Kurt Masur’s 1992 Avery Fisher Hall account of César Franck’s D minor symphony powerfully underlines the work’s structural details but leaves you feeling that the whole experience has been over-controlled. Lorin Maazel on DG finds more mystery in the Lento introduction, though Masur’s dark-hued New York lower strings produce an aptly dense tone color and the recording lets their weighty saturation register fully. Unlike Maazel, Masur heeds Franck’s “non troppo” qualification for the first movement allegro, which enables him to build terraced climaxes (like the big tutti at the end of the exposition) with organ-like sonority. You’ll hear countless points of detailing from individual players who get the context right: these include the warm vocalizations of the trombone section; trumpets with an occasional hint of French “cornet à piston” vibrato; and when needed, slightly acid clarinets and rasping bassoons. The harp at the start of the Andante registers nicely, the English horn solo is superbly done, and Masur’s finale is magnificently resonant and grandiose. Only the re-appearance of the English horn melody in the final pages sounds too mannered. The New York sound is clear and solid, bringing inner textures–particularly viola, bassoon, and double bass lines–into sharp relief.
