New Review at Classical Candor

My review of the latest release in the ATMA Classique Sibelius symphony cycle (Nos. 2 and 5) by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal can be read at Classical Candor, here. 

Recording Review #13: Sludgy Sibelius Sequel

 

Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal. ATMA Classique ACD 22454. 

(Although this disc came out last year, I am reviewing it here in preparation for my forthcoming write-up of its successor at Classical Candor.)

Here we go again: more problematic Sibelius by a conductor whose temperament is unsuited to Sibelius. And this time I've noticed people who should know better heaping on the praise. For instance, the reviewer at Gramophone says this (quoted from Presto Music's website): 

"I would not have had Nézet-Séguin down as a natural Sibelian, and I would have been completely wrong...A Wagnerian melos imbues the conductor’s handling of Sibelius’s syntax throughout..."

Think about that for a minute: a "natural" Sibelian inflects his Sibelius with a "Wagnerian melos." But anyone who really gets these symphonies, or has read much Sibelius literature, knows that Wagnerian anything is quite out of place with the leaner, less effusive direction these works marked. The Third Symphony is often considered to be the turning point in Sibelius's output, with many identifying in it a fresh, "classical" outlook. YNS's "Wagnerian melos," as far as it goes, is misplaced here. We need clarity and crispness, and instead we get too much sludge. 

My issues start right away in the Third's opening movement. Like too many other conductors, YNS wants to take a relatively slow tempo. I imagine they'd point to the score's Allegro moderato indication as rationale. But I think the "moderato" is there to keep conductors from running away with the "allegro." A higher-end Allegro bpm range of 130-150 would indeed be too quick. But going too far in the opposite direction sounds almost as bad. A glance at the internet tells me that people generally consider Allegro moderato to be around 116-120 bpm. YNS is at about 114 to start. That's not so far off the mark, but my taste is for the range's upper barrier at 120, which my preferred performance by Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (RCA 09026-60434-2) adopts. Okay, 114 isn't anything to get too upset over. (Davis and the LSO are much worse offenders on LSO Live LSO0552.) But it's just another thing in combination with more objectionable things...

Already at the secondary theme (Rehearsal 3) we're a bit too gooey in the dolce cello melody, and not marcato enough in the upper strings accompaniment. Nor is there enough hiccup with the scored rests in the horns and bassoons at Rehearsal 4. In other words, already things are not sufficiently articulated...which is reminiscent of this series' First Symphony outing. Worse, YNS just absolutely milks the Tranquillo at Rehearsal 5, and it takes him until the following Rehearsal to recover his pace (such as it is). For long after, the running 16th-notes in the strings feeling too anemic, and the horn support distractingly loud. It's all hazy and soft-edged, like Wagner in his some of his calmer moments. The atmosphere is perfume-ish when it should be sunny and vigorous. When the return of the main theme is supposed to come roaring back at 3 measures after Rehearsal 10, YNS backs off of the climax too much like he does in the First Symphony. And builds to this and other high points are too labored. When the secondary theme gets restated later in the movement (at Rehearsal 13), the timpani strikes oddly dominate the texture – another strange imbalance in a performance marked by them. 

The second movement adopts an okay tempo...a bit slow for my taste, but fine. More seriously, the timbral balance is off; the tones of the woodwinds and strings are on the mushy side when each are prominent. Melodic lines are simply not sharply articulated enough. And once more, YNS milks the Tranquillo in this movement, as well as the measures immediately preceding it (between Rehearsals 6 and 7), though perhaps not as badly as in the previous section. He also dwells overlong on the string chords here, giving the music a decidedly Lohengrin Prelude feeling that doesn't belong...and which would easily be avoided by more motion and less rubato. Similar problems inhibit the rest of the movement, including intermittently inaudible plucked strings under the main theme in the lovely passage starting around Rehearsal 8. Occasional tempo slowdowns almost lose the pulse. 

I could point to many similar problems in the finale, but I'd sound like a broken record. I'll just content myself with a few points. First, there are several tempo fluctuations that Sibelius indicates in the score in the first section of this two-part movement. While YNS loves to slow down when instructed, he's less fond of speeding up again (or at least speeding up again especially soon). Sometimes he simply invents irritating tempo disruptions, like at 5 measures after Rehearsal 5 when a soft and kind of swinging string accompaniment re-emerges. This just gets BOGGED down. Even when he speeds up again at the directed Allegro before Rehearsal 7, it's not enough. Why conduct like this?? At Rehearsal 8 we FINALLY  get a decent climax, but only because Sibelius marked the buildup cresc.possible, and the apex triple forte. Apparently that's what it takes to give YNS a shot in the arm. This is good for a nice stretch of punchy measures to follow. But with the emergence of the chorale theme a little after Rehearsal 13 we're back to sludginess. This new area is marked a tempo, con energia. But if there is one thing YNS lacks overall, it's sufficient energy. Here he'd rather fixate on Sibelius's pitch accents instead of any steady pace. There's even a Sempre energico at Rehearsal 14. But nope, everything just lurches along to the end.

I've gone down a rabbit hole here. I apologize. (I have a special affection for the Third Symphony.) I'll wrap up. In general I find YNS only marginally more successful in the Fourth, if only because this is a darker, more ponderous work that at times better absorbs his flakiness. He gets some nice surges of sound in the opening movement, and definitely understands the plot here better. But with the second movement we're back to more mush. The biggest problem with the third movement is the lack of payoff with the big tune at the end. Too much brass/percussion, and not enough strings. The character here is all wrong. This isn't Wotan and the Gods entering Valhalla; it's pent-up psychological energy bursting to get out. And we just don't get that. To make matters worse, the sudden relief of light that should come with the opening of the finale instead arrives like a few dull rays of sun poking through the clouds...with more dynamic and articulative sludge. Limpness reigns supreme, especially in a lifeless, needlessly drawn-out conclusion. This is a Fourth that occasionally succeeds but lacks proper vision in total. Do yourselves a favor and stick with the infinitely more compelling offerings by Karajan, Davis (BSO), Vanska, Bernstein, and others out there. Leave this one and its soggy Third companion to languish. 

Avoid

Recording Review #5: Sludgy Sibelius

Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal. ATMA Classique ACD 22452.  

(This is another recording that came out last year, but which I'm covering here now because I'll soon review the third release in the series at Classical Candor. I'll also review the second installment here [Sibelius Symphonies 3 and 4] in days to come.)

I could ask this question: why do so many contemporary orchestral performers record standard repertoire that is sluggishly played and annoyingly tampered with? But I already know the answer: people will nevertheless continue to buy and praise these recordings, much because they're new. And that's a shame, because I think there are better things Yannick Nézet-Séguin (henceforth YNS) and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal could be doing if they're just going to churn out second-rate renditions of well-trodden repertoire. Nobody except collectors needs this particular Sibelius 1...not with so many good alternatives. I'll add that nobody needs to pay full-price for a disc that ONLY contains Sibelius 1 and has no accompanying works. Not even if it were a good Sibelius 1...which this isn't, particularly. The label should have include a tone poem or suite, at least. We don't need to return to the worst days of Deutsche Grammophon-style run time rip-offs. 

Alright, I guess I'll jump in. The biggest problems here are lurchy tempi and messy playing when the texture thickens. After a nice clarinet opening in the first movement, I got the sluggishness right away in the horn continuation of the main theme. From that point on, YNS intermittently slows the tempo unprompted by any score direction, and apparently when he wants to be expressive or "make the music his own." This is especially frustrating at climactic points that need to have vigor, but instead merely fizzle out (particularly noticeable around Rehearsals K and P-Q in the score). The difficulty is that this all obscures the musical architecture. In an expressive, late Romantic symphony such as Sibelius 1, we don't need to "add more sugar"...we should better hear the main lines of argument. 

Similar issues afflict the second movement. I initially thought the section would fare better after a nicely played opening theme. But soon, right at the climax directly preceding Rehearsal D, it was apparent that this would be more of the same. YNS should direct this at tempo and not tinker. Most frustratingly, he underplays the Poco sollecitato markings around Rehearsal H, while adding rallentandos etc. where there are none. (Predictably, he follows Sibelius's actual slow markings with special relish.) The quicker parts toward the end (around Rehearsals M-O) lag when they're supposed to be breathtaking. A sharper articulative attack, missing throughout the whole, adds to the trouble. 

The deficits in playing are most pronounced in the Scherzo. YNS and Company actually start with a nice, brisk tempo. But then odd things start happening. The forte timpani statement of the main motive is much too loud...probably an sff instead of a firm, judicious f. (It doesn't happen quite this way again in the repeat.) More seriously, the ensemble playing at times becomes messy. The quick runs in the woodwinds don't sound like they're "together," giving the whole a rickety feeling. The middle section is okay, I guess, but could use a bit more life. The stretto at the end is pretty decent. 

I'd say that on the whole the finale receives the best performance. The Allegro molto is acceptably lively. And while the grand climax at Rehearsal U toward the end is a BIT slow (ditto the coda), they're played with appreciable sweep and feeling. The first statement of the Andante theme earlier in the movement just drags along, though. Here, directly before Rehearsal G and the latter part of this long melody, we get one of YNS's slow phrase endings. Combine this with the following group of rests, and it seems like *forever* before we hear the continuation. It's another "spark on the nose" moment in a recording that is rife with them. 

This isn't the worst Sibelius recording I've ever heard. But it's a fairly inauspicious beginning to a symphony cycle that presents all kinds of interpretive challenges. A conductor whose feeling for symphonic architecture could be better, and musicians whose ensemble playing could be much sharper, would seem to have a tough road ahead. I'll be interested to see if they can improve on this effort. Here's hoping. 

Recommended to Collectors