This is the concluding volume of two symphonic cycles at once that
have proved very rewarding. US-conductor Kenneth Woods and Stratford-upon-Avon-based
Orchestra of the Swan's four-disc series has already delivered
three pairings of Hans Gál's symphonies with those of
Schumann, a composer Gál greatly admired. Volume one gave their
Thirds (AV2230, review);
volume two, Schumann's Second and Gál's Fourth
(AV2231, review);
volume three reversed these numbers for Schumann's Fourth and
Gál's Second (AV2232, review).
The Northern Sinfonia under Thomas Zehetmair have also recorded Gál's
First and Second symphonies (AV2224, AV2225). Initially predating
the Woods/Swans series slightly, these also came out on Avie, producing
the curious state of affairs of a label 'competing'
against itself. Zehetmair's cycle, if it was ever meant to
be one, appears to have fizzled out, and Woods and the Swans thus
have the honour of offering the first-ever recording of all four of
Gál's memorable symphonies.
The Swans could avail themselves of no better conductor for Gál
than Woods. So tireless a campaigner is he for a composer who until
recently went almost entirely ignored, that he has now been appointed
Honorary Patron of the Hans Gál Society. Moreover, his expertise
on Gál's music – as a cellist he has even recorded
his String Trios with his Ensemble Epomeo colleagues, also on Avie
(review)
- is underscored by an appearance in May on BBC Radio 3's 'Composer
of the Week', to discuss the composer with presenter Donald
Macleod. Like most of Radio 3's programmes under controller
Roger Wright, 'Composer of the Week' as a serious institution
has been devalued in recent years by week-long features on the likes
of Bill Evans, Michael Nyman, the 'Golden Age of Hollywood',
Irving Berlin and more, but this recognition at last of Gál's
genius gives some cause for optimism – particularly with the
imminent change of management.
Arguably, Woods and the Swans might have started their cycle most
profitably with this final pairing of Firsts. Woods himself describes
Gál's work in these listener-friendly terms: "the
shortest of [his] four symphonies, the most extrovert in character
and the most colourfully orchestrated." Like his later ones,
Gál's First recalls at times Mahler and Strauss, although
by this time (1927) Mahler was of course long dead and Strauss had
all but given up writing orchestral music. In fact it is Franz Schmidt,
arguably Austria's leading symphonist of the period, whose
soundworld Gál most often approaches. Schmidt's best-known
Fourth was just around the corner; Gál's First is not
as long or sad, but it does share a good deal of its evocations of
nostalgia and twilight, tinged with allusions to decadence, not to
mention its compelling, kaleidoscopic lyricism. The delightful third-movement
Elegy in particular, with its warming oboe solo, is utterly persuasive
and winning.
Almost a century earlier, Schumann wrote his 'Spring'
Symphony, much loved by audiences, if not universally by critics.
What the rather small-bodied Orchestra of the Swans loses in power
– the famous opening here lacks the punch of a true f
fanfare to ff tutti – it makes up for in textural clarity,
with no end of detail made available to the listener. On the other
hand, the more intimate orchestra size does reflect the realities
of Schumann's resources, and in that sense this recording is
more authentic than most. Woods was probably influenced by Thomas
Dausgaard's interpretations of the symphonies with his similar-scaled
Swedish Chamber Orchestra for BIS in 2008, as was, doubtless, Michael
Schønwandt's very recent, and even better, cycle with
the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic on Challenge Classics (CC72553).
Neither Dausgaard's nor Schønwandt's Firsts differ
much from Woods', the former-most's approach arguably
most classical, but both the BIS and Challenge recordings have the
undeniable benefit of 'SuperAudio' quality. Avie's
sound is pretty good, it should be said, although it does suffer a
little through direct comparison. Even so, in engineering terms the
Avie cycle still tops many of the supposedly great Schumann recordings
– their concentration in the hands of the big multinationals
labels condemning them to their characteristically lossy sound.
The Challenge double-disc offers all four canonic symphonies, plus
the unfinished 'Zwickauer', for less than price of two
Avie singles. That makes the Woods/Swans series more than twice as
expensive per recorded minute, but this is easily offset by the immense
value of the Gál cycle. Then again, although it would be going
too far to suggest that this is an indispensable account of Schumann's
'Spring', it is unthinkable that Gál collectors
will be disappointed by this sharp, ultimately refreshing account
of one of his most cherished predecessors.
The accompanying booklet and back inlay track-list both inexplicably
give the final movement of the Schumann as 'Andante
animato e grazioso' instead of 'Allegro animato
e grazioso'. Apart from that, all is well with the documentation
provided: Woods gives another well written, informative article on
both composers and their symphonies in English, German and French.
Byzantion
Contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
Previous review: Dan
Morgan
Masterwork Index: Schumann symphony 1
