IN MEMORIAM COMPOSER JAAN RÄÄTS (15.10.1932–25.12.2020)

Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau

 

 

Symphony No. 5 op. 28 (1967) [29:33]

 

Orchestra : Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau

 

Conductor : Golo Berg

 

Recording details :  Grossen Has des Anhaltischen Theaters Dessau, 27-28 May 2004, (live recording). DDD

 

Label : ANTES EDITIONS

 

Ref : BM-CD 31.9204 [77:12]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review : 

 

This is a bizarre disc, harnessing a worthy performance of a favourite romantic concerto with a neglected symphony from the 1960s by an obscure contemporary composer. Familiar and unfamiliar together can be a winning combination. Paavo Järvi's recent run of recordings for Telarc are an example. Here, however, there does not seem to be any link at all between these pieces. Thrown together in a flash of enterprising concert programming and taped live, they make very strange bedfellows. Given the relative obscurity of this label, though, that very weirdness may be the factor that gives this disc the market penetration it deserves.

A word about the orchestra. While hardly a major player, the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau can be proud of this recording. The strings are lighter in tone than their Saxon neighbours, the Staatskapelle Dresden and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, but they play with transparency. There are a couple of shrill notes from the violins and there is a little blandness in some of the phrasing and exposed solo playing - with the notable exception of cellist Maurice Lepitat in the third movement - but there is nothing here that will really detract from your enjoyment of this performance.

 

The symphony is also noteworthy, if only because it may be the only music by Estonian composer Jaan Rääts that you will ever hear . Rääts was completely unknown to me when I received this disc for review, a function of the fact that he has lived his musical life in the shadow of his more famous contemporary and compatriot, Arvo Pärt. His music has been performed internationally, though - notably by that doughty champion of Estonian music, Neeme Järvi. He has also been a major influence on younger Estonian composers, numbering Erkki-Sven Tuur among his pupils.

 

I have not been able to find any mention on the internet of other recordings of his music. This may be the only one. That being the case, it deserves special attention. [but see review - LM]

 

Rääts wrote eight symphonies. The fifth dates from 1967, at a time when Pärt was still writing serial music. It is clearly the work of an expert craftsman with an ability to assimilate different styles and a keen interest in form. It is something of a symphonic palindrome in five movements: allegro - andantino - allegro - andantino - allegro. The first, second, fourth and fifth movements are of roughly the same length, with the central allegro a good deal shorter.

 

The music is built on a set of motifs, including a bluesy clarinet theme and diverging lines for brass, with strings underneath. Throughout, euro-jazz rubs shoulders with serialism and tone-row counterpoint. Something about the writing reminds me of the music of Sir Malcolm Arnold. That is not to say that there is a common thread in the idiom of these two composers, but rather that Rääts writes for orchestra in a similar way to Arnold. He colours his score with distinctive writing for brass and woodwind, throws in percussion for effect and uses the strings to provide an undercurrent or rhythmic background, or occasionally to provide a lush tune tutti. The strings never really lead the music from the front.

 

Berg and the orchestra perform the symphony tidily, but with little flair. Their ensemble is good, but it is a case of safety first: the performance, solid though it is, never takes wing.

 

Though radically different in idiom and style, this odd couple may turn out to be a symbiotic pairing for Antes. Certainly Rösel’s performance stands a better chance of being bought and heard coupled with the Rääts symphony than if the disc had been filled out with more Brahms. Bigger names and bigger labels dominate that space. Similarly, Rääts coupled with Rääts or other obscurities would be a mere curiosity and would draw few but the most intrepid purchasers. Only Naxos, with its low, low prices, would be able to sell such a disc in any real quantity. Put it together with the Brahms, though, and maybe the purchase becomes a bit safer?

 

Not essential listening, but certainly interesting.

 

Tim Perry