In what has become a much-lauded series of Beethoven hybrid SACD recordings, Osmo Vanska has launched a cycle that parallels what Antal Dorati accomplished for the Minneapolis Symphony some forty years ago. No revisionism here: the tempos do not try to adhere to Beethoven’s original markings to produce speedy effects, so we can enjoy a middle European Beethoven, old school. The Beethoven C Major Symphony under Vanska quite efficiently balances Beethoven’s audacities–like the Adagio molto’s opening with an inversion of the F Major chord–with his classical sense of procedure, the textures approaching elements in Haydn, Mozart, and Rossini. The oboe work in the syncopated Andante, along with graduated beats from the tympani, make this account quite compelling. Vanska does not shy away from providing the Menuetto the full scherzo sensibility, a light hand mounted on a speedy steed. Nuanced figures from the strings no less compel our attention. The intimacy of the reading almost belies the surround-sound medium, at least until the tympani and sudden brass sforzati asset themselves. The curious broken scale that begins the last movement erupts, and the contrary movements in the bass fiddles and high-string tremolandi urge themselves forth with alacrity. Delicacy and humor play no mean part in the proceedings, a frothy mix, some of the textures reminiscent of Rossini’s The Silken Ladder. The last pages resound quite formidably, the string work diaphanous and quicksilver, flashing by on afterburners. Solid.
The Pastoral Symphony basks in all sorts of colorist touches, not the least of which are the drone figures in the first movement basses, the flute’s carillons into birdland, and the French horns and strings against the pizzicati as the triplets resolve into the recapitulation. The entire first movement combines cheerful feelings with a genuine awe in the grandeur of Nature, a pantheism ennobled by exalted thoughts. The 12/8 Scene by the Brook extends the idyll, a feeling of serenity tied to a paean of Nature’s bounty. Nice bassoon work leading to the cellos and undulating high strings. Oboe and flute–clarinet and French horn–each pair in concert with the strings complements the wind-serenade character of much of the movement. The series of bird calls, however programmatic they appear, carry us forward to the parody of a village band that constitutes the third movement Allegro. The brisk, Breughelian revel breaks off ominously with the bass strings’ announcement of a fierce thunderstorm requiring added piccolo and trombones. What begin as tripping figures intensify mightily under Vanska with the first request upon the tympani to make an insistent appearance. French horns and shimmering strings and high piccolo compete for our attention as the storm swirls about us, an electrified eddy of surround-sound. The storm dissipates, and the Minnesota woodwinds and French horn herald another paean, this time a thankful hymn of deliverance, The Good Shepherd having once again rescued his flock. Enter Vanska’s tonal world and be refreshed in a Pastoral of uncommon beauty.
— Gary Lemco
