There is surprisingly effusive critical praise from
several quarters for the first of these two volumes of Clementi symphonies,
both released this year by Naxos, and presumably to be followed by a
third, thereby covering all six mature extant works.
From the first bars it is evident that audio quality is off the summit
- whilst probably acceptable to all but audiophiles, it has a distinct
thinnish, slightly tinny quality, especially evident in the higher-volume
tutti passages. In the digital era Italy has produced some of the shakiest
recordings in qualitative terms - these all-Italian affairs are not
among them, for sure, but they certainly come off second best by comparison
with the 1990s Chandos recording of three of Clementi's symphonies by
the London Mozart Players (LMP) under Matthias Bamert (CHAN 9234). Both
recordings are better than the one on Erato/Apex (2564627622,
review),
which covers the same ground as the first two Naxos discs, but has lossier-sounding
audio and a few obvious editing joins - the Penguin Guide's conclusion,
"recorded sound is excellent" can only be a misprint. As a matter of
fairness, it must be noted that Chandos's engineering is not perfect
either, a little over-reverberant and with a fairly narrow stereo forcing
orchestral sections to merge into each other somewhat.
As far as performances go, the Rome Symphony Orchestra (RSO) is a decent
enough outfit, and give a more faithful, more committed account of these
works than the Philharmonia Orchestra under Claudio Scimone on Apex,
who think they are playing Brahms. Yet the RSO in their turn do not
really compete with the LMP, although there is a definite improvement
with the second album, recorded a month on in late January - Christmas
distractions well out of the way?
Neither Naxos nor Chandos oust the three early-nineties ASV recordings
by the Philharmonia Orchestra, this time conducted by Francesco d'Avalos,
a cycle of all six symphonies, the two overtures and a piano concerto
played by Pietro Spada, whose sterling editions and additions have made
these Clementi works performable. These are still widely available over
the internet at prices that more or less match those of Naxos (CDDCA802,
CDDCA803, CDDCA804).
At any rate, Clementi's symphonies are among the best to have come out
of Italy. In his lifetime his genius received due recognition, and he
was ranked second only to Haydn. There is little doubt Haydn would have
been happy to put his name to some of these works. Musicians, critics
and the public have always been fickle, however, and today his exciting,
elegant symphonies struggle to be heard. These discs, though not perfect,
help to straighten up the record.
Byzantion
Contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
