Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony No.2 in B flat major Op. (1865) [51:31]
Dramatic Overture Op. posth. B16a (Overture to Alfred) (1870) [14:43]
Overture to Armida Op.115 (1903) [6:51]
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrüken Kaiserslautern/Pietari Inkinen
rec. 2018, Grosser Sendesaal des Saarländischen Rundfunks Germany
The Complete Symphonies – Volume 4
SWR MUSIC SWR19083CD [73:09]
I enjoyed very much the preceding three volumes in this cycle from the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under their previous principal conductor Karel Mark Chichon. He favoured a direct, unaffected approach emphasising the freshness of Dvořák's inspiration, aided in no small way by the excellence of the orchestral playing. After a hiatus of more than three years (I reviewed Volume 3 in December 2016), the baton has passed - quite literally - to the orchestra's new leader the Finn Pietari Inkinen. The calibre of the playing remains but sadly I found this new disc to offer little in the way of individuality or indeed personality to persuade a collector to pursue this cycle further.
In many ways Dvořák's Symphony No.2 is one of the hardest for performers to bring off. It lacks the 'warts and all' originality of the lost/unrevised Bells of Zlonice on one hand but on the other the composer was still working hard to find a wholly individual voice where inspiration was equally balanced by technique. Too often in this long work - which runs here to over fifty minutes - there is a sense of the composer working out passages with a near academic rigour that smacks more of perspiration than inspiration. In more inspired hands it can prove to be an enjoyable journey. Too often with Inkinen it feels like a long one. Not that he does anything untoward or in any way 'wrong', it simply sounds dutiful. Dynamics and accentuations are smoothed over and crucial inner rhythms - which even at this early stage of Dvořák's career animate his scoring with folk-like energy - are not pointed.
Inkinen omits the first minute exposition repeat - to be fair so do most conductors and all the Czech conductors I know, from Neumann, Kubelik, Belohlavek & Kosler. Of the performances I know, only the brusque Jarvi, Serebrier and Rowicki include it. As an aside, the Jarvi interpretation is a good early example of how that conductor could sometimes substitute driven tempi for bubbling energy to the detriment of the spirit of the music. Personally, I prefer to hear it if only to get a sense of what the composer felt was the original structure and balance of the movement and indeed of the entire work. The absence of the repeat is by no means a deal breaker, but even a cursory listen to any of the above, let alone the famed Kertesz or respected Suitner or Anguelov cycles, reveals conductors who find more inner fire and colour in this early work. Not that Inkanen is particularly slow or slower than average but this is an example of when energy and tempo are quite different things.
In a concert performance, with no immediate comparisons to hand, this would be a very acceptable reading if one that somehow did not particularly engage the listener. In the cruel light of instant comparison, it is simply not good enough and if there continue to be such extended breaks between volumes there is little reason for a collector to wait for the following disc. Only the 'famous' symphonies - Nos. 6-9 - remain to be released and with them the packed competitive field becomes even more congested.
A possible consideration is the inclusion of relatively rare couplings. Here we are given the overtures Dvořák wrote for his first and last operatic ventures. These make an interesting juxtaposition. The first opera was Alfred which Dvořák never heard performed in his lifetime and did not include in any list of his works. The overture was afforded a separate life renamed as the Dramatic Overture and as such has been recorded elsewhere appearing on Marco Polo/Naxos with Stephen Gunzenhauser conducting the Slovak PO. The new performance here is technically more sophisticated, both in terms of playing and recording, but I do enjoy the unmistakable sound the Slovak players make. Gunzenhauser is nearly a full minute quicker than Inkinen and here I do think the implicit drama and tension of the work is better served by an overtly swifter approach. The overture to Armida was also recorded by Marco Polo/Naxos, this time with the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Stankovsky. Dvořák's handling of the orchestra had by then become so much more sophisticated and as such it benefits from the skilled playing of the German orchestra whereas the Slovak players, as recorded, sound rougher and rather thin-toned.
As mentioned, technically this is a very good disc. The SWR recording is clear and detailed without adding any synthetic drama to the performance. The orchestra's playing is reliably skilful in the way modern orchestras just are. The German/English liner is perfectly adequate - with one little slip from the translator
who has left the key of "B" from the German, whereas it should
have been given as "B flat" in the English version.
With so many versions offering more character and personality it is hard to recommend this competent disc with any enthusiasm.
Nick Barnard
