Two great Symphonies – Dvořák Seven (recorded 9/22) and Schumann Two (2/24) – in lively performances captured in good sound, the LPO in splendid form. The better of the two accounts is the Dvořák, flexible (albeit with one miscalculation), shapely, detailed, power and passion to the fore, an incisive going-places reading. The miscalculation is in the Finale, where when the second subject first appears (and later) Edward Gardner broadens the tempo, very affecting in itself if structurally saggy, and this movement also ‘suffers’ from the additional timbre of hand-stopped timpani notes (1:00-1:10). For the Schumann, Gardner moves the second violins to his right and the basses to the left (a ‘classic’ arrangement that would also have been pertinent to the Dvořák), Gardner stressing the music’s ardour and (in the Adagio) lyrical heart. In fast movements, he drives the music, avoiding showmanship if not a certain relentlessness, the LPO impressively poised and precise however. If neither performance sweeps the board (for the Dvořák it would be one of Neumann’s Czech Philharmonic versions and late Ormandy (RCA); for Schumann, the ever-lasting Sawallisch/Dresden), I am pleased to know this LPO issue, which is recommended to those already smitten by these wonderful opuses. LPO-0133 is released on June 6.
https://lpo.org.uk/people/edward-gardner