That Günter Wand still commands undiminished powers of interpretation in his late 80s is cause for wonder, though it’s an open question whether documenting this fact provides a good enough excuse to issue yet another remake of music that he conducted perfectly well the first time. These two performances reveal this conductor’s characteristic virtues of intelligently chosen tempos (the slow movements in particular offer phrasing of consummate elegance that never interrupts their onward flow), superb balances between orchestral sections (Wand’s strings, brass, and timpani never cover important wind parts, and yet also never sound as if they’re holding back), and a healthy dose of sheer physical excitement (listen to the brilliant finales of both works). The orchestra plays for him with what I can only call “love”. Yet there’s a sense of comfortableness about these performances that misses some of the incipient danger you can find elsewhere, especially in the better period performance-influenced interpretations (such as Mackerras’ on EMI), or the recent Barenboim on Teldec (compare, for example, the way the younger conductor tackles the timpani cross-rhythms in the First Symphony’s scherzo); but if you want these two symphonies alone, don’t mind paying full price, and prefer their drama projected with generous helpings of warmth, wit, and no hint of self-indulgence, you can’t go wrong here.
