Alfvén Symphony No.2

[Alan Howe]

...forthcoming from cpo:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/hugo-alfven-symphonie-nr-2/hnum/9735539

It's a very beautiful (and dramatic) work. I have Järvi on BIS, so I'll be interested to compare timings.

[hyperdanny]

wonderful news, thank you!
Borowicz's Alfven series has been top notch so far, and I was really impatient for him to tackle this stunning work.
I too have the pioneering Jarvi, but I much prefer the less brusque, more majestic approach adopted by Niklas Willem on Naxos, which is also graced by the RSNO on top form.
On Naxos there's on organicity and inexorability, especially in the final fugue, that I can't find on the BIS release.
I think Willem strikes the perfect middle ground between Jarvi and the polar opposite, Svetlanov on Musica Suecia, monumental but with tempi that are glacial to the point of stasis.
Borowicz's soundbites are tantalizing,

[Alan Howe]

That's what I thought.

[hyperdanny]

Beautiful performance, even better than expected.
It is the best of both worlds: it has Willen's "misterioso" , monumental approach, but also a lot of the energy and drive found in Jarvi, but without what now sounds positively like brusqueness.
Also, the orchestra is superior : Jarvi's was ok, the always reliable RSNO much, much better, but they didn't quite command that special sheen that a top-notch German orchestra can provide. (and the DSO Berlin is top notch, make no mistake: they might be Berlin's "second" ensemble but I saw them live several times, and on a good night they're not much behind the Philharmoniker).
Add finely balanced, impactful sound, and there you have it.
This cycle now is bound to be my reference, but I am keeping the Naxos, it has a lot going for it, while I am finally discarding Jarvi,