This is Volume 2 of
the projected 12-volume ‘Tintner Memorial
Edition’ from Naxos. Volumes 1 to 7
were recorded live, with volumes 10
to 12 recorded in the studio, all with
the Symphony Nova Scotia (SNS). Volumes
8 and 9, presently not yet available,
are recordings of live performances
with the National Youth Orchestra of
Canada - these (mainly) original Canadian
Broadcasting Company recordings on Naxos,
pressed in Canada, are only just now
becoming available in the UK.
The disc commences
with a fascinating, informative and
charismatic live spoken introduction
by Tintner himself about the Unfinished
Symphony. It is easily forgotten,
hearing these broadcast transcriptions,
just how much of a low point the SNS
of Halifax had sunk to during the dark
days of the dissolution of the old Atlantic
Symphony and the faltering recovery
under Boris Brott. Georg Tintner's arrival
as music director there produced results
that were nothing short of miraculous
... and this in little more than a year,.
The SNS is the only professional Canadian
orchestra east of Quebec. It has a basic
strength of 37 players. This is fine
for Schubert but quite how they manage
with such small forces in The Walk
to the Paradise Garden on their
excellent studio-recorded Delius disc
(Volume 10 of the Tintner Memorial Edition),
one hesitates to guess! The Schubert
performances here are both exuberant
and vibrant and reflect the lifelong
association of the conductor with this
composer and with Vienna, the city of
both Schubert’s and Tintner’s birth.
The performances have a certain serenity
and ‘other-worldly’ quality combined
with a tremendous strength, purpose
and deliberation often lacking in other
performances. There are some truly wonderful
moments - listen to the exultant middle
section of the first movement and the
beguiling and atmospheric clarinet entry
towards the beginning of the second
movement of the Unfinished. Inevitably,
being live, there is some audience intrusion
with the occasional cough, particularly
at the end of movements. The acoustic
tends to be rather ‘boxy’ and somewhat
restricted at times but this in no way
detracts from committed interpretations
of Schubert’s two most highly regarded
symphonies. As explained in the programme
notes, Tintner does not observe all
the repeats for this live performance
of The Great for programming
reasons. Even though this is at bargain
price and a live recording one does
not have to make any apologies or excuses
in making this a top recommendation.
Em Marshall
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Spoken introduction by Georg Tintner [4.30]