TCHAIKOVSKY

The Nutcracker; Symphony No. 4 Mariinsky Orchestra/valery Gergiev

Mariinsky MAR 0593 (hybrid CD/SACD) 129:02 mins (2 discs)

Way back in 1998, Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra released a compelling if occasionally hard-driven account of The Nutcracker. This new version is not quite as unyielding with more measured tempos adopted for certain dances. Yet the impeccable sense of structural continuity and pacing, which characterised the earlier recording, remains intact, and once again Gergiev paints Tchaikovsky’s dream-world in the boldest colours, from the dark subterranean sounds that announce the exciting battle scene in Act I to the magical and glistening bright lights in the Land of Sweets in Act II. The Mariinsky Orchestra plays the score with theatrical verve and virtuosity, and the crystal-clear recording really brings out all the subtle inner details of Tchaikovsky’s orchestration.

I wish I could be equally enthusiastic about the Fourth Symphony. Things don’t get off to the best start with the fuzzy articulation of the horn triplets in the fate motif,

and there are other moments where the ensemble is a little shaky. As in his Philips recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, Gergiev phrases the main thematic idea of the first movement rather lugubriously, and seems intent on ignoring Tchaikovsky’s marking of Moderato con anima, let alone his secondary instruction that it should have the movement of a waltz. In holding back at this point, Gergiev is able to whip up tension with even greater ferocity at the climaxes, but the constant f luctuations in tempo distort the movement’s organic cohesion. Gergiev lingers, too, in the mournful string melody that follows the oboe solo in the second movement. But here, at least, the strategy is more convincing, bringing greater pathos to the music than is often the case.