Alwyn admirers are
well served by the latest cycle of the
symphonies – collectors will remember
the composer’s own recordings, newly
revivified by Lyrita. Then there is
the Chandos box, a thoroughly recommendable
overview. Now comes a Naxos budget price
survey led by the studio-busy Lloyd-Jones.
The Fourth Symphony
is a powerful symphonic statement that
deserves multiple recordings. It’s cast
in three movements of almost equal length
and develops an increasingly eloquent
strength. The opening movement begins
with some linear clarity, soon inviting
piping winds and brassy flourish in
the Allegro section, before returning
cyclically to the tempo primo and some
more concentrated reflective material.
The central panel of the symphony has
fresh air winds and jaunty strings,
jaunty, yes, but with percussion and
bass etch to add a certain creative
dichotomy to the sound world. There’s
a really stentorian middle section with
roles for solo violin and oboe and running
pizzicati – and as with the first movement
we return to the opening mood. After
a rather morose start to the finale
Alwyn smuggles in some Elgarian violin
figures – I believe he played under
the composer when he was an orchestral
musician. The low brass writing is extremely
fine here, and there is a deal of Holstian
rhythmic gestures before a beautiful
clarinet theme over a string cushion
leads to a boldly brassy end.
The Sinfonietta is
something of a neo-classical foundling
by the side of the Symphony but very
necessary to hear. The string writing
sounds like a fusion of Britten and
Bartók and Alwyn is not afraid
to unleash sappy driving figures and
a bold cello line. There’s a rather
beautiful adagio, which quotes from
Berg’s Lulu and a finale that veers
between dramatically propulsive and
coolly meditative and sounds very "Vienna
1910".
Lloyd-Jones has shown
on disc before that he favours a direct
approach as indeed he does here. He’s
a clear-sighted guide and is aided by
fine orchestral playing and a particularly
good recording spectrum. Naturally aficionados
will need to seek out the Lyrita, if
they can. Alwyn was a more lean and
direct conductor of his own music than
Richard Hickox who is consistently more
spacious but Chandos’s more opulent
sound perspectives bolsters that approach
effortlessly. There’s really very little
between the Naxos and the Chandos performances
in terms of perception and newcomers
to the Alwyn canon can purchase with
confidence.
Jonathan Woolf
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