Neeme Järvi

"...I’m convinced by Järvi’s performance of the Eighth The Chandos sound is bold and detailed and Stig Jacobsson’s notes are very useful ..."

**** - Excellent 

*** - Good Disc           *** - Good sound 

“A largely self-taught composer, Atterberg also headed the Swedish national patent office. Exuberantly fresh-air symphonies, expansively performed here.”     ***** 

" Järvi directs a relaxed, affectionate performance and the Gothenburg orchestra responds with full-blooded, life-asserting playing which ensures that the music leaps from the page as coercively and convincingly as one could wish. Better recorded and far better played than the world premiere recording under Jurowski ..." 

Järvi's Excellent Atterberg Series Continues I've been eagerly awaiting the second installment of Neeme Järvi's Atterberg series since last spring's excellent, Grammy-nominated debut. This second volume features the late-Romantic Swedish composer's heroic Second and folk-hued Eighth symphonies. Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra take the Second Symphony at a blistering pace, chopping nearly 10 minutes off the 40-minute span of Ari Rasilainen's masterful reference recording for the CPO label. At first, this was disappointing because Rasilainen's slower tempos seem to impart more gravitas, yielding more dramatic climaxes, at least in the first movement. But after repeated listenings, Järvi proves equally convincing, especially in his luminous second movement and sizzling third. The Eighth Symphony strikes me generally as a somewhat less captivating work--tuneful but less epic than the Second--and Järvi and the Gothenburgers give it an energetic and enjoyable performance. It's a shame that Atterberg's consistently winning music isn't heard more often; perhaps this series will help address that. (And if you like what you hear here, you should certainly consider investing in Rasilainen's complete CPO cycle on CD too.) This album is already one of my 2014 favorites.