E.s.t. Symphony

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra - E.S.T. Symphony (2016) {ACT 9034-2}
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© 2016 ACT Music | ACT 9034-2
Jazz / Classical / Orchestral Jazz / Modern Composition / Contemporary Jazz / Creative Orchestra

Esbjörn Svensson, the Swedish original who consistently turned crossovers between jazz, pop and classical music into lasting art with EST, would have got around to this orchestral venture himself but for his accidental death in 2008. With its shapely themes, subtle pacing and big climaxes, his popular trio’s music was ideal material, eloquently confirmed here by arranger Hans Ek, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and four star jazz soloists, including brilliant Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala and Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset.

The "Under Stalin's Shadow" subtitle of this release may be confusing inasmuch as the opening Passacaglia from the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District dates from before the period when Stalin made Shostakovich's life a living hell, and the main attraction, the Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93, was finished ten months after Stalin's death. Actually the album is the first in a set of three; the others will cover the symphonies No. 5 through No. 9, all written during the period of Stalinist cultural control. But even here the theme is relevant: the pieces are linked by a dark mood that carries overtones (of a feminist sort in the case of the opera) of repression. And the Symphony No. 10 is decidedly some kind of turning point, with repeated (and finally triumphant) assertions of the D-S-C-H motif (D, E flat, C, B natural in the German system) that would appear frequently in the composer's later work.

Walton’s Symphony No 1 and Belshazzar’s Feast, which were written consecutively, helped him consolidate his reputation as the most exciting British composer of his generation. Belshazzar’s Feast, a superbly crafted oratorio, vividly depicts the story of Babylon’s excesses and subsequent downfall, brilliantly coloured by the orchestral forces, including two brass bands. Similarly effervescent, volcanic sentiments simmer beneath the surface of the First Symphony, the music conveying the tensions of the 1930s, whilst remaining timeless in its appeal.

Dating from the 1970s, Rafael Kubelik's incisive and acclaimed reading of Beethoven's second and fifth symphonies is the latest release in the Remastered Classics series from PENTATONE, performed with panache by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

These are world première recordings in Sterling's Romantic Swiss music series. Hans Huber was amongst the leading musical personalities in the German-speaking part of Switzerland in the years around the beginning of the 20th century. He was born in 1852 in a small community in the north-west Swiss canton of Solothurn. He studied under Carl Reinecke in Leipzig and subsequently taught music in Alsace from where he made his first contacts with musical life in Basel where he moved in 1877.

Conducting Bruckner, says Rattle, is a lifelong quest for some "extraordinary vista, some wonderful moment which leads you out of this world". This certainly rings true for Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, the opening theme for which is said to have come to him in a dream, played by an angel. This huge, glowing mountain-range of sound is all at once majestic, reverent and terrifying. This edition of the symphony by Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs was first performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle in September 2022, and the recording completes a set of three albums which also features Cohrs' editions of Bruckner's Fourth and Sixth symphonies. Making use of Bruckner's discarded fragments and lesser-known material through his many revisions, this set of albums is a must-listen for lovers of Bruckner's music, and gives us a glimpse into the composer's untold musical thoughts.

In recent years Miaskovsky has suffered something of a decline in the Soviet Union. Textbooks still honour him as an important influence on the development of Soviet music, a great teacher and so on, but performances and recordings of his music have become increasingly rare. Whether this new CD issue (apparently the first of a series) is a sing of re-awakened interest—a kind of Russian counterpart to the Bax phenomenon in England—isn't easy to tell, but obviously the spirit of the age is favourable to the rediscovery of very late romantic orchestral composers, as is demonstrated by the case of Bax, or Respighi, or even Eduard Tubin.

The notes to this recording suggest that Ture Rangstrom's 2nd symphony, subtitled "My Land", is his least-played symphony because it speaks in a nationalistic language that is an anathema to Swedes. If true, it's too bad because this is a wonderful piece, full of northern, though not distinctly Swedish, atmosphere. Unlike the 1st symphony, which is written in a tense style full of Wagnerian chromaticism, the 2nd symphony limits itself to more diatonic harmony which makes it easier listening. Like his previous effort, Rangstrom builds his movements out of short themes (& chordal sequences), but his melodic inspiration is on a higher level here. That combined with his distinct ability to create atmosphere results in a memorable piece that really ought to occasionally replace Sibelius' first two symphonies in concert.