Cleveland Orchestra/Franz Welser-Möst
The Cleveland Orchestra TCO0006 (WAV download). Elaine Martone, prod.; Gintas Norvila, eng.
Welser-Möst has a good feel for this familiar symphony, but in fits and starts. Ungainly, leave the opening minutes uniformly thick and full. The textures lighten as the music moves upward, with the brief trumpet interjections intimating the score’s lurking violence. The second group has an appealing flow, the violins opening into a full-throated lyric climax. Some attempted rhetoric is stiff owing to the conductor’s prosaic rhythmic sense, but the development begins in a magical hush, and pointed, pulsing triplets keep everything moving. I liked the smooth elision into the recap, where the oboe sings easily. The violent climax melts into the brief cello solo.
