What is going on with Neeme Järvi? Back in his “glory days”, when he was recording everything under the sun for Chandos, he offered some very exciting work with the Scottish National Orchestra. But his recent Sibelius cycle with the Gothenburg orchestra on DG was a mixed bag, and his Tchaikovsky also has been decidedly underwhelming. Take this performance of the Second Symphony: three really quick, even rushed movements followed by the dullest finale imaginable.
Now some Tchaikovsky cynics might take this as just a true description of the work in general, but it is possible to conceal the fourth movement’s repetitiousness with characterful phrasing and a sprightly tempo. Järvi, on the other hand, offers neither, and doesn’t even bother to observe the “presto” indication for the coda (most conductors either do it, or work up to it in a gradual accelerando). The couplings, including the two rarely-heard overtures, are nice to have, and the performance of The Storm is quite good. So is the sound. But if the symphony’s a dud, who cares?
