The timings given on the sleeve of this latest version of the Pathetique from Bernstein seem so improbable that I suspected a mistake. But no; at 59 minutes overall this is a quarter-of-an-hour longer than Jansons's Oslo performance, which was by no means rushed. It is a measure of Bernstein's supreme ability to magnetize, to convince you against any preconception, that the result seems so little self-indulgent, hardly at all sentimental in the way one remembers some of Bernstein's New York performances, recorded for CBS when he was the orchestra's Music Director. That is until the last movement. Until then the measured speeds, as a rule steadily maintained, kept giving me unexpected hints of elgar, as in the broad span of the second subject melody or the jaunty 'Pomp and Circumstance' spring of the third movement march, with triplets cleanly articulated at the start, dotted rhythms kep crisp and the brass brought out in thrilling splendour. In that it is the opposite of a hysterical reading, with the very end of that third movement kept surprisingly steady yet with excitement provoked by the concentrated purposefulness, intensified in a live performance. There is plenty of excitement too in the great build-up of the first movement development, leading over into the recapitulation, with the New York Philharmonic playing all out, full and resonant in every section, as one has rarely heard them. Then, as though purified after the conflict, the second subject's return is as pure and simple as I have ever heard it, almost metrical, and all the more touching for that. The 5/4 movement which follows is relaxed but rhythmically well-pointed, dragging only in the middle section.
With Elgar in mind, and specifically with the memory of Bernstein conducting ''Nimrod'' from Enigma, I came to the last movement, hoping that the extraordinarily slow speed (overall timing 17 minutes as against the normal ten minutes or less) would convey Elgarian Nobilmente, as it has done with Giulini in this work, for example. It does not quite do that, though with very slow speeds consistently held back, rarely pressed forward, it is hardly sentiment. Rather it brings an element of self-consciousness, such as made ''Nimrod'' with Bernstein less than persuasive. The weight and intensity of the performance still make it compelling, but it is very much the sort of performance that can seem overwhelming, heard once, but is probably not one to return to often.
I hope my reservations will not deter anyone intrigued by the idea of an hour-long Pathetique, white-hot in intensity. None the less Jansons would be my first choice, as naturally compelling a performance as I have heard, superbly recorded and sounding all the fuller and more vivid in the CD version, which has now arrived. The sound of the New York Philharmonic defies the acoustic problems of Avery Fischer Hall. Though the viola entry in the Allegro of the first movement is scrawny, that is one of the few moments when the orchestra sound anything other than radiant. The extreme dynamic range—with some wonderfully hushed pianissimos—intensifies the impact of Bernstein's highly individual reading.'