July 2007
In the First, his fast movements are faster than ever, while the two inner ones may strike some listeners as being unnaturally distended, though they do hold together because Gallois seems so genuinely involved. The Second is unexpectedly -- and convincingly -- grand. While both Michel Plasson and Neville Marriner, in their earlier recordings of the two symphonies, got through No. 2 in about a half-hour, Gallois takes an additional ten minutes. That big difference is not explained by slower tempos -- Gallois is the very soul of fleetness and vivacity -- but by his taking repeats which the other conductors ignore. Gallois apparently sees the Second Symphony as a bigger work, and he invests his reading, especially the finale, with a Mendelssohnian breadth and grandeur that really seem to fit. He comes no closer than Marriner to matching Plassons infectious shaping of the finales principal theme, but he has his Finnish orchestra sounding world class. The clarinet and other winds are downright delicious, the trumpet is characterful, the drums have a splendid presence, the strings are ripe and secure -- and the spacious, well-balanced sound does it all full justice. GO BACK TO: |