This is an absolutely awful performance of a wonderful work.
03/20/1999
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is the most inept performance of any work by Brian available on CD. The work itself is a towering masterpiece, but one would never know it from Rowe's performance. Rowe does the impossible: He makes the "battle scherzo" which requires 16 horns, 2 pianos, and organ boring! Worse, he makes one of the greatest composers of the 20th century sound incompetent! Having known (and loved) all of the 32 Brian symphonies for many years, I must say that the majority of the performances released on CD are distinctly underplayed. Two exceptions are the very fine Andrew Penny recording of Syms. 20 and 25 and the Bisengaliev performance of the Violin Concerto. This should be absolutely the LAST CD you buy for your Brian collection!"
Hear hear!
K. Farrington | Missegre, France | 03/20/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Unlike the initial reviewer of this work 'a music fan' who obviously knows and loves this work, I cannot profess an a priori knowledge of it. However, I do have an ear for good sounds and this CD definitely hasn't got it! I have the (currently deleted) Hyperion recording of Brian's Symphony No 3 which is one of the most astounding and absorbing symphonies I know, according to this gripping rendition. However, in sharp contradistinction to this splendid CD on Hyperion, on this recording of the Symphony No 2 the performance and recording sound to my ear totally fudged and awash with error. The structure of the work seems to fall apart and maybe the poor recording quality actually hides aspects of the poor performance (that is how bad it gets!). Taking the electrifying recording of the Third Symphony as my baseline, I now truly believe that Brian isn't being well served by Marco Polo in their 'Brian Cycle'. In mitigation it might be argued that the musical qualities of this unique voice, possibly more than any other, are impossible to define and extremely hard to pull off in performance. The way Brian uses his orchestra is so individual that the deployment of his forces, small or large, changes like the English weather throughout each work, bar on bar, making exceptional demands on his performers; no half hearted attempt or even less than exact will do. However, as a general rule, Brian should be played with bite, conviction and precision, all qualities that this CD lacks in spades. I wonder if they didn't rehearse this through but played it through after a couple of stabs at it and then got tired and went home. I cannot fathom how the performers and engineers signed it off in this miserable state. I am possibly using a bit of hyperbole but this recording with its lacklustre photo of Brighton Pavilion on the CD cover, reflecting the sad contents,is totally disappointing. This colorful and exciting building, used by Marco Polo because this symphony was first played in Brighton, here looks flat and uninteresting, an achievement in itself in negative terms, and this has an almost metaphysical connection with the miserable contents. This is particularly hard when we are 'literally gagging' for any recordings of this great composer at all. I have been disappointed at all the Marco Polo offerings and like my friend before me would like another company to have a go as they obviously lack the animus possidendi to carry this worthy project through. Marco Polo do not have the resources to undetake it, professionally and judgementally. When another company take it on, you could sign me up for a complete set in advance! If they take it on, please re-record these Marco Polo attempts. Maybe we will actually think fondly of them when we are playing our new set in repose but not now. Another CD to be consigned to the back of my cabinet, beyond the pale, sadly..."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1