Svendsen Cello Concerto etc. from Chandos

[Greg K]

Pull yourselves together, Alan, - I agree with most of what you express.  That Jarvi is all but unqualifiedly "our man" and pre-eminent among the champions of the unsung, with a unique
and distinctive legacy of recordings along these lines unlikely to ever be matched were there even
some other maestro capable of mastering such a rich diversity of repertoire, is not something I dispute.

Jarvi always struck me as the ultimate "crack musician", - a conductor who could lead anything, anytime, anywhere, without making a lot of fuss, and without needing a lot of prep, but with always reliably satisfying results, and sometimes more.  A real pro, in other words, very fluent and very efficient, never a phony and never a slacker, and not without charisma either.  A high level performer in every respect.

Still, I never acquired a Jarvi disc to hear Jarvi, but always for the rare and novel repertoire he so typically offers up.  One expects the measure of grip, energy, and the attention his standard of competence and expertise almost unfailingly provide, but not (in my experience) the vision, the nuance, and the subtlety that might lend some special aura and personal stamp to the standard and much overplayed works he has sometimes attempted.

Thus, all I am saying is that Jarvi doesn't bring enough potential interpretive weight to this Svendsen disc to overcome it's inadequately adventurous pairing.  The wish to hear what new beauties or charms he might uncover in the "old hat" and many times heard before Norwegian Rhapsodies just doesn't exist, because it's probably none. I'm very dissapointed in Chandos for not fully utilizing him in what he does best.

[TerraEpon]

You know, isn't this part of a series of Svendsen orchestral works in the first place? So the popular stuff has to go somewhere...

[Alan Howe]

Svendsen is a fellow whose smallish oeuvre has an unusually wide range in quality.  To have his excellent Sym 2, perhaps his best work, coupled with the also excellent cello concerto, and 2 rhapsodies thrown in, will make a disc that should win the composer many friends.

Good point. As you imply, an excellent starting-point for those who don't know the composer.

[febnyc]

My goodness - Alan's quasi-hysterical responses seem, to me, a bit over the top.  Perhaps his favorite golfer missed the cut at Lytham and he is out of sorts, or maybe he has a special interest in dear old Svendsen.  Who knows?

At any rate, I, for one, am not a "superscrimper."  I purchase dozens of discs each month and own thousands.  But darned if I'll be forced to double up on repertoire to this extent.  If only one of the works were duplicated, OK.  But to buy the whole kit and kaboodle for simply the cello concerto - not important enough for me.  Maybe for Alan and others, yes - but that is no reason to level a charge of "ingratitude" towards the dissenters here.  And for others to label us "crybabies" and emitting a "Munch-like scream."  That stuff is preposterous and, yes, crybaby-ish also.

We're discussing opinions here, pace Greg K, not established facts.  I am suprised at the reactions from some posters who heretofore I thought of as moderate and considerate.

Yes, Svendsen's output is relatively narrow.  Could not Chandos have coupled the Concerto with works by other Scandinavians, as one example?  After all, many CDs contain music by more than a single composer.  And there are many shorter pieces by Svendsen which might have been recorded.

As with the Avie Hans Gál Symphony silliness in couplings, methinks Chandos goes down the same path. At least, for this collector of unsungs, it's a poor marketing decision and a disappointment.

[Alan Howe]

Pull yourselves together, Alan, - I agree with most of what you express...Still, I never acquired a Jarvi disc to hear Jarvi...I'm very dissapointed in Chandos for not fully utilizing him in what he does best.

You don't agree with me at all in fact, despite your protestations. I hold Järvi to be one of the most eminent conductors in the world, whereas for you "Järvi himself becomes more and more like some oversold brand" which is just plain rubbish, quite frankly. His Taneyev 4 (Chandos), for example, is a towering interpretation, stunningly conducted, played and recorded, far surpassing all other recorded efforts. He even shows Gergiev how it should be done. If Järvi were coming to town, I'd certainly make a bee-line for the concert, particularly as it would be likely to contain something unusual!

[Alan Howe]

My goodness - Alan's quasi-hysterical responses seem, to me, a bit over the top. 

I was quite happy for this thread to have been a robust exchange of views; it was the disparaging remarks made about Järvi that mandated my well-reasoned, quite unhysterical response - one shared by Mike Herman, as you will have seen.

Anyway, this thread is clearly going nowhere fast, so I have decided to lock it.