Three Portuguese Orchestras
Nova Filarmonia Portuguesa, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, Orquestra do Algarve/Álvaro Cassuto
rec. 1988-2003, various venues
NAXOS 8.579130 [66]
This Naxos program, originally issued in the company's full-priced Marco Polo line, collects recordings made by conductor Álvaro Cassuto with the three ensembles he variously formed, after the Portuguese government dissolved the two existing national orchestras. His program note outlines this Byzantine history in clear chronological detail.
Right off the bat, I noticed that the program favoured the more outgoing, extroverted side of the repertoire. Assuming Maestro Cassuto chose these pieces for those qualities, it was smart programming, obviating the sustained soft playing that could betray an ensemble's technical weaknesses. On the other hand, actively contrapuntal passages can be problematic. Neither the bounding Lohengrin nor the intelligent, musical Don Juan begins with the most bracing attack, and the latter, for all its surge, becomes less firmly grounded as it proceeds, with the busywork not always lining up.
Oddly, Glinka's showpiece overture and Mozart's late symphony left similar impressions: forthright, avoiding extremes of tempo. The Glinka oompahs heartily, with compact, unified strings. The woodwinds are a bit wheezy, though, and the second subject pushes ahead nervously. The strings sound thinner in the Mozart symphony - the Nova Filarmonia sounds smaller than the other orchestras - but they're mostly clean and focused. I particularly liked the Andante, a leisurely amble, and the alert, vigorous Presto; Cassuto plays the spurious "last two notes" at the end of the Menuetto.
Salome's Dance, slightly deliberate but still forward-moving, actually comes off better than Don Juan; detail is clear but recessed at the start. The Staccato brilhante of Joly Braga Santos is the only item here that isn't a concert recording, though neither is it explicitly identified as a studio product. It's short - two minutes and change - and driving, its harmonies more "modern" and unstable than in the rest of the program.
Best, to my ear, were the disc's final three tracks. The two Brahms Hungarian Dances roll along smoothly, building up exuberantly without rushing. There's a nice lift to the alternating 3/4+6/8 rhythms of the cheerful España, despite the briefly insecure semiquavers later on.
Overall, the sound is vivid. The Sinfónica brasses, full-bodied in Ruslan, sound dry in España, recorded in a different venue. I suspect, however, that the actual playing, rather than any engineering flaw, accounts for the intermittently reticent detail.
The results are variable, and, save for the Braga Santos, you probably won't need the repertoire. Still, the program is a testament to Cassuto's patience, persistence, and skill as an orchestra builder.
Stephen Francis Vasta
stevedisque.wordpress.com/blog
Contents
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
Ruslan and Lyudmila: Overture (1837-42)+
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No 35 (Haffner) (1782)*
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III (1845-48)+
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Don Juan (1888)+
Salome: Dance of the Seven Veils (1903-5)+
Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988)
Staccato Brilhante (1988)^
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dance No 1 (1858, orch. Schmeling)^
Hungarian Dance No 5 (1868, orch. Schmeling)^
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894)
España (1883)+
*Nova Filarmonia Portuguesa
+Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa
^Orquestra do Algarve
