Neeme Järvi’s Ives Symphony recordings are now more usefully packaged together on a single disc rather than coupled with Barber orchestral works on the original releases. And it’s a good thing too, for these are very fine performances. Järvi leads both works with his characteristic drive, transmitting his enthusiasm to a Detroit Symphony Orchestra that responds with nimble and highly energetic playing. Yes, you’ll find even greater orchestral virtuosity and brilliance, as well as interpretive authority, on Ormandy’s classic Philadelphia recording of the First symphony, but Järvi’s reading is winning for its infectious spirit and buoyancy.
This character also informs Järvi’s seamlessly fluid reading of Symphony No. 2, and if he lacks the devil-may-care attitude of Bernstein in his New York Philharmonic performance, then Järvi nearly makes up for it with his boyish glee in the first movement and finale, with the Detroit brass cockily blazing away (he also follows Bernstein in prolonging the final “wrong” chord into a musical raspberry). Zubin Mehta’s similarly athletic Los Angeles Philharmonic performances on Eloquence (yet with a disappointing cut in the First symphony) are a budget-priced alternative; but when you throw in Chandos’ richly reverberant and solidly impactful sound, Järvi’s coupling is pretty hard to beat.
