Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915)
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Le Divin Poème, Op. 43 (1902-1904) [44:22]
Poème de l’extase, Op. 54 (Symphony No. 4) (1905-1908) [20:35]
London Symphony Orchestra/Valery Gergiev
rec. live, March and April 2014, Barbican, London, UK
Reviewed as a 24/96 download from
Hyperion
Pdf booklet included
LSO LIVE LSO0771 SACD [64:58]
Watching Gergiev conduct – those fluttering
fingers in particular - I always wonder how orchestras can be certain
of his beat. That sense of mild apprehension applies to his recordings
too; either he storms to the top of the charts – his recent LSO
Live Rachmaninov
Second Symphony is now among the finest in the catalogue –
or he delivers a reading that’s unforgivably perverse. His Rachmaninov
Third belongs firmly in the latter category. Which left me wondering
where he would go with this new Scriabin series, surely one of his last
as principal conductor of the LSO. More important, perhaps, is how his
readings of these two symphonies compare with those of Vasily Petrenko
and the Oslo Philharmonic (review).
As regular readers will know I regard Riccardo Muti’s classic
Scriabin, with the Philadelphia Orchestra in incandescent form, as my
go-to box for these works (Warner
and Brilliant Classics). Leif Segerstam and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
(BIS)
have their moments too, but if the first instalment of Mikhail Pletnev’s
Pentatone
cycle with the Russian National Orchestra is anything to go by both
sets could soon be swept aside. As for Petrenko his tenure in Oslo has
only just begun, which may be one reason why his Scriabin 3 and 4 lack
conviction and character.
Scriabin needs firm advocacy and a judicious hand if his sprawling works
aren't to buckle under the weight of their ambition and scale. Muti,
a natural when it comes to big dramatic gestures, gets the balance right
most of the time; not only that, he knows just how this music should
sound. It helps that nis Memorial Hall recordings are so rich
and dynamic. Alas, such attributes are harder to come by at the Barbican,
which is notorious for its ungrateful acoustic. That's certainly the
case on record, although I can think of a number of fine LSO Live releases
that buck this trend. The question is, which way will this one go?
Gergiev's Third starts poetically enough, but after the Lento –
Luttes it becomes rather prosaic - routine, even. I'm all too familiar
with this highly variable maestro's work, but I didn't expect him to
modulate to the key of humdrum so soon. Yes, there are some lovely,
exotic sounds in Voluptés, but there’s also a creeping
sense of coagulation that both Muti and Segerstam manage to avoid. Gergiev
seems just too detached here, which is fatal in such immersive repertoire.
That same air of disconnection pervades Jeu divin, although
Gergiev does spur his players on to a pretty exciting close. As if this
weren't dispiriting enough the recording is dry and the presentation
seems rather flat. I imagine the multichannel mix would address the
latter issue.
What an inauspicious start; and I'm afraid it doesn’t get any
better. Gergiev’s Poème de l’extase - crude and
disjunctive - is everything this lambent music shouldn't be. At least
the solo trumpet at the start has presence and a hint of headiness –
Petrenko’s Poème is particularly disappointing in this
regard - but otherwise the performance remains earthbound. The sound
isn't very ingratiating either. Like Petrenko - but unlike Muti, Segerstam
and Pletnev - Gergiev seems to have chosen the optional harmonium at
the end; I say 'seems' because you'd be hard-pressed to tell it was
there at all.
It's all so frustrating. Perhaps Petrenko and Gergiev have tried to
avoid a well-upholstered approach here, but in the process they’ve
knocked the stuffing out of these sumptuous symphonies. At this point
Muti is still sans pareil in the Third and Pletnev is the new
benchmark in the Fourth. In fact the latter performance, coupled with
an equally fine account of the First, is likely to be one of my Recordings
of the Year.
Gergiev’s Scriabin fails to enchant or excite; the featureless
recording doesn’t help.
Dan Morgan
twitter.com/mahlerei
