It would be easy enough
to trot out all the usual critical clichés
for Philippe Herreweghe's period-practice
Schumann: the clear, relatively lightweight
sonority of the Champs-Elysées
orchestra permits wind detail more easily
to register, allows for more mobile
tempi, and so forth. All this would
be true - and, ultimately, beside the
point. It is rather Herreweghe's musicality
and energy - traits hardly restricted
to musicologists! - that make this recording,
and some of his others, special.
The Second Symphony
is an excellent case in point. The slow
introduction flows easily at an Andante-ish
tempo, so the ear more easily follows
the music's progress and takes in its
overall structure. Yet, both here and
in the similarly paced Adagio - which
eschews straining at metaphysical "depths"
- the purposeful shaping of the long
phrases with gradual crescendos
and diminuendos produces a sense
of weight and importance comparable
to that of standard performances. The
main theme of the first-movement Allegro
doubles strings and winds, save for
a single bar allotted just to the strings;
that momentary contrast becomes quite
striking here. The Scherzo runs its
course with assurance: the violins manage,
with the subtlest inflections, to mark
off individual phrases within this moto
perpetuo-style writing without disturbing
the pulse, an effect duplicated in their
running legato ribbons in the blazing
Finale.
The Fourth benefits
from similar ministrations. Herreweghe
captures the music's taut drama as well
as do the best "modern" performances
- my dark horse favorite is the Kubelik/Sony
- while giving the music's lyrical side
its due. At times, his reading sounds
uncommonly relaxed. The first movement
brings moments of almost becalmed repose,
offering a respite from the surrounding
turbulence. In the codas of both outer
movements, the Champs-Elysées
players undoubtedly could have handled
conventionally driven tempi better than,
say, Muti's frazzled Philharmonia (EMI),
but Herreweghe's less pushed treatment
is shapely as well as propulsive. The
Romanze sings sweetly, as does
its reminiscence in the incisive Scherzo.
Too frequently, historically
informed performances of the standard
repertoire offer little beyond a "different"
sound. Not in this case, though: Herreweghe
makes us hear these scores afresh, simultaneously
projecting their full symphonic stature.
Warmly recommended, especially in this
midpriced guise. Harmonia Mundi gives
the timing as 66.15, cheating itself
by a few minutes.
Stephen Francis
Vasta
Orchestre des Champs-Elysées/Philippe
Herreweghe 
