With the release of these new Dvořák symphony performances, Orozco-Estrada and the HSO document the beginning of a lasting relationship.
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in d minor Op. 70. Symphony No. 8 in G major Op. 88. Houston Symphony Orchestra/Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Pentatone PTC 5186578. Total Time: 76.23.
Although the Houston Symphony (HSO) is seldom referred to these days as one of America’s finest orchestras, it has had an illustrious history. Its music directors have included maestros of the stature of Ferenc Fricsay (1954), Leopold Stokowski (1955-61), Sir John Barbirolli (1961-67) and Andre Previn (1967-69).
In the 1990s, the HSO had a kind of “Golden Age” under Christoph Eschenbach, resulting in some excellent recordings of music by Richard Strauss, Bruckner, Schoenberg and Rouse, among others. During his tenure as music director, Eschenbach and members of the HSO also performed regularly in the pit with the Houston Grand Opera, notably with Renée Fleming in leading roles on many of those occasions. With Eschenbach’s departure in 1999, the orchestra seemed to drift into a postpartum depression under the sturdy leadership of Hans Graf.
Today, a major HSO revitalization appears to be underway. In a state (Texas) that is becoming increasingly Hispanic — 38% Hispanic as of 2012 and probably more than 50% by 2020 — and with a seriously aging symphony audience, it made sense for the Houston Symphony, in its choice of a new music director, to go for a charismatic young up-and-comer, Andrés Orozco-Estrada. At 38 years of age, the Colombian-born Vienna-trained Orozco-Estrada was on the verge of a major career in Europe but was, as yet, little known in the U.S.A. With the release of these new Dvořák symphony performances, Orozco-Estrada and the HSO are beginning to document their work together. Although there will indubitably be more recordings in the coming years, these performances are already evidence of a promising chemistry.
Having heard Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony in several concerts earlier this season – one of them featuring an excellent rendering of Ives’ Symphony No. 2 — I approached these new recordings with keen anticipation. On the whole, both performances are straightforward interpretations with first-class playing from all sections of the orchestra. As he has for the past 25 years, principal horn William VerMeulen enhances every passage he plays with a rich and expressive sound that would do credit to any orchestra. The timpani sound is a little mushy to my taste, and the violins are a little thin — perhaps Orozco-Estrada needs to pay a little more attention to balance — but the overall impression is that all concerned are playing with joy and enthusiasm.
That said, recordings of these two symphonies are plentiful and some of the best of them are among the most recent: Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburg Symphony gave us a fresh and powerful recording of the Symphony No. 8 (Reference Recordings FR-710SACD) in 2014 and even more recently (March 2016), Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony (BR Klassik 900145) proved to be equally impressive in the same piece.
Regarding value for money, this new Orozco-Estrada/HSO Dvořák CD merits special mention. Two complete Dvořák symphonies on one CD for a total of more than 76 minutes; now, that’s a bargain!
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