This new recording of the Shostakovich Tenth Symphony has a lot going for it. The first movement is about as well shaped and conducted as it can be, with its two main subjects nicely differentiated in tempo and character, and the big central climax intensely gripping but also notably clear in texture. Paavo Järvi pays particular attention to the rising motto theme’s tendency to migrate to the lower brass while everyone else goes crazy up above. The finale also has notable lightness and a real sense of joy, with sharply etched rhythms and plenty of energy.
So what’s the problem? Simple. The second movement lacks the necessary viciousness, though Järvi gets the tempo (nice and fast) exactly right. It’s that “juggernaut of terror” feeling that’s missing, here and also in the climax of the third movement, where the horn interruptions fail to engage with the rampaging orchestra as they must. The result comes across as a touch cool compared to the first movement and finale, though I wouldn’t want to give up this recording for that reason alone.
Veljo Tormis is best known for his masterful choral music, which has been well documented on disc (and reviewed here). His Overture No. 2 is similarly marvelous, its driving, toccata-like outer sections enfolding an elegiac and lyrical central meditation. It certainly whets the appetite for more music by this composer, and it’s splendidly played here. The sonics are typically vivid, with rich bass, a bright top, and plenty of impact from the winds and heavy brass. Horns and cymbals could have been slightly more present, however. Not a perfect release, then, but a very good one nonetheless.
