Double double.(THE MUSIC)

Some time ago, Tom and I did a comparison of two recordings of Nielsen's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. This time around we are comparing two recordings of his Symphony No. 5, pitting our favorite CD from that previous comparison, featuring the Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herbert Blomstedt (London 421524),a classic account originally released in 1988, against a newcomer released in 2004 that features the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Jarvi (Telarc SACD 60615). The Blomstedt release couples the two symphonies, while the Jarvi couples the Nielsen with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Following our standard practice, Tom and I have refrained from discussing these two recordings with each other and have done our listening and writing completely independently. (I should also note that what we used for our comparison was the standard CD track of the Telarc SACD). Because this is an odd-numbered issue, I will lead off with my findings and then Tom will present things from his perspective.

KWN: When we did our comparison of Blomstedt and Saraste in the two Nielsen symphonies, I complained that the process became tedious because I found myself becoming bored by the music. This time around I enjoyed the music more, perhaps because I no longer had to listen to Symphony No. 4 over and over again, but if anything, the comparison was even more tedious for me because of some equipment problems that prevented me from switching back and forth between the two recordings in A/B comparison fashion. Instead, if I wanted to focus in on a particular passage, I had to listen to one version, stop listening, put the other disc in the player, track to the same passage, and then listen again. Aaarrgghhh! (I hope to get things fixed before our next comparison, needless to say.)

In any event, I can report that these are both excellent versions of the Nielsen Symphony No. 5. As I listened to both versions, I found myself leaning toward the Jarvi release because of its sonic qualities. The Jarvi seemed a bit cleaner, and the stereo spread seemed more natural. The Blomstedt was not bad, but the sound of the instruments did seem more tied to the speakers, and there seemed to be a tinge of hardness to the sound in comparison to the Jarvi recording. (Note again that I am comparing the standard CD tracks, not the SACD version of the Telarc.)

Overall, then, I preferred the newer release on Telarc. If you already own the Blomstedt, though, and are happy with it, I see no reason to run out and buy the newer version. If, on the other hand, you are new to classical music, and ultimate sound quality is quite important to you, then you really ought to give the new Telarc an audition; if you are really into the sound of SACD, the choice becomes even easier to make.

TL: Karl must have thought I was naive when he suggested that we should consider writing a Double Double using Blomstedt's version on Decca, and I asked whether he meant with him conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra or the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Of course the Danish version is on EMI, not Decca, and I'm not sure this analog recording is even available on compact disc. ...