We can only applaud the internationalization of this music, as conductors start playing and recording it outside of the UK. It’s tiresome to have to keep saying “unfortunately this performance doesn’t compare to the classic version by London Orchestra X under conductor Y.” But until labels begin to record ensembles as good or better than the UK competition, that’s going to be the story, and so it is here. Owain Arwel Hughes obviously knows these pieces, and he paces them well. And as usual, the lighter, more richly scored Second symphony makes a better impression than the much more technically difficult First.
In this latter work the Lille orchestra struggles audibly, bogging down in the Presto con malizia second movement and simply lacking the guts the outer movements require. Consider the huge outcry just before figure 18 in the first movement (the end of the exposition): the lower brass don’t dig into their parts with the necessary violence, while trumpets and timpani don’t pound and cry as they should. This also makes for a rather tame coda, and (for all its transparency) an unimpressive close to the finale. There’s nothing here that’s bad, or embarrassing, but with such strong competition it’s impossible to work up much enthusiasm for this release.
