Schumann Symphonies Nos 3 and 4
Oramo’s cycle is completed with a flourish but old favourites remain
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Sony Classical
Magazine Review Date: 7/2011
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: 88697 64687-2

Author: Rob Cowan
The first instalment of this cycle appeared a year or so ago (9/10). At the time, I was reviewing it alongside Fabio Luisi’s excellent complete cycle with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Orfeo) and came out marginally in favour of Luisi. This CD, though, shifts the balance back a little, not such much in Oramo’s favour as on a more or less equal footing with Luisi, whose Rhenish opens with immense gusto, whereas Oramo’s sings, with some uncommonly warm textures to bolster the effect.
Throughout both performances the Stockholm Philharmonic horns have a field day (so do the Sony engineers), but the result is never crude or unbalanced. I loved Oramo’s thoughtful slowing at around 4'53" into the second movement, before the main theme blazes back, and his delicate handling of the third movement, though here Luisi too is extremely poetic. There’s a sense of urgency about the “Cologne Cathedral” fourth movement (Oramo’s tempo is a good deal swifter than Luisi’s) and the well-judged finale brings the work to a cheery close. Both cycles stack up well against available competition, with Kubelík (in Berlin or, preferably, Munich), Sawallisch and Zinman being among my personal favourites.
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