Szymanowski - Symphonies 2 & 4 “Symphonie Concertante”
Louis Lortie; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Edward Gardner
Chandos CHSA 5115
Following many masterful performances of standard repertoire on Chandos, celebrated pianist Louis Lortie has branched out. In addition to his Lutoslawski Piano Concerto (Chandos CHSA 5098), there is now Karol Szymanowski’s Symphony No.4, Op.60 (“Symphonie Concertante,” 1932), a modernist concerto dedicated to Szymanowski’s friend Arthur Rubenstein. Lortie makes the most of solo opportunities, delivering the first movement cadenza with expressive rubato and drama. In a second movement including both romantic-nocturne and Bartókian night-music elements, he accompanies lovely flute and violin solos with tastefully shaped treble figuration. Edward Gardner`s orchestral pacing builds the performance steadily before a return to the original uneasy pastoral mood. The finale is an oberek, a wild Polish dance; here technique and ensemble between Lortie and orchestra are impeccable.
Comparing the work with Szymanowski’s early, derivative Straussian Concert Overture, Op.12 (1905) demonstrates his moving away from German models towards influences from Eastern Europe. Gardner and the BBC Symphony give the latter a rousing performance that shows the 23-year-old composer’s mastery of compositional and orchestral technique. Symphony No.2 (1909-10, re-orchestrated 1927-36) continues his earlier Austro-German direction, reminding me of Zemlinsky and the tonal Schoenberg. The conducting of the dramatic opening movement conveys long, wide-ranging leading and subsidiary lines, with appropriate tempo fluctuations. In the middle movement, each variation is a lyrical gem and the BBC strings shine. An adventurous fugal finale concludes this impressive disc.
