Bohuslav Martinů - Symphonies (Bryden Thomson)

Information

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů

• CD1 Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5
• CD2 Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6
• CD3 Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Bryden Thomson, conductor

Date: 1995

Label: Chandos

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Review

This cycle has been around as a set and individually since 1991.

The sound is from Chandos's best vintage and escapes the clouded congestion of some other Chandos issues from the period 1988-1992. Stereo separation imparts an open and uncongested spatial image. There is no suggestion of the over-warm fog that afflicts some of the Bĕlohlávek symphonies on the same label. The orchestral piano is nicely rendered in the finale of No. 4 neither too discreet nor with exaggerated presence.

In the finale of the exuberant and plangently lyrical Fourth the gloriously warbling horns at triple forte are something of a touchstone well up to the best and comparable with similar moments in Nielsen 5 and the Boult-conducted Moeran symphony LP on Lyrita. The mental torment piled high by Martinů in the second movement of the Third Symphony (5:01) is extremely well put across by Thomson.

These stand up extremely well to broadly contemporaneous competition from Järvi on Bis. Järvi piles on the tension in works such as the Third Symphony from the very start. Thomson builds tension steadily but has plenty of romping energy for Martinů’s many scherzos and allegros. Certainly if you prefer a more febrile approach captured in naturalistic sound then you go for Järvi. Thomson can seem broader although examination of timings shows this has little to do with speed; quite often Thomson is actually quicker than Järvi. Thomson gives out the sense of a conductor who has an eye to the longer term and he has the advantage of Chandos's glamorous and virile sound-picture. Listen for example to the grunt of brass and percussion at 3:49 and 4:51 in the first movement of No. 3. It could hardly be more gripping.

The three CDs come in a slightly oversized wallet-style card box. There's a really good essay by Jan Smaczny conflated from his notes for the separate Chandos releases.

The competition is direct with Jarvi on Bis. The price of each would be about the same. You could opt for the Naxos/Ukraine/Fagen series but, much as it saddens me to say so, these under-energised readings are not really in the running. Fagen’s Fourth is flaccidly earth-bound; a terrible missed opportunity. Neumann and the Czech Phil on Supraphon in late analogue is excellent but that box is still at full price. Part cycles include the warmly recorded First, Fourth and Sixth of Belohlavek on Chandos - the sound is nowhere near as pellucid as that for Thomson. In the Fourth Symphony stakes the Apex CD of the Fourth Symphony (Czech Phil/Martin Turnovsky) in 1960s sound, continues to wipe the floor with all comers; do not miss it.

— Rob Barnett

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Bohuslav Martinů (December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He was a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. Martinů was a prolific composer who wrote almost 400 pieces. Many of his works are regularly performed or recorded, among them his oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh, his six symphonies, concertos, chamber music, a flute sonata, a clarinet sonatina and many others. Martinů's notable students include Alan Hovhaness, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Jan Novák and many others.

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Bryden Thomson (16 July 1928 – 14 November 1991) was a Scottish conductor. He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, then with Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, and with Igor Markevitch at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. Thomson is remembered especially for his championship of British and Scandinavian composers. His recordings include influential surveys of the orchestral music of Hamilton Harty and Arnold Bax. He was principal conductor of several British orchestras, including the Ulster Orchestra, which flourished under his tenure.

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