Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra - Maximilian Steinberg: Symphony No. 1 (1999)

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Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra - Maximilian Steinberg: Symphony No. 1 (1999)

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Maximilian Steinberg studied at the St Petersburg Conservatory from 1901 – simultaneously with studying natural sciences at the city’s university. At the conservatory, where he was a contemporary of Stravinsky, initially a friend, Steinberg’s teachers included Glazunov – the dedicatee of his First Symphony – and Rimsky-Korsakov. The latter took a shine to Steinberg, recognising him as a significant talent and took opportunities to further his career, to the chagrin of Stravinsky. In due course, Steinberg married Rimsky’s daughter. He remained in St Petersburg (later Leningrad) for the rest of his life, becoming director of the conservatory in 1934. Among his pupils at the conservatory was Shostakovich.
I’ve not heard a vast amount of music by Steinberg – one has to rely almost exclusively on recordings – but I’ve liked what I’ve heard. I’ve encountered the Fourth of his five symphonies, coupled with the Violin Concerto (review) and a few years ago I was bowled over by his Passion Week in a magnificent recording by Cappella Romana (review), followed a couple of years later by another fine recording by The Clarion Choir (review).
The first time that I heard Steinberg’s music, however, was back in 2001 when I made a speculative purchase of a new disc containing Neeme Järvi’s recordings of the Second Symphony, Op 8 and the Variations for Orchestra Op 2 which he had set down in Gothenburg in 1998 for DG (471 198-2); that recording is available as a Presto CD. I remember enjoying that DG disc but for some reason I never investigated the companion disc containing the First Symphony. I’m delighted, therefore, that Presto Classical have now licenced this disc also and added it to their ever-growing on-demand list.
The First Symphony is cast in four movements, the first of which is primarily an Allegro non troppo, though there is a contrasting Poco più tranquillo section. The music is confident and extrovert. The influence of Rimsky can be felt, surely, in Steinberg’s assured use of orchestral colour; the scoring is consistently interesting. I think it’s a fresh and appealing composition and Järvi leads a vital, committed performance. The Scherzo follows. Here, I think that annotator Frans Lemaire is right to point out the influence not only of Rimsky but also of Borodin. The music is spirited and vivacious; not only that, but it’s light on its feet. The graceful trio is waltz-like. I think this is a delightful movement.
The slow movement, marked Andante molto sostenuto, is the longest of the four. Fittingly, it’s also the most serious in tone. The thematic foundation is a fine melody, first heard on the clarinet and then taken up by the violins. The movement benefits from genuine melodic inspiration and expert scoring. Richly romantic, this movement is right in the heritage of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russian symphonic tradition. The Gothenburgers are inspired by Järvi to do it full justice. Steinberg rounds off his symphony with an Allegro moderato finale. As the writer of the booklet notes says, this movement is somewhat conventional but I think it’s enjoyable nonetheless, and especially so in a spirited and colourful performance such as the present one.
In the booklet, Frans Lemaire opines that the finale “provides a conventional ending to a work more remarkable for the skill of its writing and orchestration than for the originality of its ideas”. That’s commendably frank – though he does go on to caveat his verdict by saying that “it is hard to regard this as a fault in a young man of only twenty”. I know what he means about the finale – it’s not the strongest section in the symphony – but I do wonder if he’s not a little harsh on the work as a whole. It strikes me as a thoroughly attractive and well-wrought symphony, even if the Second Symphony is a finer achievement, and this splendid Järvi performance makes the best possible case for it.
As I mentioned, the First Symphony was dedicated to Glazunov. The Prélude symphonique was dedicated to the memory of another Steinberg teacher, the recently-deceased Rimsky-Korsakov. In fact, the work was composed, at the request of Alexander Ziloti, for a commemoration concert which he, Ziloti, was to conduct in Rimsky’s memory. Frans Lemaire relates in the booklet that this became another reason for Stravinsky’s nose to be put out of joint because he had composed a piece which he pressed Ziloti to play instead, but to no avail. The work in question was Stravinsky’s Chant funèbre, Op 5. Writing at the end of the 1990s, Lemaire states, quite correctly, that Stravinsky’s piece was lost but, of course, the music came to light again in 2015 and has since been widely performed: there are at least three recordings; by Riccardo Chailly (Decca), by Gustavo Gimeno (review), and by Cornelius Meister (review).
Steinberg’s tribute to his teacher and father-in-law is an interesting piece. Unsurprisingly, the tone is sombre but the piece is not without its dramatic moments; I think particularly of the passage beginning at 4:36 when deep piano notes and gong strokes, surely mimicking funeral bells, contribute to a powerful climax. Apparently, Steinberg incorporated into his score motifs from Russian Orthodox liturgical music and also some references to works by Rimsky. The result is well worth hearing and the present performance is a passionate one.
Järvi completes his programme with Fantaisie dramatique which dates from 1910. This was inspired by some lines of Ibsen, which are quoted in the booklet. It’s an intense piece which here receives a strongly projected performance.
This is a very worthwhile collection of music by Maximilian Steinberg. DG’s digital sound is excellent and the booklet note is very useful. The music is too good to slumber in obscurity and Neeme Järvi performed a signal service in recording the pieces. They should appeal to anyone with an interest in Russian orchestral music of the period and it’s good that the music has been given such fine performances; it would be hard to imagine better advocacy for Steinberg.

– John Quinn

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Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra - Maximilian Steinberg: Symphony No. 1 (1999)

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