Arnold Bax’s Seventh symphony had a reputation for being one of his weaker works, and I suppose this view is founded on the premise that it represents no new paths, despite being written toward the end of the composer’s career. But as this premiere recording shows, the symphony is entirely characteristic in its mix of passionately chromatic lyricism and those picturesque “legendary” tone colors that in general make Bax’s music so distinctive. Personally, I like it better than some of the earlier symphonies, and there’s no question that Raymond Leppard does the work justice. He’s at least as good as the competition on Chandos (twice) and Naxos, and more atmospherically recorded than anyone.
Meyer Fredman also recorded Bax’s Second Symphony for Lyrita, a performance yet to be reissued on CD. That performance always has impressed me as one of the glories of the Bax discography, still unequalled either in terms of sonic opulence or interpretive naturalness (but it may be that this was just the version that I imprinted on decades ago). Anyway, until that cherished classic reappears, we have this extremely exciting First Symphony to enjoy, again every bit as fine as the more recent cycles, particularly in the savage moments in the first and last movements. In short, these performances haven’t aged a bit; if you loved them then, you will love them still, and they can be recommended to all comers with enthusiasm. [1/19/2007]
