Octo_Russ

Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
[Gergiev-Wiener Philharmoniker] 

This is only the second time that Berlioz appears in my Blog, i wrote about this work last April with Bychkov [23rd April 2011], and i love Gergiev's way with Berlioz, he has a certain style, a certain way that's hard to put your finger on, i like his interpretation, very well recorded to boot. 

Valery Gergiev was born in Russia in 1953, now 58 years old, he is the principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra at the moment, he recorded this work in 2003, the front cover shot [photo by Marco Borgreve], is a nice portrait of Gergiev, nice use of dark and light, and shadows on the face. 

The Symphonie Fantastique is full of clever little musical stories, there's also a wonderful flow to proceedings, i just love the sweeping waltz in the second movement, and here i would say it was the best movement i heard this time, however i feel that the fourth movement 'March to the Scaffold' is so full of delicious musical imagery, it's the shortest movement at just under 5 minutes, starts with ominous low marching drums, and muted and low military brass [0:00-0:27], there's a lovely resonance with those drums, and they get louder and more menacing as the movement continues [0:53+ & 1:19+], and then that bassoon!, almost manically cackling away in the background [1:23-1:43], i like the way Berlioz explodes the whole thing into one cacophonous noise [1:43+], and then there's the rasping flatulent tuba! [2:10-2:15 & 2:53-2:58], really effective, well this isn't an English hanging scaffold, but of course a French guillotine scaffold, and the final pages are full of musical imagery, just before the blade drops, the protagonist can hear the plaintive sad cry of his beloved on the clarinet [4:19-4:27], and the blade comes down and his head rolls into the basket [4:27-4:29], and the crowd cheers! [4:32-4:49], something that Liszt would have loved, and he made a piano transcription of the whole thing, a great little Scherzo.

Here's Leonard Bernstein conducting the second movement on YouTube.