I like this coupling: both works deal with the struggle between order and chaos, in the largest sense, and contrast music of simple lyricism with aggressive onslaughts. That’s about all they have in common, but it’s enough–and more to the point, both pieces are very well conducted, played, and recorded. Paavo Järvi delivers an extremely intelligent and characterful performance of the The Rite of Spring. It doesn’t really heat up until the Games of Rival Tribes, but from then on it’s pretty marvelous. Järvi builds the polyrhythmic Procession of the Sage with superb definition, layer by layer, and the concluding Dance of the Earth (to Part One) is thrilling.
In Part Two he puts not a foot wrong. His flowing tempo for the Mystic Circle of Young Girls sounds just right, and once again the music really takes off in the quicker episodes, with spectacular brass playing and plenty of rhythmic bite from strings and percussion. The Sacrificial Dance is one of the best on disc–not so much a matter of initial tempo, but in the way it continues to build straight through to the final bar, gaining energy as it goes. Most performances are disappointing in that respect, but Järvi never lets the excitement flag, while the excellent balances ensure that we get to hear Stravinsky’s multi-layered orchestration even in the loudest passages.
The Nielsen Fifth is also excellent. I have only one quibble: the solo clarinet needs more menace and bite in his big first-movement solo and a greater sense of hysteria in the finale’s quick fugue. Here he’s outclassed by the flutes. Otherwise, the first movement’s great buildup to the snare drum cadenza is perfectly managed, with the percussion in proper balance and the player offering one of the better solos on disc. I especially like the prominence Järvi gives to the trumpets as the battle surges on. After all, they play the same rhythm as the snare drum, and the impression of percussion on the left, trumpets on the right, and everyone else trapped between these two hostile forces generates great tension.
In the finale, as just noted, a little more frenzy from the winds in the quick fugue would have been good, but otherwise the playing is really fine, with the strings doing an excellent job with some extremely difficult and awkward writing. In the concluding pages, once again Järvi clarifies the textures marvelously well: the jumping brass in the background, timpani to the fore, while trumpets and strings toss their motives back and forth with real, organic give and take. Järvi’s handling of the final pages, with pounding timpani and a nice, deep breath before the last triumphant chord, simply is the best on disc. Incidentally, this performance does not use the new critical edition of the symphony, a decision with which I happen to agree. Telarc captures all of this in very naturally balanced sonics, and it will be interesting to see if SACD opens up the textures still further. Either way, this gets a strong recommendation.
