The first thing to
make clear is that I listened to this
disc in conventional CD format. Even
so the sound is very impressive indeed.
As usual with BIS the music is presented
in very natural sound but even by their
high standards this recording is extremely
clear and detailed and has a very wide
dynamic range. Every strand of the orchestration
is clear, for which I’m sure credit
must be shared between the conductor
and the engineers. Indeed, a great amount
of detail that one doesn’t usually hear
is clarified, though without any suspicion
of highlighting.
The playing offered
by the Gothenburg players is extremely
fine and every department acquits itself
very well. The attention to dynamics
is particularly impressive.
The Pathétique
is a piece in which the conductor
has to tread a fine line between bringing
out the strong emotion in the music
and overdoing the emotional content.
I don’t know if Neeme Järvi was
particularly conscious of this but for
some reason he seems to me to underplay
the visceral emotion of the outer movements,
almost to the point of coolness. Unfortunately,
it’s these outer movements that carry
the main weight of the symphonic drama.
In his favour, there are no eccentricities
of tempo and I can imagine that some
listeners may prefer his more measured
approach. However, to my mind, such
moments as the start of the Allegro
vivo in the first movement (Track
1, 8’53") should be so electrifying
as to make one jump. That simply doesn’t
happen here.
The second movement
is done with grace and a pleasing lilt
and the third movement, the march, is
splendidly incisive. The first few minutes
of the finale are quite dignified, which
I rather like. However, the tempo is
just a touch too flowing to allow the
music to make the impact that it should.
There’s not much of the "lamentoso"
about this movement. For all that the
sound is excellent, there’s one miscalculation,
I think. The doom-laden gong stroke
near the end is virtually inaudible
(I had to listen three times, the third
time through headphones, before I heard
it.)
In summary, this is
a thoughtful, well prepared performance
but it strikes me as being too objective.
It certainly didn’t stir me in the way
that, say, Guido Cantelli’s 1952 Philharmonia
reading does (now on Testament and rightly
praised by Marc Bridle in January.)
Nor does Järvi match the intensity
of Ferenc Fricsay’s spacious 1959 account
included in the recent DG Masters box
devoted to the Hungarian maestro. And
then, of course, there’s Mravinsky but
his legendary 1960 reading for DG with
his Leningrad Philharmonic in full cry
really is hors concours. Listening
to any of these rivals shows only too
clearly what is lacking from Järvi’s
reading.
Francesca da Rimini
is not perhaps as fine or as taut
a piece as either Romeo and Juliet
or the still-underrated Hamlet.
However, I love the work and in
the right hands it can be overwhelmingly
exciting. It’s a tremendous test for
the orchestra (a test which the Gothenburgers
pass with flying colours). Once again,
they’re accorded a superb recording.
However, as with the symphony, Järvi’s
interpretation failed to thrill me.
The potent introduction
is well done but when the main allegro
is reached (track 5, 3’50") the
basic tempo is just a tad too careful
with the result that the music hangs
fire fatally. At the speed Järvi
sets the detail is commendably clear
but this is achieved at the price of
a lack of impetus. You don’t feel that
the stormy winds of Hell are swirling
round the star-crossed lovers. Turn
to either Leopold Stokowski’s 1958 reading
with the Stadium Symphony Orchestra
of New York (presumably the New York
Philharmonic in disguise) or Sir John
Barbirolli’s superb 1969 version with
the New Philharmonia (now on Dutton)
and you’re in a different league.
Both Barbirolli and
Stokowski etch in the drama far more
vividly and with much more passion than
is evident with this newcomer. I should
say that the long, ardent central section
is fine – and it’s ushered in by a superb
clarinet solo – but the allegro stretches
that open and close the piece lack drive
and tension. There’s a palpable sense
of adrenalin flowing with both Barbirolli
and Stokowski but, sadly, that’s missing
in Järvi’s account. The incandescent
Stokowski performance (one of his finest
recordings, surely) sweeps the board
and hurtles to a close of nightmare-ish
intensity. Barbirolli isn’t far behind
and he draws out the final, gong-drenched
chords most excitingly. He’s also predictably
ardent in the central love music where
the NPO plays its collective heart out
for him. Besides these two distinguished
rivals I fear Järvi doesn’t really
compete.
I’m sorry to be so
negative about this disc from a conductor
whose work I much admire. Neeme Järvi
has made many fine recordings but this,
I fear, isn’t one of them. If I were
awarding marks out of ten I’d give 10
to the recorded sound and 9 to the playing
but could only rate the interpretations
at about 5 out of 10. In a fiercely
competitive field I fear I can’t give
this a strong endorsement.
John Quinn
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
BIS – SACD – 1348 [69’02"] 
