Paul Kletzki leads a fleet and nervy Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 that emphasizes the music’s surface passion while holding firm to its underlying structure. The first movement flows along as if carried on a breeze, with the score’s light and dark elements perfectly balanced–characteristics that sustain throughout the remainder of the work. In many ways Kletzki’s is similar to Temirkanov’s classic EMI recording, though he doesn’t match the Russian conductor’s intensity in the big climaxes.
The Suisse Romande orchestra performs with impressive energy and alacrity, the strings slicing away in the scherzo and swooning in the adagio, while the brass project boldly in the first movement and finale. However, the performance is noticeably lacking in tonal refinement (woodwinds occasionally go sour), especially in comparison with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, which offers a blazing and texturally sumptuous Isle of the Dead under Vladimir Ashkenazy. Sonically, Ashkenazy’s 1984 recording unsurprisingly beats out Kletzki’s from 1968, with its somewhat shallow sound. Even so, these are two terrific performances that, especially at the Eloquence price, belong in the collection of every Rachmaninov fan.
