Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, James DePreist - Giya Kancheli: Symphonies 1, 4 & 5 (1995)

Largo is clearly a favoured tempo-mood marking for Georgian composer Giya Kancheli. Both Symphonies 4 and 5 and the second movement of the First Symphony carry this marking.

These are all very compact works - all shorter than 21 minutes. The First Symphony is in two movements the first of which is very angular, not particularly dissonant but characterised by discontinuity of incident - sudden protest, barking violence, whispered consolation and strutting arrogant confidence. The voices of Stravinsky and especially Shostakovich are noticeable. The Largo second movement mixes the meditative with enigmatic Ives-like moments and flashes of violence. Introspection and a whispered heart-beat finally carry the day.

The Fourth and Fifth Symphonies of a sequence of seven premiered by the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dzhansug Kahidze during 1967-86 represent mature pre-diaspora Kancheli.

The Fourth In Memoria di Michelangeli was written to mark the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo. The message is conveyed in the dominant gentle susurration of the orchestra contrasting with the protesting abrasion of the brass and bell-sonorous chaotic explosions (11:23). The still-small voice will not be silenced. This tension between peace and violence is familiar from Panufnik although in the case of that composer the contrast tends to be between whole movements rather than within movements. The coaxing consolatory message of much of this music impresses and endears. If the sprinkling of quiet percussion over the warm murmur of the strings sometimes suggests Shostakovich’s last symphony the mood is ultimately more seraphic. A phenomenal concentration is demonstrated by DePreist and the orchestra - best heard in the closing moments.

The Fifth is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s parents. The juxtaposition of spleen and balm continues. Calm-imbued music is quietly reflective with the gentle notes of the harpsichord and the harp glinting over a bed of slowly moving meditative strings. This is disrupted by violent onslaughts shuddering, slamming, blasting and then dying away to leave that still-small voice again. The quiet music also carries overtones of both nostalgia and crooning consolation (9:10). The shudders and protest recall Mussorgsky’s sinister imagery supercharged with violence.

The original recordings issued on Melodiya were reissued on Olympia CDs - now long gone. Those discs are very special and are well recorded. They are an authentic and exotic presence in the Kancheli discography. If you see them secondhand don’t miss the opportunity to snap them up but this Finnish recording is outstandingly good and the spirit of these works is unfiltered. The extremes, in which Kancheli is such an adept, are there in full splendour.

Since the late 1980s the composer has spent more time in the West. Symphonies appear to have been left behind. Now his inspiration is gripped by a development of the meditative stream and reflected in the many Kancheli releases on the ECM label. Kancheli is a fascinating character and the symphonies although seemingly abandoned for now are a fascinating presence.

Review by Rob Barnett, MusicWeb-International.com

The Olympia coupling of Kancheli’s Fourth and Fifth was one of my specially selected recordings in my survey of symphonies in the former Soviet Union back in May (page 36). Here now is a rival version of the same coupling but with an entire extra symphony, and at James DePreist’s tempos there would have been room for yet another one.

Not that knocking five minutes off Kakhidze’s timings for the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies seriously violates the music’s meditative spaces. These are perceptive and musicianly performances, and the Helsinki Philharmonic cannot be accused of a lack of sensitivity or precision. There is actually not much to choose either in timing or quality between the rival recordings of the First Symphony, though this piece is more valuable as a document than for its intrinsic merits. What it documents is Kancheli’s gradual discovery of his own voice from its roots in Shostakovich and Bartok.

The Fourth and Fifth Symphonies are masterpieces, however, and the extra trance-like intensity and mystery which the Georgians generate under Kancheli’s colleague and friend Dzansug Kakhidze is immediately evident. At the other extreme the assaults of the full orchestra lack foundation-rocking force in the Helsinkian performances. It doesn’t take a native orchestra to achieve such things – the BBC Symphony Orchestra produced the goods for Alexander Lazarev in a Royal Festival Hall performance of the Fourth Symphony a couple of years ago. But it takes a kind of transcendence of ordinary professional musical instincts.

Recording quality is on the dry side of ideal, whereas both Olympia discs have a little of the opposite drawback. Should those versions ever be deleted (perish the thought, but Olympia do seem to have been doing some weeding out of late) the new Ondine disc will be an admirable makeweight. For myself I am anticipating the day when I can hear these pieces in all their sonic glory from a world-class orchestra.'

Review by Gramophone Magazine

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009

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Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, James DePreist / Giya Kancheli - Symphonies 1, 4, 5

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––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, James DePreist / Giya Kancheli - Symphonies 1, 4, 5
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR13 -0.50 dB -18.32 dB 9:21 01-Symphony No.1 - 1. Allegro con fuoco
DR13 -0.50 dB -20.91 dB 11:23 02-Symphony No.1 - 2. Largo
DR14 -0.50 dB -21.69 dB 18:49 03-Symphony No.4 In memoria di Michelangelo
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