Neeme Järvi already has recorded the First symphony by Maximillian Steinberg (1883-1946, son-in-law of Rimsky-Korsakov) with the Gothenburg Symphony for DG. These same forces follow up with world-premiere recordings of Steinberg’s Symphony No. 2 and Variations for Large Orchestra. Whereas the first symphony is cast in conventional four-movement form, its successor adopts the truncated structure of Franck’s D minor symphony and the Divine Poem by Scriabin, suggesting the piece has greater claims as a symphonic poem than a true symphony. As before, there are strong echoes of Borodin: the textural layering of wind instruments in Borodin’s symphonies and in the Prince Igor overture must have influenced Steinberg considerably, judging by the sonorities achieved in the first movement of this work. There are shades of Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov too, and the central scherzo is suggestive of that from Tchaikovsky’s Manfred.
The first movement (from the listener’s standpoint it’s probably the most interesting) cleverly exploits the wind section to the full, and Järvi’s Gothenburg wind choir is warm-toned and nicely balanced. And although trumpets, trombones, and tuba have appropriately sombre-hued resonance, the strings sound unexpectedly lightweight throughout this recording. Steinberg’s material is developed more rhapsodically than formally, and with much less reliance on sonata procedure than you’ll find in either Borodin’s or Tchaikovsky’s works. The prevailing mood is gloomy and elegiac; this is rather like listening to Scriabin, but without the ecstasy. Highlighted by its tolling bell, the questioning, uneasy inevitability of the ending is touchingly orchestrated. The orchestral Variations are unambitious in their treatment of a popular Russian folk tune, already used–more effectively–by Glinka (in Kamarinskaya), Balakirev, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Overall the performances are accomplished enough, but for sheer musical interest it’s unlikely you’ll want to return frequently to these works–the variations in particular.
