Returning to the Second Symphony of Saint-Saens one rediscovers what a really delightful work it is, in many ways comparable with the Bizet Symphony in its concise structure and freshness of invention. Yan Pascal Tortelier conducts a warmly amiable account of it, spirited in the opening fugato, affectionate in the brief but engagingly scored Adagio, and buoyant in the infectious moto perpetuo finale. The orchestral playing is responsive and polished. As usual with Chandos the recording is fairly resonant and this suits the scale of the Organ Symphony rather better. In Tortelier's hands its first movement, too, bustles with energy; the Poco Adagio begins a little soberly, but moves from agreeable expansiveness to a fairly passionate climax. The scherzo is infectious and well detailed and Gillian Weir's organ entry in the finale is suitably spectacular, both massive and yet with the theme strongly articulated. At the very end the orchestral brass are superbly sonorous within the acoustic of the Ulster Hall and the closing pages knit together very powerfully; the balance of the organ with the orchestra is particularly effective. All in all these are enjoyable performances, spontaneous and genial and the coupling works well.
When one turns to Yondani Butt's account of the Second Symphony, however, one encounters greater freshness and stronger characterization. The fugato of the opening movement is strikingly incisive, helped in its articulation by a slightly less reverberant acoustic, the delectable Adagio is wonderfully poised and the finale bubbles over in its exuberance, the sparkling LSO playing again helped by the slightly clearer sound. The ASV recording is both full and vivid, yet admirably transparent. Butt's couplings—the Suite algerienne and Phaeton—may be thought less substantial, but they show the composer at his most tunefully picturesque and are well worth having. If you already possess the Third Symphony in another recording (perhaps Levine's arresting account with the BPO on DG, which is in quite a different class from Tortelier's version), Butt's ASV record is undoubtedly worth considering.
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