This cycle has been around as a set
and individually since 1991.
The sound is from Chandos's
best vintage and escapes the clouded
congestion of some other Chandos issues
from the period 1988-1992. Stereo separation
imparts an open and uncongested spatial
image. There is no suggestion of the
over-warm fog that afflicts some of
the Bĕlohlávek symphonies
on the same label. The orchestral piano
is nicely rendered in the finale of
No. 4 neither too discreet nor with
exaggerated presence.
In the finale of the
exuberant and plangently lyrical Fourth
the gloriously warbling horns at triple
forte are something of a touchstone
well up to the best and comparable with
similar moments in Nielsen 5 and the
Boult-conducted Moeran symphony LP on
Lyrita. The mental torment piled high
by Martinů
in the second movement of the Third
Symphony (5:01) is extremely well put
across by Thomson.
These stand up extremely
well to broadly contemporaneous competition
from Järvi on Bis [review].
Järvi piles on the tension in works
such as the Third Symphony from
the very start. Thomson builds tension
steadily but has plenty of romping energy
for Martinů’s many scherzos and
allegros. Certainly if you prefer a
more febrile approach captured in naturalistic
sound then you go for Järvi. Thomson
can seem broader although examination
of timings shows this has little to
do with speed; quite often Thomson is
actually quicker than Järvi. Thomson
gives out the sense of a conductor who
has an eye to the longer term and he
has the advantage of Chandos's glamorous
and virile sound-picture. Listen for
example to the grunt of brass and percussion
at 3:49 and 4:51 in the first movement
of No. 3. It could hardly be more gripping.
The three CDs come
in a slightly oversized wallet-style
card box. There's a really good essay
by Jan Smaczny conflated from his notes
for the separate Chandos releases.
The competition is
direct with Jarvi on Bis. The price
of each would be about the same. You
could opt for the Naxos/Ukraine/Fagen
series but, much as it saddens me to
say so, these under-energised readings
are not really in the running. Fagen’s
Fourth is flaccidly earth-bound; a terrible
missed opportunity. Neumann and the
Czech Phil on Supraphon in late analogue
is excellent but that box is still at
full price. Part cycles include the
warmly recorded First, Fourth and Sixth
of Belohlavek on Chandos - the sound
is nowhere near as pellucid as that
for Thomson. In the Fourth Symphony
stakes the Apex CD of the Fourth Symphony
(Czech Phil/Martin Turnovsky) in 1960s
sound, continues to wipe the floor with
all comers; do not miss it [review].
Rob Barnett
Royal
Scottish National Orchestra/Bryden Thomson 
