gardner’s
is easily its equal in terms of performance. He is a little tighter in terms
of tempi here and there, heightening the excitement but still allowing the
sonorities to generate organic effulgence. The richness of string tone in
the central Theme and Variations is superlatively captured. Neither
conductor wallows in the romantic sentiment, but Gardner also has an ear for
Szymanowski’s moments of dancing rhythm and witty reference, still with
echoes of Richard Strauss, but as Adrian Thomas points out in the booklet
notes, adding the sophistication of Berg and Schönberg to a language
still drawing on the resources of Austro-German late romanticism.
This is an excellent recording of two of Szymanowski’s great symphonies.
Very fine in standard stereo, the added dimension of SACD 5.0 channel surround
is something which turns these opulent scores into a truly visceral and emotive
experience. I very much look forward to seeing which works come out next in
this series.
Dominy Clements
Opulence and refinement perszymanowskified.
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