My reflections on the 2019 Gramophone Awards Part II – Orchestral

This is part II of my mini-series on the 2019 Gramophone awards. I need to hurry up with my posts, as the winners will be revealed early October. You’ll find part I (concerto) here.

Orchestral

This is another section where I normally feel very much at home with.

That said, this year this comment will be quite a bit shorter as there is only one selected album that I can actually comment on.

Let me quickly start by skimming over the recordings that Gramophone selected that I won’t be writing about, as I don’t feel qualified enough or don’t know them:

The recommendations start with a box of Bernstein orchestral works played by Antonio Pappano with his Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. As much as I appreciate this conductor, I really can’t comment here as Bernstein really isn’t my cup of tea (both as a composer and conductor with few exceptions).

The next one is an album I should be going back to more in-depth for a review, orchestral works by Debussy played by François-Xavier Roth with his Les Siècles. As I mentioned here, I like the conductor quite a bit, and I had a very good impression when I briefly checked this album out when it was released, but then left it for quite a while given that Debussy isn’t my core repertoire (I mentioned before that the 20th century isn’t my favourite).

Talking about the 20th century, the next album is also from this era, as it is Langgaard’s 2nd and 6th symphony by Sakari Oramo and the Vienna Philharmonic. I must admit I had skipped this so far, but I’m streaming it right now as I write this and will have to have a closer look, as I like what I hear. So I recommend checking it out as well.

The next one is Ivan Fischer’s Mahler 7. Fischer’s Mahler recordings are often love it or hate it affairs (see my article here on his 9th). Personally, I like his 1st and 4th symphony recordings, even if they are a bit “middle of the road”, but his approach to the 7th doesn’t blow me away. I’d rather stick with Klemperer on this one, but don’t consider this a formal review, as I’m really no expert on the later Mahler symphonies.

The final album of the list is Stenhammar’s 2nd symphony with Herbert Blomstedt and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. I have a huge respect for Herbert Blomstedt, but Stenhammar’s work is again really not my cup of tea. Another 20th century composition (there seems to be a pattern in this years Concerto awards category), so don’t expect me to comment here.

OK, so after this long rambling section talking about stuff I really don’t know much about, let me write about the only album from this list that I actually have listened to several times.

Given the pattern of the other nominated recordings it had to be either late 19th century or 20th century. This selection fits, as we’re talking about Sibelius 1st symphony, composed in 1899.

I’ve mentioned in my review of Sibelius’ violin concerto, I still struggle really getting into Sibelius symphonic works. So this album, by young Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, was an eye-opener for me. Similar to Petrenko’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique, this recording really made me more interested in Sibelius. I hope he’ll record more.

Congrats to the Gothenburg Symphony for being featured twice in this selection.

As usual, I’d love to hear what you think. Any feedback, any different opinions on the presented works?

Update Sep 19: I just noticed that in the October issue of Gramophone only 3 albums remain shortlisted: the Bernstein, the Langgaard, and the Stenhammar. My personal preference among these three would go to the Langgaard.

Update Sep 26: As I mentioned above, Mahler reviews are even more inconsistent than others. The French magazine Classica, who when in doubt I often agree with more than with Gramophone, gives the latest Fischer Mahler 7 only 3 stars, which is much closer to my opinion.