I came late to M8, with Tennstedt's studio recording being my introduction to the work. Frankly, that performance just did not click for me. I think it was Bertini's performance in the EMI box that I found satisfying from start to finish. I have added Jarvi, Gergiev, Zinman, Wit, Runnicles, YNS, and others to my collection with various degrees of satisfaction with them (they are NOT listed in order of preference).
I liked the Jurowski/LPO team's M2 and M1, so I favorably anticipated the arrival of this new M8 recording. However, I was displeased with my first hearing. I listened while I was working at my desk on inexpensive computer speakers. Multitasking is not a great way to be critical of details, but I usually do get a decent sense of the tempi, nuances, and overall approach and whether they are to my liking or not.
I heard things throughout this first listening that I hadn't noticed before in the symphony. I like new revelations if they are edifying and not perverse, and some here were. However, there were things that were missing, too. I heard some sour high brass and recessed low brass when they should not have been. It seemed like I was on a roller coaster of favorable to unfavorable impressions.
The interplay of brass, percussion, organ, and choir rising to a thrilling conclusion in Alles Vergangliche usually is as awe inspiring as music gets. Here I heard exchanges that just did not seem right. I did not have a score, but it sounded to me that some sections of the ensemble maybe were entering at the wrong time. I then played the last track of the other M8 recordings and did not hear the effects I heard on this LPO recording. I am not certain my concern is valid (maybe this performance unveiled features that were muddled in others) but this final track simply was not as satisfying to me as my other recordings.
I then listened to the CD in my car on a 40 minute drive: though long enough only to get through half of it, it helped to develop my criticism. I noticed the variable imbalance of the soloists and sections of the choir and orchestra. At times it seemed like a directional mic was on a solo viola or violin yet at other times a whole section of bellowing low brass sounded distant (a tuba and phalanx of trombones can overwhelm, yet at times they seemed suppressed and not just holding back). The directionality of some of the soloists led me to believe that perhaps this was a highly engineered recording and that audio 'magic' was a bit too much for me.
Getting back to the interpretation, I thought Part I was generally satisfactory, though I did not like some of the voices right from the start (this may be unfair because I was uncritical of the voices in the Gergiev while others were troubled by the accents). When it came to Part II, I noticed sometimes that the pacing seemed unnaturally curt, choppy. If the intention was to ensure that clarity came across to a vast audience, then the effort certainly was worthwhile, but as recorded, it sounded at times too fastidious. I no longer own the Jarvi/BIS recording, but in some ways this new recording reminded me of it. It just did not strike me as an integrated, organic whole but more of a showcase event.
Perhaps this assessment should be defended with some more score research: I may get to that later. However, I have listened to other recordings - most decent if not exemplary in interpretation and/or sound quality - and I think I will not revisit this one very often.
Topic: Received copy of Jurowski/L.P.O. M8 - link to my Amazon review now posted (Read 8512 times)