Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.6
Tchaikovsky - Francesca da Rimini
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra / Järvi
BIS BISSACD1348

Release date July 2004

During Neeme Järvi's twenty-second and last season as Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, he will set down two major symphony cycles on CD. For Deutsche Grammophon he will re-record the Sibelius Symphonies (the set is due out in the autumn), while for BIS he will record his first Tchaikovsky cycle. During his time in Scotland, he performed Symphonies 4-6; I recall his readings as striking - and very exciting - but somewhat eccentric, almost Mengelberg-like in their flexibility. The first in the recorded series, the Pathétique, while very far from being run-of-the-mill, is fairly orthodox in its approach, with speeds on the brisk side - he shaves almost two minutes off the far-from-sluggish Mikhail Pletnev in the first movement. He is somewhat reminiscent of Mariss Jansons' classical view (on Chandos, with the Oslo Philharmonic), although Järvi's Gothenburgers bring more weight to the climaxes than their Scandinavian neighbours. Järvi is especially successful in charting the subtle emotional landscape of the 5-in-a-bar Allegro con grazia, touching in the flecks of cloud that darken the atmosphere when the main theme reappears, and drawing playing of the utmost delicacy from the Gothenburg strings, making one hope that this Tchaikovsky survey will extend to the ballets. This Pathétique is coupled with the darkest of all the tone poems, Francesca da Rimini, a piece highly thought of by its savagely self-critical composer. Predictably, Järvi conducts a performance of flair and personality - and his principal clarinet delivers a quite lovely solo during the 'Francesca' episode - although I shouldn't imagine that anyone will ever match Leopold Stokowski and the New York Stadium Symphony Orchestra in Francesca, particularly in the whirling infernos of the outer sections. BIS provides an ideal soundstage - for those of you with the relevant geegaws, it is an SACD - and there is an informative liner note by Horst A. Scholz

Sandy Matheson