Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony, Op. 58 Muti

This disc elevates "Manfred" to a statement of real stature. Firstly, the Philharmonia sounds magnificent. For an artistic tradition that is generally reserved, the English have always done well by Tchaikovsky. Ashkenazy's Decca version of this very symphony is also with the Philharmonia, while Jurowski leads an astoundingly involved London Symphony Orchestra. All are worth having, but this is one of Muti's best recordings. Climaxes are explosive and the playing is rich and committed. The low strings – never a sure bet from British orchestras – are truly present and utterly engaged. The Philharmonia has a rock-solid lower half that recalls Klemperer's glory days, and the percussion and brass are at the fore. Speaking of Klemperer, he'd be proud of the swirling winds in the andante, and the obvious care that the conductor takes in matters of balance and dynamics.

Bernard Haitink’s 1980 Manfred was the prize of his Concertgebouw/Tchaikovsky symphony cycle. Riccardo Chailly’s 1987 effort with the same orchestra, while very good, doesn’t quite live up to that standard. In both recordings you get the sense that Tchaikovsky composed Manfred expressly for the Concertgebouw Orchestra. The very sound of the ensemble in its own hall conjures the dark, fantasy world described in the music. To this add lively and colorful playing, rich sonority, and utterly impeccable musicianship and you’ve got a uniquely compelling aural experience. Where the performances part company is in Haitink’s embrace of Tchaikovsky’s passionate dramatic ethos, a quality that Chailly, by contrast, tends to shy away from. (Of course, for a truly passionate reading you have to hear Muti’s rendition on EMI.) In his favor Chailly does have Decca’s vivid, high-impact digital recording, which, though having less warmth than the analog Philips production, better conveys the massiveness of the Concertgebouw Hall’s acoustics.

The five movement Second Symphony is gloomily introspective but Muti again propels it along. There are some Rachmaninov-like moments in the allegro and wistfulness in the andante. Much of the doom carries over from the Manfred / Francesca tribute from Tchaikovsky and ploughs inexorably forward in the earlier symphonies of Miaskovsky. The Maestoso has a straining grandeur which takes a little from Glazunov - say in the finale of the Eighth symphony.