Jean Sibelius - Symphonies Nos 4 & 5

Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)

Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63

Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

Berliner Philharmoniker

James Levine

Recorded:1994-02 (Symph.4) and  1992-11 (Symph.5) at Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin

Review

Stepping into your teacher's footsteps can't be easy. Especially if the man is (was) such a giant of accomplishment as Herbert von Karajan. And now you are called upon to conduct music that held a special place in K's repertoire, standing in front of the same orchestra and recording for DG! The mere thought is intimidating.

When Levine produced Symphony 2, he hit upon the expedient of speeding everything up to such an extent that even this fabulous band lost its way a few times and was forced to scramble the ensemble. For No. 4, he decided on a different course, trying to outdo his master in a performance of such pristine beauty that, from the point of view of sheer refinement, it leaves you breathless. An Ode to a Grecian Urn, if you know what I mean; or perhaps a Sibelian Postlude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The delicacy, sophistication and indeed fragility of this beauty must be heard to be believed. A big orchestra is playing, but the sound is so transparent and luminous, and the conducting so manicured and glorying in the sensuality of Sibelius' sonority, that it leaves little room for any other emotions to emerge. No a trace of what some writers have described as the "inner catastrophe", or the "turbulence and tragedy beneath the smooth calm of the water's surface".

No. 5 is made of sterner stuff, more overt, even "worldly" by comparison. Yet Levine, by caressing the music in a similar way to the other symphony, manages to make it sound almost jolly - some parts of it might remind you of Holst's Jupiter. His tempi on the whole are "normal" except for the final Allegro molto, which is definitely a presto; but even here the irruption of brass and the bitterness reflected in the final pages is softened by Levine's distant attitude.

I have to admit that after three auditions, I still like the sounds coming off this album. Even though it seems to me that he's picked the wrong composer for this kind of treatment - Grieg or Sinding (the latter especially in his pseudo-Wagnerian heroics) would appear to have been more appropriate candidates. So my worry is that as a long-term proposition this album will begin to irk me with its lack of Sibelian specificity. There is just not enough of Sibelius' authentic voice to be heard here, despite all the glamour of orchestral playing and sound technique.

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