Schumann: Symphony No. 4, Op. 120

Idioma disponible: inglés

The excellent restorations of the series of recordings made by Guido Cantelli in the early 1950s for His Master's Voice in England and RCA Victor in New York (reissued here by Warner Classics) allow us to revisit the sparse discographic legacy of a conductor who died prematurely at the start of his career at the age of 36 in a plane crash in Paris. A protégé of Toscanini, who introduced him to the United States for memorable concerts in New York, Cantelli possessed both the flame and the temperament of his elder, enhanced by a sovereign elegance and a warm expression.
The grandeur and feverishness of Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 4 are particularly suited to the bubbling temperament of Guido Cantelli, who takes this symphony by storm, in a romantic élan comparable to the great versions by Furtwängler and Sawallisch. At the time, Cantelli could not have known the original version of this symphony, which is often played today, yet his vision instinctively seeks to lighten the musical discourse, thus regaining the lively force and lighter instrumentation of the first 1841 version. This eloquent and danceable version is an absolute delight. © François Hudry/Qobuz