Robert Schumann - Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orch. - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures (2007) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Robert Schumann - Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orch. - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures (2007) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures
Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Thomas Dausgaard
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 323 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: BIS # BIS-SACD-1569 | Country/Year: Sweden 2007
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

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Robert Schumann - Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orch. - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures (2007) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Robert Schumann - Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orch. - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures (2007) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Here is another issue in the BIS 'Open Doors' project, in which Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra seek to reappraise selected Romantic works. This includes all the Schumann symphonies, Disc One of which has already received general critical claim (Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 - Dausgaard). Dausgaard returns these works to their rightful context, with a small modern instrument orchestra whose strings play with sparing vibrato, natural trumpets and hard sticks for the timpani. This is not a new idea, of course; several chamber orchestra versions have been recorded, as well as symphony cycles from period instrument groups. However, this is the first time such an approach has appeared on SACD, and the high-definition sound is certainly revelatory.

Personally, I have never found the Early Romantic Schumann symphonies convincing when garbed in the fineries and slower tempi of the Late Romantic, particularly in slow movements. Dausgaard's disc of Symphonies 2 and 4, however, did open the door for me, and I enjoyed the performances greatly. His direct, vigorous approach opens up the sometimes clogged textures which latterly earned Schumann a reputation as a poor orchestrator.

Schumann, composer of lieder and would-be concert pianist, began his symphonic career in 1832 as a result of a personal catastrophe. In his diary he refers to the 'laming' of his right hand from too much playing and writing (the commonly cited injury by a stretching device is probably apocryphal). A mere five years after Beethoven's death, he decided he would have to embark on composing symphonies, and so began his first. It was performed and revised, but Schumann lost interest in symphonies until 1840-1850. Dausgaard plays its first movement from Schumann's manuscript as a fragment. Performance material for the other movements is sparse (although several 'completions' have been recorded. This piece, the so-called 'Zwickau' Symphony, is of interest in that it shows Schumann agonising under the heavy burden of Beethoven's legacy - what now should be the the direction of symphonic composition? One can hear allusions to several Beethoven symphonies as well as his own music.

The overtures on the disc are not, it has to be said, of great substance; even with Dausgaard's passionate advocacy and the SCO's brilliant playing, their material is not very distinguished and they do not linger in the mind. Nevertheless, they add to our understanding of Schumann and we should be grateful for their inclusion.

The 'Spring Symphony' is given a suitably vernal performance, with incisive strings and crisp brass. Again one is reminded very much of Beethoven in its gestures and fondness of short motives rather than fully-developed melodies. With Dausgaard's vigorous approach I felt that there was a touch too much emphasis on the first beat of the bar of the first movement, which kept it a little earth-bound. The slow movement's opening melody is restful but flowing, its simplicity anhanced by the sparing vibrato of the violins. 'Sparkling' would be a good epithet for the Finale, with its Mendelssohnian lightness and headlong rush to the final chord.

The vivid playing on this disc is matched by its engineering. Although I felt that the ambience of the Õrebro Concert Hall was rather dry, the sound is akin to a fine etching, full of detail and stark relief. The lower strings are particularly impressive in this hall. The clarity of sound somehow adds to the impression of an early Romantic orchestra and also emphasises the associations with Beethoven in the music itself.

For lovers of the Schumann symphonies, I would suggest they try this disc; I think they will find it does indeed 'Open Doors'.

Copyright © 2008 John Miller and SA-CD.net

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Robert Schumann - Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orch. - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures (2007) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Robert Schumann - Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orch. - Symphony No. 1 & Overtures (2007) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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