Recording Review #35: Solid Symphonies

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4-6; Klaus Mäkelä, conductor; Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Decca 485 4637.

I'll be honest: I've had to force myself to give Klaus Mäkelä fair hearings. I wasn't at all impressed with his dubious Sibelius symphony cycle, released on Decca in 2022. Then, when I heard he landed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director gig earlier this year, I was sorry that more deserving (though perhaps less handsome or well connected) candidates for this prominent position got passed over. But a responsible critic doesn't evaluate new music-making through the lens of prior disapproval. Thus resolved, I listened diligently to what may be his first recording in a new Shostakovich symphony cycle. I'm glad I did, because for the most part it's quality stuff. 

That said, I'm probably not the best person to evaluate this performance of the Fourth. Hearing the work many times with different performers has done nothing to mitigate my dislike of it. I still think it's a self-indulgent mess that goes on for too long and offers poor thematic invention. Nonetheless, my general impression is that Mäkelä leads a decent effort, though it lacks a certain sharpness you find in the energetic takes by Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra (MAR0545), and Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Naxos 8.573188). If the Fourth is your cup of tea, I suspect you will prefer these other performances. But for me the present option is perfectly serviceable. 

The Fifth is Shostakovich's most popular symphony, with many excellent recordings available. Mäkelä's account isn't bad, but it lacks just a bit of conviction while being slightly inconsistent. The opening sounds labored when it should be arresting and create an air of mystery. I also need an edgier sarcasm in the scherzo than he's able to provide. The final two movements are best. The string playing is lovely in the Largo, which helps to create a suitably dreamy atmosphere. Then, Mäkelä leads a sharp and exciting finale that perhaps misses just a touch of magic. But all in all it's a solid reading that holds up well. 

I think I read somewhere that Mäkelä's favorite Shostakovich symphony is the Sixth. I have a special fondness for it as well, as I say here. It could certainly use more champions, and Mäkelä proves to be a very adept one. The big opening Largo is very well controlled, and comes off appreciably grim. This span should be an emotionally exhausting experience to open a symphony; Mäkelä & Co. duly deliver. Nor does he let the quality flag for the peppier remainder of the work. This is one of the best No. 6 second movements I have ever heard on recording, with a wonderful sense of whimsy and orchestral colors that seem to jump out of your speakers. The finale (one of my absolute FAVORITES in any classical composition) is fast, but not TOO fast. It's exhilarating without being allowed to spin out of control, à la Gergiev. Mäkelä seems to have found his musical spirit animal here. 

Klaus Mäkelä is young, and his discography is still very small. But already we're seeing signs that he's finding music matching his temperament. For some reason we expect that a Finnish conductor will naturally be good at performing Sibelius. All Finns inevitably feel the cultural weight of their great national master. But what I've heard suggests that Mäkelä's affinities lie more with Russian musical aesthetics. I'm eager to see what he does with the other Shosty symphonies. If those turn out well, maybe he'll move on to Prokofiev, then Weinberg, then Glazunov.... But now I'm getting ahead of myself. On balance this is a solid start to a Shostakovich cycle. Former disappointments aside, I'm rooting for the rest to be at least as good. 

Recommended, especially for the Sixth Symphony

Recording Review #16: Clashing Concerti

 

Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47/Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 in D, Op. 19. Janine Jansen, violin; Klaus Mäkelä, conductor; Oslo Philharmonic. Decca 485 474-8. 

Considering how popular these violin concerti both are, it's perhaps a bit surprising how seldom you see them paired on a single-disc recording like this. Granted, they're very different works despite each being highly accessible. But maybe this explains their rare coupling. Success in the one by no means guarantees success in the other, at least in terms of the music fitting the performers' sensibilities. And to be honest, what we have here is a tricky conductor-soloist partnership: both are better in some settings than in others. In these circumstances one could almost predict that success might be occasional and serendipitous, while rightly expecting inconsistency as a norm. Indeed, that is what we get in the form of a bumpy Sibelius and a winning Prokofiev 1. 

The Sibelius Violin Concerto here suffers from two things. In order of seriousness, they are: conductor Klaus Mäkelä's continued lack of feeling for narrative shape, and violinist Janine Jansen's heavy-handedness during climactic moments and bursts of passion. I say "continued" in Mäkelä's case because his recent Sibelius symphony cycle (Decca 485 225-6) suffers similarly. He goes from area to area with little apparent understanding of how to mould the work as a whole. He finds lots of neat sounds and little points of interest locally, but rarely does anything ever add up to something greater. The problem might be less pressing in a concerto, but at times it noticeably holds Jansen back. She'll finish a passage of impassioned, virtuosic violin playing, and it will be followed by a tutti that seems minimally to have been aware of it. The result is an odd feeling of atomization, especially in the lengthy first movement. Also, while Jansen is really good in the softer, hushed passages, I often find her tone to be heavy-handed otherwise, with sometimes too much glissandi between pitches. When she plays the main theme of the finale, for example, it sounds too spasmodic and needs to be steadier. The best movement is the second, where softer surroundings limit the effects of either musician's shortcomings. 

The reason why the second movement of the Sibelius mostly succeeds in Jansen's and Mäkelä's hands is related to why their Prokofiev First Violin Concerto is a winner. This is a more dreamlike and less monumental work. Its world strikes the listener as a bit more winding despite a shorter overall length. There are many quieter, visionary passages that can be said to mark the whole despite a vigorous yet brief middle movement. These conditions play directly to the strengths of both conductor and soloist. Theirs is what I would call a distinguished reading of this concerto that withstands (if not quite triumphs in) comparison to legendary recordings by David Oistrakh and Maxim Vengerov. Jansen in particular has a special affinity for Prokofiev, and were Mäkelä's and the Oslo Philharmonic's support even less suitable than they are here, she would likely still raise the performance to a fine level. Her soft, high playing is wonderful indeed, and it finds a perfect outlet. 

The download/streaming version of this recording includes a performance of Sibelius's very first composition, Water Drops, with Jansen on violin and Mäkelä on cello. It's a neat little curiosity, but adds nothing of consequence to the proceedings. 

Highly Recommended for the Prokofiev