# Collector's corner: Bohuslav Martinů Symphony No. 2



## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

How do you like this symphony? Some likens it to a Dvořákian pastoral quality. The late Bělohlávek said it was "lyric, poetic and vivid".

According to F. James Rybka's book, "Bohuslav Martinu: The Compulsion to Compose", the composer himself wrote in the program notes for this symphony that "simple things... in music they may become quite as spectacular and just as inspiring", "my second symphony... is calm and lyric", and "we need orderly thought, calmly expressed". He also complaint about his contemporaries trying to express "the grand and the tragic" by making use of "mechanical means and dynamic design, ending simply in noise". What a juxtaposition. I suppose he was trying his entrepreneur's best when saying that in order to sell his "calm and lyric" symphony.

I think "calm and lyric" is a good description for this symphony. In addition, it is also a "happy" symphony which is something that has become rather rare in classical music. The two outer movements are undoubtedly upbeat in mood. The 2nd movement is amazingly serene, despite a constant trace of anxiety in the background. The 3rd movement is one of Martinů's most playful and inventive, but its syncopated rhythm, delicate orchestral balance and most importantly, playfulness, only come off effectively in very few conductors' hands IMO.

Modern life is often deprived of positive energy; and therefore I cherish happy music like this.

Erich Leinsdorf premiered the symphony in 1943 and he also programmed it later in his career. Oh how I wish he had left us a recording...

Unfortunately this symphony seems to be the least represented on discs. Is there any recording missing from the following list? What are your favourite recordings?


ConductorOrchestraRecorded inLabelJiří Bělohlávek ●BBC Symphony Orchestra2009 LiveOnyxArthur Fagen ●National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine1995NaxosClaus Peter FlorBerliner Sinfonie-Orchester1989RCACornelius Meister ●ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien2011-2017 LiveCapriccioNeeme Järvi ●Bamberger Symphoniker1987BISPaavo JärviCincinnati Symphony Orchestra2005TelarcVáclav Neumann ●Czech Philharmonic Orchestra1977SupraphonGennady RozhdestvenskyUSSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra1985 LiveYedangBryden Thomson ●Royal Scottish National Orchestra1990ChandosVladimir Válek ●Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra2008Supraphon

●Part of a complete cycle.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

No doubt it is a beautiful work, his "Pastoral Symphony". 

I don't think there are any further recordings out there, and it's the one work missing from Belohlavek on Supraphon, meaning his BBC recording is his only one. Of the ones above then, I don't have or know Rozhdestvensky.

But if there aren't any others out there, that makes Neumann the premiere recording. Is that really the case?

My favourite is Belohlavek, maybe partly because it's our only whiff of him in this sunny work. Neumann is of course great, but I do also particularly admire Bryden Thomson's recording.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

^

This one and only recording of Bělohlávek is truly special. Listen to the orchestral balance in the Scherzo. So transparent! I wonder why he didn't manage to record it in his Chandos and Supraphon incomplete cycles. He'd definitely saved a special one for the Onyx cycle.

Neumann is great as expected. 

One interesting comparison is that Järvi big brother is lighter and more relaxed than Järvi senior, and the music comes off better IMO. 

Rozhdestvensky's winds sound a bit squeaky (and out of tune?), but this is a really happy account with a lot of fun, especially in the Scherzo.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

I have spent time some time ago surveying all the recordings that I have of Martinů's Symphony No. 2, and at last I have the time to write up a summary.

Starting with the *Václav Neumann* recording that has been my yardstick for a long time - There is an almost perfect balance between mellow, genial sound and joyful, exhilarating drive, that never goes extreme in any direction. However, the recorded sound is very bright and is showing its age making it less of a comfortable listen. Another much acclaimed recording from *Jiří Bělohlávek* possesses similar qualities, and it probably wins by a whisker in the most light-footed and playful scherzo that I have heard. However, his rumbling, impressionistic bass line, and soft, quiet percussions, which is typical of him, leaves a lot to be wanted. Still, it is a highly satisfying performance.

Onto a couple of more idiosyncratic recordings. *Claus Peter Flor*'s recording is fluffy and light-footed in the soft passages, and sharp and powerful in the climaxes - a great contrast between magical dreaminess and muscle power. There are however some idiosyncratic grand slowing down moments where it feels a little awkward with the syncopated rhythm. On the other hand, *Gennady Rozhdestvensky*'s recording is a sensual affair. It is skin-tickling in soft passages and passionately tangoing at climaxes. It is definitely unorthodox, and very idiosyncratic. The orchestral balance is unusual. One hears a lot of details for sure, but the highlights often fall on instruments that one usually does not hear in other recordings. The piano, the harp and the bass drum are particularly loud, while the unique timbre of the Soviet woodwinds are always on the verge of cracking up. It is also very slow, in the same league as *Fagen* and *Válek* in terms of speed. Perhaps it is a surprise that the idiosyncrasy does not mess up with the syncopated rhythm. In fact it goes very well with the rhythm. 

Having said that, the recorded sound in both recordings are terrible. *Flor*'s recording is murky and reverberant. Turning up the volume does help make it sound better because the details will come out more clearly. On the other hand, the broadcast sound of *Rozhdestvensky* is rather rough, even though that is expected.

Performance-wise, *Neeme Järvi*'s recording is heavy in build and festive in mood. The climaxes are loud and thunderous, while the rest are soft but unfortunately recorded out-of-focus most of the time. Oh well, it is BIS, so what do you expect? Back to the performance, since this is after all a happy symphony, would I prefer a more light-footed approach? That would be nice, but I feel content with the way it is and I will continue to enjoy the muscle power here. *Bryden Thomson*'s recording goes even more extreme. It is beefy and reverberant throughout, even when the music calls for lightness and finesse. The texture is also heavy, lacking a bit in transparency, making it a somewhat tiring listening experience. However, the most prominent attribute of this recording is that it is _very loud_. The percussions, the bass line, everything is very loud, although perhaps surprisingly the orchestral balance is in fact very good. It also sounds a little bit uneasy with the syncopating rhythm at several places, especially in the slow movement, but it is not bad enough to call that a problem, just not as natural as the very best.

*Arthur Fagen*'s recording is one of the most pastorale-sounding. It is also the slowest, mostly played at a leisure pace, although I have to admit it does not always feel slow because of its fluency. His credential as a Martinů conductor is also apparent in the fantastic transfiguration towards the end of the slow movement. Overall, it is definitely more about being content than ecstatic. Come to think about it, perhaps this is what it is supposed to sound like, especially since Martinů said that this symphony was "calm and lyric". *Fagen*'s recording certainly sounds calm and lyric. The orchestral balance is also great throughout with clearly audible instruments. Similarly slow, only slightly faster is *Vladimir Válek*'s recording. It is articulated, nicely accentuated, with a nice orchestral balance and comfortable with the rhythm. The high point must be the scherzo - The melodic line and the joy it depicts are almost as good as *Bělohlávek*'s. I said “almost” because there is a moment in the final third when the conductor/orchestra obviously lost it. However, the slow movement and the finale are rather subdued. At the end of the day, it is a mixed performance, I am afraid. *Válek*’s bass line is also very thin, just as annoying as *Bělohlávek*'s. However, while the *Bělohlávek* recording offers a lot more to out-weight its flaws, the *Válek* does not.

Lastly, onto a couple of younger conductors. *Cornelius Meister* definitely tried very hard, too hard in my opinion. There are several incidents of speeding up and slowing down that I cannot understand his rationale and I find them rather distracting. He was also caught out a few times on the syncopating rhythms, but that is not too bad, as some of the seasoned Martinů specialists sometimes also fell victim to that. I tried very hard to love this recording, but unlike the *Flor* or the *Fagen*, which are flawed in places but they offer something unique like *Flor*'s fluffiness and *Fagen*'s pastorale quality, all I can say about *Meister*'s recording is that it is very well played and recorded with lots of details. It is not bad, certainly not horrible, in fact it is rather nice most of the time, but it offers less than what other recordings do. On the other hand, *Paavo Järvi*'s recording sometimes sounds just a tiny bit too effortful which may be the result of him trying very hard to inject life into the music. I wonder if that is really necessary. The slow movement is much faster than other recordings and it sounds more natural, but, although I love _fast_, I miss the _magic_here. The playful scherzo's tempo and rhythm are pretty much spot-on though, neither too meaty nor too feather-light, while most instruments sound crisp and well balanced, except the cushiony strings, which are, really annoyingly cushiony throughout. The piano also sounds a bit out-of-focus most of the time, which is a pity. 

In summary, I have found the *Neumann* the most all-rounded performance and it remains my yardstick. Despite my reservations against the *Bělohlávek*'s bass line and percussions, I think it is a close second, and it definitely has the advantage of better recorded sound. These two are certainly uncontroversial recommendations.

On the other hand, I would not want to live without the idiosyncrasy of *Flor* and *Rozhdestvensky*, the meatiness of *Neeme Järvi* and *Thomson*, the pastorale quality of *Fagen*, the no-nonsense (most of the time) of *Paavo Järvi*, even the mixed performance with isolated great moments of *Válek*. The only one that I am not too keen on is *Meister*. Even so, it is not too bad. It just does not offer as much as the others.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Not a favorite symphony. But then, Martinů has never been a favorite composer for me. I likely return more often to his chamber music, such as the Cello Sonatas, than I do the orchestral music, though I remain an avid fan of his _Gilgamesh_ (which stems back to my literature teaching days when I utilized portions of the Martinů work in classes), but each time I revisit one of the symphonies I find myself still unconvinced. Which is likely wholly my fault. I certainly can appreciate this composer's genius and skill. It's just that -- there's so much music out there that when I'm not exploring something new and unfamiliar, I prefer revisiting those works which have truly struck a chord with me, of which there are so many. I can probably never listen to Howard Hanson's or Tchaikovsky's, or Brahms's or Mahler's Second Symphony enough times. And that, as well, is likely wholly my fault, too.

That confession made, I see from my Discogs database that I have four of the previously named recordings in my collection with copies spanning both vinyl and CD disc: the Bryden Thomson (in a CD box set of the complete symphonies), the two Järvi's (on CD), and the Neumann (on vinyl). Off hand, I don't recall what the Symphony No. 2 sounds like, though I know I've heard it several times. Again, these aren't my favorite symphonies. But along with my confession, I do make the promise that I will soon revisit this work and give it an attentive hearing.

In fact, I'll put it into the CD deck right now. I have the Bryden Thomson _Complete Symphonies_ set on Chandos handy. I'm out of commission for the next 25 minutes or so.

--- One afterthought: I do wish I had a recording of this symphony from Karel Ančerl. Alas ....


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

I like reading posts in which people talk about what they like/dislike in a sensible way. I am not going to do any hard-sell; hope you would find something interesting in the Thomson.

The BBC should have hidden away a copy of Ančerl's Martinů #2 recorded in 1962 at their Maida Vale Studios. Why it has never seen the light of day is beyond me.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Kiki said:


> The BBC should have hidden away a copy of Ančerl's Martinů #2 recorded in 1962 at their Maida Vale Studios. Why it has never seen the light of day is beyond me.


It's an excellent performance, that Maida Vale recording, and actually perfectly decent recording quality too, not state of the art, of course.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Bohuslav Martinů Enthusiasts | Facebook


This group has been set up by the International Martinů Circle (IMC), a society which celebrates and promotes the work of the great Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. Each year, members of the...




www.facebook.com





For anyone on Facebook, a quietly lovely group, worth getting involved in...


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I used to have the Flor recording and particularly liked the scherzo. I still remember the tune, its got a bit of Ives to it, that sense of ordered chaos.

The symphonies are stylistically similar because they where written in a ten year span.

I still have Martinu's fourth symphony, but I'm more into his concertante works, a couple of which I revisited last year:









Bohuslav Martinu


Yes, I noticed his no.1 sounded a bit more rugged and intense compared to Valek. But I think I could enjoy both. I played the first disc of Bolohlavek's BBC cycle last night and I thought the performances sounded great. Highly spirited and full of energy.




www.talkclassical.com


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