This excellent performance succeeds in recapturing the “glory days” (musically speaking) of Kondrashin and Mravinsky. It may be true that the Milan orchestra doesn’t play with quite the same virtuosity as Mravinsky’s Leningraders–there are a couple of moments during this live performance, such as the finale’s recapitulation, when the string ensemble is a touch shaky–but otherwise Caetani’s rendition has all the blood-and-guts impact of those storied versions, and in top-quality sound. Also, this is without question the swiftest performance on disc. At merely 20 minutes, the first movement will shock you–but then you will surely find yourself wondering why so many others take it at a lugubrious crawl. Similarly, the passacaglia–at seven minutes–flows swiftly, and in doing so it not only acquires greater density of musical incident but also acts as a clear transition to the finale, making the structural arc of the symphony’s last three movements all the more impressive.
There are so many moments that benefit by this interpretation. The toccata may lack something of Rostropovich’s mechanical coldness, but it gains in sheer energy, and the central trio, with a tangy solo trumpet and ferocious snare drum, has all of the necessary goose-stepping vulgarity. Caetani also builds the first scherzo to a furious climax, while the big moments in the first movement and finale have additional power for not being extended beyond the point where the players can sustain maximum intensity. Indeed, there isn’t a more cogent or powerful last movement on disc from anyone. The music’s bittersweet happiness sounds all the more fragile, and the return of the first-movement climax seems all the more frightening when the music has this kind of light and shade. It’s worth noting that Caetani’s timing here, a bit more than 12 minutes, is almost exactly that of Kondrashin and Mravinsky.
It’s interesting how interpretations of this music have changed over the years. Certainly the work can be played in many different, equally valid ways, and there have been some very impressive “slow” versions, including Previn (DG) and the recent Wigglesworth (BIS). But it’s really wonderful to hear a performance that returns to the tradition originating with the composer himself, at the same time capturing the unbridled intensity that got so many of us “hooked” on this music in the first place. Caetani proves triumphantly that it’s possible to project all of the Eighth Symphony’s drama and emotional power without making the listening experience an ordeal all by itself. When I want to hear this work, chances are this is the version I’ll be choosing. It’s a breath of fresh air.
