Smetana/Szell 'Symphony'

[Alan Howe]

Apart form his early "Triumphal" or "Festive" Symphony, Smetana did not, of course, write a symphony. Now, I may have mentioned this on the old forum, but it's well worth bringing up again: the conductor George Szell made an orchestral arrangement of Smetana's String Quartet in E minor, "From My Life" and so came up with an authentic-sounding piece which amounts to a mature symphony by this composer. What's more there's a superb recording on Chandos...
http://www.chandos.net/details06.asp?CNumber=CHAN%208412
...and it's absoute riot of a performance and a quite magnificent piece in its own right. Fancy a 'new', highly romantic symphony? Look no further!
Audio excerpts here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smetana-Bartered-Excerpts-Quartet-Orchestra/dp/B001MV9G74/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk?ie=UTF8&qid=1319840057&sr=1-1

[Buster]

It's a great piece. Szell himself recorded it for Columbia in 1949 with the Cleveland Orchestra. I think it is on Internet Archive, but don't know how well transferred it is. It has been on CD. Also, a live performance with the Cleveland Orchestra (I think from his first concert with them in 1944) is available from West Hill Radio Archives.

http://whra.audiophile.ca/en/browse/?page=4&productNumber=WHRA6018

[Mykulh]

I totally agree with Alan's assessment. This is the "symphony" one wishes that Smetana had actually written. It has always surprised me that the Szell arrangement did not take its place with Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" or the completion of Mahler 10th Symphony as one of music's frequently performed and recorded hybrids.

[Hal]

Thanks for making me aware of this transcription. I listened to the excerpts on the amazon link you provided and was delighted by what I heard. 

[mbhaub]

Since you bring up Szell, there's a new (first?) biography of him reviewed in the Nov. Gramophone. Sounds like a good read.

[TerraEpon]

Don't dismiss the Festive Symphony, it's pretty symphonic despite its festiveness.

Not to say I don't love that Chandos CD....

This makes me kinda wonder if Brilliant would have recorded the piece and put in on their complete orchestral Smetana set if it already didn't fit nicely onto three full discs (and a VERY fine set it is -- a lot of great rarely recorded stuff on the non-Ma Vlast discs)

[Mark Thomas]

I'll add to the chorus of endorsements for the Smetana/Szell Symphony: it's a wonderful piece. Leaving aside the power and effectiveness of Smetana's original conception, Szell's orchestration is so convincingly "right" that you'd not suspect that it wasn't integral to the work. The finished work is more than the sum of its parts.

I have a recording of a broadcast by Szell in 1949 but wasn't aware of the Chandos recording, so that's great news. I see that Simon takes about 2 minutes longer overall than Szell, so it'll be interested to see what effect a more expansive approach has.

[Mark Thomas]

I see that in preparing for the 1940 premiere of his orchestration, Szell wrote:

"Two-and-a-half years ago the idea came to me to arrange an orchestration of this famous Smetana quartet. I delayed a long time, thinking of all the arguments against arranging the works of a great composer. In general, I am in entire sympathy with such arguments, but in this case I reached the opposite conclusion. Smetana himself had doubts as to the reception of this composition: he wrote that others would have to judge the style of the quartet and that he would not be surprised to find that they did not like it, since it was contrary to the usual familiar form of the string quartet. In fact, the numerous great arpeggios prove that four instruments were not enough for Smetana to express his musical thought. In the Polka of the second movement he gives the indication 'like a trumpet' (quasi tromba) whilst the many tremolos sustaining the full melodies also have an orchestral character. All these considerations made me decide to arrange this Czech masterpiece for orchestra. It deserves wider musical horizons in orchestral form than are possible, or have been possible up to the present, for the string quartet. I have not changed a note or made any alteration to the harmony which would disturb it. In choosing the symphonic form, familiar to Smetana in his compositions, I have simply underlined the musical thought of the original Smetana expression."

[Alan Howe]

Well, Szell was right. He did a magnificent job.