Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)
La Poème de l’extase, Op. 54 (Symphony No. 4) (1905-08)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 29 (1901)
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta
rec. 2019/22, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, USA
Naxos 8.574139 [59]
These symphonies have been paired before on disc and there is much from which to choose for these works. For those who wish to wallow in the sheer voluptuousness of this music, I would advise you seek out an alternative recording. JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic will have none of it, which is not to say that these performances are dry or uncommitted in any way. I found both very refreshing.
I have never been a fan of the Poem of Ecstasy, or, as it was originally intended, Poème orgiaque (“Orgiastic Poem), according to a note on the back of the CD case. However, Falletta has convinced me of the worth of the piece. The recording most familiar to me is Valery Gergiev’s with the Kirov Orchestra (Philips, now Decca) who really makes a meal of the work, as he does with the accompanying Stravinsky Rite of Spring. All seems loud and heavy in his account with very little dynamic variety, so that one feels browbeaten by the time it is over with. Falletta leaves quite the opposite impression. Hers may be a leaner account, but its transparency is most welcome. The clarinet and trumpet parts, no stridency there, are played as well as I have heard them and there is plenty of bass without it being overdone, as I find it with Gergiev. The recorded sound is full, but natural, and the orchestral performance is superb. The Buffalo Philharmonic has nothing to fear from the more famous orchestras that have recorded this music. That goes for the strings, as well. I particularly like the way the horns sound more distant than the other brass, and the build up to the final chord is tremendous with the bells really audible and the conclusion glorious.
Scriabin’s Second Symphony has always appealed to me more than his later works. In some performances it can sprawl and not seem coherent. Again Falletta and the Buffalo orchestra clearly have the measure of the piece. Its five movements have a convincing structure if performed as the symphony is here. The work is basically in three parts with the first two movements connected, the first being an introduction to the Allegro, followed by the longer, slow movement, and the fourth leading directly to the finale. The symphony begins in C minor solemnly with a clarinet solo, which will appear several times, followed by oboe and other instruments. This theme will become the main subject in the finale, as it switches from minor to major. The work predominately shows the influence of César Franck, particularly his Symphony in D minor, in its cyclical form. Contrasting to this movement, which builds ecstatically to its climax, is the quicker, more rhythmic Allegro second movement that quotes the beginning subject of Franck’s Symphony. This movement concludes on a blazing E flat chord, the relative major to C minor, and one might think it could signify the work’s end, though there are still three movements to go.
If Franck is the chief influence in the first two movements, Wagner appears to take that role in the third one. This slow section contains shimmering strings followed by birdcalls from the flute and violin. The strings have a yearning Romantic theme and there are brass fanfare figures succeeded by another clarinet solo. Overall, this Andante movement contrasts well with the earlier ones in its pastoral nature and ends with the flute’s birdcalls supported by the strings.
The fourth and shortest movement is marked Tempestuoso and more or less lives up to this designation. Its beginning is rather unsettled with strings, brass, and timpani gaining in urgency. It is definitely leading somewhere and that somewhere is the Maestoso march theme of the finale. The march, heroically characterized by trumpet and other brass, as a really catchy tune in the major that is repeated a few times before concluding the work on a unison note in C led by the brass and timpani. The triumphant finale can seem repetitious and too long, but Falletta does not drag it out and it leaves a powerful impression here with the piece ending jubilantly.
I found it illuminating to compare this account with a few others, where the overall timings of the symphony tell. A few conductors add an extra ten minutes or more to the timing of the work, e.g., Vasily Petrenko on LAWO (50:49) and Dmitri Kitayenko (53:36) on Oehms, whereas Falletta’s is only 40:17. Others fall somewhere in between, whereas Neeme Järvi (Chandos) manages to complete his under 40 minutes. While timings are not necessarily indicative of the performances’ success or lack of it, Falletta avoids any feeling of tedium yet does not seem at all hasty. Sometimes the greatest difference is in the slow movement. There Falletta takes 10:47 and Petrenko a whopping 18:01! For me much of the success of this new account is that Falletta always holds my interest, and the playing of her orchestra and the recorded sound are first-rate.
Naxos completes the product with an informative note on the works by Anthony Short and an appropriately colourful painting by Wassily Kandinsky on the cover. If this combination of works suits you, I would urge you to snap this up—especially if you find Scriabin’s orchestral music too discursive.
Leslie Wright
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